TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 29TH AUGUST 2023)
“Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.” Isaiah 5:13-14 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 241ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
Praise the LORD! It’s been 241 days since we entered the New Year. A lot has happened since then.
Time indeed change things. Few people we all started the year with, are no more. But God has kept us in His mercies. It is not because we are better than them. It is simply because His mercies has no history of failure. May it continue to keep us, and may we not be given to the will of our enemies, in Jesus’ precious name.
With 124 days more to go, I am confident that God will not forsake us! We only need to walk by faith, and faith comes from hearing. There is something to hear for the faith to survive the next 124 days to come. I advise that Psalm 124 be use as part of your faith building material, during the remaining 124 days of this year.
We are living in very critical times. Yesterday God woke us up in matters of eternal destiny. If there is anything to keep watching for in your life now as a Christian, it is not the date you will get married or a job, as important as that may be. It is the date of the rapture, or catching away of the saints.
Do not let anyone confuse you! We are in the season of the Rapture.
Though certain moves of GOD are lined up to usher in the main event, we are in rapture season. It is important that your oil be sufficient. If it is not sufficient, go to those who sell (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost) to buy. Be a wise and not one of the foolish virgins.
With this opening comment I welcome you to the word of the LORD for today. People go into captivity because they do not have the intimate knowledge of God.
There is the head knowledge of God and there is the intimate knowledge. Schooling in the things of God will take us from the level of head knowledge to intimate knowledge. Hallelujah!
Due to the impact of the fall of man on the human race, there are certain restorations that will never take place in your life by prayer. They will only take place through schooling in the things of God! One of such restoration is what theologians call “the salvation of the total man.” And that is what we want to talk about this morning.
SALVATION OF THE TOTAL MAN, IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE COMPLETELY FREE FROM SIN, SATAN, AND THE EVIL AND CORRUPT SYSTEM OF THIS WORLD.
It is the only way to experience true and lasting deliverance from any evil work. The salvation of the total man is the saving of the spirit, soul and body from sin, Satan, and the evil and corrupt systems of this world! Jesus made that the product of His earthly ministry wherever He went. That was also what the early Church left as a trail, wherever they went. But today people do not even know such words exist.
Friend, there are no words to describe what will be taking place in your life in this world, and what will take place in it in the world to come, if you have not experienced the salvation of the total man.
In this world, you will never be free from a life of sin, demonic attacks or the satanic, neither will you be successful by God’s design, in anything you set your heart to do – marriage, business, career, etc. In the world to come, eternal success will be impossible; meaning, one will spend eternity in hell if they die without experiencing this depth of salvation.
Sadly, many do not know that real life begins after death, hence not keen about it.
Our present life is just a shadow of the real life, which begins after death. That is why the greatest preparation a man should make in this life, is not the preparation for marriage, ministry, or a trip to the white house in America. The greatest preparation a man should make in this life is the preparation to die.
Don’t be scared please! We shall all live long and fulfill our days in Jesus’ precious name. But understand that, even if God allocates or apportioned 200 years for us to live on earth, His word still says we should get ready for death as soon as we enter the years of accountability.
Getting ready for death does not mean you will die the next minute. It only means you are ready for the next life every day of your life. It means you have made peace with God and look forward to serving Him all the days of your life, and spending eternity with Him.
I know this is not a message that many would want to hear, but it’s a message that every human should have in the back of their minds. Messages like this may not make sense but sooner or later you will find out that, they are some of the most important messages you need.
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW HOW GOD PREPARES A MAN FOR THE NEXT LIFE.
God prepares a man for the next life by raising preachers of righteousness to preach His true word to him, then He will use that to plant the person in a Church that is functioning as a pillar and ground of truth, and then He will engage the person in the execution of His true will on the face of the earth; first in His life, then in the lives of others. That is how God prepares someone for the next life.
