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The Vinedresser

The Name Series
Abiding In His Name
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)

"I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch IN ME that does not bear fruit the Father takes away and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you. 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. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. IF you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples." John 15:1-8

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." John 14:23-24

The passage from John 15:1-8 (click on the highlighted words to view content) makes a declaration of some really powerful stuff. Think about it - if we abide in Yeshua, whatever we ask in His Name will be done for us by the Father. But, at the same time He tells us that every branch IN HIM (Yeshua) that does not bear fruit is taken away by the Father. How is it possible to be IN HIM and, yet, not abide in Him - and what is the difference? Are you getting everything you are asking for? If not, then is it possible to ask in His Name, see things being done and still be rejected? Since it is the Father, YHVH, Who answers whatever requests are being made in Yeshua's Name - is the outcome of those requests saying something about whose name we are actually abiding in?

Were you aware that the phrase "the simplicity of the gospel" does not exist in scripture? The Greek word translated as "simplicity" in 2Corinthians 11:3 is haplotes which means mental honesty. It does not mean to remain ignorant of the Truth simply because it might conflict with what we have come to believe or require more effort to explore. Words mean things. It is in these words that we have been given the keys to unlock a Power unlike none other. If we are to understand these words clearly enough that they may be utilized in and through our lives as they are in His, we must lay aside any preconceived ideas we may have formulated about them and look at the words based solely on the merit of what they say and what they mean - not assuming they imply something else. (see Arrows of Famine).

"A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruit. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy In Your Name, and cast out demons In Your Name, and do many mighty works In Your Name?' And then will I declare to them, I never knew you depart from Me, you workers of lawLESSness'." Yeshua in Matthew 7:18-23

Vine and Branches
Clearly, there is a distinct difference made between "fruit" and "mighty works" in this passage from Matthew 7. Not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of YHVH, only those He recognizes as bearing fruit - the fruit that can only come from abiding in Him. How is that possible? How is it possible to be a branch IN HIM Who is the Vine, do "mighty works" IN HIS NAME - yet, still not come into the Kingdom of YHVH, which is the Peace and Joy found in the Righteousness of behavior cultivated through ruach ha kodesh (reading right to left is Hebrew for "the holiness of spirit") which has been used inadvertently as a substitute for the English "Holy Spirit" appearing in their bibles. This is incorrect as there is no capitalization in Hebrew; thus, there is no personification, no third person "Holy Spirit". What is the holiness of spirit? Holiness is the Nature abiding in Spirit, Who is YHVH. The holiness of spirit is something that is cultivated within an individual by that individual (Romans 14:17). What do these words say about the thousands, nay, millions; running around today DOING healing, DOING casting out of demons and DOING mighty works - all, supposedly, IN HIS NAME?

Yeshua said in Matthew 7 that what prevents entry into YHVH's Kingdom comes as a result of not "knowing" Him because of lawLESSness (from the Greek word anomia which means the condition of being without law either through ignorance or violation, contempt and violation of that law which constitutes iniquity). As seen in the previous article, to be contemptuous of something means to dispise it and to despise something means having nothing to do with it - to separate from it. Of course, the only "law" spoken of in scripture is Torah. If doing the will of the Father is the only way to gain entry to the Kingdom and doing lawLESSness is what keeps us out - can it be said that there might be some correlation between abiding by Torah and abiding in the will of the Father? So, if the only way we are to enter the Kingdom is to bear the fruit of doing the Father's will, and apart from abiding in Yeshua there can be no fruit, then what does it mean to "abide" - and what kind of "fruit" will He recognize as being righteous?

Abide is translated from the Greek word meno which means, "in reference to state or condition, to remain as one, not to become another or different". To abide in Him, then, means we are not to try to make Him become something other than Who He Says He Is. By applying this definition to His Words, then another way of looking at them becomes, "IF you remain as One in Me, and My words do not become different in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you by My Father." One of the words consistently overlooked or ignored when speaking of YHVH's Promises is the big little word "IF". It is attached to every Promise given to us by YHVH in the Book: "IF" you will do..."THEN" - the promise. Too often, the temptation is to latch onto the promise without looking at the condition that accompanies it and, as a result, we are left wondering when the promise does not come to pass. (Exodus 15:26). IF we are to abide in Yeshua "just as", in like fashion, in similar manner as Yeshua abides in the Father, the question then becomes - how did Yeshua "abide" in the Father? In the passage from John 15:10, Yeshua says, "IF you keep My Commandments, THEN you will abide in My Love, JUST AS I have kept my Father's Commandments and abide in His Love". Subsequently, from the verse in John 14 He says, "Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me." If Yeshua's words are not His but the Father's; then, to abide in Yeshua's Love "just as", in the same way, in like manner that He abided in the Father's Love IS to keep the Words of the Father. Which Words do you think He is referring to if the words He is speaking are not His but the Father's Who is the same today as He was yesterday? If we keep the Words of YHVH, we will not be lawLESS and will bear much fruit. If the definition of the word "abide" means "to remain as one, not to become another or different", then to twist His Words into meaning something different than what He says is to mean we do not "abide" in Him - we are attempting to enter the sheepfold by another Way than the Door. By the way, there are Ten Words (often mistakenly called "commandments") given to us by the Father, not just nine. To keep them "just as" Yeshua kept them does not mean we get to re-write them or explain them away (Luke 4:16). And the Commandment that says to "not commit adultery" does not have an amendment clause that says "unless he or she is really, really pretty."

