TODAY’S DEVOTION (Thursday 5th December 2019)
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalms 23:1-3 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 339TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF GOING FORWARD.
We bless the LORD our God for yet another day that He has given. Indeed, the LORD is good, and His mercies endures forever. The Bible made it clear that it is out of His mercies that we are not consumed. If not for His mercies, none of us would have been alive this morning. God’s mercies remain the insurance package of the justified.
Today, God has a word for us. There are so many things to learn in the word of the LORD. One of it is the mystery of where a man is planted in the Spirit. You see, where we are planted in the spirit realm is what determines what happens to us in the natural realm.
For instance, if our lives are at rest with no illness, no worries, just at peace with God and men, that means we are lying down beside the still waters of God in the spirit realm. But if our lives are full of successful spiritual attacks, unbearable pain, persistent sicknesses and afflictions we are lying down in trouble waters in the spirit realm.
Our hope and prayer is that the LORD plant us beside His still waters as David prayed. That was where mankind was originally created to live from – the still waters of the Spirit. Not trouble waters!
There are different classes of trouble waters in the spirit realm; we have the trouble waters of bitterness that brings a curse on people. We have the trouble waters of contention that breaks families apart and take away peace and harmony from relationships. A lot of people are trapped in such waters. And only the peace of the LORD can help men out when they enter there.
Sadly, when people are trapped in these waters and run to some local Churches or ministers of the gospel for divine rescue, they end up in another type of trouble waters. That water is called “the waters of Babylon” – making it impossible to sing the LORD’s song of deliverance and rest despite prayers, and all they are told to do.
We have been looking at the subject of deep intimacy lately. One of the primary purposes of deep intimacy is to help us change locations in the spirit realm. Deep intimacy with Jesus Christ in local churches that are not operating in the waters of Babylon has a way of translating us from trouble waters to still waters.
AS EARLIER STATED, OUR EARTHLY LIVES ARE PRODUCTS OF THE KIND OF WATERS WE LIVE IN SPIRITUALLY
Waters in the Bible refer to literal streams, and Rivers in the physical realm. They also represent streams and rivers of GOD’S FLOWING GLORY in the spirit realm. In a prophetic sense, they are a type of spirit and related prophetic things like nations, tongues and tribes as demystified in the book of Revelation.
Waters or Rivers can therefore be metaphors for nations, flowing or moving things in the prophetic or spiritual realm. This implies both the prophetic and spirit realm of GOD and the prophetic and spirit realm of the evil ones.
In Heaven, there is a river that flows from the Throne of God. John the Beloved saw it and documented it in the book of revelation chapter 22. Ezekiel had seen it earlier and described it as “Waters of divine, healing, restoration and rescue”
Our devotional text today made it clear that David saw it and called it “STILL WATERS.” That was what he wrote about in Psalm 23. Don’t forget, David, John the beloved, and Ezekiel were men of deep intimacy. They saw the forms of God and gained access to the revelation of His magnificent glory.
For David, he saw God’s manifestation as a Shepherd planting him beside those still waters in the spirit real. For Ezekiel God used angelic means to take him into the depth of the waters and brought him back to the bank to give him a prophetic message.
In Ezekiel’s encounter, it was clear to him that divine rescue, healing, and restoration are not possible except men are planted in those waters.
In John’s encounter, we can see clearly that when we are planted in those waters, there will be no more curses in our lives. We will become fruitful, spirit, soul and body and prosper in our walk with God. We will be able to grow out virtues for the healing of the nations.
In David’s encounter, it became even clearer to us that people God leads will eventually find themselves lying down beside those waters. God will first bring them to green pastures of rich spiritual truth and then to the still waters.
HE WILL MAKE THEM LIE DOWN THERE FOR CONSTANT REFRESHING.
Another word David used to capture these still waters is “Waters of Rest.” That clearly shows us what the waters will do in our lives – they will give us rest. David further made it clear that when we are planted beside those waters, our souls will be restored. These covers both our health and related areas of our lives that needs restoration.
He also said we shall not want or be in lack. It means the waters have the power to give us financial rest on every side too.
That is why the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 that we should cast our financial seeds; tithes and offerings – beside these many waters of God’s glory. Meaning in a ministry or church where the waters constantly flow and saturate the spiritual atmosphere during corporate fellowships. Sadly, the waters that flows in many local churches is the waters of Babylon. That is where giving or what they call seeds are casted ignorantly by congregants.
