Abide - 2021 - Women's Conf Recap
Notes
Transcript
Welcome ladies!
I am so thankful you have taken time out your Saturday to be here this morning.
I know we all lead busy lives, but my prayer for this time together for the next 2 hours is that you leave knowing God. Not just knowing God here (head), but 18 inches lower, knowing God here (heart) – your heart!
If you were able to make it to the Abide conference in Georgia, you may wonder what more we can get out of all of this – let me just say: This is what the Lord has spoken to me over the past 6 weeks.
Here is the schedule of events for today:
We are starting now with a little worship. Then, we will have a session. I am aiming for 11:45 lunch, fellowship, and coffee. Following lunch Maggie Oberle will be leading an interactive session starting at 12:__. I will close our morning with the last session at 12:35 and you will have the opportunity to partake in Holy Communion, prayer, and if you need prayer – please feel free to come up and speak with any of us up here. We are scheduled to end at 1:00 and that is my goal, not to keep you here all day. If at ANY time you need to take a phone call, visit the ladies’ room, or leave you are more than welcome.
Please welcomeAutumn and Rob and join in and worship the Lord.
2 Songs to lead the ladies in Worship…
Session 1 ~
Please open your Bibles to John 15:5 –
John 15:5 (pause)
Jesus says: The New King James Version Chapter 15
5 “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.
Ladies today my prayer is you to leave here NOT Knowing God from you head,
BUT knowing God… from your heart…
That you allow God to connect the 18 inches from your head to your heart…
Where you allow yourself to ABIDE in Him…
allow God to Abide IN… you... THROUGH... you...
~ Let us begin in prayer …
Heavenly Father, we praise You for who You are!
We ask that you are with us and that You teach us today.
Lord, have me move out of the way and fill this place with the Holy Spirit.
Fill every lady, in every seat today, with Your beautiful presence…
and Lord, allow the living Word to penetrate through them.
Abba Father we love You!
Help us Abide in You.
~ In Jesus Holy Name ~ AMEN
Let me start with this…
and I want you to remember this throughout today
~ HE is ~ I am NOT!
Now, this will become clear as we continue through today.
Ezekiel 36:23b - says:
The New King James Version Chapter 36
the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.
I AM - He is telling us specifically in the second part of this verse:
the nations shall know (head) that I am the Lord…
~ You see when the Lord God says that the nations shall know that He is...
I am - the Lord...
How will others know He is our I AM?
How will others know that He is our personal I AM?
It is one thing that they can see or hear that He is God...
but is another thing for other people to see how real He is in our lives.
To see that He...
and Him alone…
is OUR Lord...
This verse tells us the answer when I am hallowed IN YOU…
What does this mean?
It means ‘to make Holy’ -
Holy means - be to set apart.
It means that you are living a life that is walking with Him...
that you are set apart from this world.
You are going in a different direction than the world is going…
And that you are living for Him...
And you are allowing Him to live IN you...
and THROUGH you…
Jesus says He is I AM –
Jesus began with these iconic words…
there are even 7 I am statements in the gospel of John that
He begins with these two words.
I AM...
When he declares this...
He is declaring not only that He is the Vine in John 15:5
but He is declaring that I am God...
I Am is the name that when Moses asked
who should I say sent me...
He replies…
I AM WHO I AM -
He is GOD ALMIGHTY.
He is the creator of this universe.
The creator of us… before we were formed in the womb.
Our God has given everything to us through Jesus.
He is pointing at the most important part of our relationship with Him.
Where He is the VINE, and we are branches…
This is where we ABIDE in HIM...
Jesus is our resource - HE IS - the Vine...
He gives us EVERYTHING we need…
without the VINE we are nothing…
Often times we find ourselves disconnected from the Vine
we even say we feel distant from God.
So, today I am asking you with this in mind…
to look deep inside of yourself...
who is our I AM... if you feel distant from God...
where is He is at in your life…
where are you at… if you are not abiding in the Vine?
REMEMBER THIS - HE IS - I AM NOT!!!
So, who is your I am?
Is it your husband? ...
Is it children? ...
Is it your job? … are you a workaholic…
It is your family? ... are you having to meet their demands...
Your To-Do Lists? … Ladies, you know we have them, they don’t end...
Your circumstance? … What storm are you facing… is your storm
something that you are still holding on from your past...
is it something that is SO big in front of you...
that you just don’t know how YOU...
are going to get through it…
but it is consuming you.
It has become something that you dwell on...
It has caused you to look only on yourself…
Do you just keep looking at yourself…
It is a miserable place to be isn’t it…
Jesus tells us in Revelation 1:8
The New King James Version Chapter 1
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Think about that…
He is God Almighty…
He is Almighty in every situation that you may face…
Here you are…
He also tells us something else... in Exodus 20:3
The New King James Version Chapter 20
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
So again... I ask the question...