"For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words? John 5:46-47

Names, like words, mean things. Naming is the act of identifying the essence of something and causing it to be as a purpose in the life of the thing or person so named. In Hebrew, the word spoken and the thing identified are identical - they cannot be separated. It is what gives the thing or person their identity. To say "God is good" is to also say "good is God" - they are the same. It is named as a purpose. Its purpose is to separate from the rest, to call apart (which is the very definition of what it means to be "holy" - the Hebrew word kodesh). Removing the name from the purpose is the same as causing it not to be
Abide
The Purpose of Yeshua is personified in the meaning of His Name, "YAH delivers (saves)." It is not Yeshua who saves. It is standing in the Present Presence of the Source of Life, the most Brilliant and Purest of Light that delivers us and sets us free from the bondages of darkness. YHVH is that Light. If we are to be immersed in the Presence of YHVH's Light and not be consumed, we must become Light. Yeshua's Purpose was manifested in pointing to YHVH as the Source of Life and showing us by the example of His Life how to stand in, how to abide in the Light by doing the will of the Father - not His Own will (John 5:30). The Essence of His Being, of that Nature, is called selfLESSness. To abide IN HIM is to abide in His Essence by taking on His Essence as our own and, thus, becoming transformed into His Essence. This is what it means to "remain as One" in Him - not making Him something different. It is in our abiding in His Essence of Selflessness that our joy is made full.

"You shall not take the name of YHVH your Elohim in vain, for YHVH will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." Exodus 20:7 - one of the Ten Words of YHVH

Contrary to the tradition handed down to us by men, the word translated as "vain" does not mean "cursing", but comes from the Hebrew word shav' and means emptiness, vanity, falsehood, worthlessness of conduct. Vanity means to be used for selfish purposes. There is a difference between an incantation and a prayer. A prayer is communication between two people that love each other. An incantation is calling upon the name of someone or something to exert their power to intervene in the affairs of another or to influence circumstance and is generally associated with sorcery. YHVH will not be mocked. Utilizing His Name to do "mighty works" that result in furthering a "ministry's" commercial gain is a selfish motivation - regardless of how traditionally popular it has become. How can that be said? It can be said because that practice is not found in the Life of Yeshua - the benchmark by which everything is measured. There was a reason why the only people Yeshua drove out of the Temple were the merchants trading in religious wares (John 2:13-16). Selfishness encompasses more than just material things, however. The desire to go our own way is a selfish motivation. The Essence of the Nature and Character of YHVH is defined in the example of Yeshua's Life of selfLESSness - choosing to do the will of the Father and, thus, bearing the Fruit of Righteousness. In John 17:4-6 Yeshua declares that He had "finished the work (purpose)" the Father had given Him because He "manifested Your (the Father's) Name." If we are the branches to His Vine of Purpose (to manifest the Name of the Father) and, as the Vine, He proclaims that the branches can do nothing apart from Him - perhaps the purpose of the branches is to do "just as", in like manner, in similar fashion as the Vine (what a concept!)? If we are to abide in His Purpose and His Name IS His Purpose, then to ask in His Name means to ask out of that place of abiding - the manifestation of the Name of the Father (see how To Be Made Manifest).

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon yourself
(your selfish wants, desires and needs)." James 4:3

Just as Light is the opposite of darkness, where the two cannot abide in the same space at the same time - selfLESSness is the opposite of lawLESSness. The Commandments of the Father were given to define the difference between the Light of Who He is and the darkness of who He is not. Each of the Ten Commandments have, at their core, the Essence of Selflessness - to look upon the things of others as being more important than the things of our own. Selflessness is not the same as "self denial" which places the focus of our actions upon ourselves. Thus, the Ten Commandments become the definition of the Nature and Character of YHVH observed in the Life of Yeshua. To abide in Yeshua's Name is to abide in the same revealed Nature and Character of the Father's Name "just as", in like manner, in similar fashion as did Yeshua (see the Law of Grace).
the Name of YHVH

