CHRISTIAN SEEK NOT YET REPOSE

There is this hymn we usually sing in the Christendom.

Although sometimes, I sing some songs without paying attention to the lyrics, this particular Sunday July 10, 2022 after church service while having my daily devotion(quiet time), I decided to check the meaning of a key word I saw in the hymn and I was glad I did.

Normally, there are sets of hymns to sing from for the month in the book I use for my daily devotion out of which you pick one and sing before starting the devotion proper.

The title of that hymn was "Christian seek not yet repose." I was happy I came across this because this was around a time where I had become inconsistent in some areas especially that of my praying time.

Before I proceed, let's look at an excerpt from a writeup by Jimmy:
"We are living in the fastest moving, most turbulent, disruptive and unpredictable time in all of human history. This kind of rapid change often causes people to become distracted, unsure, insecure and unmotivated. As a result, they just slow down, sit around and accomplish very little."

A lot of "fires" have been extinguished and 'lamps' put out.

A lot of "lights" have grown dim and a lot of "salts" lost their taste.

A lot of "eagles" have also been reduced to "chickens".

This is so, because repose was sought for early.

Repose simply means to rest or sleep.

I want you to understand that we are not merely tying this topic to physical sleep or rest as it is more deeper than that.

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to understand that even our physical sleep have the ability to affect our spiritual lives.

The Bible says the end of a thing is better than the beginning (Ecclesiastes7.8) but have you ever wondered why for some persons the initial zeal of starting a new course is reduced to zero or almost zero as he or she progresses and towards the end of the course?

Have you ever wondered why one has a lot of vigour in trying new stuff for the first time and at the long run, the morale is very low looking as if he never once had that vigour?

Have you ever wondered why a lot who were on fire for God when they newly received Christ, now on the long run tread the pathway of darkness looking for light when what should be done is just to allow their lights shine?

One thing we must come to understand is that it is easy to want to start something or even begin a thing but it will take a lot of the Spirit's help, patience(which is among His fruit), and the body's cooperation to continue and eventually finish it.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit (pride).
Ecclesiastes 7:8 AMP

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:1 AMP

The body is structured in such a way that it loves rest, enjoyment, a stress free and work free life. It revolts against anything that seems to take these things out of its way and will only succumb if there is a greater force that supersedes its cravings.

Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

There is a work, a purpose, a reason why God dropped us here(on earth) a summary of which is to love, worship, and serve Him with all we are and with all we've got.

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV

God the creator of the universe did not seek repose until all have been created.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Rest or sleep itself is more enjoyable when the task or work has been completed.
Have you noticed how happy to rest and "flex" you'd be or how happy you'd be to relax and just watch a movie when you have completed your task, plan, or goal for that day?

The process might be tasking and if repose is not sought, the results will be comforting and you'd be able to enjoy the rest that comes afterwards with your 'full chest'.

However, if one chooses to go with the reverse, then he could be likened to the unprofitable servant in scriptures.(Luke 19.12-27)

Before you continue please say this prayer:
''Lord, I know there's work to be done. You have committed things into my hands and trusted me with them. Help me not to miss it by resting too early. Help me to finish my curriculum, to finish my course to apply Your Word, so that at the end of the age, I will be able to say like Jesus, It is finished. Thank you Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.''

The unprofitable servant sought repose in that while the other servants engaged their talents, he buried his own. He did not want to work.(Matt.25.18)

The other servants worked with theirs and it yielded an 100% increase. (the talents in itself had the ability to multiply itself, the servants only needed to engage and trade with it).

When the master would return and everyone was to account, all brought increase except the unprofitable servant who was cast out into darkness. The rest were welcomed into the joy of the Lord.

What can be more sweet when we have achieved God's goal and work for our lives and are now offered into His rest.

What can be more sweet when we do not seek repose yet because we do not need to seek it as it will come after all has been said and done.

However, what can be more devastating when rest and a 'shorter route' to 'freedom' is sought for instead of channelling this strength and energy into doing the work that Abba has committed into your hands. And then when you are suppose to get a rest, a teeth gnashing reward is earned.

Luke 19:13
And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

Self examination questions to answer so as to check if repose is what is being sought for

1. Am I still consistent with my daily devotion; quiet time?

2. Is mammon now becoming my god?

3. Do I still follow my 'set time' for fellowship, my times of meditation or my hour of prayer?

4. Is sleeping and slumbering becoming the order of my day?

5. Do I feel tired and agitated anytime the things of God are engaged in or being done?

6. Can I still pray for at least an hour on my own?

7. Do I have a new job where its descriptions are worry, fear and anxiety?

8. Do I enjoy the company of the ungodly, 'gisting' and whiling away time?

9. Do I hate to stay or feel uncomfortable in the company of believers.

10. Does prayer time now irritates me?

11. Do I overeat and oversleep because I want to avoid the nudging, and the cry of works yet undone?

12. Do I distract myself by myself to injure myself by myself?

What then can be done for a life to live in accordance to the words: CHRISTIAN SEEK NOT YET REPOSE?

1. Watch and Pray
2. Work garnished faith.
3. Engage grace.
4. Wear the whole armour of God.
5. Encourage yourself in the Lord.

1. Watch and pray
one way to actually learn how to do a thing is to actually do the thing.

Someone said "It is in praying you receive more grace to pray, it is in Bible study that you receive more grace to study, it is in fasting that you receive more grace to fast.

