TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 27TH May 2023)**
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant or slave above his master.
It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [master of the dwelling], how much more will they speak evil of those of His household.
So have no fear of them; for nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, or kept secret that will not become known.
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).
Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me [out of a state of oneness with Me], I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess [that I am abiding in] him.
But whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven. Matthew 10:24-33 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 147th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS & WONDERS!
God be glorified for giving us another day. We cannot thank Him enough for all He has been doing in our lives and families since we stepped into this year.
He has not even allowed what we fear to fall upon us. Not just what we fear, He has also never allowed the sword of the wicked to cut us down. He has been a Heavenly Father to us. Indeed, as a father pities his Children, so the LORD pity those who fear Him.
We have been looking at the faith, purity, and patience of the saints, and it has been very rewarding.
Matters of righteousness are things that we must not stop sharing about, because the word says, “righteousness exalts a nation, and sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). If we do not spend our days, sharing about how to walk in what exalts, then we do not know what to talk about.
Righteousness is right standing with God. When we stand right with Him, His Holy Fire purifies us of all spiritual impurities, and make us holy in His sight. It is His purifying fire that is responsible for holy living.
GOD would not have said “be holy, for I am holy” without facilitating the process. He gives commands and enabled us to obey them. That is why we have the Holy Spirit in our lives.
When He sets standard, He will give us the spiritual empowerment we need to meet the standard. But man-made gods and systems cannot do that.
When man-made gods place a demand on you, they leave you to yourself to fulfil it. But when GOD place a demand on you, He moves to provide the resources or enablement you need to meet the demand. That is how you know if you are dealing with God or other gods in your spiritual walk.
MAYBE, LET ME DIVERT A LITTLE AND SHARE MORE ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT TRUTH.
God will never place a demand on you that He will not help you fulfil. He will never give you an instruction He will not give you grace to obey. He will never ask you to walk in the Spirit, without making His Spirit available so that you can walk in Him. He will never ask you to fear not, if He has not deployed Heavenly forces to protect you. He will never send you on a mission He will not be there to help you execute.
He will never place you among roaring lions, to speak His word and save lives from the mystery of iniquity, if He has not paralyzed the ability of the lions to hurt you. Before He allowed Daniel to be sent to the lions’ den, He had a plan of what to do before Daniel got there.
God will never allow you into a Lion’s Den without a plan. You may only need to ask Him to execute that plan, especially whenever the lions roar at you, and you will see Him do it.
We are in the end times. The Bible says we are in season where people will kill us, defame us, lie against us, call us all kinds of names, and falsely accuse us, saying they are doing God’s work. We are in seasons where many will not want to hear any word that expose the mystery of iniquity they are in partnership with.
We are in seasons of telling on the housetops what the LORD speaks to us in the ear, which people would not want to hear.
In seasons like this, people will fear for your life for saying what God wants you to say. They will warn you to be careful for crying what the Holy Spirit is Crying about the spirit of the anti-Christ in the sick Church and the dying world. But God will not give you a message that people are afraid to preach, if He has not paralyzed the ability of haters of that message to hurt you.
I have received so many threats and warnings. Some have said this prophet will kill me, the other big pastor will slay me, and the other apostle will kill me, and this other bishop will do this, and so forth. So much roar from the lions, sent primarily to paralyze one’s faith. But we serve a God who redeems our lives from destruction.
A PEOPLE WHOSE EVERY HAIR IS PROTECTED BY THE LORD, SHOULD NOT BE AFRIAD OF LOSING THEIR HAIRS.
A portion of our devotional text said;
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).
Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:27-28 AMPC
I believe in this scripture so much, when it comes to my survival in any battle front. That is why if you hear any day that God has given me over to their sword, it will be because my time of departure came, and God will take care of whoever or whatever I leave behind.
Personally, I don’t know who I should fear; is it those who hate me and want me death? Or the God who love us and wants me in the battle ground? The Bible tells me that I should fear the God who loves me and wants me in the battle ground, not those who hate me.
An extended portion of the devotional text said;
“So have no fear of them; for nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, or kept secret that will not become known.
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Gehenna).” Matthew 10:26-28 AMPC
When God ask you not to fear, it is because He has a plan. When He ask you to speak His word, its because He has people whose hearts will be transformed when you speak. You may not even see them, just stand where He wants you to stand and say what He wants you to say.
AND BE SURE IT IS GOD, NOT YOU.