Who is your I AM...
right now in your life...
This is a lower ‘g’ in this commandment… “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
He is God Almighty… - Above all things…
So, let me ask you this…
What are the other ‘gods’ in your life… that take the place of where GOD should be…
JESUS IS THE VINE - THE I AM - The ONLY one that should be the GOD
The LORD of our lives…
I AM the source of your joy…
I AM the source of your comfort…
I AM the source of your life…
I AM the source that gets you through the storm,
And gives you rest…
He tells us to abide in Him…
what does the word ABIDE mean?
We understand who Jesus is…
We understand that He is God Almighty…
We recognize that we have a tendency to separate ourselves from Him.
So, if we are living like this…
He is telling us…
I AM the Lord Almighty…
ABIDE in ME… What does that mean…
We recognize that He is God…
HE IS…
I… ME...
Leslie...
I AM NOT…
Has anyone heard what Pastor Rob says Abide means?
He says abide means to settle in...
to make yourself at home… with the Lord…
It is like that Hallmark picture… join with me in this thought…
Grab your hot cocoa…
look at the couch in front of the fireplace…
You see all those pillows and that comfy blanket…
The fire is perfectly lit, and the flames are dancing…
You hear the Christmas music playing softly in the background…
And you feel that soft onesie pajama keeping you warm…
Now pull up that blanket on you...
and look beside you…
Right next to you is the Lord Jesus…
You are sitting there and enjoying fellowship with HIM…
Okay… okay… maybe this is my perfect dream of abiding in Him…
If you know me at all then you know I LOVE Christmas…
This is a picture of what it is to ABIDE in HIM…
Make yourself at home… In Him…
This means get in His Word… Get In prayer…
In this relationship with HIM… and He will Abide in you.
It isn’t just knowing (head) Him –
It is living IN Him and FOR Him…
Is God being allowed to ABIDE in you…?
To make Himself at home...?
OR are you telling Him…
He can only come in when you are in prayer...
or when you are at church and worshipping...
Or do you want Him to leave...
to not see you...
when you aren’t asking for Him to be there?
Is it the books on the table that you read...
that you don’t want Him to see…
Is it that TV show that you fill your head and your mind with…
Is it your bedroom where you have your hurt and pain from the past…
Is it your heart…
… (pause)…
So, you shut it off to Him…
Can you allow God to fill every part of you?
Deep question right…
The answer is YES, YES you can…
The real question is...
WILL YOU…
What about those areas that you have built those stone walls around and sealed off tightly?
Maybe you have made it where NO ONE…
can enter that area of your life!
I am here to tell you…
The Lord wants ALL of you!
Those walls you have put up to protect certain things like hurt and pain…
God wants to heal that… He wants to make it better…
To take that from darkness to light…
It is time Ladies...
Allow God to step into your hidden rooms...
your hurt, your pain…
and the places that you don’t want Him to go…
into a place of healing and redemption…
I want to encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to shine light in those areas of your life…
Allow God to turn those pains into JOY, to turn those hurts into healing…
Let me go further back in John 15 to verses 1-4 where God tells us:
John 15:1-4 – I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ABIDE in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Is there an area in your life that needs to be taken away… PRUNED…
to be replaced with an area that bears fruit…
That is what the Lord wants to do…
He is the Vine and the source of LIFE…
You need to push INTO the Lord...
Allow Him - THE VINE - to ABIDE in you…
Allow Him to make himself at home in every part of your life.
If you aren’t allowing God in EVERY…
SINGLE… part and aspect of your life, what are you hiding?
Or maybe it isn’t that you are hiding something,
maybe you are expecting someone else to fill in those places?
Often times we are EXPECTING – our spouse…
we sure can put A LOT on our spouse… can’t we…
we expect our spouses to read our minds don’t we…
What about our children… we love and raise them…
We give them our heart when they are young and often times they step
All over it when they are growing up…
What about our family or even our friends that we expect to fill those spaces.
We are putting ourselves in a position to be hurt ladies…
These people are just that – PEOPLE…
they are going to fail...
It isn’t right for us to have that expectation on them…
AND the ONE that we should be giving it ALL to
and allowing ourselves to Abide in… We aren’t…
We need to be allowing the Forgiver to forgive...
the Healer to HEAL...
our Comforter to Comfort...
and our Savior...
the ONE who loves us UNCONDITIONALLY...
to SAVE us...
from our guilt … shame ... problems… our sin ...
Listen to this Psalm - Psalm 57:1- The New King James Version Psalm 57
1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.
Are you crying out to God for healing...
for forgiveness...
