TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 25TH MARCH 2023)
“Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.
Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.” James 1:12-15 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 84TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS!
It’s been 84 beautiful days, and we give God the glory. He has fed us, fought for us, favored us, fathered us, set us in families, and forgiven us our sins.
The mercies of the LORD endure forever.
In the realm of glory, Moses saw Him as ever merciful and kind, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Meaning, even when He is chastising His own, or punishing evil, He is still merciful and kind. That is why as soon as He finds a trace of repentance, He would relent.
What He did to Ahab will not ceased to amaze me.
He sent His prophet to take a word of judgment to the wicked and abominable king. The Bible says “For there was no one who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, incited by his wife Jezebel.” And that “He did very abominably in going after idols, as had the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.”
The full content of the prophecy showed an Almighty God who was about consuming a wicked man for his wickedness and abominations.
He was not alone; he had a family of wickedness. His wife was the terrible Jezebel. God even decreed that “dogs shall eat” her “by the wall of Jezreel.” The entire family was so much into evil that God had to send a family judgment on them. He said through His prophet, “Any belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and any who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat.”
SO, WHEN THE PROPHET WAS THROUGH DELIVERING HIS MESSAGE, GOD DID SOMETHING THAT HAS NOT STOPPED AMAZING ME.
The Bible says;
“When Ahab heard those words of Elijah, he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his flesh, fasted, lay in sackcloth, and went quietly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
Do you see how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his lifetime, but in his son’s day I will bring the evil upon his house.” 1 Kings 21:23-29 NKJV
How on earth did God change His mind on this kind of a man? That is His nature. God will never move against His nature. Love is His nature, so when He sees a trace of repentance in our lives, He refrains from any determined judgment He might have uttered against anyone.
Sadly, that is the part of Him that many of us use in making ourselves vile and ungodly, instead of taking advantage of it to become chase and Godly. The Bible says;
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11 KJV
God saw a trace of repentance in Ahab and withheld the judgement. In fact, if you read what he did as of the time God was sending the Judgment, you will marvel at God’s mercies. His wicked wife, Jezebel, set a righteous man up, because they wanted his vineyard, and got the man killed. The name of the man was Naboth.
When he was murdered, Ahab boldly went to possess his vineyard. That was what happened at the instant of the judgment. God forgave him when He notice a trace of repentance, but not too long he was killed in battle because he did not repent by stopping Jezebel and going back fully to the LORD.
The import of this opening word is just to tell us that god is merciful but we should not take His patience towards us as an approval of our wickedness. It will not just be unwell with us, it will ruin His holy seed that we carry.
THAT BRINGS US TO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN SHARING SO FAR.
We have been looking at the seven earthen vessel limitations that are responsible for the deployment of Heaven’s resources on carriers of the holy seed.
Yes, we have shared that God will pour His entire self on a man or woman, to make sure His holy seed in their lives, is not defeated in battle by the wicked one. He will release sovereign helps when necessary and lift His holy seed carriers out of even the worse prisons of darkness. David saw that and said;
“Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety,
For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption.” Psalm 16:9-10 NKJV
No matter what the sin, Satan or the evil and corrupt system of this world is doing to you as God’s holy seed, just be confident that God will not leave you in any hellish situation, neither will He allow you to see corruption. His holy seed in your life will not let Him ignore or abandon you in the hands of even the consequences of your sinful decisions.
We have seen five limitations that motivates God to send help to His holy seed carriers when in distress or on duty. The first is what we call dimensional limitations, the second is the limitation of the sin nature, the third the limitation of the natural mind, the fourth is the limitation of the nature of the heart, and the fifth is the limitation of the fallen environment we live in.
Today we will be looking at the sixth limitation, which is the limitation in our ability to be tempted.
One of the major points Jesus outlined in His prayer model for us, is the point that says, we should ask the LORD to lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil. Temptations have ruined so many and raised so many also. Those it ruined where those who fell into it, and those it raised where those who overcame it.
In the kingdom of GOD, whenever you overcome temptation, you will be approved by the LORD to do something significant with Him in His redemptive plans. The Bible is littered with stories of men and women who did, and became approved of the LORD to do significant things in His kingdom.
THAT IS WHY, IF YOU WANT TO BE USED OF THE LORD, LEARN TO OVERCOME TEMPTATIONS.
Do not always fall into temptation. A major part of our devotional text says;
“Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor’s] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 AMPC
Look at the line that says, “for when he has stood the test and been approved.” That is what we are sharing about. Overcoming temptation is what increase your approval rating with God. If God want to bless you, raise you, increase you, or do anything in your life, you must be approved for it, and overcoming temptation helps us top be approved.
That is why Jesus was tempted right before He started His earthly ministry. What was waiting at the other side of the temptation was power, and approval to walk in miracles. He understood that, hence overcoming the three temptation He faced shortly after His 40 day fast. The Bible says;
“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.” Luke 4:13-14 KJV
Clearly, this scripture points that, it was not His fast that gave Him the power He returned with, but the temptation He overcame. If He had not overcome the temptation, His fasting would have been useless. It would have been a waste of time. There would have been no approval to carry the power He carried.
Child of God, you may be paying the largest tithe in your church and enjoying approvals ratings from your pastor, that will never translate into approval rating with God if you do not lead a Christian life that overcome temptations.
DIVINE APPROVAL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT APPROVAL IN LIFE, AND THAT DOES NOT COME BY FASTING OR PRAYER, BUT BY OVERCOMING TEMPTATIONS.
The purpose of overcoming temptation is to be approved, not just for the victor’s crown in the next life, but certain spiritual crowns in this life; like the crown of power that Jesus returned with, empowering Him to walk in signs, wonders and miracles, and teach the word of the LORD with amazing impact.
In case you are wondering why you are facing so much temptations, do not wonder again. God want to lift you up, and have therefore, allowed you to be tempted so that you will be approved for the lifting.
Every holy seed carrier would be tempted over and over, and the seed he or she carries will be allowed to try and test him or her. It is when that happens and we overcome, that we would be approved, not just for liftings, but for participation with God in the execution of major kingdom projects. That brings us to the reason for sharing these thoughts.
You see, every holy seed carrier is part of a Heavenly host that is invisible and cannot be tempted. Meaning, in all of God’s work force, holy seed carriers are the only part of the workforce that is vulnerable to temptations. It is a major limitation that has destroyed the lives of many holy seed carriers.
For instance, Samson saw Delilah and was tempted, but the angels working with him in the realm of the spirit, could not be tempted.
Samson could be tempted, hence limited. The angels could not be tempted; hence unlimited. It was Samson that was chained, and later brought to the temple of Dagon to entertain his captors, it was not the angels.
OUR VULNERABILITY TO TEMPTATION IS A MAJOR LIMITATION ON US AS WE CARRY THE HOLY SEED.
That is why, a man or woman of God could be shining in one moment and doing exploit for God, and in another moment he or she is down the drain of shame, because he or she was tempted, and could not resist it. Adam and Eve were in one moment in the Garden of Eden, shining gloriously, and in another moment, they were out of the Garden, trapped in curses and other consequences of their fall.
A fall into temptation for a carrier of the holy seed is always a bad event in God’s kingdom that is why God helps us to stand. The Bible says;
“For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear].
But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 AMPC
I like the last part of this scripture. It says, God will provide for us, a means of escape to a landing place when we are tempted. That is how He helps carriers of the holy seed to overcome the vulnerability to temptation that exist in our flesh.
I think enough has been shared for the day. When we return tomorrow, we will pick up from here.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors.” Matthew 6:9-12 NKJV