S7 EP7 | Learning to Abide in Christ
Carla used to think that abiding in God was a passive act. But in her recent study on abiding she had an incredible “aha” moment.
Abiding is ACTIVE. It’s a verb. Just like we abide in our homes - which have times of rest and activity - so is abiding in Christ. It’s allowing him to direct our wills and transform our affections. And Carla is sharing 4 things to do to promote activating abiding.
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The Active Elements of Abiding:
Spend Time in His Word:
Plant the word in your heart for the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance.
Be proactive in filling your mind with Christ's teachings.
2. Constant Prayer:
Establish a continuous posture of prayer.
Move beyond emergency prayers to glorifying God and seeking His guidance.
3. Trust in His Provision and Grace:
Let go of personal desires when the next steps are unclear.
Build trust through consistent engagement with the Word and prayer.
4. Walk in His Will:
Recognize life is not about personal glory; it's about God.
Discover your calling through prayer, reading the Word, and assessing your unique gifts and passions.
Actively walk in His will, even when it's uncertain or scary.
Affirming Truth - "I will abide in Christ hour by hour, day by day."
Key Scripture:
John 15:4 - "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
John 15:7 - "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you."
1 John 4:13 - "By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit."
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Carla: Hey friends, welcome to Affirming Truths. I'm your friend and host, Carla Arges. This show is a safe place to share our struggles, grow in faith, and root our identity in Christ. My hope is that you will leave each episode feeling encouraged in your journey. Subscribe so you don't miss an episode and it would mean the world to me if you would leave a review.
[00:00:30] Carla: I am so glad you're here. Let's get started. Hey friends, it's Carla here. Welcome to another episode of Affirming Truth. Today I want to talk to you about a topic where I had an aha moment. And whenever I have an aha moment or I see something From the word in the new, in a new perspective, I just have to share it.
[00:00:56] Carla: I just have to, so exciting to me. [00:01:00] Um, I want to talk to you guys about learning to abide in Christ. Now, this is so important. It says in John 15, four, abide in me and I in you as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself and unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. If you want a fruitful life, you have to abide in Christ, right?
[00:01:29] Carla: You have to abide in Christ. And for the longest time, I misunderstood what abiding in Christ means. If I'm honest, I saw it as something that you do that's passive. And I don't know if any of you guys have thought about Abiding as passive. But when I looked up abide in the dictionary. It means to live, or continue, [00:02:00] or remain.
[00:02:01] Carla: It's a verb. It's an action word. Action, not passive action. It's to live in him. It's a position. It's something that we do. Let's look at this for an example. If I were to ask you, where do you abide, you'd give me your address, but what do you do in your home where you abide? It's not passive. Sure. There's moments of rest and rejuvenation, but it's active.
[00:02:31] Carla: You are building relationships. You are taking care of your family. You are growing. You are moving. You are doing all the things in your home. That's active. Our households are a hub of activity. It's a hub of where the family comes together, where growth happens, where spiritual development happens. It's a hub.
[00:02:53] Carla: And this is what it is to abide in Christ. It's not passive. It is [00:03:00] active. It is allowing his word to fill our minds and direct our wills and transform our affections so that when we walk out the faith walk, we're walking it out in him, in his likeness, in his strength, in his grace, in his love, in his mercy, in his justice.
[00:03:22] Carla: In him, John 15 seven says, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. When we abide in Christ and it transforms our affections, we end up aligning our desires to the desires of God. When we are in Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts and transforms our will to align to Christ.
[00:03:55] Carla: Therefore, of course, whatever we ask, it will be granted because [00:04:00] it's in line with the Father's will. How beautiful is that? And, and I'll get to tell you at first, I was like, okay, abiding, that's active, exciting, new perspective for me, totally new perspective. I totally thought it was something passive. But then I was like, okay, but how, what does abiding in Christ, active, Look like how do you stay close and follow the lead?
[00:04:30] Carla: How do you stay in Christ when the world is calling you to be in it? The world is calling you to be in the world and it's very easy to start looking like the world We're called to be set apart set apart because we're in Christ not in the world Do you see what I'm saying here? But it's so easy for us to actually abide in this world.
[00:04:57] Carla: It's so easy for us to look like citizens [00:05:00] of this world rather than citizens of heaven, because we're not abiding. We're not letting his word fill our minds, direct our wills, or transform our affections. So what does that look like? Well, one, it means spending time in his word. You know, the Holy Spirit, it says, will bring to remembrance what you need when you need it, right?
[00:05:25] Carla: He'll bring to remembrance. But this is, I want you to take note of it. He brings to remembrance. That means something has to be in you to remember, right? That has, that means you have to plant the word in you so he can bring it to remembrance, so that he can use it in your life, so that he can give you new revelations in the different seasons that you walk through.
