TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 3RD April 2022)
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” LUKE 4:1-3 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 93RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
A song writer once said “the steadfastness of the LORD, never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new Every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, oh LORD, great is thy faithfulness.” If you know the song, I urge you to use it in connecting your spirit to the presence of the LORD as you begin your day!
The world is in motion; everything and everyone seems to be moving. Sadly, while we think we are moving in this or that direction, we do not realize that the entire world system is moving towards one direction; the direction of the great white throne Judgment where everyone will give account of how they lived their lives on this side of eternity.
The great white Throne Judgment, is not for determining either those who appear before it will go to heaven or not. It is for determining the degree of punishments that each one will receive in the lake of fire. Because God is a just God, He will give to everyone according to their works.
I remember sharing these things in one of our schools of Bible Prophecy.
There will be another throne also, but that one will be called the Bema seat. That is what the Bible calls the judgment seat of Christ, where our works will be tested and rewards given. The Bema is where those who are saved, sanctified and glorified will stand to receive rest from all sorrows and labors.
In simple terms, the world is in motion to bring us all to the Day of Judgement. People who are in friendship, or in love with it, either in the Church system or outside the church system, will be sorry on that day. That is why the early Church never maintained friendship with it.
THE SPIRIT IN IT WOULD FOR THAT PERSECUTE AND TRY TO THE DESTROY THEM. BUT THEY STOOD FIRM IN FAITH.
Sadly, our generation is different. We seem to love the world, much more than even God. We maintain friendship with it because of the treasures in it. We fall in love with its system and even adopt it in running our lives, our Christianity, our families, our ministries and churches. That is why we suffer what they suffer and are marching in the same eternal direction with it.
But the Bible says;
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 NKJV
This scripture made it clear that the world is passing away. Day in, day out, the world is passing away. Its days are numbered and appointed season for existence determined.
The Bible made it clear that all who are trapped in its system will pass away along with it. But those who do the will of God, will abide forever; they will abide in eternal rest with Christ forever.
That brings us to the subject of our 30-Day journey with the LORD; the Cry of the Spirit on doctrine. Without sound doctrine, we will remain in deep love with the world. Do not forget, when you are in love, you want to be intimate. When you are intimate, conception is inevitable.
The conception that usually take place whenever we are in love with the world is always dangerous to our eternal destiny. One word for it is INIQUITY. Iniquity is the very word that describe the forms of conceptions that takes place in our human spirit when we are intimate with the world.
THAT IS WHY THE BIBLE COMMANDED THAT WE DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD BUT THE LORD.
When the same conception was found in Lucifer, you know what happened; He was casted out of Heaven and became an opponent of everything call God. The Bible says he become one who desired (and still desires) to sit as God anywhere God is mentioned.
The same thing happens when iniquity is found in us. We will no longer be able to stay under the restrictions of the almighty; we will begin to carry ourselves like deities, without submitting to His will.
I want to submit to us that God hates abortion of babies, and may He forgive us for all abortions we have done, but He does not hate the abortion of conceptions from the intimate moments we share with the spirit of this world.
How do we share intimate moments with the spirit of this world? What is the spirit of this world? The word spirit means breath or life-giving wind. What is it that is breathing life into the evil and corrupt system of the world? What is the spirit of this world?
The Bible says;
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV
From this scripture, it is clear that the spirit of this world is the breath of Satan himself, giving life to all that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD, and seek to sit as God in the temple of God.
Just as fellowshipping with the Spirit of God only happens through times shared with anything that inhabits God; things like revealed truths, people who dwell in his presence, and etc. so also fellowshipping with the spirit of this world happens through moments shared with anything that inhabits it. It could be a movie, a time shared with friends, a social function, a trip or a doctrine.
The fellowship will create n someone a mindset that opposes God or anything that ignites His presence in our lives. That is why you will never want to be intimate with God after a time with anything that carries or fosters intimacy with the spirit of this world.
FALSE DOCTRINES, HERESIES AND DOCTRINE OF DEMONS FOSTER INTIMACY WITH THE SPIRIT OF THIS WORLD.
That is why you find a Christianity that is controlled by the things that are in this world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life) wherever false doctrines, heresies, or doctrines of devils are preached. You find all manner of sexual infidelities, pride and all forms of moral decay in such places.
