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Together We Can Do More

7 Dec2015 CWH SinglePg// Craig W. Hagin

MY FAMILY AND I have always been huge auto racing fans. I got my love for racing from my dad. And that love has been passed down to my sons. One of the races we like to watch is the Daytona 500.

Something you always see in a NASCAR race is drafting. That's when the cars speed down the raceway single file, and the trailing cars are within inches of the front car's rear bumper.

When the cars are lined up in this nose-to-tail formation, the front car creates a draft, which acts like a vacuum for the trailing cars. Since the cars are so close, the draft reduces air turbulence. The result: As long as the cars stay in the pack, they'll fly down the speedway faster than they would if each car was in its own lane.

The same thing will happen for Christians when we stay hooked up with God and each other. Take a look at what Jesus said.

JOHN 15:4–7 (NKJV)
4 "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.
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.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. . . .
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

From this passage of scripture, we see the importance of knowing who we are in Christ. In Christ we can do all things. Without Him, we can't do anything. Jesus told us to abide in Him and His Word. If we don't, according to verse 6, we'll wither away.

I've noticed that sometimes Christians haven't gotten away from the Word of God, but they've gotten away from their branch. For us, our branch is the word of faith camp.

I believe when Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches," He put the word of faith camp on one branch and other camps on different branches. That's not to say we shouldn't fellowship with anyone outside our camp. There's nothing wrong with that. But there's just something about getting together with people of like-minded faith. There's a camaraderie we have in our camp that we don't have with others.

Everyone needs encouragement at one time or another. What better way to get built up than to come back home to those who love you? In Acts chapter 4, when Peter and John faced opposition, they returned "to their own company" (v. 23) to get the support they needed.
I believe this also applies to us today. In these last days, we need to come together and be a united branch.

Some people want to do their own thing. They've pulled away from their branch and are trying to run alone. But God didn't place anyone in a certain branch so they could go off and do something else.

When we abandon our branch, we not only harm ourselves, we also harm others because we're all running together. We may not be running the same race, but we're all going in the same direction. Together, everyone achieves more.

In car racing, drivers sometimes "bump draft." This is when the driver of a car bumps the car in front of him.

Spiritually speaking, this is when people get behind you and push you forward. They lift you up when you're discouraged. They encourage you to keep going when you want to quit. They help you get through the rough places.

No one should be running alone or with the wrong camp. Today is the day to be united with the branch God called us to and stand with those of like faith. When we run closely with others in our branch, the spiritual draft will enable us to go faster and farther than we ever could on our own.