TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 26TH JUNE 2022)
“I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books.
And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works].
Then death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:12-14 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 177TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE
It has been 177 days of God’s amazing grace indeed; days of His mercies, forgiveness, compassion and glorious acts. It has been days of His power helping us to lead affective Christian lives on earth. It has been days of His grace helping us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Our lives are full of proves that God is alive and well. We give Him all the praise.
This morning we will continue with our emphasis of the Cry of the Spirit on fear. We have seen over and over again why the LORD did not make the spirit of fear one of the gifts of His Spirit. We have also seen one kind of fear that His Holy Spirit will always put in our hearts; the fear of the LORD!
For few days now we have been looking at truths around that fear; its blessings and few principles that governs it. The Bible says the whole duty of a man is to fear God and depart from evil. That makes the fear of God a duty for a human being. I did not say a Christian. I said a human being.
If you are not living your life in such a way that the fear of God becomes a duty for you, the enemy will have your soul in hell when your days are fulfilled. Life itself will be a misery at the end of the day if you do not fear God.
You must make up your mind on this side of eternity to walk in the fear of God, which begins at the door of meeting the resurrected Christ and accepting Him as LORD and savior. To walk in fear of God you must embrace Jesus as LORD and savior and live in Him while He lives in you.
Sadly, not everyone who claim to have embraced Him walk in the fear of God. So, this is beyond saying you are born again. It is beyond being a preacher.
It is beyond being religious. It is beyond going to Church because a lot of Church people are wicked and have no fear of God in them. This is about having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and walking in awe of Him, and expressing it by living soberly, godly, righteously and holy in this present world.
TIME AND ETERNITY WERE NOT CREATED OR DESIGNED TO FAVOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD.
They may look prosperous and great, but will never end well in time or eternity. Look at the way men and women who did not fear God in human history ended. Some were killed by very simple things. In there affront at God they were made to prosper by hell, but their prosperity ate them at the end of the day.
People do not know that it is not just poverty that kills. Even prosperity kills. A lot of people have been destroyed by their prosperity. The Bible indeed said the prosperity of the wicked shall destroy him. So, in as much as you do not want to be poor, strife also not to be rich with riches that will destroy you!
Either rich or poor, we do not go to hell or Heaven because of our economic status, we go to hell or Heaven because of our spiritual status; how we handle the fear of the LORD.
Our devotional text says;
“I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life.
And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books.
And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works].
Then death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
“And if anyone’s [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:12-15 AMPC
THE WORD GREAT AND SMALL ALSO IMPLIES RICH AND POOR.
Everyone who did not walk in the fear of God on this side of eternity, preacher or regular Church member, prophet or politician, rich or poor, pastor or priest, idol worshiper or hero worshiper, or etc. will face God’s white Throne Judgment on the other side of eternity.
People think that being a preacher automatically means Heaven is your home. But that is wrong. There are preachers in hell today and sadly many are still on their way there. That is why the Spirit of God is screaming at our sinful and wicked deeds as preachers using vessels we do not even expect God to use.
Our devotional text again says;
“And if anyone’s [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15 AMPC
This brings us to one of the fears that is permitted and generated by the Spirit of God in God’s kingdom, the fear of God’s approaching Judgment.
I gave my life to Christ as a Child not because I was looking for some blessings. I gave my life to Christ because I feared God’s approaching judgments. Especially the judgment of the great white throne. I found out that people who repent for same reasons live a different Christian life. Their fear for Judgment helps them to live right.
If you look at the lives of those who have refused to surrender to the LORD you find either ignorance of God’s approaching judgments or lack of fear for it ruling their lives.
If you also look at the lives of believers who are living in sin, iniquity or trespass you see people who have no fear for God’s approaching judgment. The reason for this is because they have been erroneously told that they will not be judged since they have recited the sinner’s prayer.
They were made to believe that they have escaped judgment. But they were not told that we escape judgment when we renounce the sinner’s life not when we recite the sinner’s prayer. The sinner’s prayer should be made as a demonstration of the renunciation of the sinner’s life.
Child of God understand that even living a consecrated Christian life is not possible if you have no fear for approaching judgment. If you have no fear of God’s judgment on sin you will be living in sin. If you have no fear of God’s final judgment on the sinner, you will not care about the LORD and what He did for us on the cross.
THERE WERE TIMES THAT I COMMITTED SINS, INIQUITY AND TRESPASSES EVEN AFTER GIVING MY LIFE TO CHRIST.
But each time any of that happened, I have always remembered the first reason why I gave my life to Christ and ran back to the LORD in repentance. I fear God’s judgment more than any devil on earth. In fact, I do not fear devils, I fear God’s judgment.
God’s judgment on sin will hit any sinner in the day of reckoning, either he or she is a preacher or not. It is coming! That was why even Paul put his body under subjection.
Jesus Himself 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 NKJV
If you do not fear this as a preacher or a believer in Christ, you will live a life of iniquity and lawlessness all your Christian life without even knowing it. You will not meet genuine apostles and prophets to find out what iniquity is and make sure you are not found in any form of iniquity.
The reason God placed apostles first in the body of Christ is to deal with the mystery of iniquity because after embracing the LORD that is what you must fight to keep away from your life. Sadly, Iniquity will stop many anointed people of God from making Heaven the way it stopped the Israelites from getting to the promise land.
Do not forget that millions of Jews left Egypt but only two who left Egypt made it to the promise land. The rest died in the wilderness because of iniquity. Those who accompanied the two who made it to the promise land were all born in the wilderness. The two who made it were Joshua and Caleb because they will not bow to iniquity.
Iniquity is when your will comes in opposition to God’s will. They made sure their will did not come in opposition to God’s will.
What should fear us about the events that happened to them is this, what happened to them is a template of what will happen to us. I mean all of us who claim born again.
Indeed, we have left Egypt, but how many of us will get to Canaan? The fear of God’s approaching judgment should stir us to live right.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 KJV