[00:05:50] Carla: He brings it to remembrance, but it has to be put in there by you. You need to spend time in his word. How are you going to feel? Fill your [00:06:00] mind with what Christ wants. How are you going to walk in his will? How are you going to be transformed? If you're not getting into the very thing that does that work, you've got to spend time in his word.
[00:06:15] Carla: Two, you gotta spend time in prayer. You know, the word says to pray without ceasing. Did you know I actually have alarms on my phone that go out through the day that just say pray? Just to keep my heart in the posture of prayer. We're really good at those 9 1 1 prayers, right? When we're desperate, when we're in need.
[00:06:37] Carla: But what if we're just constantly praying? And the praying is not, the praying is not just about what we want or what we need. Our praying is to glorify God. Our praying is to invite the Holy Spirit in. Our praying is to have him direct our will. Our praying is to be in a constant position of surrender and submission.
[00:06:59] Carla: How [00:07:00] would your day go differently if you were in a constant position of prayer and not just for emergencies? Right. Number three, you have to trust in his provision in grace. You have to trust in his provision in grace because abiding in Christ means letting go of wanting to do it your way when you can't see the next step.
[00:07:28] Carla: When you can't see where the next.
[00:07:34] Carla: When you can't see how a relationship is going to be restored, when you can't see how your marriage is going to get better, you trust in his provision and grace. And what gives you the ability to stay firmly in that position of trust for his provision and grace? It's because you've been doing the first two things, getting in his word and praying.
[00:07:56] Carla: You've built this relationship with him where you know him. [00:08:00] You know that he keeps his promises. You know he turns things for your good, so you can trust in his provision and grace. And then four, you have to walk in his will. To abide in Christ, an active verb, an action word, you have to walk in his will.
[00:08:21] Carla: This isn't the Carla show. My life is not about me. And guys, I do have to regularly remind myself about this. It's not about me. It's not about my will. It's not about my glory. It's about God. It's about furthering his kingdom. It's about living to give him glory. It's about being his ambassadors. You know, the, the, the story of our lives are not about us.
[00:08:54] Carla: The story of our lives is about how we can see God moving. and interceding and [00:09:00]transforming and protecting and providing. The story of our lives is a story that points to Jesus. So are we walking in his will? And if you don't know what his will is, I take you back to one and two, spend time in his word, spend time in his prayer, in prayer.
[00:09:21] Carla: This is where you find his will. I sometimes have people ask me, how do I know my calling? How do I know what my purpose is in life? Well, You talk to God about it. You read the word. You see where God has gifted you uniquely. You see where God has poured talents. You look at where God has given you experience.
[00:09:44] Carla: You look at where God has planted passion. And where these things intersect, there's your call. There's your purpose. Now will you walk in it? Because walking in your call and your purpose [00:10:00] is scary. Because there's so much unknowns, but will you walk in his will where he's calling you or he's gifted you?
[00:10:11] Carla: That's abiding. When you rest, when you eat, when you interact, when you make decisions, are you doing it in Christ? Are you doing it with the perspective of a Jesus lens? Are you inviting God into every aspect of your life? It's very easy to invite him into the big, hard things. Lord, heal my broken marriage.
[00:10:34] Carla: Lord, heal my broken body. But are you inviting him into the smaller things? Lord, be with me in my interactions at the grocery store today. Lord, how can I shine for you in my neighborhood? Lord, I've been gifted an extra hundred dollars. What's your will and how I spend it? [00:11:00] This is abiding. It's ongoing communication.
[00:11:04] Carla: It's being in a position. It's living in him, in him, that everything that we do in life is in him. Do you get that? I want you to affirm this with me today. I will abide in Christ. hour by hour, day by day, because that's what it is. It's an hour by hour, day by day. And I want to take you to First John 4. 13.
[00:11:36] Carla: Man, John had a lot to say about abiding. It says, By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. This is how we know we're abiding in him because we are walking in the spirit. What, what are the fruits of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, [00:12:00] faithfulness, gentleness, self control.
[00:12:02] Carla: Are those things in abundance in our life? If those things are in abundance in our life, then we are operating in the spirit, which means we are abiding in
[00:12:14] Carla: I will abide in Christ hour by hour, day by day. My life will produce love and joy and peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. That's a big one. How is your self control over your tongue when you're angry? How is your self control when your emotions are running high and you want to go to alcohol or food?
[00:12:45] Carla: How is your self control when you're tempted to judge or compare? I will abide in Christ hour by hour, day by day, in His word, in prayer, [00:13:00] in trust, and walking in His will. Let's abide in Him together, friends. I'll talk to you next time.
[00:13:14] Carla: Thanks for joining me today. I hope we're already friends on social media, but if we're not, come find me on Instagram at Carla Arges or at Affirming Truths. Can't wait to see you back here next week. Bye friends.