TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 12TH AUGUST 2022)
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:51-56 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 224TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
Glory be to God for giving us another day. It is another weekend from the LORD. He has kept us alive again and again at His expense, despite our unfaithful deeds. The investment remains to make us faithful to Him.
Sadly, many of us are not responding. I pray we use His goodness in our lives to become faithful to Him. Amen!
Let me begin with what is happening. Our ongoing school of Miracles, Signs and Wonders has been enriching. The Grace of our LORD and savior Jesus Christ has been amazing in the classes.
Indeed, God’s grace is full of truths; not just truths but living truths.
Living truths do not just enlighten, they give life. They are a manifestation of Christ Himself who the Bible describe as the second Adam. The Word said;
And so it is written,
“The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 NKJV
This scripture tells us why living Truths are life giving. That is why we sit under them as dead souls and come out of them as living souls; people who are alive in the Spirit.
They are is a dimension of the manifestation of Christ as life-giving Spirit.
The manifestation of Christ as the word of God varies. To those who sit under Him to be discipled, He manifest as living truths through Holy Spirit enabled or propelled preaching or teachings. That is what we are experiencing in the ongoing school of Miracles, Signs and Wonders.
In fact, the release of life-giving truths has been the norm in whatever concerns the Cry of the Spirit Ministries Globally. Our Sunday services, our books, our TV talk shows, and etc.
The manifestation of Christ as the Truth is one thing we have never missed in this mantle, and the reason is obvious!
A ministry that is raised by the LORD to take people back to the God of the Bible, disciple the nations, build a people over whom hell shall not prevail, neutralize the spirit of lawlessness, and raise the broken down standards of GOD’s kingdom, among other things you see us do, will definitely have Christ at its center doing all that, through a systematic presentation of life giving truths.
EVERY APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC MANTLE ARE PLACES WHERE CHRIST IS MADE MANIFEST, AS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
Such manifestations bring freedom from sin, the cares of this world and the activities of the devil among, other Christ enabled freedom we experience.
The Bible spoke about the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot comprehend it. It is the light of the truth that Jesus brings as the light of the world. People who walk in it will not come under the spirit of lawlessness.
If truth is what brings freedom, that explains why many are in captivity.
People will prefer praying to be free from the works of the devil than hearing truths that will set them free. That is why they are still bound despite prayers. The Bible did not present prayers as the key to freedom, it presented Truth as the key.
Prayers are good but prayer without application of truth will not bring freedom. It will just build an empty religion and in most cases usher in the spirit of lawlessness. The Bible says;
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 NKJV
I have come to discover that where Christ is manifesting as Truth, through a systematic delivery of Bible truth, people abide in His word and they do not walk in captivity. They do not submit to the flesh easily, or come under the attacks of the wicked one successfully.
They are not controlled by the evil and corrupt system of this world. They are controlled by the Spirit of Truth Himself, resulting in rest on every side of their lives. They could suffer persecution, disappointment and etc. but they will ultimately enjoy a peace that passes understanding.
Paul was one of such breeds.
He went through a lot for standing against the religious bigots of his day with the truth of Christ that filled his life, making it clear to us that there is no way you will be at peace with same people today if your life is filled with the living truth of Christ.
THOSE WHOSE MINISTRIES, CHURCHES, LIVES AND ETC. ARE PROFITING FROM THE STATUS QUO WILL RESIST YOU STRONGLY.
However, there will still be rest in your life because despite what Paul went through, he wrote to the Church in Rome saying;
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NKJV
God will keep you in rest so that you will remain joined with Him. The giver of the truth you stand for will be the one to protect you from the sword.
Our world is gradually becoming a place where lies and errors that have been sold over time have been established. Sadly, even in church. Truth bearers are resisted brutally like Stephen and given names to turn hearts from the message of the LORD on their lips.
The Bible describe our days as days were Truth fails. It says;
“Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So, truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” Isaiah 59:14-15 NKJV
The Bible made it clear that if we want to depart from evil, especially by walking in the Truth of Christ, we must be ready to become prey to some predators who have been prospering from the lies and errors that have been on ground.
Believe it or not, these days, he who departs from evil will make Himself a prey!
There are people who have lost their jobs, families, privileges and etc. for departing form evil. The cost of departing from evil today is growing by the day.
