Pastor Edwin Michael, a minister of the Elim Pentecostal Churches, United Kingdom, has entreated believers to abide in the presence of God and His basic message.

Speaking on the subject, “Abiding in Christ,” on the second day of the 43rd General Council Meetings of The Church of Pentecost at the Pentecost Convention Centre, Gomoa Fetteh, Pastor Edwin Michael admonished all to yearn to have a close relationship with Christ.

Reading from John 15:1, he said that the Parable of the Vineyard is an extreme passage for believers and churches and for that reason the branches which represented the church must be attached to the vineyard (Jesus Christ) if they want to bear fruits.

“The Holy Spirit says something like this to get our attention as believers. As believers and branches, we have the privilege in life with Christ. He cleanses us and purifies us,” he stated.

Pastor Michael further said that along with the privileges in the life of Christ is to abide in Him, persevere and be true to all people.

“God wants us to be upholding and enjoying our relationship with Jesus. He is calling us to prioritize our relationship with Him and remain in Him with a strong fellowship,” he reiterated.

He added that God wants believers to keep His commands and be build a close relationship with Him by staying in Him.
“There’s no substitute for obedience than abiding. Hard work and sacrifice cannot be a substitute for obedience and abiding in Christ,” Pastor Michael stressed as he explained the reason for Jesus choosing the parable.

“Jesus is the lifter of our heads and He wants to lift us up and be fruitful as His own. Jesus is our source and we need to stay rooted in Christ and all secondary roots must be avoided since they are very dangerous,” he admonished.

Pastor Edwin Michael gave evidence of what abiding in Christ can bring to the believer such as becoming fruitful and prospers.

“God is more interested in what we are before Him than what we do for Him. He is looking for fruits in our lives. God has called us to be fruitful and our responsibility is to abide and stay close to Jesus,” he said, adding, “Branches in the vine don’t struggle to bear fruits. God has ordained us, purposed us and set us apart to be fruitful and if He doesn’t get through us, He will get to us,” he revealed.

He also said that by abiding in Christ, Christians will have their prayers answered every time.

“When we abide, we pray according to His will and our prayers are answered. God is a God who answers prayers and when we pray we are linked to the unlimited God. The God of heaven gives us invitation to His sovereign will. Prayer is still the greatest untapped resource in the universe,” he said.

He finally said that joy is another evidence of abiding in Christ. The devil comes to steal our joy by bringing issues and problems our away. With reference to John 17:13, he said that Jesus prayed that His joy must be fulfilled in humanity.

“Salvation and forgiveness will take us to heaven but the life of abiding and obedience will bring the Father to abide in us. There is still so much to be done and God is looking for men who will abide in Christ,” he said.

The Elim Pentecostal Churches, UK is a sister church of The Church of Pentecost.

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