TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 2022)
“And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy and sour and dreary like the hypocrites, for they put on a dismal countenance, that their fasting may be apparent to and seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward [o]in full already.
But when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face,
So that your fasting may not be noticed by men but by your Father, Who sees in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.” Matthew 6:16-18 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 249TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
What a mighty God we serve. Heaven and earth adore Him. Angels bow before Him!
What a mighty God we serve!
The last creatures that will bow before Him will be fallen angels and demons, and that will be after the great white Throne Judgment.
The sad part will be the part of the humans who resisted His will in their life time and joined the devil in his battle against the purposes of God. It will be terrible for them, because the Bible made it clear that they will be thrown into the lake of fire thereafter.
That is why we do ourselves a favor when we accept the LORD Jesus Christ as our LORD and savior in our life time. We do ourselves more favor when we spend our days serving our generation according to His will.
Yes, we do ourselves great favor when we join in pursuing and doing His will instead of joining the army of the evil one to resist it in any front.
A lot of what people are doing on this side of eternity and getting away with it, will be paid for in the next life. A lot of what we do privately that none knows, will be paid for in the next life if we do not repent.
That day and time when the judge of the earth will sit to judge the living and the dead, all who got away with terrible things will be rewarded.
That is why the book of Ecclesiastes concluded with these blessed words;
“All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 AMPC
Do you see that rendering? Read it one .ore time. This time slowly.
ONE WAY WE LEAD A LIFE THAT FEAR GOD IS TO HUMBLE OURSELVES REGULARLY THROUGH BIBLICAL FASTING.
Honestly, Biblical fasting helps a lot in taking away our pride and bringing us to the place of humility before GOD. I do not see genuine Christianity possible without us spending a regular, consistent, and effective time with GOD in prayers and fasting.
It has a way of ushering one into the Throne room where one begin to experience the reality of GOD’s Holiness, the power of His mercies, and the severity of His fury on sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt system of this world.
From my personal experiences with the presence of the LORD as a Christian, I discovered that when a preacher preaches without touching matters of GOD’s holiness, Judgment, and redemption of the total man, he is very far from the throne of GOD.
When a preacher become like Gabriel, who stands in the throne room presence of GOD, his messages will be forming Christ in people, promoting the fear of the LORD and making a people ready for the LORD. I have met few of these kinds.
They have the grace to tear sinful habits away from your life, and set a tabernacle for the Sun of righteousness in your life.
Findings proves that when a preacher preaches about God’s mercies only, and call every message on right living judgmental, or the ministries of GOD’s messengers who are dispensing convicting truths, the ministry of condemnation, he or she is living in sin.
Preachers who normalize a life of sin have a way of making God’s mercies and forgiveness without repentance the center of their messages.
The impact of our ministries on the moral fabric of the society is what tells where we preach our messages from. Messages from the Throne room are different. They will create a glorious impact on the moral fabric of the society.
Such messages come from the mouth of preachers who live in the Throne Room through Biblical fasting. Preachers like Paul the apostle. Do not forget how he fasted often and died daily to maintain a throne room walk with the LORD.
HE SAID IN A SET OF SOME GRACIOUS WORDS PENNED DOWN TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH;
“Therefore, I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.
But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 AMPC
Who will rejected him as a counterfeit? Not men but God. He was afraid of running the race in vain. There are so many preachers the Church accepts as true that the LORD have already rejected as counterfeits. Its saddening.
It takes throne room preachers to stand the way with Paul stood with the call of God upon his lives. He stood in that humble position because he understood that God is no respecter of persons.
There is a lot of pride and spiritual arrogance among us Preachers today, things that have established a stronghold of a carnal confidence that will never get us to the parley gates of Heaven.
The kind of humility Paul displayed here is only possible in the life of a preacher who lives his earthly life from the Throne Room of God; one who humbles himself regularly through Biblical fasting. I yearn for this every now and then.
That is why you cannot be fasting and be arrogant like the Pharisee. You will be like Paul or any of those Crucified lives we see in scriptures; firm and tough on sin and lawlessness but humble before GOD.
You could be misunderstood for your firmness and toughness and called proud, like some of us have been, but your humility before God will be felt by all who are very close to God.
Yes, humility can be felt in the spirit of those who are close to God. That is why they can recognize false humility.
It is easier to relate with people who understand the mind of God for the now than those who think they do while they do not. Those who are very close to God sense things that others cannot sense.
Personally, I have come to discover that people who are very close to God will have no problems with preachers who are firm, tough and unyielding on matters of lawlessness, sin and wickedness like some of us. They will not call us names or whatever.
They will see through the noise and coverings of those who say they are Jews while they are not.
Child of GOD, apart from GOD Himself, the next best company to keep is with those who are close to GOD. Crucified lives that have found a peg in GOD’s Holy Place spread a special fragrance of God around you when you keep company with them.
THEY SHAPE YOUR LIFE THROUGH THEIR LIFESTYLE OF BIBLICAL FASTING.
