TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2023)
So I asked the angel who talked with me, what are these, my lord?
Then the angel who talked with me answered me, do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Then he said to me, this [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts.” Zachariah 4:4-6 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 331ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
We bless the LORD our God for being with us this far. We can say, it’s been a beautiful year and we are going to keep trusting Him and looking into the future with the eyes of faith. The Bible says;
“But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” Ecclesiastes 9:4 NKJV
Yes, to all who are joined to the living, there is hope. We have seen that hope come to pass, and believe that more things we hope for will come to pass, even as we face the rest of our days with faith.
The just shall live by faith. Faith shows you things that facts does not show. Faith helps you see the future God has prepared for you, and keep looking at it, as you live your days. Let faith spring forth in your heart, and help you look into the rest of your days.
Let me reiterate again that it pleases God that we end the year refreshing our minds on matters of visionary living.
I believe the LORD wants us to be visionary every day of our lives, especially if we have not been. I believe God has put great blessings on our lives, things that visionary living will help bring forth. I believe He is up to something beautiful in our lives.
The Bible says;
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 AKJV
In other words, where people are not living visionary lives, there is no restraint to what they can and cannot do, consequently they can die violently, loose the normal quality of their lives, get decay morally and otherwise or suffer rot in an aspect of life.
VISIONARY LIVING IN CHRIST IS THE SURETY OF PEACEFUL LIVING IN A CHAOTIC WORLD. THAT IS WHY THESE TRUTHS ARE IMPORTANT.
We have been looking at the laws of visionary living, and have seen quiet some. The last one we saw was the law of visionary purity. Yesterday, we shared some truths about it but never gave the definition of it. Today we will be looking at its definition and what we can glean from it.
The life and times of Samson will be our focus again today.
God has been using the life and times of that ancient warrior of His, to speak to us over and over again on this platform. I believe whatever adversity that Old Testament vessel of God faced in the hands of Delilah, and how all about him ended, is now being used by the LORD to execute His redemptive plans in our lives.
It is not just our generation that has benefitted from the LORD using the story of Samson, so many other generations have benefited as well. So, as we continue our discourse on the law of visionary purity, we are going to yield to the LORD to speak to us again using the life and times of Samson.
When it comes to visionary purity, Samson’s life comes to mind. But what is visionary purity?
Visionary purity, is a freedom of our spirits, souls and bodies from any kind of spiritual contamination, activated by a revelation of what the future holds or what God want to do with a person’s life. It is a purity of heart and mind that is born out of one’s desire to see God’s plans, goals or vision for their lives come to pass, instead of being contaminated or truncated by sin and filthiness.
Visionary purity guarantees the fulfilment of visions and makes visionary living successful.
VISIONARY PURITY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO VISIONARY LIVING.
It serves as the supreme House or production zone of God’s power, that need to be flowing through our lives, to bring His word, will, vision, purpose, or plan for our lives to pass. The Bible is clear on that.
If there is no constant flow of God’s power in our lives, living for God and pursuing His vision or plans for our lives, will turn us into thrash, or a people to be pitied. It is important that we come to terms with that.
Trying to do God’s will, without a constant flow of God’s power in your life, will ruin you, because you will attract devils to yourself that there will be no power from God to help you conquer. That was why God gave our fathers power first and taught them to keep it flowing constantly, before giving them His visions to pursue or will to execute.
If you try to lead a visionary life without a constant flow of God’s power in your life, you will regret ever trying.
There is a power that need to be flowing in our lives, like the Oil that flowed consistently in the vestibule of the temple called the seven golden candle sticks in the days of Old, for us to fulfill God’s will without having our lives destroyed by the rigors of doing so.
If God’s power is missing in our lives in our pursuit of God’s vision, we will all lack the grace to start and come to a glorious end. History is full of the stories of many glorious visionary lives that were either terminated or damned because of either a loss of power or an absence of the same.
Ours will not be an exception if we do not sit up.
We must understand that if it is a heavenly vision, goal, or dream that we are living for; if it is a visionary life from Heaven that we are living on earth, its fulfilment and success will not be by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God, says the LORD.
That was what the Prophetic finger pointed out to when it spoke through God’s prophet Zachariah, as we find in our devotional text. The text says;
So I asked the angel who talked with me, what are these, my lord?
Then the angel who talked with me answered me, do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.
Then he said to me, this [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of Whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts.” Zachariah 4:4-6 AMPC
The power house where the constant power of God, depicted in this scripture need to flow from, is called purity.
IN CHRIST, PURITY IS THE SECRET OF POWER.
The law of visionary purity is respected to guarantee a constant flow of “God’s miracle working power” in and through us, as we live our visionary lives.
In the Old Testament, Visionary purity was ritualistic but in the new it is moral. But the ritualistic version can teach us so much about the moral version. Let us look at the ritualistic version that Samson upheld.
It was handed over to his mother long before he was born. The Bible says;
“Then the woman went and told her husband, saying, A Man of God came to me and his face was like the face of the Angel of God, to be greatly and reverently feared. I did not ask him from where he came, and he did not tell me his name.
But he said to me, Behold, you shall become pregnant and bear a son, and now drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.” Judges 13:6-7 NKJV
This was the encounter Samson’s mother had that brought about his birth. The scripture showed that Samson was a prophetic Child that was born in due season to hit a certain target of God on the face of the earth.
THAT TARGET WAS TO DELIVER ISRAEL FROM THE HANDS OF THE PHILISTINES.
His life was therefore visionary, and a visionary ritualistic purity was attached to it as a result. It was that ritualistic purity that gave him the power to be a wonder to the Philistines.
In this scripture, we can see two forms of ritualistic purity here. One was given to the mother and the other to the son. Each of them had a visionary life to live until purpose was fulfilled.
For the mother, she was to abstain from alcohol and the son was to uphold the life of a Nazarene. We can all see the law of visionary purity being upheld by the two of them, for God’s power to rest upon their lives, and His work done by their hands.
God asked them to be pure so that His power can be present, and get His dream for their lives fulfilled. The truth to glean here is this, if there is no purity in our lives, there will be no power in our lives; I mean power from Heaven. There could be other powers but no power from Heaven.
If there is no power from Heaven, we will not be able to fulfill any vision, plan, or purpose from Heaven. We may fulfil any earth-based thing, but no Heavenly based thing can be fulfilled. That is the message!!
We must all understand that, if our lives are driven by Heavenly visions, there must be a constant flow of Heavenly power in us, for our lives to be beautiful. In God, the secret of that power is purity. If your garment is white, your head will not lack that power.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
“Go your way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart [if you are righteous, wise, and in the hands of God], for God has already accepted your works.
Let your garments be always white [with purity], and let your head not lack [the] oil [of gladness].” Ecclesiastes 9:7-8 AMPC