NOW THAT THE SOULS HAVE BEEN WON, THE ACTUAL WORK JUST BEGAN: KEEP ON INVESTING TO SEE THEM ESTABLISHED IN CHURCH FOR THEIR PRESERVATION
-Pastor (Mrs) Faith Oyedepo at CHoP
- Giving birth to spiritual children without giving them a home where they belong is like leaving them like homeless children.
- If they are not brought into Church, then they are left homeless.
- There is a thick and heavy prophetic covering over every member in the Church.
Father, today again, we have come to give You thanks for the gift of life. For waking us up this morning and giving us the privilege to be alive, we are grateful.
Accept our thanks in Jesus name. Thank You for these wonderful testimonies, we pray they shall be permanent, no reversal. Anyone tapping to any of these testimonies, let their own also be established.
Thank You for answered prayers both corporately and personally, accept our thanksgiving. Now are our hearts are opened, speak to us again, change our story again and let your name be glorified. In Jesus mighty name we have prayed.
All through this week in our Covenant Hour of Prayer, the subject we are looking at is captioned:
WHY MUST WE BE COMMITTED TO THE INGATHERING OF SOULS INTO CHURCH?
John 15:16
Say with me, “your fruit should remain.”
Say, “My fruit shall remain.”
God’s Word makes it very clear:
- We go out to bear fruits, but it doesn’t end there: our fruit should remain.
We must understand first and foremost this morning, we must be committed to the ingathering of souls into Church for the preservation of our new converts. For their preservation. It is one thing to bear fruits, it is another thing for our fruit to be preserved.
-Our fruits shall not be lost in Jesus name.
Very, very simple illustration, you get your farm produce home, from the market, from the farm or wherever, it is a very well-known fact and I have come to understand this much more clearly as a woman. When you bring in your farm produce that is actually when the real work starts. Probably you spent 1, 2, 3, 4 hours in the market to get your farm produce, but when you get home, you now sit down:
First, cleansing – you put your produce together and ensure they are properly cleaned. The kind of produce you have brought home to a large extent determines the kind of cleansing you have to do. You wash with water, some you have to go beyond washing with water, you might have to apply probably some sponge or something.
For some other produce, you have to go beyond that you might need to get some cleansing agent, probably like vinegar. For some, you have to add baking soda because of the amount of dirt that is in your produce, before your produce is clean.
It is the same thing with our converts.
You don’t know the amount of dirt and that has gone into their lives, into their minds, into their thought pattern, into their attitude, into their way of life, into their behaviour, into their actions, but when they are brought into Church; cleansing by the Word of God begins and then sanctification comes in and then they are able to lay hold on their inheritance which is in Christ Jesus. But with your farm produce at home, it doesn’t end with cleansing.
After cleaning, you don’t leave it on the counter. If not, you will come few days later and everything is spoilt. After cleaning, you go a step further, you have to package. For some you have to put in your fridge, for some you have to put in your freezer.
Even when you put them in the fridge, you have to keep checking over and again. If not, you keep some of your farm produce in your fridge, come back 2weeks later, they are rotten, they are spoilt. It’s the same thing with our new converts.
Remember the word, ‘preservation’ simply means to treat something, to avoid damage; treatment to avoid damage.
When we are talking about the preservation of our new converts, we are talking about ensuring that their destiny is not damaged, they are given the right treatment. That is why, for example, in this Commission, we have different months with different focus. For example, this month, we are looking at Divine Direction.
Another month, it might be ‘Holy Spirit’. Another month, it might be ‘Praise and Thanksgiving’ to make sure there is comprehensive treatment to avoid damage and that is what has helped each and everyone of us to this point.
If you listened to the testimonies we heard this morning, the second testifier said, “a new chapter opened in his/her life.”
Why? He was committed to putting to work the things he was hearing upon this altar. So very importantly, we must be committed to the ingathering of our new converts into Church for the preservation of their destiny and as you do that, remember God is recording and God will reward.
-Your reward shall not be lost in Jesus name.
The Church is the appointed spiritual home for every believer.
Remember the other time we talked about ensuring that you are not just giving birth to homeless children. If they are not brought into Church, then they are left on the field roaming around homelessly.
-That will not be our portion in Jesus name.
Last Sunday, we saw one of us came to Church with 9 powerful young men that were once homeless: both physically and spiritually, but now restored.
How many of us remember that testimony last Sunday?
How grateful and happy and excited I was to see those people, those young men, march like soldiers of Christ, up on the altar, rescued from homelessness.
Think about that deeply, it is the same thing with the work of the Spirit, giving birth to spiritual children without giving them a home where they belong is like leaving them like homeless children.
-None of us will breed homeless children in Jesus name.
Ephesians 2:19, Luke 15:3-6
God has appointed a spiritual home for everyone of them and God requires us to team up with Him to get each of these people into their own spiritual home and as that is done, their destiny is preserved and then their testimony established.
Again, this morning, remember the first testifier said he came in and heard, “if you abide 3 months and you don’t see the changes then you are free to go.”
Why are we bold to make that declaration in this Church? Because you cannot stay in your own home and be preserved and still wander away. Then you saw the catalogue of testimonies that the testifier this morning had (documented testimony).
-This morning, as you continue to bring souls and you get committed much more to bringing and gathering souls into the Kingdom, your own testimony shall be established.
Next is the fact that the Church is ordained for a covering for our new converts against all assaults of the wicked one. In a home, you have the physical covering, but beyond that you have other forms of covering.
2 Samuel 7:10
Remember, God’s Word makes it very clear, the whole world lieth in wickedness but when they are planted in the house of God, there is a covering over their heads -1 John 5:19.
Without any doubt in this family, there is a thick and heavy prophetic covering over every member of this Church and when they are brought in, that covering is extended to them.
-In your own life as well, I see that covering speaking louder than ever before.
Finally, very importantly, the redeemed must be planted in the Church to secure their glorious destiny.
Say with me, “planted.”
Psalm 92:12-15
“Those that be PLANTED in the HOUSE of the LORD shall FLOURISH in the courts of our God.”
When you are planted in the house of God, you flourish.
When you are planted in the house of God, you are bound to flourish. Therefore, as you get committed to bringing in souls into the Kingdom for their establishment, they are planted and beyond that, they flourish. When they are planted and flourish, they go forth and bring more fruits.
-And as you get committed therefore, you also will not only be planted, even in old age, like the Bible says, you continue to bring in more fruits and your fruits shall continue to abide in Jesus name,
WHAT IS IN ALL THIS FOR ME?
Very importantly, remember:
Hebrews 6:10
Say with me, “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love”
God is not unrighteous; God is recording and He will reward.
So keep on investing labour because now that ‘Operation By All Means’ is over, the work is actually just beginning.
Only yesterday I was telling the people on my Outreach team, “now the outreach is over , but the work is just starting”; because in the natural, after every battle, every war, the natural thing to do is to put down your tools and begin to relax, “Ohh, now time is over”.
No, it is now that the actual work is beginning:
Making rigorous telephone calls
Making visits.
Sending text messages.
Wake up calls, prayers and the rest of it; mentioning the names of your converts.
If they are too many for you to call one by one: one of the things we do, we print out the names, put them down and then we lay hands on them, pray over them.
Put to work all of the spiritual weapons you have been taught.
Remember God is recording and your reward shall not be lost.
-In this season you will not miss your reward.
Prayers: Receive grace for greater commitment to bring in souls into Church. Receive that grace right now. Your labour shall not be lost.
Grace to continue to labour until they are established in the house of God, receive it in Jesus name.
Let God hear your voice right now as you pray.g