Rain, Rain, Come again!

By -
"By this My Father is glorified, that you may bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (Jn 15:8) 

In response to the rain the field must bring forth fruit. Rain is from above. God pours His blessing on us so we may be fruitful to Him. We must be productive to avoid backsliding. The rain typifies God's Spirit, God's Word and God's Grace. Let's briefly study the expected response from us on the receipt of each of these blessings.

 God's Spirit is rain. This demands a twofold response. First our character. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22,23). The Holy Spirit is out-poured on us that we may bring forth these fruits. If instead we still continue to be manifesting "the works of the flesh" (Gal 5:19-21), we are bearing "thorns and briers" only. Every effort must be taken by us to cooperate with the Spirit to produce in us a Christlike character, manifesting thro' love, joy, peace, etc. The second purpose of the rain of God's Spirit on us is to make us faithful and powerful witnesses of Christ (Acts 1:8; 2:17). After receiving the Holy Spirit, if a Christian is idle and slothful and indifferent towards the furtherance of the Gospel, he has received God's rain in vain.

 Next, God's Word is rain (Dt 32:1,2). Our response to God's Word must be the increase of faith. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom 10:17). If, in spite of repeated hearing of God's Word, we are still in unbelief, we are only producing thorns and briers. The Word of God is also to produce growth in us. "Desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Pet 2:2). It is not uncommon to see believers who attend every Church service and convention and listen to every sermon, but who never grow. Obviously they are not applying the truths in their life. Only a "doer of the Word" is blessed (Js 1:23-25).

 Thirdly, rain typifies God's grace. "I will pour... the Spirit of grace..." (Zech 12:10a). God's grace has come to us in all fullness through Jesus Christ (Jn 1:16,17). Because we are under grace, sin shall not have dominion over us (Rom 6:14). Our responsibility is to lean completely on the grace of the Lord and say no to every temptation from the evil one. The negative response to the shower of God's grace on us is to continue in sin taking advantage of God's forgiving grace (Rom 6:15).

God is freely pouring out His rain on us. The Spirit without measure! The Word in plenty! His grace in abundance! Our positive response prevents us from backsliding.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pride of Self-righteousness

By -
Luke 18 (NKJV) 10  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   11  The Pharisee   stood and prayed thus with himself,   ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.   12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’   13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise  his  eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’   14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified  rather  than the other;   for everyone who exalts himself will be   [ a ] humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” God despises proud. And we immediately think ah! I don't have pride. I am not proud of the Blessings I have received like materialistic stuff or personal or family achievements but I give Glory to God in all those instances.  Well, little do we realize we have a much bigger and worser form of pride - pri
Read more

Humblest the Greatest!

By -
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (Js 4:6) William Carey (1761-1834) who came to India as a missionary and translated the Bible into many Indian languages had earned much respect among the learned men and high officials of the City of Calcutta. He was quite influential too. Once he was invited by the Governor General of India for a dinner. One of the guests, referring to Carey, said to another, "Isn't this Carey a shoemaker?" Carey turned around and said to him, "No, Sir! I am just a cobbler!" Almost everyone desires he must be more eminent than others— more distinguished in stature — more important in leadership — more honourable in social status. Even the disciples of Jesus were not an exemption. Once they debated among themselves, "Who is the greatest?" (Lk 22:24). "The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves," said Jesus (v26). Wasn't His motto, &qu
Read more

Fast becomes Feast!

By -
"I have heard your prayers; I have seen your tears" (Isa 38:5) For Esther and her friends, fasting was a preparation for intercession before the King. Imagine a "queen" and her maids fasting for three days! The Lord granted her an unusual courage. She declared, "If I perish, I perish!" (Esth 4:l6). Days of mourning gave birth to days of merrymaking. The King granted her request. So the Jews had "light and gladness, joy and honour" (8:16). How can we have laughing without ever weeping, dancing without ever mourning? (Eccl 3:4). Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Mt 5:4). The King of Niniveh commanded men as well as beasts to fast and cry to God for mercy. God was pleased with what they did and He withdrew His judgment (Jon 3:7-10). The Sword of Damocles is hanging over our cities and towns. Sin is rampant and judgment imminent. Humbling in repentance and prayer alone can avert the disaster.
Read more