TODAY’S DEVOTION (Monday 28TH September 2020)
“And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”‘” Exodus 4:21-23 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 270TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
God said in His word,
“heaven and earth shall pass away, but His word shall not pass away.”
Moments are indeed passing, heaven and earth is passing away. But he also promised that those who are doing His will are going to live forever.
A people who therefore build their hearts on the word of the LORD shall never pass away. That is why men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still very much alive (though dead). They are alive both in Heaven and on the earth of the Holy scriptures. That is why we hear them speak to us each time we read the Bible.
The men lived by the word of the LORD in their days, and did the will of GOD, and now they are alive forever more. Indeed, any people who build their lives on the word of the LORD, and do the will of GOD do not pass away! Jesus Himself certified them “alive” when He said, “God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” And that He is “the God of the living and not the Dead.”
The word of the LORD is actually the manna that came down from Heaven which if we eat and respond to positively, we abide forever. It carries what it takes to keep us connected to the Life of GOD in this life and the life to come.
These men received and ate the word, today, after over 4000 years; they are still alive in the programs of GOD on earth.
One thing many do not know is that whatever gets planted into a man’s soul remains with him even after death. Death does not erased memories from the spirit and soul of a man. It does not erase the truths buried in that soul. It therefore cannot remove the word of the LORD that soul may have fed on before it dies.
Dying in Christ only perfects the revelations in a man’s soul, because He is going into a realm where what He fed on is tangible. Hallelujah! So if you are spending your life in the word of the LORD, you are getting your soul filled with things that will last forever.
IT’S BEEN OUR SEASON OF SHARING BASIC TRUTHS ON GOD’S MERCY, AND HEAVEN HAS BEEN FAITHFUL IN UNLEASHING ONE NEW TRUTH OR THE OTHER TO US.
The revelations are being stored in our souls. They will be perfected when we get to Heaven. There we will meet with Mercy Himself. Everything we are learning now will become tangible to us in our spiritual bodies.
Then the statement “Mercy is much more of a seed than a need” that we have been sharing all month will become tangible to us because we will be face to face with the harvest of GOD’s mercies that is presently being poured on earth.
But let us reexamine the way the prodigal son handled mercy. It has a lot to teach. I believe this one also will become tangible when we appear before the LORD. Oh yes, it will be very tangible and glorious.
First of all, it was the Father’s mercy that made Him not to deny the young man his request to have his own share of inheritance, even while the father was still alive. Inheritance is shared after death not before.
So when he ran into trouble, he remembered what he used to see in his father’s house and decided to return (repent). He did not decide to return with the pride of the Pharisee or the “I DESERVE MERCY” mentality. In fact, he was not even seeking the position of a son again. He knew he has lost it. He sought the position of a servant.
The Bible says,
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”‘ Luke 15:17-19 NKJV
Hidden in this story is the very position to take if you want to recover from anything in life – don’t forget we crash-land in life and become victims of poverty, diseases, struggles, pain, disappointment, divorce, and etc. because of the Godless and Christ less decisions we do take in life.
So if our life becomes unbearable because of our sins, that is not the time to storm the gates of Heaven requesting for blessings. The prodigal Son took a “RETURN POSITION” that forced great mercy from the heart of the Father when his life crash-landed.
ONE OF THE GOLDEN THINGS HE DID WAS NOT TO REQUEST FOR WHAT HE LOST.
He lost his position as a son, and recognized it; hence requesting for the position of a servant. That was what made Mercy to flow out to Him. Don’t forget, the story of the prodigal son is the story of GOD and us. Jesus told that story to show us, among other things, how to approach God when we are in need of His mercies. But many of us seems not to be learning!
Let me ask some questions at this point, maybe they will bring some of us to the threshing floor of humility and unlock a miracle from GOD for us. I remember asking these same questions years back. Do you think you deserve a Child after you have aborted the one that you conceived maybe out of wedlock to save yourself from shame?
Do you think you deserve a husband after you have abused and destroyed the life of men through seduction? Do you think you deserve a marriage after you have so abused women as a man or destroyed other people’s marriage as a woman? Do you think you deserve peace after rejecting the counsel of God for your life and going to establish yours?
Whatever we may have lost to sin, ignorance and rebellion, is lost forever. We do not deserve another chance. We must come to terms with that for GOD to show you mercy. That was the revelation that the prodigal Son had – that was the very faith position that drew great mercies from the heart of his father to him.
The principle shows us that the prodigal son went back to GOD with a desire to get not what he lost the way we do. He went there just for mercy to be shown to him, so he can get the position of a servant – or slave. But God gave Him much more than He lost! The Bible made it clear that he returned to serve but God gave him back his position as a son!
The Bible says,
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fattened calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” Luke 15:20-24 NKJV
The principle that the prodigal son applied in this story, that changed his life, is the same principle we must apply before the throne of GOD to change our lives. We must stop approaching the throne of GOD with the I deserve it mentality. There is so much power in the throne of GOD to change any abominable person. Because the weight of our sins is not usually the issue in the throne room but the depth of our repentance.
If we truly repent, we will not come into the throne room with any oater of pride. A broken and a contrite spirit, God does not despise.
It is the absence of deep repentance that makes many Christians to rather ask God for what they lost, and make it their reason for coming to him instead following the principle of the prodigal son. They place a demand through prayer fasting, giving, and etc. for marriages, money, peace, prosperity, deliverance, healing, and etc. instead of making service the reason for their repentance.
If you look at our devotional text this morning, you will realize that Israel was in Egypt for over 400 years and God raised Moses to bring them out. But His primary vision for bringing Israel out of Egypt was not to free them from Pharaoh but to make them His servants.
A major highlight in the text says,
“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord:”Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.”
What can we glean from here? Israel in Egypt represents mankind in slavery to sin and Satan. God saves us from the slavery of sin and Satan for us to “serve” Him, not for Him to “save” us from our problems. We had no problems of food, shelter or security in the garden of Eden. These problems are therefore, not the reason for our salvation. Serving GOD is the reason.
In fact, wherever you see God saving people in scriptures, it’s for them to serve Him. That is why when we make our needs the primary focus in our walk and talk with God, we loose. But when we make service the primary focus, we gain.
I believe the message of this devotional has been passed. May God use these truths to give you an inheritance among they that are sanctified!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE A MEDITATION FOR TODAY!
“We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved. His love for his followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.
The Lord is as kind to his followers as a father is to his children. He knows all about us. He knows we are made from dust. He knows our lives are short, that they are like grass.
He knows we are like a little wildflower that grows so quickly, but when the hot wind blows, it dies. Soon, you cannot even see where the flower was.” Psalms 103:10-16 HBER