When He sends you to spiritual leaders who have become like roaring lions and charging bears to rescue His sheep, it is because the appointed time for the salvation of the souls under their spell has come. He will not give you over to the charging bears and roaring lions like He never gave David over.
Yes, God is not man-made. He will never place a demand on you and not help you meet it.
When He asked Abraham to demonstrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on Mount Moriah (by offering Isaac), he never told him there will be a replacement. The calculations of Abraham were that God will raise Isaac again even if he kills him. But when the patriarch got there, he found a replacement. God enabled him to walk in unconditional obedience.
God will never give you an instruction He will not enable you to obey. When He asked the widow of Zarephath to supply the need of His prophet, He gave her what to use in doing that. Personally, I have come to realize that in the area of kingdom stewardship, God will never ask us to give Him what He will not give us to give to Him.
He gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
If you read the Bible carefully, you will realize that, the only food the widow of Zarephath placed before God’s mouth piece that was from her labour, was the first, and that was also the last. The rest of the food she placed for him to eat for three and half years, came by supernatural provision of GOD.
Sometimes, it may be required that we use what we already have for God’s work, but God will never ask us to give Him what He has not already provided, or what He will provide if we take the first step. This characteristic of God, as one who sets a standard, and help us to meet it, or gives an instruction, and help us obey it, has been from age to age.
It was even seen in the day of the earthly ministry of Jesus.
When He sent out the 70 to preach in ancient Jerusalem, He gave them preaching power. When He sent them out to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse the lepers, He gave them the power to do so. The reason why the devil cannot send us back when GOD send us on an errand is because we do not go in our strength.
WE GO IN HIS STRENGTH.
As man, Jesus did not go about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil in His own strength. The Bible says God anointed or enabled Him. That is why, if God asks you to do something that is impossible, do not say, “No LORD, I can’t do it.” He knows you can’t do it. Say, “Yes, LORD, am ready.” Then enter the prayer room to use the prayer knee to collect what it takes to do it.
So, when God say, “be Holy,” we should not say, “No, it’s impossible. As fishes cannot do without water, so we cannot do without sin. You know we are humans, no one can be holy. No one can be perfect.” Yes He knows, but still commands it because He wants to enable it. God enables what He commands.
He also knows that without holiness we will end up in hell, and does not want that to happen, hence making His purifying fire available to us. His purifying fire, is something we should seek from time to time, with the whole of our hearts, else we will never find it.
So, responding in the negative, when God says be holy, will shut down His enabling grace from being poured upon us. It will shut down His purifying fire from working in our lives even if we are in an atmosphere of His Spirit. That is why you see all the no-one-can-be-perfect Churches and ministries full of sexual sins and all kinds of abominable practices – from the pulpit to the pew.
God will send His purifying fire to purify those who desire to obey His “Be Ye Holy, for I am Holy” command. But we must seek it like looking for water to bath for an important occasion. We must seek it from time to time because no one take his bath once a year or a month. If you are the clean type, you will take your bath twice a day.
So, we must seek His purifying fire on regular bases, or from time to time with the whole of our hearts. Which calls for fasting as well. The Bible says;
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 NKJV
As we bring this to a close, let me reiterate again that releasing His purifying fire to purify us is one way that Christ facilitates us to lead Holy and consecrated lives. If you understand that you will ask for His purifying fire every day. Do not forget, the Bible says these end times, the Spirit of Christ will operate as the purifier of the sons of Levi.
We will need to be seeking Him for fresh fire for holy living daily, and church services of ministries who believe in, practice and teach Righteousness, Purity and Holiness, can be of great help.
In our dispensation, whenever God commands or stirs His servants to teach about Holy living, it is a sign that He has released His purifying fire to purify us. As we participate in fellowship, in studying or in hearing His word, we will experience His purifying fire.
We have been looking at the sanctification of the body of late, and have learned about the things that facilitates it. Today, the LORD showed us another kingdom force that facilitates it; the kingdom force of His purifying fire!
The vision of these truths, has been to help us come out with a consecrated Christian life, as we seek to walk in the faith, purity and patience of the saints, who were here before us. If you want that vision to be fulfilled in your life, you must add to all we have learned on this journey, the revelation of retreating for God’s purifying fire, to purge and cleanse you, from time to time.
It is my prayer that God will use these truths to keep building us up, and giving us an inheritance, among they that are sanctified. Amen
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
“He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
“Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, As in former years.
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the Lord of hosts.
For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Malachi 3:3-6 NKJV