Agora Messageboard now functions as a quorum. Please click
to join as a member. We want to hear from you... A query that needs an answer,
a word to uplift the people, a statement of concern that needs prayer, a cry
for help...
God bless you...
Previous Messageboard have been archived.
Fruitfulness and Restfulness
|
"I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you.
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples."
(John 15:5,7-8).
...the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ...Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest. (Hebrew 4:1, 11) The key to a fruitlful life is to remain in our Lord Jesus Christ - the One who calls Himself the Lord of the Sabbath. I believe that for me to remain in the Lord of the Sabbath, I must enter into His Sabbath-Rest. I believe that to fall short of that Rest is to fall apart from Him. And I know that apart from Him, I can do nothing of value. I want my works to be of value. I want to lay claim on the Lord's promise of an abundant life in Him. I want to be fruitful. I therefore resolve to make every effort to enter that rest, like how Mary had wisely chosen to rest at Jesus' feet. It's amazing how the Lord has confirmed with me again and again that this is the One Needful Thing - to rest at His feet and allow Him to fill me with His Word (Luke 10: 38-42) - that He wants me to focus on for this year. It is also amazing how the Lord has blessed me with a good start for the year by granting me the privilege to bear fruits in Him and for Him, even as I learn to rest and remain in Him. At the beginning of the year, I shared with my cellgroup that I would like to share the Gospel with at least one person every week - which means that I will be sharing Christ with at least 52 different persons for the entire year (an outrageously ambitious target by my standard, I must say). Some of my cell members were concerned enough to advise me that I might be unrealistic in my target setting and as such put undue pressure on myself. I told them I would NOT strive to meet the target. Instead, I would focus on doing the One Needful Thing, and trust Him to accomplish His works through me. Guess what? Three weeks into the year 2002, and I've been given the joy to share the Good News with three different persons - all first time visitors to church who were invited by my cell members or the members of the youth group. And all three of them decided to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour! Isn't our God wonderful? All praise to our Lord, and all glory to our Father in heaven! "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) How true are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: His yoke is indeed easy and His burden light, because in Him, we receive Rest. I pray that we will do the One Needful Thing - remain in the Rest of our Lord Jesus Christ - so that we can readily take His yoke upon us, and bear fruits in Him to the glory of our Father. May you, your family and all your loved ones enjoy the Rest and the consequent Fruitfulness in Him. Blessings, keith
|
to:
Messages
Outline:
Advise & Comment by Mustard Seed, 2002, Jan 21
In His Rest by JoyGi, 2002, Jan 30
Holy Rest by Mustard Seed, 2002, Jan 30
to:
Back to Antioch's Home Page