Like earlier stated, Paul was one of them.
He said he put his body under, or handles it roughly and subject it through hardships, so that after he has preached to others, he himself will not be a cast away. One way to do all that is through Biblical fasting and prayer.
A lot about our transformation depends on our ability to exercise ourselves unto godliness through Biblical fasting.
Biblical fasting is full of what Jesus said we should do. Our devotional text contains some of the things. He said;
“And whenever you are fasting, do not look gloomy and sour and dreary like the hypocrites, for they put on a dismal countenance, that their fasting may be apparent to and seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward [o]in full already.
But when you fast, perfume your head and wash your face,
So that your fasting may not be noticed by men but by your Father, Who sees in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.” Matthew 6:16-18 AMPC
Jesus said whenever we are fasting, we should not look gloomy, sour and dreary. That is the characteristics of the hypocrites. A hypocrite will show up his or her devotions publicly to gain admiration and attention.
He or she is publicly a devotee but privately a lost soul going to hell. So, when he or she is fasting, everyone will know, even if it will be for one hour.
The hypocrite and members of religious cults fast the same way. In religious cults, fasting is a public show. They announce it publicly and let the whole world know they are fasting. But in Christ every form of devotion or worship to God is secretive. Even if we want to teach people to do it, we lead them on similar paths Christ led His disciples in the days of his flesh.
Now, He said when we fast, meaning fasting is not a matter of if but a matter of when. The Bible made it clear that We must lead a life of Biblical fast, and when we do it, it must be secretive; we should not look gloomy, sour and dreary.
TO BE GLOOMY MEANS TO HAVE A FROWNING OR ANGRY APPEARANCE.
To be sour within context means to have a feeling or an expression of resentment, disappointment or anger. To be dreary is to be dull and bleak or repetitive for lack of coordination.
People display all that when they fast. They become dull, bleak, repetitive; they get easily irritated and display a feeling of anger when they fast; frowning, putting on the countenance of an angry or resentful person. All these things makes your fast a hunger strike. It will not unlock any blessings from the LORD.
Jesus said when we fast, none of that should be seen in our lives. It will defile or render our fast unacceptable in His Kingdom. That’s why many get no blessings despite their fast.
For a fast not to have those Characteristics Jesus said we should perfume our heads and wash our faces. Now, that does not mean anointing the head with olive oil. He did not say we should anoint our heads with olive oil as some preachers have misled people to do using the word “anoint” in the old King James Version of the Bible.
That word means perfume. You do not perfume a head with olive oil. Go ask women who own saloons. Oil user are good at turning the scriptures into their own image and likeness.
Actually, Jesus thought so much but there is no place He taught that we should use the oil for anything. He saw the disciples used it but did not use it Himself. The disciples got it from Judaism. He came to fulfill everything in Judaism including the use of oil. Hence not touching it.
Oil using preachers have misled so many and it is not helping them eternally. The essence of asking us to perfume our heads and wash our faces is to make our fasting secretive.
Fasting is not what we do for men to see. Its something we do secretly with GOD.
It is a sacred or holy thing to be done secretly. The Bible says “your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.” It is the Father who should see not our friends or family. They may discover, no problems, but we should not display it before them.
Sadly, many of us keep our sins secret but do not keep our fast secret. What should be kept secret? Our sins or your fast? The Bible says We should confess our sins, but it did not say we should confess our fast. We have turned things upside down in our walk with the LORD to the detriment of our souls.
IF WE DO NOT FOLLOW THESE FASTING PRINCIPLES, WE WILL JUST BE LABORING IN VAIN AND BRINGING FORTH FOR TROUBLE.
That is why the Spirit and Truth of the Kingdom of GOD should initiate a fasting. If a fast is initiated by the Spirit and Truth of the kingdom, it will be secretive, holy, and acceptable to GOD.
We will not do it and go talking about it to earn relevance and admiration among men. We will not do it and use it to gain spiritual mileage for personal glory. We will do it as designed by the LORD. And step into the glory like Moses and the rest of our fathers did.
I believe enough for the day have been shared.
As we bring this to a close, I want to admonish that we follow every precept that the LORD taught on fasting and prayer. If we do, the dimensions of glory that cannot be unlocked except through a thorough Biblical fast will become the characteristics of our lives.
We are in the days of the glory. God promised that the days of the harlot church will be over and the days of glory will set in. When they do, we will not see any one using oil, water, or any deliverance inventions in prayer or ministration calling them prophetic acts.
When they do men and women will become temples for God in the Spirit again. There will be people carrying the glory of the Father on earth in dimensions that eyes have not seen, ears heard or hearts conceived.
Now, the days of glory do not just happen, a generation must rise and press into it. One way we do that is through Biblical fasting.
It is my prayer that the LORD will help us to use these truths to add to the building blocks of our faith, in Jesus precious name. Amen!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning,
then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering.
And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:3-6 NKJV