God With Me in My Mission


The Power of God which is Ours - "The Indwelling"

Picture the scene: It was about 8:00 in the evening (Holy Thursday). The sky outside was silvered like a concave mirror and the feast of the Passover was being eaten in every part of the city. Jerusalem was quiet under the stars. Small squads of Roman soldiers roamed the city streets, but their conversation was muffled and there was nothing sufficiently important to alert them. In the Cenacle (the Upper Room) the chill of the early evening could be felt in the room and the servants set about lighting braziers. The twelve seemed to be composed, but there was an underlying tension in the room. They were a group of bearded men, averaging about 30 years of age; men of assorted sized and coloring, simple men who were certain now and then that they were in the presence of the Son of God, although at other moments they became frightened and their belief wavered. Their faith in Jesus was full so long as it was not over burdened. The final cup of wine had been drunk at the Passover and the feast was over. They stood and sang the Halleluiah and as the solemn notes died in the big room, Jesus rose from His couch and they all stood. Jesus felt the gloom and wanted it to lift. Still, as a man, he must have felt the chill of sadness also; he was young and vigorous at 33 years ... he had an enormous capacity for love and it hurt deeply to know that he was ordained to die as a criminal, to part from all of these who could make his heart glad. He spoke to them gently:

Turn now to John 15:1-7

First Point: "My Father is the vine-dresser" ... every branch that bears no fruit He cuts away, but every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, to make it bear even more.

Second Point: A branch cannot bear all by itself, but must remain part of the vine ... whoever remains in Jesus will bear fruit in plenty, but cut off from him, we can do nothing. It is our task then to take on green?ness, the green-ness that comes from being closely attached to the very source of that green-ness, the very life of the vine. It is such a close, intimate unity that we do not know where we begin and Jesus ends, or where Jesus begins and we leave off. And we don’t care ... all we know is that coursing through us is the very life of the Trinity ... an awesome thought.

Third Point: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it."  In another Gospel, Jesus says, "when you ask me for anything, believe that you have received it and it is yours." Do you have this kind of belief? If you do, there is nothing He cannot work in you ? nothing He cannot accomplish through you.