KEEPING THE BLESSING
The blessings of the Lord have been manifold upon us both as individuals and as a church during the retreat; He has been gracious to us during the retreat. Now that the Retreat is over, you will need to keep the blessings that you have received.
He wants us to keep those blessings. Our desire and prayer is that we do not lose the blessings of God. We want these blessings to increase rather than decrease. Having experienced miracles, provision, salvation and deliverance, there is need for continuity. Having sung the song of praise, we want to keep the deliverance. Having eaten heaven's bread, we do not want to enter into a period of spiritual dryness. Appearing before God regularly in services guarantees sustained blessings and spiritual progress - from salvation to security, healing to health, deliverance to dominion, and sanctification to steadfastness, baptism of the Holy Ghost to the gifts of the Holy Ghost, miracles to signs and wonders. It will help you to move on from retreat blessings to regular blessings from the Lord.
1. FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST AND TRUE CHRISTIANS
There is a fellowship with the Father, with the Son Jesus Christ and with the true believers who have the same blessing of salvation and sonship with you. At the Retreat, you came into fellowship "with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ" through repentance. To get the abundant blessing of God in your life, you need regular fellowship with the Lord and to continue in fellowship with other believers of like precious faith. There is need for continuity in the life of a Christian. You need to abide in the Lord and to spend quality time with Him in prayer and study of His word. Sins should not be seen in your life anymore. God wants you to grow in Him. To grow in Him you must devote yourself totally to the word of God - read, meditate on, practise, preach and defend the word of God. To keep the blessings, you need (1) daily observance of quiet time every morning, (2) daily special time for deep communion with God, (3) quiet meditation on the word of God, (4) regular worship with the people of God, (5) a conscious daily walk with the Lord, (6) constant practice of taking every problem to God in prayer, (7) decision and determination to walk by faith. When you come to the presence of the Lord, you will find the fulness of joy, peace, blessing and satisfaction. You can live in such a spiritual realm where God's blessings flow continuously in your life.
2. FAMINE WITHIN THE COMPANY OF THE CHRISTLESS
Christians get into spiritual famine when they leave the company of the children of God, abandon prayer and consecration, and mix up with the christless community. The goodness and blessing of some people soon vanish "as a morning cloud, and as the early dew" because they do not continue in fellowship with the Lord. When you get mixed up with the world, your strength will be devoured. You will not be a balanced Christian. When you get so busy that there is no time to read the Bible and fellowship with the people of God, you lose the grace of God and the power of God in your life. You become polluted again after you have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. You can be so busy spiritually to the point of not being able to take care of your spiritual life. When little, little 'foxes' of lie, hypocrisy, pilfering and dishonesty come into your life unchecked, those things take you back into the world. The careless, prayerless life separates himself from the source of the living waters. He lives without joy or freshness. There is spiritual dryness as the refreshing presence of Christ is withdrawn from him. He becomes a shallow shell without the divine unction and treasure coming from heaven. He remembers the days of blessings and a dream that are gone. In vain, he seeks the presence of the Lord but he cannot find. The people that do not continue in fellowship with the Lord and the saints do enter into an experience of spiritual wilderness, famine and dryness. To escape such experience, you must forsake the christless and come to true fellowship with true Christians.
3. FLOURISHING WITH CHRISTLIKE CONVICTION AND COMPASSION
To flourish, you need Christlike conviction and compassion. "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord…" are those who are consistently abiding in the Lord and in fellowship. To flourish in the house of the Lord, you need to allow the word of God to abide in you, to dwell in you richly. If growing in grace were not possible, He would not have commanded it. Whatever levels you are at present, there is more from the presence of God. Our passage talks of a flourishing tree, flourishing Christian, fulness of grace and joy and a faithful life. In Christ, there is abundance and fulness. To flourish in the blessings of the Lord (i) we must follow Christ fully and live like Him. (ii) We must maintain a firm conviction based on Scripture and live daily to glorify God. (iii) We must be characterised by the compassion of Christ (Proverbs 11:25). The key to the flourishing life is being Christlike - righteous, kind, caring, loving, forgiving, humble and patient, merciful and compassionate, obedient and faithful unto God. A Christian with constant conviction will experience God's abiding presence and continuing blessing. If you are a faithful and fellowshipping Christian, then you will be fruitful and flourishing.
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