TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 19TH JULY 2023)**
“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:18-19 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 200TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
If there is a place in God that if I step in, all demonic activities will stay out of my life, that is where I want to be. If there is a place in God that if I step in, I will begin to see ahead of my generation, that is where I will like to spend the rest of my days from.
If there is a place in God that if I step in, poverty, lack, all forms of slavery to sin, Satan, and the systems of this world, will come to an end in my life, that is where I will like to be.
The good news is, such place exists in God. It’s just that very few Christians have found it.
It is the place of rest, a place of peace, a place of supernatural love, mercy, economic supplies and power. It’s a place full of grace and truth. You do not locate it by Google search. You locate it by scriptural search. Jesus said,
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:39-40 NKJV
When you search the scriptures in Spirit and in truth, it brings you to Christ Himself. Christ is the place where you step in all works the devil stay out of your life. The only thing that remains is the price you pay for doing divine will and living in Him. You begin to see ahead of your generation and move in power, kingdom and glory. Hallelujah!
As you keep searching and imbibing, you will find yourself finding more and more of Christ, and moving from faith to faith, grace to grace, and glory to glory.
Friend, if there is a thing that if I do, I begin to move from faith to faith, grace to grace, and glory to glory, that is what I will want to be doing all my life. If there is a Church that will help me do that, or push me into that place in Christ where I need to stay in for the glorious things spoken concerning me to come to pass, and my enemies to become my foot stool, that is the Church I will want to attend all my life.
WE NEED CHRIST CENTERED CHURCHES TO LIVE CHRIST CENTERED LIVES!
Talking about our enemies becoming our foot stool, I have shared previously, how David eavesdropped into a divine conversation between God the Father, God the Son,and God the Holy Ghost in one of his deep intimacy sessions. He heard the Father say something to the Son that he thought will be helpful to the human race and voiced it out.
He said;
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Psalms 110:1-2 NKJV
There is a generation that can eavesdrop into divine conversations.
There is a generation that can attend the council of the God head in Heaven by faith, standing on life giving sanctifying truths, to bring timely revelations and eternal strategies,for vanquishing the enemy of our souls. The activation of that generation is part of God’s way of helping us to manifest His likeness on the face of the earth.
David was a template of that generation. He was a man ahead of His generation in so many ways. He made the pre incarnate Christ (the LORD), his shepherd. The blessing of doing that was the activation of His spirit to eavesdrop into the heavenly conversation captured in Psalm 110.
What He heard that day was actually a messianic prophecy, but it reveals two basic prophetic truths to us. The first is hidden in the words “Sit down at my right Hand till I make your enemies your footstool.”
That makes it clear to us that there is a place in God where one can step into and sit down (or settle there). And when that happens, He (God) will begin to make the person’s enemies his footstool. Enemies like death, hell and grave will become the person’s footstool by the power and glory of God.
Enemies like sin, self, Satan, the evil and corrupt system of this world and all demons they carry, will become the person’s footstool. Hallelujah!
WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE A HYPOCRITE OR LIVE IN SIN.
Our devotional text this morning states two important utterances of the Spirit of truth on this line. The first says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”
If you look at this scripture carefully, you will see two major fruits of authentic salvation experience – two important fruits that springs out of the life of a born again Christian.
The first is, *“he does not sin,”*which represents a life of Holiness. In other words, he will never be comfortable with a life of sin. This is the type that sorrow for any sin committed. The second is, “he keeps himself and the wicked one does not touch him,” which describes a life that is divinely preserved from evil.
This truth simply means, you will not see such a person going for deliverance from anything because there will be nothing to be delivered from. He will be able to keep himself and the wicked one will not touch him.
If you look at this scripture closely, you will see so much that our generation of believers is yet to come into.
I think the major problem that is keeping us out of this place in Christ, is the pseudo salvation experiences we call born again. Many of us who claim born again are hypocrites. We live perpetually in sin, and do not keep ourselves,hence becoming cheap preys of the wicked one.
If you are living in sin claiming born again, the wicked one will keep touching you.
A life of sin after salvation is the greatest betrayer of the Church to the devil. Sadly, many do this and still call themselves saved. But the Bible says otherwise. It says He that lives in, or is comfortable with a life of sin,is of the devil, not of God. So, the only way out is to get genuinely saved, accompanying your salvation, with a life of sinless living; a life of total obedience to the will and ways of God.
If you get saved and you do not commit yourself to working out your salvation with fear and trembling, you will be lost!
The second utterance of the Spirit of truth in our devotional text today says “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
Even if you are born of God, Satan can sway things or people against you. The only way you can be saved from such attacks, is by locating the place in God, where you will need to sit to have Him (God), make everyone and everything the devil sways against you,your footstool.
That is why that conversation that David eavesdropped into in Psalm 110 is very important. Again, it says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My r ight hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies!’
THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD IS THAT PLACE IN GOD THAT WHEN WE STEP IN AND SIT (OR DWELL), OUR ENEMIES WILL BECOME OUR FOOTSTOOL.
In other words, it is a place that makes whatever the enemy throw at us, or sway people to do to us, our footstool. When something is your footstool it does not hurt. It could serve as a place for resting a foot to take a higher leap forward or climb higher in life.
In God’s design, He wants everyone who bears His name to be living his earthly life, from that realm or place in Him, where enemies will no longer be a thing of concern to us. The Bible says,
“As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,” Luke 1:70-71. NKJV
This scripture makes it clear that God wants us saved from our enemies. The surest way is to sit at His right hand. Locating that place, is the key to seeing the LORD moving fiercely against all who hate us. But to make that happen in our lives, David said God will have to send the rod of our strength out of Zion.
Zion is not just a prophetic name of Israel but the name of the Church of Jesus Christ. Whenever we gather as a Church, the Holy Spirit comes down to make the place Zion.
Now, I am not referring to what lying preachers and prophets gather people together to do weekly calling it Church. The Bible calls that an assembly of Satan. I am referring to people gathered together under genuine spiritual leaders on a Sunday, or any other day to seek the LORD. That is Zion; that is where Heaven sends the rod of our strength to.
It is that rod that will then empower us and bring us into that place in Christ where our enemies become our footstool, resulting in us ruling in their midst. Hallelujah! When that happens, life becomes Heaven on earth even when one is facing the fiercest battle with the flesh, the world or the devil – the greatest enemies of the believer.
Meaning, until we are pushed into that place (a seat at God’s right hand) in the Spirit, we will not be able to rule in the midst of enemies.
God spoke to us yesterday about hypocrisy. One thing that successfully turns a believer into a hypocrite, is bowing to sin, self, the devil, and the corrupt world, and pretending that all is well. But we can conquer these enemies. We can deal with them, if we find that place in Christ to sit and receive the rod of our strength, from time to time.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:12-17 NKJV