Abiding

Let me ask you a question. Have you just been visiting God or have you been abiding in him? Because there's a difference between checking in with God on Sundays and living a life where his presence is in your home, not your hotel. So do you only see God occasionally when you're at church or maybe when you're with other people? Look at this, John 15 five says, I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing. You weren't called to strive, you were called to abide. Some of you are like Martha, Martha, you're running everywhere doing so many works and you only see God once or twice a week. That's not abiding, you're starving. How are you being spiritually replenished with the word and with his presence? It's impossible to make it on this walk only seeing or experiencing God at service once or twice a week. That makes no sense, it's every day. Jesus didn't save you so you could live in cycles of burnout, religious performance or dry seasons. He saved you to dwell with him, to remain, to stay connected. Some of you say, well, I pray all the time. That's amazing.

Always keep your mind on Jesus, dialogue with the Holy Spirit, praise God. But if you're not abiding in him, giving him selected time daily, set apart time daily, holy sacred time daily with him, how can you expect or even say that you abide or expect to bear fruit? Impossible. The Greek word for abide is the word meno. It means to remain, to dwell, not to depart. So if you're feeling spiritually dry, if you're constantly needing a refill every week, if you're living off old encounters and not fresh revelation, it's probably not a power issue, it's a presence issue. You can cast devils out and heal the sick and still be burning out. You can prophesy and evangelize and pastor and teach and still feel like you're exhausted. Me as a pastor, I have to abide even more than others. I'm pouring out so much, so much of my virtues being lost as I preach and pray. I need to abide. That's the only way I can continue to have that joy, that peace, that power to keep going. I'm preaching twice a week, sometimes three times a week. Sometimes every day I'm ministering. Everywhere I go evangelism, I have to abide. And let me tell you something,

just because I'm a pastor doesn't mean I have to and you don't, we all do. Forget the whole title thing, all of us have to do. Because the branch does not produce fruit by trying harder, it produces fruit by staying connected to the vine. Think about a tree. A tree has a branch. The branch, what bears, what comes off of it, fruit, peaches, a peach tree bears peaches. But if that branch does not abide, it doesn't get the nutrients, it doesn't get what's needed for the peach to grow nice and big and healthy and be juicy and tasty, it's not gonna happen because the branch needs to stay connected to the vine and Jesus is the vine. Here's the truth, you don't need more hype. You don't need more depth and depth only comes through abiding. So how do you abide? Stay in the word daily. Some of you listen to sermons and that's powerful and you listen to preachers and teachers. What about your own sermon with the Holy Ghost? What he wants to prepare you for. He wants to give you revelation, knowledge, and insight and understanding. He wants to download things from heaven to you, not just the pastor. The Bible isn't a textbook, it's the voice of your father. Let it speak to you every morning.

Again, read that chapter or two or three. Cultivate a real prayer life. Think about when you cultivate plants. When you plant the seed, you gotta water it, bring the nutrients daily, come back, sunlight, take care of it. You need to cultivate your prayer life. It's never gonna be a time where you just landed, where you just made it, to where you don't have to pray anymore. I've prayed everything and I'm good now. No, it's for the rest of our lives. Not just going to prayer to ask for things, but sitting still, talking with God, pouring out your heart, or listening. It's so important to do that. Living surrendered. Abiding isn't just about devotion, it's about obedience. Every time you obey God, you're choosing to remain in him. I'm gonna say it again. Abiding is not just about devotion, it's about obedience. Living surrendered. Every time you obey God, you choose to remain in him. Guard your heart, or guard your atmosphere. Number four, this is so big, which is essentially like guarding your heart. Guard your atmosphere. You can't abide in Jesus and dwell in drama, gossip, sin, division, or worldly noise.

