TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 27TH JUNE 2022)
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Hebrews 11:32-34 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 178TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
We bless the LORD for giving us another day! We remain grateful to Him.
We are in the twilight of the month of June and we have been looking at the acceptable fears in GOD’s kingdom; the fear of the LORD and the fear of His approaching judgment. Though the teachers of the adulterated grace gospel will disagree with me. To them salvation leaves no fear of Judgment.
The preachers of the adulterated grace have put so much logical garbage in the hearts of believers these end times. But we must understand that when you get saved, God plants a refined fear of approaching judgment in your heart, which becomes one of the driving forces of staying saved. Because if you get saved, there will be need to stay saved.
It was the refined fear for God’s eternal judgment that made people like our father Paul to say;
“Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 NKJV
I have heard preachers who believe that once saved, one is forever saved, argue that Paul was not referring to being cast away (into eternal judgment) in the next life in this scripture. They said he was rather referring to being rejected before the bema seat where Christ will reward the labor of the saints. But that does not add up following the sense of the scripture.
WHAT JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 7:21-22 MUST HAVE GUIDED THIS MAN OF GOD IN LIFE AND MINISTRY HENCE MAKING THAT STATEMENT.
The righteous fear for GOD’s approaching judgment was what prompted statements like that from the man of GOD, knowing well that working for GOD will save no one from approaching judgment. It is living for GOD that will.
In another place, while talking about how God abandoned the Jews for a season and came after us the gentiles, he said;
“Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” Romans 11:20-22 NKJV
A preacher who preaches like this is rare today. One thing you will identify is his awareness of approaching judgment and how it controls his life and ministry.
He told us, the gentiles, to fear and not be haughty because of GOD’s focus on us. What did he say they fear? They are to fear the possibility of coming under the same Judgment that the Jews came under by reason of their unbelief and live opposite the way they did.
He urged the believers at Corinth to consider the severity of GOD that can come on any who falls. In other words, he asked them to live by the fear of the possibility of God’s judgment. This kind of fear is a fruit of another dimension of faith. Which brings us to the subject of today’s word; the ultimate antidote of fear in GOD’s kingdom.
But before we get there, lets look at certain things about our GOD! The Bible says the Heavens declare His glory! The skies proclaim the work of His hands.
DAY AFTER DAY THESE TWO CLASSES OF GOD’S CREATION POUR FORTH SPEECH, AND NIGHT AFTER NIGHT THEY REVEAL KNOWLEDGE.
They have no sound and they use no words, yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth to those who have understanding. They all tell of the greatness of GOD of all creation. The hidden things these creations of God speak about our God can be termed as classified.
Sometimes we reduce GOD to our own smallness. We put Him in our little mental boxes, limiting Him from unleashing Himself in or through our lives because of fear and ignorance.
Enlarging our spirits and soul to see GOD as He is, happens to be one of the purposes of revelation knowledge. If you encounter the scriptural revelation of who GOD is, you will develop the mental capacity to see Him as He is.
It is that capacity that gives you the faith to believe Him for anything!
That’s why faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of GOD. Not just any word, but a word that reveals GOD to us and His dynamic ability to cause changes. People who feed on such words will have a faith power that knows no bound. The Bible clearly states that out of weakness they will become strong.
The entire portion of that scripture, which happens to be our devotional text put it this way;
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Hebrews 11:32-34 NKJV
Today is the 27th day of our journey with the Cry of the Spirit on fear. From one Bible book to another, and from chapter to chapter, one of the antidotes of fear that has been presented and verified for thousands of years is faith in GOD.
WHAT THE MEN IN OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT DID WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF THEY HAD FEAR IN THEIR HEARTS.
Each of the men had individual encounters with the LORD that unveiled His greatness, which imparted faith in them to do all the things they did with GOD!
Until faith is born in us, we will not be able to subdue kingdoms, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, become valiant in battle, or turn to flight the armies of the wicked.
Life itself will be a misery without the enlargement of our mental capacity to see GOD the way He is and conceive faith in the process.
There are things coming from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of men that we need to uncover and subdued.
There are promises in Christ we are to obtain. There are mouths of lions to stop, violence of fires to quench, edge of swords to escape from and so many armies of the aliens to turn to flight or chase away. But none of that will be possible with fear in our hearts. We will need faith!
If you read further in the chapter, you will find other things the same category of believer went through. Things that if they had fear in their hearts would not have been possible. The bible says;
“….Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—
of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.” Hebrews 11:35- 38 NKJV
These scriptures tell us a bit of the horrible things the enemy did to some of our Bible fathers.
Obviously, it happened to them because they were full of faith. It happened because they had no iota of fear in them. Hence some even refusing to accept acquittal on the condition of denying the faith. If they were afraid, they would have submitted to the enemy, denied the faith, and we will not be reading about them today!
I believe the LORD has spoken to us this morning. It is my prayer that God will use the words to keep building us up and giving us an inheritance among they that are sanctified.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV