TODAY’S DEVOTION (Sunday 27th April 2025)
“But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,
because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. Numbers 35:26-28 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 117TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF VICTORY
We are in very critical times of human History. Repeatedly I have said, the worst days of our earth are not behind us but ahead of us. Arrows of hell are flying everywhere.
If there is any time, we need Churches to function as God’s Cities of spiritual Refuge, it is now.
Local Churches need to function as cities of refuge from the spirit of hell that is enlarging itself on daily basis, the spirit and horrors of the last days, the departure from the faith, the falling away, the spirit of lawlessness, and all forms of sinful influences and satanic destruction. Our devotional text today says it all.
Sadly, most are rather functioning as money making machines, metaphysical cults, social clubs, political parties and whatever has nothing to do with the great commission.
Most local assemblies have become cities of refuge from the true word of God.
That is, if you want to avoid sound doctrine, or any heart piercing word that confronts your sin and wickedness, you go there. If you want to avoid the refiner’s fire, the sanctification of the Holy Ghost, genuine revival, discipleship, the rebukes and corrections of the LORD, you go there.
God set Cities of refuge in the days of the Bible as a shadow of what Church ought to be. He Instructed Moses to set aside 42 Cities for the Levites and “six additional ones allocated to the Levites to serve as Cities of refuge. The Bible says,
“Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities.” Numbers 35:6 NKJV
In Bible days, these Cities of refuge were meant for people who have committed one crime or the other.
THEY WERE THE ONLY PLACES WHERE GENUINE REPENTANCE WAS GROOMED AND BLESSED WITH GREAT MERCY.
God who is full of mercy does not want even the worst Criminal to die for his sins. That is why He persuades men to repent. So, the city of refuge was like the city of mercy where people the Bible calls Manslayers ran into and were saved from the consequences of their crimes.
In God’s plan, no matter what may be running after them, if they run into the city of refuge or mercy, they will be saved from it.
No one is permitted to execute punishment on any criminal who runs into the city of refuge or mercy.
The criminals that run into the city of refuge are expected to make use of the mercy shown to them to turn away from their wicked ways. Then return to their possession after the death of the High Priest that was serving as of the time of their escape to the city.
When they return, they will be free from judgment and from the authority of the avenger who was after them.
I have said it before and wish to reiterate again that the Old Testament is the will of God concealed, and the New is the will of GOD revealed. What was it that God concealed in this Mosaic instruction?
Simple – the revelation of Church and the impact it was supposed to make on the lives of men. The Bible says,
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 NKJV
Now, what do you think made those cities of refuge, cities of mercy? It was not the location but the presence of the name of the LORD there. God spiritually put His name in those Cities, and the name was “Merciful God”, and it spoke over the lives of the people who ran into them.
THE NAME OF THE LORD INDEED IS A STRONG TOWER. THE RIGHTEOUS RUN INTO IT AND ARE SAVED.
Now it’s worthy to note that the Bible did not say “the wicked run into it and they are saved.” It says, “the righteous.” Meaning, those who commit crimes that necessitated their escape to the cities of Refuge are expected to run into those Cities in repentance. When we repent of our sins, we are no longer considered sinners or wicked.
In Bible days, people who do not run into the Cities in repentance are usually found loitering outside the boundaries or limits of the city and repeating their crimes, thereby loosing God’s mercy, and exposing themselves to the avenger! A major Highlight of our devotional text says,
“But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,
That sends a strong message on lack of repentance. If we commit sins and do not repent of them, we are loitering outside the covering of God’s mercy in the spirit realm.
The covering of God in the City of refuge will not be able to help us, just as it could not cover the manslayer who was found outside the Cities of refuge in Bible says.
Sadly, there are very few Churches that are functioning as God’s city of refuge. That is why if you look at the impact of our Churches today on people who run into them in repentance, you see a lot of things that suggest that what we have today are not “Cities of refuge” but “Cities of refuse.” This is one revelation that virtually everyone in our apostolic house has.
A city of Refuge is the only place you run into and receive spiritual protection from avengers in our father’s houses, curses, evil foundation, evil altars, consequences of sin, wormwood, judgment from demons that made covenant with us or our fathers knowingly or unknowingly etc.
YOU ARE NOT EXPECTED TO SOW SEED TO BE FREE FROM ANY WORK OF THE DEVIL IN THE CITY OF REFUGE.
Just being there sets you free if you live in purity, wisdom and grace. You are not expected to drink Oil, go for deliverance every now and there, use Sand, salt, water, or whatever to pray to be free from whatever may be pursuing you.
You are not even expected to fast for your freedom, as important as fasting is to us as Sons of God. We can learn from the Jews of the Bible days that no one who ran into the city of refuge in Bible days even fasted for protection. Those who fasted did for repentance.
The covering of GOD in those Cities, the subsequent repentance and purity of heart that developed in those who ran into the cities, shielded them.
They were free as soon as they ran into the cities, because the cities reshaped their lives and turned them into new men and women who will never go back to their old ways.
In the same way you are expected to be free from whatever may be pursuing you as soon as you enter the Church and integrate spiritually. You are also expected to repent of whatever you did and become a new man or woman while in the city of refuge, the church.
That is why the reverse is the case in the lives of so many who ran to false churches in repentance. They followed those prophets full but left them empty. They joined those Churches full and left empty. Others joined happily married but left single.
Curses that afflicted their homes still run after them. The avengers that pushed them to Church in repentance are still after them, hence you find the pastors, prophets, apostles or prophetesses telling them to give this money, give that car as a seed, that land, or this house, and even sleep with them to be free.
Others are told to take this prophet and that prophetess to their villages to be free. Attend this kasha, drink this Oil, use this water, this perfume or visit this prophet to be free.
ALL THESE THEY DO AS CHURCH MEMBERS.
Child of God, any Church you run into with your problems with the right heart and they either remain or multiply is not a “City of refuge” but a “City of refuse.”
On the other hand, if you run into a city of refuge and find peace, but you begin to live the life of a lawless manslayer, your problems will either remain or multiply as well.
But it’s important to note that there are very few cities of apostolic refuge today. The greatest problem of many Christians in our days lies in the spiritual “Cities of Refuse” they treat as “Cities of refuge.” The churches they worship are like the land of Moab. Many have become like Naomi who left Israel to the land of Moab full but returned empty. The Bible says,
“Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said,”Is this Naomi?”
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:19-21 NKJV
The Lamentation of Naomi has become the life of many righteous souls today who joined Churches with all their hearts, living a Holy life to glorify God but have now been reduced to nothing by the evil powers in the Cities of refuse the called Churches.
From the life of Naomi, it’s clear that if you live a Holy Life worshiping in a “City of refuse” you call Church, your Holiness will not make way for you because of wrong association. In fact, it will be infected and turned into ungodliness. In most places, your sinful life will be called a holy life.
It is important to understand that there are places God will never meet a man even if he is His Child. The Cities of refuse called Churches are some of the places.
Words like “Sow your car, give your first Salary as first fruit, sow your last money in the bank as sacrifice and this and that will happen” or “God say you should use this to pray, bring sand from this place and that place, God said this and God said that” are not in agreement with the doctrine of Christ.
Some local churches don’t just dump false doctrines, deceit and all kinds of occult practices into the lives of people; they also dump demons into them (the victims they call members).
Friend, your life will be full of the spiritual refuse of sin, iniquity and trespass, if you make a City of refuse your place of worship! That is the message of today’s devotional!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY:
“But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: “Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘
As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.” Jeremiah 23:3-8 NKJV