Make space for him. Who you surround yourself with is so important. Bad company corrupts good character, good morals. When you're around the wrong people, even Christians, you'll feel that atmosphere try to attack you. When you're around someone who's very divisive, very slanderous, very prideful, or self-righteous, you'll start feeling that atmosphere hit you. That's just that's that that's that Leviathan that prideful atmosphere and you'll be like man what the heck it's gonna try to get you to get Angry, it's gonna try to get you to get prideful But those who abide in Christ will disconnect themselves and pray for that person but not protect their Atmosphere protect your atmosphere at all costs man. I'm telling you it's so important If you're around someone who gossips or smokes the Bible says light has no fellowship with darkness You if you're going to preach the gospel to people smoking weed, that's not fellowship You're on assignment. But if you're hanging out with people who are passing around blunts and the name of oh, it's okay Eventually, my my light will shine your fellowshipping with darkness When your friends see that blunt I mean when you see that blunt being passed around your friends should see you and be like, oh We can't do this in front of him, bro. We can't curse in front of him My friends in the that are still in the world. They know if they're around me. There's no cursing There's no smoking drinking and I used to be the main one bringing the drugs bringing the alcohol being the one who curses more than everyone else because it's my light that shines and I'm not Fellowshipping with darkness if they start passing around that blunt and I'm not preaching the gospel and I begin to hang out I'm up and I'm gone guys. I gotta go. Sorry. I came to bring the gospel. You didn't repent You didn't give your life to Christ. I pray for you. God bless you. I gotta go I want to be around people of faith people of love and joy and peace when you're around people like that You know, it ends up happening their atmosphere also affects you in a good way. Now you have more love you feel edified and encouraged You feel like you want to go and evangelize and preach the gospel That's why some of you watch my videos because you see the evangelism and it gets you pumped up It's an atmosphere even on the digital realms. It can project a spiritual atmosphere

That's why you got to guard your eye gates and your ear gates and make sure that what you're watching and hearing is Godly even Christians can come and bring an atmosphere. That's not good on the digital spaces Number five let your worship be your lifestyle Worshiping is not just a song. It's how we live every act of humility love and reverence draws you closer to God Especially loving your enemies blessing those who hate you who persecute you who speak about you speaking life about them Loving them speaking positive about them this is how you shine that light and let God fight your battles and you'll hold your peace and Truly in your heart see things the way God sees them understanding very important attribute of the Holy Spirit Look at this John 15 7 if you abide in me and my words abide in you You will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you so if you abide in his presence and his word abides in you by reading and hearing the word and You ask what you desire it shall be done for you you know why because your heart and your mind when you're in him and his words are in you is Aligned with his and when it's aligned with his what you ask will actually be his will and when it's his will it's yes And amen Not everything we ask is the will of God So when you remain in him fruit follows peace follows answered prayer follows Overflow follows, but when you're disconnected everything will dry up and I've seen that I've seen people on fire in the faith Miss slowly start drifting away because of something whether it was money woman man Whatever it is and then eventually go back to the world and literally drop and they're like bearing no fruit Depressed worse than before those spirits come back. They have to come back and get deliverance. I've seen it I've seen people leave the church for a year or two come back like I need help and it's okay We're still gonna help them. There's restoration. It's a process But what I'm saying is you don't have to go through all that just keep to continue to abide Hey, if you miss a day, it's okay. The next day say God I missed a day, but I'm back here and I'm here again Don't get condemned. It's not about performance. It's about presence. The secret to power is presence not performance It's not doing more. It's abiding more So today I want you to make a shift from striving to staying from dryness to overflow from Occasional devotion to constant connection because those who abide in him Overflow with him. Let's walk in that presence every single day. Let's bear fruit of the Holy Spirit that lasts

Let's live a life that never runs dry. I'll see you guys in the next course This is the end of this course the path to purpose. I pray that this blessed you guys This is a very elementary foundational course that arm I believe everyone locally internationally and even other people will take just to grow a nice foundation But we're gonna have some more courses I want you guys to look out for unteachable or whatever platform these videos are on at the time. I love you guys God bless