TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2022)
“But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, You cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire.
So if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you, Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way traveling with him, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.” Matthew 5:22-25 AMPC
WELCOME TO THE 319TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
We have been on a 30-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Spirit on practical wisdom. Our lives, for many of us in the faith, have been without practical wisdom, that is why they are not blissful and blessed.
We thank the LORD for not dealing with us according to our folly or foolishness, else we would have been no more. But the enemy has taken advantage of all that and caused us so much harm. There is need to return to the LORD with the whole of our hearts, seeking His mercies to help and shield us and His revelation to help us.
For some of us what makes us not to walk in practical wisdom is ignorance. The Bible says we perish for lack of knowledge. That is why the dispensing of knowledge is the most important activity in God’s kingdom.
You see that in the Kingdom of God in Heaven where the revelation or unveiling of God is a constant activity. You also see that in the Kingdom of God on earth where discipleship and unveiling of who Christ is and who He is not, is a constant activity.
So, when we say knowledge, we are referring to the Knowledge of the Holy One not any other. The Bible says;
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 NKJV
There is secular knowledge, there is the knowledge of man, and there is the knowledge of devils called the knowledge of this age or the knowledge of the god of this age which is passing away, and there is the Knowledge of the Holy One.
While the knowledge of man will help us live certain parts of our earthly lives well, like how to cook our meals, build our houses, maintain our cars, withdraw our monies from the bank, keep our houses clean, wash our clothes, do our shopping and etc. the knowledge of devils will ruin us.
What the Bible recommends to mankind is the knowledge of the Holy One. That is the knowledge that will even guide us in the application of the knowledge of man.
Now, It is because of the absence of the knowledge of the Holy One that our lives are destroyed.
THAT IS THE KNOWLEDGE THE BIBLE SAYS WE ARE DESTROYED FOR NOT HAVING.
For instance, there is the Knowledge of the Holy one on marriage, or on getting and staying married. If you do not have it you will ruin your marriage, or will not get and stay happily married. In other words, you could get married, but you will be happily married.
There is the knowledge of the Holy One on finances and having a fat economic life. If you do not have it, you will be ruin your financial life and have lack and scarcity as the characteristics of your lives.
There is the knowledge of the Holy One on running successful or having peaceful families. If we do not have it, we will ruin our families. We will find our family members torn apart by jealousy, envy, and all kinds of things.
There is the knowledge of the Holy One on having successful and glorious inter personal relationships, running our lives on earth and all that. That is what we will be looking at on this platform today.
Now, the knowledge of the Holy One has two aspects; there is the spiritual aspect that helps us to run all of our spiritual lives, like living a holy life, praying and fasting, winning spiritual battles, stewardship in God’s kingdom, faith, operating in the gifts of the Spirit, answering the call of God upon our life, increasing in the anointing, obeying God and doing His will, seeking divine direction or hearing from God and etc.
The second aspect is the practical aspect that helps us to run our earthly lives. Which brings us to the first definition of practical wisdom that I want to give.
Practical wisdom (by God’s definition), is the aspect of the Knowledge of the Holy One that helps us to run our earthly lives. I hope you understand me.
There is the knowledge of the Holy One on all aspects of our earthly lives. If we do not have it, honor will never be our portion, neither will we be able to assembly in our life what GOD has finished concerning us in Heaven, nor will we be able to have deliverance with divine preservation. Those are some of the things we have presented as things that will never happen to us if we do not walk in practical wisdom.
Practical wisdom is therefore, the application of the practical aspect of the knowledge of the Holy One to our daily lives.
LIKE I SAID, THAT IS THE FIRST DEFINITION. OTHERS COULD COME LATER.
Our devotional text speaks of the Knowledge of the Holy One to apply in every interpersonal relationship, including marriage, blood relations, business relations, pastor member relation, employer employee relations and etc.
God has a purpose for establishing inter personal relationship among us humans. You see, Faith is the currency of the Spirit but Interpersonal relationship is the currency of the material world.
Interpersonal relationship is even better than money because there are things money will never do that a relationship will do. And there is nothing money does that a relationship cannot do.
So, for those who know, cultivating, having or keeping a good interpersonal relationship is better than having money. It will give you things that money cannot give.
Child of God, the divine purpose for having interpersonal relationship must be understood.
God ordained so many things, including financial prosperity, having a peaceful family, getting and staying happily married, schooling, becoming great in life, fulfilling a Heavenly call, breaking financial Hardship, and even making heaven or achieving other significant things in life to run on the wheels of interpersonal relationship.
That is why people who cannot keep interpersonal relationships will suffer terribly in life.
There is the practical knowledge of the Holy One for having a successful interpersonal relationship. Anyone who apply it will have the purpose of God for inter personal relationships fulfilled in their lives. It is part of that knowledge that we find in our devotional text.