In a lawless church environment departing from evil is no longer celebrated. People are becoming preys or victims of things that are unpleasant for aligning with the present truth.
IT HAS BECOME VERY DANGEROUS TO STAND IN TRUTH THESE DAYS.
If there is no mercy of God in your life these days, you will definitely lose your life for standing in truth. That was why bearers of truth, like Paul the apostle, were trained by the LORD not to love their lives even unto death before being given truths to uphold.
You cannot uphold the Truth of Christ in a sick Church and a dying world loving your life. You cannot uphold it even loving your job and sometimes your family.
Yes, you cannot uphold it thinking about safety. If you do, you will drop it and run away. The Bible made it clear that we will overcome by upholding the truth without loving our lives even unto death. It says;
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Revelation 12:11 NKJV
There is a supernatural energy you emit around your life if you uphold the truth without loving your life unto death. Apostle Paul describes it as a life that proceeds from us to work in the life of those around us.
In simple terms, the redeeming life of Christ is what we emit around when we become a prey for upholding the truth, and staying or remaining strong despite what may be happening.
The blessing of upholding the truth is much higher than the burden.
For instance, there is a way upholding the Truth of Christ at all cost sets our hearts on pilgrimage. That alone is a major blessing, Because when hearts are set on pilgrimage, the Bible says that power to turn the valley of Baca or weeping into a pool of blessing will be released to us.
Simply put, we will begin to touch the powers of the age to come.
From personal experiences, I have come to realize that upholding the Truth has a way of making the active presence of God abide in one’s life. The life of Stephen made it clear that it opens a Heavenly portal over our lives.
Understand that God will not keep Heaven closed on those who uphold the Truth of Christ in a sick Church and a dying world in other to walk in freedom and bring same to others.
IT IS BETTER TO DIE UPHOLDING THE TRUTH LIKE STEPHEN DID THAN TO LIVE DENYING IT LIKE THE PHARISEES DID.
Our devotional text says;
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:51-56 NKJV
Stephen did not die for trying to establish a lie. He died trying to establish the living truth in the hearts of his generation.
He made himself a prey for departing from evil. The Bible says he who departs from evil made himself a prey, and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him.
But did the so-called fathers of the faith of his day, who killed him knew that God was displeased with them? No! That was why they died few years later like dogs.
When fathers of faith get cut off from the faith they claim to be fathers of, they will no longer be able to recognize the voice of the LORD in those God may be using to speak to them.
The will rather respond in the flesh, or stop their ears, or mobilize stones against those God may be using to speak to them. To them, it will be disrespect and all that.
The Cry of the Holy Spirit on fathering have been coming to us for 12 days now. I want to submit to us that as important as it is to have spiritual fathers, It is also important not to have a spiritual farther than to have one who is no longer part of the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT WAS WHAT STEPHEN KNEW THAT MADE CHRIST TO STAND UP FOR HIM.
He refused to be part of a fathering system that had been cut off from the LORD, and yielded to the LORD to use his vocal cords to speak strongly to the system. It is not easy to confront an antichrist system that people accept as divine.
But Stephen did as propelled by Christ. Though they mobilized people to lie on him and had him stoned, Heaven stood up for His faith.
It is better for Heaven to stand up for me, for my fight for the faith of our Bible fathers, than for people to stand up and applaud me for fighting for present day fathers who are cut off from the faith of our Bible fathers. One will eternally bless me even if it did not bless me in time, the other will eternally curse me if I did not repent and publicly renounce my actions
As we bring this to a close, I want to submit to you that the way the fathers mobilized men under their influence to stone Stephen so will the present-day fathers, who are out of touch with the resurrected Christ do in our days. But this is not to scare any but to make us strong.
Paul became the next Stephen after bearing a negative witness to his death. In simple terms, he was Stephen number two. Our generation will be Stephen number three. We will bear positive witness to his death.
We will under Christ, be a pain to the stiff neck religious leaders of our days, who are resisting the Holy Spirit from turning the shadows of what Moses did before the cross into the substance, which is Christ.
We are sure, they will not prevail against the LORD. The only thing we have to do, is to make sure we are on the LORD’s side at all times.
We should not forget that when one makes himself a prey for departing form evil, and there is no one to intercede for him, God Himself will become his intercessor.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY.
So, truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:15-19 NKJV