Is your relationship THAT connected to the Vine… that you are crying out to Him…
The Psalmist says in Psalm 41:4: The New King James Version Psalm 41
4 I said, “LORD, be merciful to me;
Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
He is asking for healing for his soul…
Why… why is he asking for forgiveness…
It’s because tend we hold on to our sin that hurts us…
the guilt, the shame…
everything that encompasses that sin…
It could have been a sin from your childhood.
Maybe it is someone who you really loved that hurt you and you can’t forgive them…
Maybe it is something you have done that has plagued you for years…
Ladies… it is time… to forgive…
Allow the Lord to cast your sin as far as the East is to the West…
STOP reminding Him...
and allow yourself...
to forgive yourself…
Jesus tells us in Psalm 103:12
The New King James Version Psalm 103
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Allow the Lord to take your sin and cast it away
As far as the East is to the West…
Release yourself… He has released you…
Stop reminding Him of something that doesn’t exist anymore ...
Allow yourself to release yourself…
He is telling you He removed your sin...
your crime...
your wrongdoing…
He cast them as far as the East is from the West...
You see - the Word doesn’t use North and South for distance…
When you travel North, there’s a point when you start traveling South again.
The Psalm says: The East and the West...
there is NO stopping when we go West, or when we go East.
THIS is how far He removed our transgressions from us.
Sometimes we hold on…
Don’t we…
Let me share with you:
I will remember this day forever...
May 15, 2017...
the day before Rob and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary…
We had gone to church that morning and come home to change.
Rob was just retired from the Navy in December of 2016...
we had just moved to Bedford, Texas.
Now, On January 24, 2017, the Lord showed my husband what surrender was...
Rob was dealing with his own transitioning…
20 years in the Navy WAS his life… And he was headed South quickly…
His whole life changed in moments while he was sitting in an auditorium full of people...
At a worship conference called Calibrate…
God showed Rob what it means to surrender, and Rob did...
He told me all about it… and about God’s love...
And I thought...
How good for you and
Really, I genuinely meant it... for him…
But for me… NOPE...
God did NOT love me…
He hated me and I spoke the words that I hated Him as well...
You see March 24, 2016… my relationship with the Lord changed!
I had just made it from Albuquerque to Texas,
After having to leaving work because my dad called to tell me
to get on a flight as soon as possible because...
my grandmother had a massive heart attack and was found in her apartment…
I arrived in Texas to be with Rob and my mom at the ER...
and we watched my grandmother pass away.
For years, we were excited to get back to Texas after retirement so we could be near her...
to cook for her… She loved GOOD food…
to sing with her… I don’t know if I have a memory of her that doesn’t involve a song...
Brianna can tell you the song we always sang…
I love you a bushel and a peck… A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck…
Oh, I just wanted more time to just love on her… and be there with her…
Through all the years of us moving, I missed her SO much!
I blamed God for taking her, for me seeing her die in such a traumatic way.
I watched my husband carry my mom to a waiting room while
I stood there and watched them try to revive my grandmother in such a violent way.
How could God take her...
I was only 6 months from being near her!
I didn’t get to say goodbye… there is so much I would have told her…
All I remembered was her asking ‘help me’… and no one could…
I thought …. No…. the God I had loved and served…
The God that I raised my children to know...
is the God that just took my grandmother...
someone who truly loved me...
Don’t get me wrong… my mom loves me… I know that without question...
But my grandmother and I were extremely close from the day I was born…
And through this…. I BROKE... and I blamed God…
I thought about every sin I had ever committed in my life, and I dwelled on myself...
I accepted that God didn’t love me, and he was showing me,
that He took her because of everything I had done...
He was protecting her from having me close to her in her daily life...
This is how I truly felt…
As I continued to work as a kitchen manager at Red Robin in Texas now,
I left every morning for work
Broken, hurt, angry, and empty….
As I left every morning, I watched Rob go into our closet for prayer time...
I heard him tell me every single day about the sermons he had heard that day…
He was literally going through the Bible and learning every single day!
I watched my husband literally transform before my eyes…
I couldn’t accept that God would or could ever do that for me...
So, I dug my heals into work…
Then, May 15, 2017... came…
14 months after my grandmother passed away...
sitting on the side of the bed after church that morning that I felt dragged to…
Rob asked me...
Why are you so angry with God...
He shared a scripture with me…
It is forever stuck in my heart… about Gods love for me...
He shared Romans 8:37-39:
The New King James Version Chapter 8
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I listened to him quote this scripture...
God was speaking to me…
He broke me… He allowed me to feel His presence again…
Tears streamed down my face.
As if He touched me and said Leslie, I love you…
Rob asked me if I could forgive him for his life being all about the Navy...
for not being present. Mentally and emotionally, he was just focused on the Navy.
At that point we had been married 13 years, together 14...
4 children with 2 grand-babies...
