TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 12TH MAY 2022)
“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
These things command and teach.” 1 Timothy 4:6-11 NKJV
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WELCOME TO THE 132ND DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
God’s Amazing Grace has kept us for these days and we are grateful to the LORD GOD almighty for all He has done for us. It has also been 11 days into our 31 days journey with the Cry of the Spirit on practical Christianity and God have been faithful in speaking to us.
There are 20 more days for this journey, and it is important that we all make use of the moments that are passing right before our very eyes.
Many years ago, I use to go for early morning preaching, what we call “Morning Cry.” We will set out between 4am and 6am, standing on strategic locations and preaching the gospel with a megaphone bought by one of us then.
I remember the freshness of the anointing that usually come during those moments.
One of the things I understand from the Cry of the Spirit in the Bible on practical Christianity, is the freshness of the Spirit that comes upon us when we are practical in any righteous way with our Christianity. It is part of practical Christianity to do the will of God.
I remember the LORD speaking to us to go out those early hours to preach; hence the freshness of the Spirit we felt. That was how the foundation for Crusade Evangelism was laid in our hearts.
After several outings, we had our first crusade evangelism that we saw mantles dropping on people. Most of them ended in the Bible School and are still pastors till date, but everything began by regularly going out in the morning hours of 4am to 6am to Cry the word of the LORD. I remember the vigils we had prior to some of the “Morning Cry” sessions. It was really beautiful.
I believe those moments also prepared us for whatever we are doing today in ministry as “The Cry of the Spirit” and the “Morning Cloud Television.” What we started with a megaphone is now being preached through a ministry owned Television station.
It was the same Spirit that was crying through us during those outings called “Morning Cry” in 1993 that is now Crying through the “Cry of the Spirit Ministries, Global” in 2022 and the “Morning Cloud Television.” Practical Christianity is key to release of destiny.
YOUR MINISTRY IS ALWAYS INSIDE YOU, IF YOU ARE BORN AGAIN. PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY WILL HELP YOU UNLEASH IT.
Do not forget that every child of GOD has a ministry, and yours is inside you. Your job is to sense it and respond to it. If you do not, you will be a failed Christian. That is why the assignment of preachers is not to collect people’s money as seed but to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry.
It takes a perfected saint to unleash his or her ministry not a deceived, derailed, and exploited saints.
Sadly, many today are exploited and not perfected. We must understand that if we are not perfected for the work of the ministry, our individual ministries will remain buried in us.
It is when we are perfected, that we can lead practical Christianity and enter into our ministries over time. By God’s mercy, I heard pastors and spiritual fathers then we understood their job over my life. They were not given to exploitation of the saints. They were given to perfection of the saints.
The Church today is in trouble because of exploitation of the saints. Instead of practical Christianity what we have is practical insanity. That is why instead of people sensing and releasing their divine destiny, they are sensing and releasing venoms against their enemies, the very people we are called to saved.
Since the enemy thing started with the advent of Mountain of Fire, genuine salvation became near extinct.
People became more conscious of their enemies than their GOD. So, instead of paying the price to get men and women genuinely saved, we label them our enemies and seek for their death. We have become more conscious of all kinds of spirits and less knowledgeable of all dimensions of our GOD.
Instead of exercising ourselves unto godliness, we are exercising ourselves unto ungodliness. That is not practical Christianity but practical insanity. The Bible calls it the madness of the prophets that cannot be restrained by even God’s words of truth and reason as we can see in the Balaam story. They cannot be stopped because for them its is spiritual warfare.
EVEN IF THE FABRIC OF THE FAITH IS BEING DESTROYED, THEY DO NOT CARE OR EVEN KNOW, SINCE THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW THE FAITH LOOK LIKE.
If you ask me, I will say churches like that are not started by Christ but the antichrist. They only confuse people with the horns of the lamb they carry, they are actually a destruction to genuine Christianity.
One song we use to sing in those days of our Morning Cry ministry, was, “moments are passing, think wise now concerning your life, moments are passing. Think wise now concerning your life, moments are passing, time is coming, this life you live, this air you breath shall be no more” I believe this song still have a huge message for our generation, because it is in sync with the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes.
A part of it says;
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:
While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim;
When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low.
Also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets. Ecclesiastics 12:1-5 NKJV
IF YOU DO NOT TREMBLE AT THIS SCRIPTURE, IT MEANS HELL THE SPIRIT HAS CAPTURED YOU!
During those Morning Cry hours, we usually sense a release of the conviction of the Spirit into the air, and find people coming to church the following Sunday to give their lives to Christ after singing the song. You will discover that you are indeed wasting your time doing your own thing in Church while God wants you going about spreading the conviction of His Holy Spirit everywhere.
Sadly, the messages we hear on the lips of believers and preachers today, do not spread the conviction of the Spirit. Many do not want to be called names by the conceal culture we have today, both in the church and in the world. So, they have simple become men-pleasers and all that. They preach safe! But you do not find that in Elijah, Paul, Peter or Christ Himself, the author and finisher of our faith.
I believe with the whole of my heart that the Church today ought to be co operating with the Spirit to spread conviction of sin, judgment and righteousness across the nations because the wickedness of men is becoming unbearable.
But the way most of us Christians are presently constituted spiritually today, it will be impossible. There have to be a revolution from Heaven to earth for the church to become GOD’s vessel for spreading conviction again. Because in a church generation where conviction is called condemnation, and rebukes that are targeted at snatching the sinner from hell called judgmental, sinners will keep becoming worse and worse and the church unfit for this good work.
