BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

in the Word will make you free from the bondages of the esh so the fruit of the spirit can ow! Notice Jesus said, "Continue in the Word." He didn't say, "Read the Word every now and then." He didn't say, "Do it when you feel like it." He said to stay in the Word continually. And He didn't say it just once. He said it again and again. In John 15, for example, just before He went to the Cross, He re- emphasized the importance of continuing in the Word and in fellowship with Him. He said: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the re, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glori ed, that ye bear much fruit (verses 4-8). Jesus said if we want to bear fruit, we must abide in Him. The word abide has a sense of permanency about it. It doesn't mean to come in and go out. It refers to the place where you remain and dwell continually. Contrary to what many people seem to think, you cannot live from Sunday to Sunday. You can't fellowship with the Lord once a week at church, ignore Him the rest of the time, and still have the new man on the inside be the dominant part of you. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered" (verse 6). The moment a branch is broken o from the vine, it begins to die. It doesn't matter how close they are to one another. You can lay that branch beside the vine, but if the union has been broken, there will be no life ow. There will be no sap owing from the 3 0 : B V O V vine into the branch. The same is true for us. When we get too busy to spend time with God in prayer and in His Word, when we get preoccupied with natural, earthly things and disconnect from communion with Him, we immediately begin to wither. The word wither means "to shrivel; to lose or cause to lose energy, force or freshness." That's a vivid picture of what happens to us when we aren't living in vital contact with the Lord. We still belong to Him. We have His life within us but His energy is not owing through us, so we can't produce anything. We lose our capacity for spiritual action. We may know what to do, but we nd ourselves lacking the power to do it. We haven't the strength to bear fruit! Make the Choice On the other hand, when you do abide in the Vine, you are certain to bear fruit. In fact, it is inevitable! The power of the Holy Spirit owing through you will just naturally bring forth that which God has placed within you. And you will begin to act like the loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, gentle, good, faithful, meek and self-controlled person you really are! Of course, you'll still have to make the choice. When you're driving down the highway and someone cuts rudely in front of you, you'll have to choose whether to yield to the irritation of your esh by honking and shaking your st at them or yield to the love of God by smiling and saying, "Lord, bless that person and help them get safely where they're going today." Personally, I've learned to start every day by making that choice in advance. As I begin my day in prayer I say, "Father, I make the decision right now that I'm going to yield to the fruit of the spirit today." Then I do everything I can to act on that decision all day long. I urge you to do the same. It won't always be easy, but it will always be worth the e ort. When the fruit of the spirit is owing in your life, you'll be walking in the power of God. You'll be living—at last—like the overcomer you were born again to be! We're currently hiring for a variety of roles. Visit kcm.org /careers Come Change the World with Us!

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