TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2022)
“And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.
And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.
And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:6-9 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 271ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
The year of Amazing Grace has really fit its prophetic description. How would our lives have turned out if not for God’s grace? Each day, we sleep and wake up because of God’s grace.
The attacks that have been launched against us and how things eventually turned us leaves one wondering how things would have been without the decree of God’s amazing grace upon our lives. Things happened to some of us individually and corporately as a church that would have ended even the ministry God committed into our hands.
Lethal attacks where launched under the covering of a hyper deception that almost succeeded in ruining us and the ministry, but GOD’s amazing grace responded. The response of God’s amazing grace is one of the most lethal responses that we can find in His kingdom to the attacks of sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt system of this world on mankind.
For instance, whenever the corrupt world wants to pull us down, God’s grace remains the most lethal response to it. That is why if we know how to tap into it during any moment of attacks from the corrupt world, our lives will never be ruined or destroyed.
The bible shows that our fathers survived the attacks of the evil and corrupt world in their days by the swift response of God’s grace that was upon them all.
Secondly, if the sin that lives in us rises against us, and we allow it to brings us to the valley of slaughter, a response from God’s amazing grace remains the only force that can rescue us and redeemed whatever may have been broken in our lives. The life of great man and women in Bible days and our contemporary times would have been ruined eternally when their sins took them to the valley of slaughter if not for the swift response of God’s amazing Grace.
From Adam in the Garden, to David on the Throne, to Manasseh the one who bought great witchcraft to Israel, to the sinners Jesus pardoned when He was physically on earth, especially the women caught in Adultery, the response of God’s grace to the terrible consequences of sin remains a lethal weapon of divine rescue for mankind.
Grace does not just have a response for Sin and the evil and corrupt system of this world, it also has a lethal response for Satan and all his works.
THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS WAS MADE MANIFEST THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY ALL HIS WORKS.
So, if Satan move against us, and we cry unto the LORD, especially from the threshing floor of repentance, a response from God’s grace is what neutralizes him (even if there is a legal right in our lives for the attack).
One Bible character that we can see the responses of God’s grace almost in the three areas of attack we usually face, is Joshua the high priest. When Satan stood on the filthy garment in his life, which obviously was a life of personal sin or iniquity, to ruin his life and ministry, grace responded.
The Bible says;
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Zechariah 3:1-3 NKJV
This scripture contains one of the most powerful responses of God’s grace in the Bible. The event we see here did not happen in the natural realm. It happened in the spirit realm. That is how loud the voice of God’s grace can be. It can speak for us both in the natural and spiritual realms. It is one of the factors that makes the response of God’s grace lethal.
Joshua the high priest was saved from humiliation and maybe annihilation by the response God’s grace gave to the enemy of his soul. We need same response today.
The deadly response grace give to Satan remains what he cannot handle, even if we sale ourselves to him for nothing. We have been looking at the Cry of the Spirit on Biblical fasting. We have also seen some blessings of Biblical fasting.
One of the major blessing of Biblical fasting is the lethal response we get from God’s amazing grace during our fast. That is what to look up to each time we fast.
IN FACT, IT IS THAT RESPONSE THAT MAKES BIBLICAL FASTING ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO LEAD A VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE.
Our devotional text shows us two major things God’s amazing grace will take away from our lives through our fast. That is why it is important that we humble ourselves through fasting, every now and then, especially after we have sinned against the LORD. The text says;
“And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.
And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.
And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isaiah 25:6-9 NKJV
The text began with a promise for a feast of choice pieces, of wines and lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refine wines on the lees. If you are carnally minded, you will think it is referring to food and drink. But the Bible says the Kingdom of God is not in food and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Wines represent anointing or moves of the Spirit. Fat things refers to huge grace dimensions full of a Heavenly life that is yet to be known on earth. They are the very forces that swallow up death (moral decay) forever, wipe away tears from all faces, take away the rebuke of God’s people and present the awaited salvation of the LORD to mankind. No food or drink can do any of that.
Now, the key to receiving this blessing from the LORD is a Biblical fast that involves feasting on God’s living truths while fasting. Remember, we shared about that yesterday. If you missed that devotional please go back there so that you can be on the same page with us.
IT IS SAD THAT MOST PEOPLE FAST BUT DO NOT PRAY EFFECTIVELY.
Others fast but do not feats on Bible based living truths. That is why what we are sharing this morning has not been experienced by many despite their intensive fasting lives.
The grace responses described as wines, lees, fat things and all that in our devotional text and what it does, will not happen if we do not fast, feasting properly on God’s living truths. Our fasting must become a feast of fat things for us to receive the grace dimensions that is full of the Heavenly life that we have not yet experienced on earth.
As earlier stated, our devotional text made it clear that a fast that is acceptable to God will attract a response from His grace. And when that response comes, it will take away two things from our lives.
The two things are death (as in moral decay, absence of the Holy life of God, or absence of the zoe life) and the profound spiritual wretchedness that is cast upon nations from time to time by the evil one.
Personally, I have experienced fasting doing that in my life, because of that profound spiritual wretchedness is taken, you will begin to see accurately into the scriptures and experience the outbreak of God in life.
That is why our fathers who stood with the Holiness of God radiating in their lives and the life of God oozing out of their speeches and life styles, spent their days fasting and feasting on living truths from the ancient scrolls that became the Bible today.
For instance, Moses was fasting and feasting on the revelation of God’s glory when he was up the mountain for 40 days. That was why he came down with a face that was radiating what he ate for the 40 days. The Bible says;
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.” Exodus 34:29-30 NIV
OUR FACES WILL ALWAYS BE RADIANT WITH WHAT IS IN OUR SPIRITS.
That is why if someone’s countenance is unfriendly, the problem is not the face but the spirit of that person. There is something in the person’s spirit that is radiating on his face. You can tell if you are sensitive.
The message of today is simple. God wants our lives full of His grace, His amazing grace. He wants us to receive grace responses form His throne room so we can survive our cruel world. But we cannot get that as kingdom citizen except we know how to fast the Bible way.
One of the Bible ways to fast is to feast on God’s living or glorious truths as we fast.
If we feast on God’s glorious or living truths as we fast, we will get our spirits filled with huge grace dimensions that makes a Heavenly life that we have not experienced on earth possible. It will take away death from our spirits and any form of spiritual wretchedness, leading to a victorious Christian living.
In the New Testament, that kind of fast is called “giving oneself to prayer and the ministry of the word.” May the LORD grant us understanding!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenist, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.
Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.
Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:1-4 NKJV