THE TEXT SAYS;
“But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice (enmity of heart) against him shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the court; and whoever speaks contemptuously and insultingly to his brother shall be liable to and unable to escape the punishment imposed by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, You cursed fool! [You empty-headed idiot!] shall be liable to and unable to escape the hell (Gehenna) of fire.
So if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you, Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way traveling with him, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.” Matthew 5:22-25 AMPC
Our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, was hundred percent man and hundred percent God when He was physically on earth. There were times He spoke as God, the Judge of the whole earth, and there were times He spoke as Son of man.
But all He said in both times are to be obeyed, cherished and respected. They all have consequences for not holding them in high esteem or obeying them.
As man, He grew up as a Pharisee. The reason was to have access to teach in the Temple. In the days of the Bible, only a Pharisee could teach in the Temple. If He was not one, He would not have had access to do so, and part of His messianic assignment involved teaching in the temple. Hence training as a Pharisee.
In our devotional text here we see the LORD speaking both as a Pharisee and as God.
The first application of the text (the logos) was to those who were hearing Him then, the second (the Rhema) is to us. They applied the logos because they were in Judaism, we are to apply the Rhema because we are in Christianity.
Meaning, we are not to apply the logos because we are not in Judaism, neither do we have any council called the Sanhedrin. Just as any scripture on the use of OIL has both the logos and the Rhema.
Now, let me make some things clear, the logos of the word applied to the Jews, but the Rhema Christians. For instance, Under the logos, the Jews used the anointing oil for religious purposes, to foreshadow the first coming of the anointed One, and the release of the Holy Spirit.
But under the Rhema, the use was brought to an end. Christians are to yield to the Spirit of Christ to receive and then walk in the anointing of the Holy One. But many are still not listening. They chose to be in Judaism instead of Christianity. That is why some have a lot of devils among them.
So, the Rhema in our devotional text is all about the knowledge of the Holy One on interpersonal relationship. I see it as God’s way of managing conflicts in any relationship.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IS TO KEEP, STRENGTHEN OR PROLONGING THE RELATIONSHIP.
First, The text admonishes us not to continually be angry with those we may be in relationship with, or harbor malice, or enmity of heart against them. That if we do, there will be consequence. Basically, it will defeat God’s purpose for ordaining that relationship.
There are courts in the spirit realm that seats to judge such matters and their unfavorable judgment will result in a hard life for us on earth.
The Rhema in the text also counseled us not to use wrong words in our interpersonal relationships. It is part of the knowledge of the Holy One for having successful interpersonal relationships and allowing God to use them to bless our lives.
It says we should not speak contemptuously and insultingly to anyone who are in any kind of righteous relationship with. That if we do, especially without apologizing and repenting, or if we make it our life styles, there will be consequences. A time will come that the courts of divine settlement will seat over the matter and issue a judgment that will not be favorable, resulting in a hard life on earth.
The text also admonished that we should not use words like “You cursed fool, and empty-headed idiot!” in our interpersonal relationships. That if we do that, hell itself will be what may have us.
In other words, we should not be using terribly hurting words in our interpersonal relationships, that if we do, we will be opening the portals of hell over them and having worms proceed from hell into the relationships to eat it up and defeat God’s purpose for it.
People who do not know How to speak words that are full of grace will fill their interpersonal relationships with worms from hell through what they say! Do not forget that!
The last admonition in that text from the knowledge of the Holy One on having successful interpersonal relationships, is very deep. It has to do with offering worship to God through our services to Him.
It says;
“So, if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you, Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way traveling with him, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.” Matthew 5:23-25 AMPC
WHAT IS THE RHEMA IN THIS SCRIPTURE?
The Rhema made it clear that God will never accept a song we sing in Church, a prayer we make anywhere, a preaching we preach, a prophesy we release, a fat or small offering we give towards His work, or the poor we took care of, or any other services we render to Him, no matter how sacrificial, if there is someone in our lives who is grieving because they offended us and we did not forgive them, especially at their plea for mercy.
It says we can be handed over, in the spirit realm to the court of divine settlement because of all that.
Yes there is the court of Divine settlement in the Spirit realm where chastisements and correctional judgments are issued out to men on earth for the wrongs we do. Let no one fool you about it.
I believe enough have been shred for the day.
For some time now we have been looking at things that will never happen to us if we do not walk in practical wisdom. I think with what we have seen today, one can say without practical wisdom there can be no interpersonal relationship that will fulfil its prophetic purpose.
Without practical wisdom there will be no relationship in your life that God can use to bless you. And do not forget, one of the primary purposes of interpersonal relationships is for God to use them to put blessings on our lives.
When we return tomorrow, we will continue with the knowledge of the Holy One for interpersonal relationships, because many are living very hard lives for not knowing How to keep good relationships in their lives. They think everyone is a demon.
They forget that it is still not good for any good or destiny man or woman to be alone.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
“And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Now the Lord God said, It is not good (sufficient, satisfactory) that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.” Genesis 2:15-18 AMPC