For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
Before
you can even think of a green leaf you need a tree. Before you can even think
of a tree you need a seed. It all starts from a single, simple seed! A seed is
a powerful object! It has within it the potential, given the right conditions,
to produce a multitude more of itself in fruit.
"Drought is an
extended period when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply whether
surface or underground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be
declared after as few as 15 days. Generally, this occurs when a region receives
consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on
the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can
persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant
damage and harm the local economy. (Wikipedia)
The most common form
of drought is a lack of water vapor in the atmosphere, which is responsible for
precipitation. A lack of moisture in the air causes wildfires that can damage
communities and food supplies, ruin forests, or harm people and animals.
In the United States,
droughts can have major impact on agriculture, recreation and tourism, water
supply, energy production, and transportation.
Drought
is referred to as the Creeping Disaster
"Although drought
has several definitions, the central element in these definitions is water
deficit. In general, drought is defined as an extended period – a season, a
year, or several years – of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical multi-year
average for a region.
Drought is a gradual
phenomenon, slowly taking hold of an area and tightening its grip with time. In
severe cases, drought can last for many years, and can have devastating effects
on agriculture and water supplies."
It’s also possible for
believers to experience spiritual drought in their lives. Such a drought
manifests itself in:
1. Personal Drought
2. Family Drought
3. Church Drought
- When such a spiritual drought is experienced those affected are cut off from the refreshing flow of the Holy Ghost power!
- The enemy cannot block God from releasing His power but he can effectively stop you from receiving by various devious means thus creating a spiritual drought in your life!
- If we want to bring a spiritual awakening and refreshing into this world we need to take care of, and attend to these droughts!
We can usually detect
several tell tale signs when a spiritual drought sets in:
1. Sometimes it seems like there is no end in
sight to the physical problems facing you
2. You appear to have lost the enjoyment of doing
what you normally do for a living
3. It seems as if the bills are coming in warp
speed while money to pay them struggles home through molasses.
4. You find that in your marriage you are just
staying together for the sake of the children and not because you love each
other
5. Church attendance is either by form and habit
or on the other end it screeches to an all time low.
During a drought a few
years ago it was so bad someone published this request online: “Please pray for
rain: "It’s so dry in Tennessee that the Baptists are starting to baptize
by sprinkling; the Methodists are using wet-wipes; the Presbyterians are giving
out rain-checks; and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into
water.”
Many of us are
experiencing dryness because so many times we are putting so many other things
before God Who made it specifically clear that we should seek Him first.
Just as regular Drought
is referred to as the Creeping Disaster so sometimes this spiritual
dryness creeps up unaware, on us because we are so busy, so involved, so
engrossed so preoccupied that we fail to wait for His Refreshing and try to run
on our own.
- The enemy seeks to destroy the church of Jesus Christ and he approaches this in subtle ways.
- The devil infiltrates minds, families and churches seeking to distract believers from their purpose and the real reason for the church.
- People are tempted and encouraged to become distracted and involved in everything else except God.
- People are drawn away from prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, fellowship and enmeshed in anything that will distract.
- By distracting, deceiving and diverting the church from its mission the enemy promotes spiritual drought in lives. As a result when he launches his frontal assault the weakened church is incapable of being the standard it’s supposed to be.
A classic example of
distraction, diversion and declination is seen in the days of the prophet
Haggai:
Then
came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O
ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore
thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring
in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth
wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider
your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I
will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked
for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow
upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and
ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed
from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought
upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new
wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon
men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. Haggai 1:3-11 KJV
According to Haggai
why did God call a for drought on the land?
Spurgeon is one of his
sermons said:
“When spiritual rain
is absent
1. Ministers are allowed to preach, but are
without power.
2. Ordinances are celebrated, but without the
benediction of the Lord.
3. Assemblies gather, but the Lord is not in the
midst.
4. The Word is read, but with no application to
the heart.
5. Formality of prayer is kept up, but there is
no pleading with God.
6. The Holy Ghost is restrained, and grieved.”
He continues:
1. No conversions takes place, for these are by
the Spirit.
2. No restorations of backsliders. Withered
plants are not revived when there is no rain.
3. No refreshing of the weary: comfort and
strength come not except by the dew of heaven.
4. No spiritual activities. Lukewarmness reigns
through routine unto death. The workers move like persons walking in their
sleep.
5. No holy joys, delights, triumphs.
A parched season
spiritually has its own signs in the individual:
1. The soul experiences no benefit under the
Word.
2. The man feels glutted with the gospel, and
wearied with it.
3. He begins to criticize, carp, cavil, and
despise the Word.
4. Soon he is apt to neglect the hearing of it.
5. Or he hears and perverts the Word, either to
boasting, to ridicule, to controversy, or to ill-living.”
The tree whose roots
reach deep down to underground streams will maintain green leaves during the
driest seasons of life. Roots are naturally geotropic and hydrotropic meaning
they tend to go deeper and gravitate towards moisture.
Spiritual drought can
be prevented by sinking our roots deep into the Spirit anointed Word of God. If
there are barriers in the way the roots will be prevented from making progress
vital to the life of the plant. We urgently need to reach right up into the
throne room of God and hold on till it rains a spiritual refreshing into our
lives.
Droughts are caused by
lack of water. Spiritual droughts are caused by lack of spiritual rain...what
causes lack of spiritual rain in our lives? What's spiritual rain?
Some People Feel the Rain While Others Just
Get Wet.
The hearer sometimes complains
that there is no food for his soul; when the truth is that there is no soul for
the food.—Joseph Parker
The Bible remedy for
spiritual refreshing:
Sow
to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for
it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon
you. Hosea 10:12 KJV
If
I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour
the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 KJV
If all the sleeping
folk will wake up,
If all the lukewarm folk
will fire up,
If all the dishonest
folk will confess up,
If all the disgruntled
folk will cheer up,
If all the depressed
folk will cheer up,
If all the estranged
folk will make up,
If all the gossipers
will shut up,
If all true soldiers
will stand up,
If all the dry bones
will shake up,
If all the church
members will pray up...
Then we can have a
revival! - R.G. Lee
On preventing
spiritual drought Spurgeon said: Let us humbly use the means without putting
our trust in them, and then let us:
1. Confess our unworthiness. The Lord might
justly have withheld his grace from us.
2. Acknowledge our dependence upon the heavenly
showers of spiritual influence.
3. Pray incessantly, till, like Elijah, we bring
down the rain.
4. Look alone to Jesus. "He shall come down
like rain."
5. Value the least sign of grace, watching for it
as the prophet did from the top of Carmel, till he saw the little cloud arise
from the sea.
6. Use the blessing more diligently when it
returns, bringing forth fruit to God.
Let this act as an
incentive to gratitude to those who are wet with showers of blessing. And as a
warning to those who are losing their interest in the gatherings of the
Sabbath.
No comments:
Post a Comment