If you sit under teachings that make you intimate with the world, you will never be intimate with the LORD. You will be calling Him “LORD, LORD” without doing what He says. You will not be able to live right because of the conceptions that will take place in your human spirit.
The conceptions will be pushing you in the direction of moral decay, despite your efforts to live right.
Your Christianity will be a form of godliness without power. The conceptions will reduce it to a mouth confession instead of a heart commitment to the LORD. Friend, it is eternally dangerous to sit under doctrines that foster one’s relationship with the world instead of the LORD!
I have come to discover that false doctrines, heresies and doctrines of demons will make people love the world. But sound doctrines or the doctrine of Christ will make people love the LORD.
People who sit under carriers of the doctrine of Christ are passionate about the LORD and the needs He has or the eternal purposes He wants them to fulfill in time. But those who sit under carriers of other doctrines are passionate about their earthly needs, the world, and all it has to offer to them.
To them, God is like a good will charm or deity that you give your tithes, offerings, and lands, cars, and other forms of sacrifices to, so that He can grant you the desires of your heart, either good or bad. Their best scriptures are need oriented. One of them says, “God will grant you the desires of your hearts.”
Any impartation of a false, heretic or demonic doctrine will bring you into intimacy with the spirit of this world. The spirit will then impregnate your human spirit with the seed called iniquity, making it impossible for you to lead a godly life.
THAT IS HOW THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY OR WICKEDNESS IS FORMED IN PEOPLE.
When the mystery is formed in people, it does not matter what they may be doing for God, they will become eternally irrelevant. The Bible shows us how this mystery (from the seed called iniquity) can ruin lives eternally, when Jesus said;
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23 AKJV
This is how the seed of iniquity can ruin us eternally.
A lot of believers and preachers you take for miracle workers are actually workers of iniquity. Satan will not mind doing a miracle that will harden people’s hearts and prevent them from aligning with God’s will. He will not mind doing a miracle to keep one on paths that leads to eternal damnation.
Hell will give us anything that looks Heavenly, if only our will can be allowed to be in conflict with God ‘s will. Do not forget, the devil offered Jesus the whole world just for one moment of worship.
He was willing to give Him what was handed over to him by Adam if only Jesus would allow iniquity to be found in him.
I HAVE SHARED OVER AND OVER THAT INIQUITY IS WHEN OUR WILL COMES IN CONFLICT WITH GOD’S WRITTEN, SPOKEN, OR HIDDEN WILL.:
God’s written will is the Bible, His spoken will is the voice of His Holy Spirit, and His hidden will are things written in the volume of the books concerning us. Whenever we become intimate with the world, we will conceive things that will not let us submit to or walk in God’s written, spoken or hidden will for our lives.
It is therefore important that we secure ourselves from this dangerous spirit. And, how do we do that? That brings us to our devotional text. A portion of the text says;
“Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread]. And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.” Luke 4:3-4 AMPC
Under the glory of God, the doctrine of Christ is made up of words and expressions of God that injects the Christ-life into the human life, making it a carrier of the divine seed; the mystery of godliness.
When our lives carry the mystery of godliness, it will become very easy to do God’s written, spoken and hidden will. That was what Paul carried when he called himself a bound servant.
A bond servant is different from a salve. A slave is one who is made a bond servant, but a bond servant is not a slave made a bond servant. A bound servant is one who willingly offered himself for non commercial servitude just to do the will of one, who was not, but now has become his master.
In the same way, Jesus was not our master when we were living in sin and operating the spirit of this world. But when we accepted Him, absorbed His doctrine, and become carriers of the divine seed called the mystery of godliness, we could now do His written, spoken and hidden will.
We could be His bond servants. Preachers who condition their ministries on what they can get from people could be servants of God; but they are not bond servants of God. Bond servants enjoys the best of God.
As we bring this to a close, its is important to ask ourselves, which seed are we carrying? The answer lies in the doctrine we have been absorbing. If we live by what proceeds from the mouth of the LORD (the doctrine of Christ), we will be intimate with the LORD and become carriers of the mystery of godliness.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” Romans 1:1-6 NKJV