John chapter 15 is a wonderful and pointed teaching by Jesus. The central focus is abiding in Him as He abides in His Father. Now (today) as He actually is with His Father in heaven, what remains on earth is the indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit in individuals who have invited Him into themselves be their Guide and Teacher.
I’ve been pondering this whole concept of ‘abiding’. What’s involved in that process? What does it look like? What does it entail? How does one experience this ‘abiding’? How does one stay in that mode? To me its obvious that ‘abiding’ in Jesus Christ now — must involve His Holy Spirit and learning how to understand the Spirit and how He operates with His Voice inside me. How do I recognize His Voice? How do I discern if it is really Him or just my own imagination? How do I learn to differentiate between His Voice and my own inside of my mind?
These are all questions I try to help people navigate in a small group that I like to call the Holy Spirit boot camp. A 12 week journey of learning how He interacts with you personally. I call it a boot camp because you workout daily with Him in prayer and scripture, while journaling all the thoughts you are working through with the material, scriptures, and subjects. I just try to coach the people while they work with the Holy Spirit. I use Galatians 5:22-23 as the basis of the attributes a person works through with the Holy Spirit. The 9 fruit of the Holy Spirit is the best evidence of Him working in someone’s life. Contrary to the Charismatic Movement and focus on His 9 gifts of the the Spirit. The 9 Fruit of the Holy Spirit deals with the very core characteristics of a person’s soul and what is being produced by that individual or by the Holy Spirit. The 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit are there for ministry at a certain time and space. Fruit is 24/7 life. Gifts are for a moment in time. Jesus said you will know them by their fruit, not their gifts. Learning how to hear Him, and work with Him, and be taught by Him, and be ‘pruned’ by Him is essential.
If you read that John 15 passage you see that it is pretty stark in what it reveals. Anyone not abiding in Him is thrown out and then burned up. And if you do abide in Him and produce fruit then you will also be pruned. Pruning is a cutting away — sometimes healthy portions of a plant or tree so that it will produce even MORE fruit. Pruning good healthy ALIVE portions out of your life? Can that be right? Ask a farmer. It’s necessary if the plant is to produce even more the next harvest season. Oh yeah, if you abide in Him you will also be hated. So there goes the whole “I want everyone to like me” plan. “So you mean I’ll be losing things as I abide in Him?” Yes. If you allow Him to do the work in you, to be what He created you for. It also might mean having to say ‘goodbye’ to certain friends that really aren’t good for you in your growth in Him. The integrity of your life is directly affected by those you are connected to. Think of the framing of a house. Each 2×4 is connected in different ways and the more it is connected with strong members, the more integrity / strength it has. If the 2×4 is connected to a weak member then it’s own integrity is lessoned. My advice? Connect to the strongest members you can find. Not the flashiest, or richest, or most liked, but the ones who display the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and you’ve seen this fruit personally, grown and produced in their lives over time. Find those people. And then learn how to connect with them. Try to stay away from people who have a mask for every situation and group. Everyone knows people like that. Connect with the real and honest people.
So it’s strengthening your own vertical connection first and getting that frequency dialed in to the strongest signal you can produce, asking for His help, and then strengthening your horizontal connections with each individual who have strong vertical connections themselves with Holy Spirit. Learning how to abide in Him with others who also are learning to abide in Him. Beware — of surface connections, and acquaintances only known by a once a week entertainment “worship” service in a building labeled ‘Church’… that is not real connection. These REAL connections need to be more than just one day a week. And they need to involve deep and real honest conversations and heartfelt prayer.
Take the time to read John 15 for yourself. Ponder the words. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten the scripture to you. Take time to ask Him questions. Then listen to Him.
What is He wanting to prune out of your life?