...the Name of YHVH
What, then, is the Name of the Father? In Exodus 34:1-7 we are given the essence of Name of YHVH. Beginning with the Ten Words, He then proclaims Himself as "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." This passage is strikingly similar to what is found in Galatians 5:22-23 as the Fruit of the Spirit (note that it is not "fruits" - there is but One Fruit, His Spirit). If His Spirit is the same yesterday, today and forever, is it any coincidence that we are speaking of the same Spirit from both sides of the Book? (see what is the Glory In His Name). Can you see how the Purpose of Yeshua, from the meaning of His Name, "YAH saves", to the example of His Life IS the manifestation of the Essence of the Name of the Father (John 17:6) - the bearing of the Fruit of YHVH's Spirit? And, if we are to bear much fruit, it can only be in the same way He manifested that Fruit - by keeping the Words of His Father? The Words of His Father reveal the Essence of His Spirit of SelfLESSness (Matthew 16:24, Philippians 2:5-8). Apart from the Essence of the Nature and Character of the Father manifested in the Life of Yeshua, we can do nothing. Without the measurement of the standard of Life as set forth by the Commandments of the Source of Life, we are left to drift in the sea of measurements of our own making

"Whoever says 'I know Him' but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the Truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of YHVH is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Yeshua: whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked." 1John 2:4-6

Have you ever seen a fruit tree eat its own fruit? An apple tree does not reach out and begin to munch on its own apples. That fruit is there for the benefit of those passing by to enjoy - not for the tree's indulgence. The apple tree also has absolutely no pre-occupation with exporting the fruit somewhere else other than where it is grown. Fruit is cultivated and grown so that those in the space right around where that growth is taking place can enjoy the sweetness of the fruit. This is what Yeshua meant when He proclaimed: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." in Matthew 5:17. The word translated "fulfill" is pleroo and means "to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to fill to the brim."
full to the brim
...full to the brim
There is nothing in that definition that remotely lends itself to something being "done away with". When a cup is "filled to the brim" it means it is whole or complete so that nothing else can be added - it does not mean to throw the cup away, for then there would be no way to partake of what the cup holds. He showed us what it meant to liberally supply the Fruit of YHVH's Spirit expressed in the Commandments (see the Law of 100%). Most of us think we know what these words concerning the Fruit of the Spirit mean because we associate them with some feeling we have come to know about some of them - like love, joy and peace. But, every one of the facets of this single Fruit of the Spirit are actionable - meaning they are based in our choice of action. Have you ever felt self-control or longsuffering? These attributes are not based in feeling, but are things we choose to "do" - even if we don't feel like doing them. According to Yeshua's definition of "love" from verse 13 at the start of this article, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends", we begin to see that abiding in His Love means choosing to manifest His Spirit of Selflessness in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in (see what Authority we have been given in this area).

By choosing to exercise the Fruit of His Spirit in our life we become the expression of the Essence of His Name. As we ABIDE IN HIM, we BECOME HIS NAME. As we BECOME HIS NAME "love" to the unlovely; as we BECOME HIS NAME "gentle" and "kind" to those whom the world has left broken-hearted; as we BECOME HIS NAME "peace" toward those who harbor resentment; as we BECOME HIS NAME "patient" with those who exercise us; as we BECOME HIS NAME "restrained" (self-control) toward those to whom hardness and harshness have overwhelmed their life; as we BECOME HIS NAME "faithful" to the demanding and the needy; as we BECOME HIS NAME longsuffering toward those to whom excess has overtaken - we then ABIDE in the embodiment of HIS NAME. We can do none of these things apart from the Essence of His Spirit of Selflessness.
Fruit of the Tree
Once we "abide in Him", once we are "IN HIS NAME", we can then ask what we will of the Father and it will be granted to us because we are no longer asking for ourselves, but for those who are partaking of our Fruit - that becomes our joy. Our "joy becomes full" because, as we become One with Him, we see the Spirit of the Father loosed in their lives in answer to our request to set them free from the bondages of darkness by the Presence of His Light. We have yet to truly comprehend the POWER that comes from abiding in the Name of His Pure Love - the Love that covers a multitude of sin in others by laying down our life. The definition of scriptural "love" is the giving to another at cost to myself. There is only one scripture where Yeshua said He gives a NEW commandment, but it really wasn't new at all. It is found in Leviticus 19:17-18 - and was not given to the world, but to the twelve gathered with Him in John 13:34-35. Yeshua commanded that they love each other "just as", in like manner, in the same way that He first exampled toward them (1John 3:16). Everything Yeshua taught was not "brand-new" but a proper interpretation of what had come before out of the Torah. Any attempt to be In Him, to enter the Kingdom of YHVH, by any other name or any other means is fraudulent - perpetrated only by thieves and robbers. The proof of discipleship, of abiding in Yeshua is to bear the Fruit of Righteousness in which the Father is glorified. This Fruit can only be produced by abiding in His Name. To abide in Yeshua is to become as He Is in this world - the manifestation of the Name of the Father, YaHoVeH (John 10:1-10, James 3:18, 1John 4:17).
Abiding In His Name, a discussion Abiding
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: IN MY NAME they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:17-18
The Name Series
Part One: What's In A Name?
Part Two: Protection in His Name
Part Three: Abiding In His Name
Part Four: The Power In His Name
???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com. While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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