In addition to the above, one way to unlearn an habit is to do the exact opposite of what has always been done. You can't expect a different result if you keep on doing it the way you have always done it.

From the above we can infer that if one is not sleeping he is watching.

And how do we watch; through prayers and meditation.

"Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Mark 14:38 AMP
From this scripture, we can see that our willing spirits have the power to influence our weak bodies if we can watch and pray.
Here we see a way of escape to the temptation of seeking repose which is: WATCHING AND PRAYING.

At the time when the death of Jesus on the cross was close, He took Peter, James and John with Him to mount Olives so as to watch and pray with Him.

His body was acting up when He said if only this cup can pass from me but then He overcame the temptation to seek repose by praying; "Father not my will but thy will be done".

Matthew 26:36-44 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

In the body of Christ in the days of the apostles, they had "watch hours", times of prayer. In scriptures, you would see something like in the 6th hour(12pm), in the 9th hour(3pm) etcetera.

You could decide to set aside a particular number of minutes where you'd pray and commune using any or all of the ''watch hours''. Of course you could also set aside your own time.

But the idea is prayer shouldn't be confined to when we wake up and when we go to bed only. It is how we watch so we should be able to do it without ceasing.

Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 AMP

The enemy of our soul is seeking whom to devour we need not slack so we don't fall. Remember Eutychus.

Acts 20:9, 12 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

2. Add works to your faith
Just having faith about something and not adding works is another form of repose.

James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Use all you have at your disposal, write down your plans, set reminders and alarms, utilize your google calendar, make good use of your 'better today' app, and other useful tools, be accountable and disciplined. Don't leave that which God has dropped in your mind at the level of the mind. Work it out. You have His Spirit and since He's the one that supplied the idea and you have the faith, He can also accomplish the task through you. Only yield!

3. Engage grace

2 Corinthians 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The grace of God is always sufficient. My question for you will be: are you engaging the grace of God?

2 Corinthians 6:1 (KJV) We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

Working together with Him, we strongly urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain [by turning away from sound doctrine and His merciful kindness].
2 Corinthians 6:1 AMP

Maud Boadu wrote:
"After Jesus blessed five loaves and 2 fishes, it still didn't look like it could serve 5,000 men until they started to serve it. Anytime God gives us a task, He increases our capacity to fulfill it but we will not know this new version of ourselves until we attempt the task."
See Mark 6.34-44

Also, when Jesus was to pay the temple tax and He told Peter to take up the first fish that comes up from the sea, he didn't ask Jesus how can the mouth of a fish have 'money' in its mouth. He obeyed, caught the first fish and opened its mouth, behold he found 'money' there.
(see Matthew 17:24-27)

Grace has been released.
Please engage grace.

Covenant Osondu said: "for every office in the house of CMDA there is a grace attached"(paraphrased).

Fela Durotoye said: "The grace of God requires you to decide what to do with it. You have to engage grace in a direction, deliberately and intentionally to deliver a particular destination."

Engaging grace is allowing God in the race which gives you all the necessary requirements for the race to be run effectively without giving room for unnecessary repose. You're graced when God is in your race.
Don't limit yourself. Engage it and start running.

4. Put on the whole armour of God.

We are in a battlefield called life and for success to be attained we would have to make sure we have made the necessary preparations.
The whole armour of God as written in Ephesians 4.13-18 is what we use to lay aside every weight that will tend to slow us down in this battlefield.


The components of the whole armour are:
1. The Belt of Truth

2. Breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart)

3. strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].

4. The [protective] shield of faith.

5. The helmet of salvation

6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. and Prayer.

5. Encourage yourself in the Lord.

As I conclude, it is very possible not to seek repose because we have the help of the Holy Spirit. And when your endurance, faith and persistence will be tested, you would have to continually encourage yourself in the Lord.

You may be tired, but tell yourself "the joy of the Lord is my strength".

You may not know how to begin or where to start from, but tell yourself " God is going to teach me." He will teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight.

Your brain may rebel and you might have headache, but command the headache to go in Jesus name.

You are in a race and if you have God on your side you'll definitely cross the finish line where a crown of life awaits you.
And Just as Cameron Arnett said in the movie "overcomer" 'if your legs are burning, let it burn. Your 'lungs' may be tired but they're not done yet. When your body tells you that you can't do it, don't listen to it. It will tell you that you should quit"

But you tell your body that the Spirit of God in you is in charge.

"Don't look back. Focus on what's ahead. Give God your best!"

Even as you have read this, I pray that the Lord fills you up with the Spirit of power, love, sound mind and vigilance.

SHALOM!

The hymn by Charlotte Elliott(1836):

1 Christian, seek not yet repose,
Cast thy dreams of ease away;
Thou art in the midst of foes:
Watch and pray.

2 Principalities and pow'rs,
Must'ring their unseen array,
Wait for thine unguarded hours:
Watch and pray.

3 Gird thy heav'nly armor on,
Wear it ever, night and day;
Ambushed lies the evil one:
Watch and pray.

4 Hear the victors who o'ercame:
Still they mark each warrior's way;
All with one sweet voice exclaim,
"Watch and pray."

5 Hear, above all, hear thy Lord,
Him thou lovest to obey;
Hide within thy heart his word,
"Watch and pray."

6 Watch, as if on that alone
Hung the issue of the day;
Pray, that help may be sent down:
Watch and pray.

AMEN.