He asked if we could renew our vows and asked if we could pray… I just nodded yes…
I will NEVER forget hearing Rob pray…
It was like nothing I have ever felt...
I felt God’s love…
Please understand…
Rob did not save me, through Jesus Christ within him ~ he brought me back…
He helped lift me up out of the grief that I decided...
I “had”to live in…
Out of the unforgiveness in my own life…
It was just recently I heard it asked,
Why do you put yourself higher than God…
If God tells you, He can forgive you of your sin…
Why are your standards better than His, that you can’t forgive yourself…
Man, that has humbled me…
Are you putting yourself above God…
Are you THAT holy to say…
God can forgive me... but I can’t forgive myself…
If you are abiding in God - You are not expecting the impossible from anyone but Him...
Nothing - NOTHING but God will satisfy you...
You see…
God will not share His glory...
Even with you…
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:8 -
The New King James Version Chapter 3
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Paul has lost everything… and counts the cost, knowing he has Christ… What more can you need.
In Psalms 107:9 - We are told
The New King James Version Psalm 107
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
If we look back in Ezekiel 36:23-27 - He shows us that...
He IS...
He is telling us what He WILL do…
Ezekiel – Chapter 36 Verses 23 through 27: The New King James Version Chapter 36
23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Do you see this?… Do you see this happening in your own life…
He says I will take you... and I will clean you…
Every time I think of this, I can visualize God cleaning the disciples’ feet…
I will give you a new heart… - in other words…
I will transform you and you will be born again…
Now listen: Spurgeon is quoted saying:
Ezekiel5. A Promise to Spiritually Renew Israel (26–27)
iii. “The Holy Spirit cannot dwell in the old heart; it is a filthy place, devoid of all good, and full of enmity to God. His very first operation upon our nature is to pull down the old house and build himself a new one, that he may be able to inhabit us consistently with his holy spiritual nature.” (Spurgeon)
DO YOU HEAR THIS LADIES...
I will put My Spirit within you…
He says He will fill us with His presence and with power…
I will cause you to walk in My statutes…
He promises He will help us… as believers to obey God.
God has given us everything we need…
to live a Godly life…
and to function in this life…
God has given us everything that we could possibly hope for
in His son, Jesus…
Jesus is the VINE… The I AM…
The greatest image that we can ever see in our relationship…
Is that connection that we have… in the Vine… we are the branches…
If we abide in Him and He abides in us…
We will bear much fruit…
The fruit of Jesus….
Love… Gentleness… Kindness… Peace… Mercy… Grace…
All of these beautiful attributes are examples of the fruit we will bear through our lives…
But apart from Him…
Apart from the Vine…
We can do nothing…
Let me ask you again……
Who is the great ~ I AM ~ in your life…
Is it your husband? ...
Is it you children? ...
Is it your job? …
Is it your family? …
Is it your To-Do Lists? …
Is it your circumstance?
Whatever it is... Whoever it is…
the Holy Spirit is showing you right now…
To take whatever it is that is taking precedence over God…
The Vine…
and you…
the branch…
And let it go of whatever is separating you…
and your connection to the Vine…
With all this said… I will say again…
my prayer for every one of you ladies here today
is that you will find that resolve that you need…
That you will allow Jesus to enter every part of you…
That you will allow Him to penetrate you here (your heart)…
That you leave here not just knowing Him here (your head)…
That you know Him here in your heart……
That you will forever remember that HE IS…
Let us go to the Lord in prayer…
Heavenly Father… Abba Father…
Help me to Abide in You...
Help me to push into you...
We just ask right now...
through the power of the Holy Spirit...
that you would bring attention to my mind those things that need to be pruned out...
…(pause)…
Lord, I come to you as the branch...
I crave that fruit would be born in those areas of all of our lives
that we have been holding on to...
that we have had walls built...
Lord, please take those walls down…
Lord, cleanse me...
Cleanse EVERY single part of me…
Bring light and your warmth upon me...
Jesus come Abide in me...
Please be merciful to me Lord, heal my soul…
Fill every room… I invite you into every part of me…
Baptize me freshly and cleanse every part of me…
From the top of my heads to the bottom of my feet…
Fill me with the Holy Spirit...
Lord, I love You… I thank You for the time this morning to join as women...
In Your Almighty Name ~ Jesus ~ Amen
If any of you need or want prayer or have any questions…
you are more than welcome to come up and have one of the ladies here pray for you…
SONG DURING PRAYER...
Okay, this is going to wrap up our first session…
Please come in and join us in some Mexican Food… Sal Picone… and deserts...
We will begin our next session at 12:05?? with Maggie.
Let us go ahead and bless the food…
Lord, we thank You again for this time of fellowship together.
allow our fellowship to glorify You…
Please bless the food that we are about to have together...
Bless this time… In Your Holy and Precious Name… Amen…