I strongly recommend our book “the Revolution” to you. We indeed, need a Revolution from the Throne of God in Heaven to the thrones of our hearts on Earth. We need to get back to where our Bible fathers left and abandon where our present-day fathers of faith are leading us to. Because they have led us stray for decades, leading to destiny fatalities.
DO NOT FORGET WHAT THE OLD PROPHET DID TO THE YOUNG ONE IN 1 KINGS 13.
One of the major things our Bible fathers urged us to do is documented in our devotional text.
The text to me is a call to another dimension of practical Christianity; a call to walk away from the insanity we call Christianity, imprinted upon our hearts by the false doctrines we have been hearing and imbibing from our so-called fathers of faith.
The text was a personal letter one of our Bible fathers, Paul, wrote to his son in ministry, another of our Bible father, Timothy.
He was not asking him for tithes and offerings like most spiritual fathers would do today, or pressing for submission and worship. He was sharpening His spirit for effective ministry. That is what a genuine spiritual father does.
He began by warning him of what the Spirit expressly said will happen from the times he found himself to our time. The rise of false teachings and doctrines of devils, taking people away from the faith.
Then he presented to him a part of the doctrine of Christ to build his life and ministry upon. Genuine spiritual father will make sure we are not established in the doctrine of first fruit, first born, evil altars, breaking of altars and etc. He will make sure we are established in the doctrine of Christ.
Then he continued in what we captured in our devotional text.
The text says;
“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach.” 1 Timothy 4:6-11 NKJV
What a word from an apostolic father to a son. Fathering then was for direction, release of blueprints to kingdom builders, and protection from the intrigues of darkness. It was also for release of spiritual inheritance and execution of the great commission without omission.
BUT TODAY IT HAS BECOME FOR SELF-ENRICHMENT OF THE SO-CALLED SPIRITUAL FATHER.
While there is nothing wrong with honoring a spiritual father, who has labored for you in destiny matters, there is everything wrong with using younger ministers to enrich yourself as an older minister and make yourself shine brighter in ministry.
Now, there is so much Cry of the Spirit on Practical Christianity in these blessed words penned down by our father apostle Paul to his ministry son Timothy, another of our Bible father. His vision was to show him how to be a good minister of Jesus Christ instead being a prophet of Baal of his generation.
Indeed, if we do not have men like Paul in our lives, we will not know when we have become prophets and worshipers of the contemporary Baal. The classic edition of the amplified version put it this way;
“If you lay all these instructions before the brethren, you will be a worthy steward and a good minister of Christ Jesus, ever nourishing your own self on the truths of the faith and of the good [Christian] instruction which you have closely followed.
But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers’ tales) and silly myths, and express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety), [keeping yourself spiritually fit].
For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.
This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.
With a view to this we toil and strive, [yes and] suffer reproach, because we have [fixed our] hope on the living God, Who is the Savior (Preserver, Maintainer, Deliverer) of all men, especially of those who believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him). Continue to command these things and to teach them.” 1 Timothy 4:6-11 AMPC
If I have a pastor with a spiritual father who gives him this kind of fathering, my destiny is secured. Or if I have a spiritual father with this kind of doctrine, my destiny is secured. All I need to do is to listen to him.
If we can tune our ears to this blessed word, we will hear so much that is not even known in our generation about practical Christian living; especially in matters of exercising ourselves unto godliness.
The best lines for me this morning are the lines that emphasized on spiritual training. It says,
“But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers’ tales) and silly myths, and express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety), [keeping yourself spiritually fit].
For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come.
This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.”
Practical Christianity involves training and keeping ourselves spiritually fit through regular spiritual trainings.
Sadly, the present crop of preachers does not even know that there is spiritual training for making Heaven in the kind of generation we live in, or being fit for any good work in Christ. I was one of them until GOD opened my eyes. And I have met quiet a few others that GOD has also helped like He helped me.
Now, it is important to note that no matter how alive you are in the spirit, you will still need a spiritual TRAINER to be training you from time to time in other to kept fit spiritually.
That was what Paul was to Timothy; he was his trainer. You also need one if you want to fulfill your destiny.
It is important to note that spiritual fathering involve training and keeping spiritual sons and daughters spiritual fit for Heaven and for every good work from time to time. Our in-house apostolic summits gives me the opportunity to do that to those the LORD has committed to my apostolic oversight.
The Summits are starting in full force in June. They are for training sons and daughters to gain special spiritual fitness for making Heaven in a perverse and crooked generation, and to be fit for any good work the LORD might assign them.
Just as a talented foot-baller would still need the trainings of a good coach to become a full star, so will you need the training of one God has called and equipped to train you to become a kingdom star that turns many to righteousness.
Practical Christianity involves being trained by a Pauline trainer to be fit spiritually for Heaven making, and for the release of your prophetic destiny.
For instance, people could not be called Christians until they were trained for a whole year by the apostles in Antioch. They were not being given oil to drink, salt, sand, rods, handkerchiefs, or water to use in prayers.
They were not taught about breaking and raising of altar, redemption of first born or giving of first fruits. They were not taught sex in marriage to keep marriages working, or what we know today as the prosperity gospel, nor where they taught any of the doctrines of devils and men we teach today. They were trained in the doctrine of Christ and given the fitness to be Christlike hence called Christians.
You will need a Church like the one in Antioch to become all that God has designed you to be in Christ. It is my prayer that the LORD use these words to build us up and give us an inheritance among they that are sanctified.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“[Barnabas] went on to Tarsus to hunt for Saul.
And when he had found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year they assembled together with and [g]were guests of the church and instructed a large number of people; and in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
And during these days prophets (inspired teachers and interpreters of the divine will and purpose) came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.” Acts 11:25-27 AMPC