The preacher, the true word, and the true Church will bring the man to the place of experiencing the salvation of the total man! Amazingly, Jesus made it clear that it is those who prepare for death that will actually live long enough to fulfil their destiny. In their lexicon, there are no such phrases as “premature death” or “fear of death.” He said in His word;
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:25-26 NKJV
I have come to discover that people who are afraid to die cannot adequately prepare for death. Yet they die!
Friend, if you start seeing death as a trip that the living takes to the next life, it will redefine your relationship with Jesus Christ and make God your Highest Priority in life. But if you are afraid to die, you will never prepare for the next life and Jesus made it clear that, you might one day lose your life for being afraid to die.
There are so many messengers of death, but the fear of death is the one at the forefront. That is why Jesus takes it away. No one meets the LORD and not lose the fear of death. That is why it is unsafe to fake your salvation. It is very dangerous spiritually to do so.
Sadly, so many are in Church but are still unsaved. They are unsaved because Christ is not in them. They joined church systems that do not put Christ in people, thereby having their hearts filled with what looks like Christ.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, IF YOU BRING PEOPLE TO CHURCH WITHOUT PUTTING CHRIST IN THEM, HELL-THE SPIRIT- WILL ENTER AND DWELL IN THEM.
And since the spirit can manifest like a religious spirit, it will just help the person to have a form of godliness but no power! We must wake up to realize that mankind is in constant battle with hell, that is why Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail. The greatest way to secure a soul for Heaven therefore, is not to put Church in the person, but to put Christ in them.
A major Highlight in our devotional text this morning says;
“Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.”
One way the spirit of hell enlarges itself into the souls and spirits of men, is through the media. That is why you must be careful what you hear or see.
Another way is through the money-making spirit. Jesus says we cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. But when hell enlarges itself towards a man’s soul and captures it, it may leave him in any form of religion that it found him but make sure he does not have a fruitful relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is hell that puts Jesus on our lips, without allowing us to submit ourselves to Him enough to have Him in our hearts. Hell will prefer us having the Cross on our necks than in our hearts. It will take our attention away from spiritual content and shift it to religious titles. It is the spirit that makes men title crazy!
When hell enlarges itself towards a man’s soul, it will fill him with itself and make sure there is no room for the true God in his life. The ultimate vision of hell-the spirit, is to keep people out of true relationship with Jesus Christ and take them finally to hell-the place, when they die.
Hell-the spirit, is the father of all lying prophets and heretic teachers.
Instead of having the Holy Ghost in you, it will prefer you have oil in a bottle with you. And drink it all the time or have it poured on you.
Hell-the spirit-knows that with the Holy Ghost in you, it will never have you, but with the anointing oil with you, it will always have you. It will prefer men holding tight to the shadow, than embracing the substance.
THIS SPIRIT IS A COUNTERFEIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
It gives visions, prophecies, and tells some prophets what to do while ministering to people. It will tell them to ask the people to pray with water, because it is afraid that if living water flows out of them, it is in trouble. It will move prophetess and prophets to ask that people bring sand or take some prayer warriors to their village.
It is responsible for all errors and occultic practices in the Church – things we call God. Your deliverance from this spirit is not possible without experiencing the salvation of the spirit, soul, and body.
We can go on and on sharing about this subtle and dangerous spirit, but this is just a devotional. God wants you to start waging war personally against this spirit. And the only way you can do that is by submitting yourself to His Holy Spirit all the time so that Christ can be formed in you!
There are Churches that this spirit (hell) sits as king over. Wherever you see sexual perversion especially among pastors and church workers, this spirit is in charge there. Wherever gays and lesbians lead in Choir, this spirit is king there.
Wherever sin is called “weakness,” rebuke is called “judgment,” and conviction called “condemnation” the spirit has established its base there.
You will always grow from a child of God to a son of hell in any local Church that hell sits as king over. That is why I call such places crowds and not Church. Because hell can never find a place to sit in a true Church that is connected to her head – Christ. Jesus said He will build His Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!
It’s my prayer that God use these words to further improve your walk and talk with Him this month in Jesus’ precious name. AMEN!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-18 NKJV