TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 26TH JUNE 2023)**
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:9-10 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 177TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
The 2023 Destiny Matters conference, was outside this world. When it all started one Sunday ago, the LORD impressed in my heart (spirit), that it will be a conference unlike any that we have had, in the History of the ministry.
Indeed, the word of the LORD was demonstrated each day until we got to yesterday, the last day of the meeting. I have never seen such a move of God in the ministry before. It was a deluge of power. Going by what the LORD said to me, while on my knees (when I could no longer minister), there is more we will see.
I bless the LORD God of Heaven and Earth for His marvelous deeds. I give Him the glory for such great outpourings. Indeed, with the power, insights, foresights, and uncommon knowledge of the WORD that came, we will indeed fulfill our divine destinies.
At the end of time, when we would have fulfilled the days appointed to us by our Heavenly Father, we will all look at the parley gates of Heaven, that will be opening to us and then take a last gaze back into time, to say to the ears that may or may not be there;
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8 NKJV
Today we will be looking one thing that will hinder the fulfillment of our divine destiny. That thing is the love of money. I hope we are all ready for another time with the LORD in print.
There is no part of the Bible that says anything pleasant concerning the love of money. The Bible did warn us against it, in very strict terms. We were warned even against its associates or descendants, like greed, covetousness, deceit, craftiness, and all other forms of dangerous desires induced by it.
The love of money itself manifests in form of a dangerous desire to be rich. Many sons and daughters of destiny have fallen into piercing temptations, satanic snares, foolish, and harmful lust because of it, with others drown into destruction, in this life and even perdition in the next life.
ONE MAJOR THING YOUR DIVINE DESTINY WILL NEED TO BE FULFILLED, IS LOVE FOR GOD AND NOT LOVE FOR MONEY.
Love for God will force the glorious things or events that God has designed, organized, or structured to happen in your life, to begin to happen. It will provoke them to be unleashed upon you.
Sadly, the love of money and love for GOD look alike; making it difficult for men to easily differentiate which is driving someone, especially in the church, or in Gospel ministry.
On this divine destiny flow, we have been considering the things that our destiny will need to be accurately fulfilled and gloriously unleashed. We began by outlining that a personal relationship with the LORD is the first. Then we shared that spending countless hours with Him or building a healthy devotional habit is the second.
Then the Holy Ghost kindled our spirits to know that behaving wisely is the third ingredient our destiny will need to be fulfilled. That David behaved himself wisely, on matters of his divine destiny, even in very provocative situations, that was why he started and finished both strong and well.
Then of late, the LORD made it clear to us that one way to behave ourselves wisely today, is not to sow to please our flesh. In other words, we should not take a decision to feed our carnal nature, untamed desires, and all that. We should not feed our pride, ego, lust, and sinful cravings.
If we sow to please the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption and stall the release of our destiny. But today we are going a step further.
The next ingredient our divine destiny will need to be fulfilled is a genuine love for God. Love for God has been the driving force of people of Destiny from age to age. But our generation has replaced that with love for money. And because the two passions look alike, it has become very difficult to tell the difference.
Due to how influential it can be in the lives of many, Jesus placed God and money on the same influence platform, when He said in Matthew 6:24 that we cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon is the god of riches and material acquisition. So many in Church today are serving it, in the guise of serving God. For instance, take money away from the deliverance, evangelistic, prophetic, or church ministry of many today, there will be mass resignation of preachers. The minds of many in ministry today are set on money and nothing else.
THAT IS WHY THEY PREACH TITHING MORE THAN ETERNAL LIFE.
In God’s mindset, money should be a tool for serving Him ,that is, advancing His purposes. But in the mindset of a corrupt Church generation, God should be a tool for getting and serving money, or advancing personal ambitions. That is why the destructive desire to be rich has become the distinguished character of our Church generation.
By our fruits, passions, and conducts, it is clear to so many people today, that most of us preachers, who claim to love God or to be in ministry for the salvation of souls, or the release of the divine destinies of mankind, are lying. A large percentage of us are in ministry today because of our love for money. That is why the more we get it the more we loose God.
Have you realized that when most preachers who are dead spiritually and paralyzed morally today started, they were powerfully flowing under the glory? God stuck His shadow to their lives?
But now that they have succeeded and are flying from nation to nation with so much money to spare, the glory has departed. They now struggle with bottles of Oil and faith preaching with no more moves of the Holy Ghost to show.
You may be wondering what happened? I need to tell you what happened for the sake of the next generation. At a particular point in their life they lost the genuine love for God, and Satan replaced the vacuum with a love for gold (money).
Now, in spiritual matters, you pursue more of who or what you love and internally crave for and less of who or what you do not genuinely crave for. The mark of true love is pursuit of the subject, object, or person of your love.
So, if you love and crave for money more than God, you will pursue money in ministry using God as a cover or smoke screen. On the other hand, if you love and internally crave for God, you will demonstrate it by pursuing Him more than money or anything.
That is why money-spinning messages, or messages that breeds the lost of God’s manifest glory, have become the hallmark of many Churches.
When you see a Child of God or a preacher getting more money, and losing more of God’s manifest glory and presence, his love for God has been replaced with an internal crave and love for money.
IF THE DESIRE TO BE RICH IS THE REASON YOU RUN AFTER GOD, YOU WILL END THE WAY JUDAS ISCARIOT ENDED – A SON OF PERDITION.
God will first send destruction to warn you but if you remain deaf and blind, you will end up in perdition when you die. That is why a major highlight in our devotional text for today said;
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
The easiest way to be drown into destruction and perdition like Judas Iscariot is to pursue a divine destiny with a desire to be rich. That is why Churches have become money making machines and every prayer for miracle is attached to special financial seeds. As a result, many in our Church generation have grown fat and rich in the unrighteous mammon, but very poor in the true riches of the Kingdom.
John the beloved accurately captured the prophetic portrait of our Church generation when he wrote saying;
“Because you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — Revelation 3:17 NKJV
Look at the many Churches and ministries we call rich and mega, they are producing a followership that is wretched in the things of God, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. There is no fullness of God’s presence on display in their lives.
Whenever the pursuit of divine destiny becomes driven by the love of money or desire to be rich, destiny people will become an assembly of Satan or a gate of hell on the face of the earth, fighting even the very purposes of God they claim to be pursuing; preaching heresies, practicing prophetic and Charismatic witchcraft, and trying to prevail against the true Church of Jesus Christ they claim to be part of. But Jesus has said “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” That is why I am confident that they will not prevail.
HE SPOKE THROUGH JOHN THE BELOVED SAYING;
“Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”
“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:9-10 NKJV
I believe this is a present word for those who are keeping the word of the LORD, who are not driven by a dangerous desire to be rich but to live in contentment, in the pursuit of their divine destiny. God is saying to you this morning, I will keep you from the hour of trial that shall come to test those who dwell on the earth. Above all, you will smile in eternity. The troubles you may have faced in time, for keeping to His word and allowing only His love to drive you in the release of divine destiny, will be rewarded.
I am persuaded that if you make today’s devotional your meditation and allow the Holy Ghost to unveil more things to you, something destructive will be extracted out of your desire to pursue destiny.
Many who have lost the glory of God in Church now have the powers of the evil one in their lives. They use it to dish out miracles to the naïve. That is why their prayers for people are usually based on giving money or sowing seed, using salt, sand, or mustard seeds to pray; asking people to drink oil, etc. They have pursued and acquired money but lost the glory of God.
May that not be said of you or anyone in the true Church in Jesus precious name!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY;
“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,
which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:11-16 NKJV