If you are therefore going through affliction, financial hardship, death and draught, or dryness in your walk with God, you need to be planted in such places where God’s waters of rest flow in the spirit realm and receive your restoration.
The only way you can locate this water is by listening to the LORD to lead you where they exist in the Spirit. One major Scripture that can guide you is Isaiah 32:16-20 another is Psalm 29.
Isaiah 32:16-20 made it clear that wherever Apostolic (Ox) and prophetic (donkey) ministries exist the waters flows there. Psalm 29 made it clear that the waters are accompanied by the voice of the LORD. So, any minister, church or ministry that is crying the true voice of God also carries these waters of rest along. That is where to plant and commit yourself for a turnaround.
Sadly, many Christians are planted and committed to Churches, ministries and ministers with no waters of Rest flowing in their ministers. Some once had them but now everything has dried up, but the people remain stuck to such places due to memories of the past glory.
THAT BRINGS ME TO OTHER TYPES OF WATERS IN THE SPIRIT REALM THAT THE BIBLE SPOKE ABOUT.
As stated earlier, there are waters of Babylon and there are trouble waters. Waters of Babylon are spiritual waters where the spirit of wickedness rules and reign in the life of people giving them financial power, sometimes temporal deliverance but no true rest.
Many Churches and ministries carry the atmosphere of the waters of Babylon in the spirit realm of their assemblies. You cannot be planted in such places and have rest from your troubles.
That is where you find people who have been in Church for years living in terrible sins because the waters of Babylon cannot reform a sinner.
The atmosphere of the waters of Babylon does not allow people to sing the LORD’s song of rest and genuine repentance. It may bring them money, temporal deliverance, but will never give them rest and genuine repentance. They will never have Holiness and the fear of God. At best you will see pseudo repentance and a false fear of God. They will have the fear of the pastor, Bishop, Prophet, but no fear of God.
It was in the light of this that David cried;
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? Psalms 137:1-4 NKJV
There is only one thing you will do whenever you are planted in a Church whose spiritual atmosphere is the waters of Babylon – you will weep. Gossips, false accusations, and betrayals will force tears out of your eyes. I have been there, and I know what am sharing with you this morning.
THEY WILL SLANDER THOSE WHO ARE WALKING WITH THE LORD AMONG THEM AND CONFRONTING THE WATERS OF BABYLON.
Sometimes the enemy brings people to local Churches carrying the still waters of Jesus Christ to attempt things that they all did in Churches controlled by the waters of Babylon. We had our share at the Cry of the Spirit Ministries. But the still waters of the LORD have helped us all through and is still helping us.
If you find yourself in local Churches whose operations are ran by the waters of Babylon, you will weep for being told to sow seed to receive miracles with or with no miracle to show at the end. You will weep for being told to renew your age with special seed faith and you do yet no renewal. You will weep for being told to bring mega resources to get married and yet there is no marriage – sometimes with just a co habitation and trouble relationship you call marriage.
You will weep for being given Oil to drink, water to pray, sand to fast, salt to seek God, candles to light at night, miracle mats to buy and etc., yet your life is still the same. You will weep for being deceived, seduced and manipulated. Above all, you will weep in eternity when you think you are born again only to die and be told by Jesus depart from me for I know you not, you who practice iniquity.
But this message is coming to you because God hates seeing you weep. He hates seeing you weep in time or eternity. When you weep, it forces tears out of God’s eyes. That is why Heaven wants you out of the waters of Babylon to the still waters of the Spirit in God’s flowing glory.
There is so much we can share on the waters of Babylon. I advise you to get our audio CDs that contains the full revelation. The message is titled THE REVELATION OF GOD’S FLOWING GLORY (part 1 to 3). It was preached sometime in 2016.
Friend, time has come to save yourself and those who hear you from a wicked and perverse Church generation. Most local churches today are covered with the waters of Babylon – an atmosphere that allows the spirit of wickedness to thrive and take root in the lives of people.
If you want to be free from trouble waters these days, you must not plant yourself in any Church with an atmosphere of the waters of Babylon. You must locate still waters and get yourself planted there! That is the message.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”
“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV