John 8:31-32 ... Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If
ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Exhortation: Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
"Continue" means: to go on in a specified course of action... to do and to keep on doing ...
Heb. 10 ... Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Juliett Walton, who is in our small church group, had the following revealing dream ...
Each person in the church group was given an assignment. The work was not difficult but
once the work started it had to be continued to the end. A woman
stopped her assignment without completion. The reason for stopping was
not given. I received my assignment. It was not a struggle to do the work but it was a struggle to complete it... to keep going ... I saw most
of the people grow weary but most did keep going. I was determined to keep going also.
Some people will become discouraged and not have patience to continue to the return of Jesus or to the end of their lives. So they just stop giving all the effort they have in past for they do not think it is working and they can see any progress.
Recently I was very discouraged because a woman in our group told of a sin she committed several years ago. She committed adultery and had an abortion as a result of this adultery. This woman had been in church groups all her life. Thoughts began to come to me saying "what's the use of exhorting the church." They just go out and do horrible things. But then the Holy Spirit in me reminded me of the following scripture. I Cor. 15:58 ... Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
That's right! I responded ... and I was restored immediately to the word of exhorting the church.
The devil will discourage us. The Holy Spirit will bring something that sets us on the right course so we can go forward in the way of God and keep doing that which is assigned by God.