"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
John 10:10 NKJV
An encounter with the Living God changes you. There is a divergence to your reality; you can't see things the same way. This is especially true when the encounter includes deliverance. Think of life before you met Jesus. Think of life with Jesus, but before the encounter. There is power in an encounter with the Living God! You cannot walk away from an encounter and be the same.
There is power in the experience of a conference, a Spirit filled church service, or a powerful prayer meeting. But what is your life like on Monday? When the music isn't loud, and you aren't around people in a corporate worship setting going hard after God, what is happening in your heart? God gives us these corporate experiences to refuel us on this journey with Him. The other side of that is that it turns into just a nice entry in your journal and it doesn't lead to a changed lifestyle.
As we move into these last days, are we living from service to service, or are we living day to day in the Presence of the Lord? The Bible very clearly states the importance of meeting together as in Acts 2:42, "and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers." However, be careful saints. Now is not the time to survive on the corporate experiences. The world is in such need of the hope that only Jesus brings. There is so much negative thinking about God in the world. There are those who say that He doesn't exist. There are those that think people who believe in Him are crazy; His Name is used in jokes and rude comments. Frequently His Name is a statement of anger or frustration. Oh, if they only knew the power of the Name of Jesus!
As we read in John 10:10, "the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy - but Christ came so that we may have life more abundantly." The abundant life is found in the abiding. We must abide in the Spirit in order to have access to the abundance that Jesus offers. We must purposefully enter into a posture of abiding. Do not get seduced into thinking that you can survive on the corporate experience! The level of warfare that is here and that is coming will only be defeated by those who live a life of abiding!
This can't be stressed enough. You will not survive what is coming unless you nurture a lifestyle of abiding in the Presence of the Most High God. How do you do this? Be intentional. Whether you feel like it or not, we must set time aside to be with God - daily. Yes, we walk with Him throughout the day. Yes, we pray without ceasing. But we must build up our reserve in the good times so we have something to draw from in the bad times.
Encounter changes you. Experience refuels you. But, abiding is what leads to abundance. We must keep oil in our lamps and wood on the altar. The ability to endure comes with the desire to abide. When you taste and see that the Lord is good, you don't want to sit at another table. Even though the Lord never changes, we are always learning new things about His nature. There is always more, saints! If you are bored with Christianity, take a look at yourself. Where is your hunger? Where is your obedience? Take an inventory of how you spend your time. Are you guarding your ear gates and your eye gates? Are you intentional about renewing your mind daily? The abundant life that Jesus offers comes through abiding in His Presence. It is His promise - there is no safer, more fulfilling place to be!
