TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 17TH DECEMBER 2022)
“Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So, they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. Zechariah 3:4-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 351ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. Day unto Day the LORD has been merciful to us; reaching out to us, blessings us with life on daily bases, prolonging our days even when we do not deserve it, and doing so much in our lives that words cannot capture.
We give Him the glory for all that and we say, “may His name remain exalted in our lives.”
We have been on a 31-day journey of faith with the Cry of the Holy Spirit on the Presence of God. I believe some of us have understood by now that there is nothing we need more than God’s marvelous presence in our lives today!
Personally, this is one of the journeys I consider very important because of what the presence of God has done in my life. It has blessed me, protected me, given me what to preach to my generation, taught me, saved me, healed me, rebuked me when I was rebellious, washed me when I feel defiled, corrected me when am wrong, elevated me, favored me, provided for me, secured my kids and wife, blessed those who bless me and cursed those who curses me.
It has been with the Church we pastor and has always made our services worth the hours we spend each Sunday. It has used our prayers to deliver people, save others, heal them, and done so much wonders in the lives of those who feed from GOD by our hands even through text messages.
I have seen His presence fight for us, and protected those who learn from Jesus under our pastoral and apostolic oversight. It has added, and is still adding, significance to the ministry, grace to our personality, and beauty to all we lay our hands on.
So, I feel very passionate about this journey of faith.
IN THE JOURNEY OF LIFE, YOU LOSE THE COMPANY AND SUPPORT OF SOME PEOPLE AT SOME POINT. EVEN JESUS LOST THEM.
So, I have had my own share of loses. I have lost some people I thought were needed in my life so many times. But each time they leave me, and my heart begins to fail me, the Spirit of Truth will speak to my heart saying, “If God is present it does not matter who is absent.” After a while I will watch the presence bringing in fresh relationships, more stronger and better than those I lost.
The statement, “If God is present, it does not matter who is absent” has kept me for over 25 years. That is why even today, I do not build my security in people. Christ has placed a small congregation of over 3000 souls under us in our Church here in Nairobi, who come to church, sometimes, in turns.
Among them are very good people who can give even the last monies they have for the work. But my security has not built on any of them.
Severally, I have seen church members come out with tears in their eyes to give financial support for the work when things become very tight for me, and I can no longer do it alone. Such moments are usually beautiful moments. These precious souls move me so much with their commitment to the LORD, but I have never found my heart shifting from trusting in God to trusting in them.
The presence of God has remained my security in ministry.
We must all learn that “If God is present it does not matter who is absent, and if God is absent it does not matter who is present” and begin to crave for the presence of the LORD much more, without replacing Him with people, no matter how helpful they may be.
Actually, Good people are brought by the presence of the LORD. If you carry it, you will see it draw men and women of good will to you. It will build a strong support base for your life wherever you go. That is why you should carry it wherever you go.
God said in His word;
“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” Isiah 49:23 KJV
With the presence of God in your life, this scripture will become a regular occurrence. Though a counterfeit of it is being fulfilled in the lives of some folks by the spirit of hell that loves to mimic God (basically to steal souls away from Him), it is very clear in the word, that God’s presence can build a support base for your life by drawing men and women of good will to you.
Indeed, if God is present with you, He will touch good hearts to support you wherever and whenever you need support, especially if you are doing His will with your life. This topic about the presence of God is actually one of my favorites because of the indelible marks of God’s presence in my life and ministry.
I HOPE YOU WILL EMBRACE IT LIKE I DID MANY YEARS AGO, AND GET THE BEST OF WHAT GOD’S PRESENCE HAS TO OFFER.
Today we are continuing with the Cry of the Holy Spirit on the blessings of God’s indwelling presence in our lives. We saw some truths about that yesterday, especially how God’s indwelling presence makes us spiritually healthy and removes filthy garments from us.
Today we will be continuing with that line of thought.
The essence of the removal of filthy garments is to pull a lost soul from the portals of hell to Christ and then enhance a righteous walk with the LORD that will result in that soul making Heaven at last. With the filthy garment on, hell can have anyone of us. Satan will have what to accuse us with and use that to take our souls to hell when we die.
But with the blessing of God’s indwelling presence, we can be acquitted before God by the stripping of the filthy garments of iniquity from us, and replacing of the same with the rich robes of purity. We can see a template of that in the life of Joshua the high priest. Our devotional text says;
Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying,
“Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So, they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts: ?If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here. Zechariah 3:4-7 NKJV
God’s salvation plan is to take a lost soul from the portals of hell and place him in the hands of the LORD, by stripping him of his filthy garment and making the person a king and a priest on earth. When the garment is stripped, he will begin to walk with the rich robes of righteousness, holiness, purity or godliness.
HE WILL BE A PRIESTLY CHRISTIAN WHO LIVES HIS LIFE NOT CONFORMING TO THIS WORLD.
A core portion of the text says,
“If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here”
As a priestly Christian, when you carry the indwelling presence of God, you will begin to walk in the ways of the LORD, not the ways of sin, you will be keeping the commands of the LORD not the command of the flesh, resulting in enhanced dominion in the Spirit and greater access to Heavenly glories while still on earth.
Friend, the blessing of the indwelling presence that manifest as “the stripping of our filthy garments” is the greatest blessings of God’s indwelling presence that a man can have on this side of eternity. It will result in a salvation that has sanctification in it, not a psychological salvation that is wrapped in a life of sin that claims forgiveness without repentance.
At this point, let’s look at certain truths about our salvation.
Understand that if your salvation does not have sanctification in it, you will be a Christian without the foundation of the LORD. The Bible made it clear that a Christian without the foundation of the LORD has two hallmarks; they do not have intimate knowledge of the LORD, and they do not depart from iniquity. The filthy garment remains in their lives.
When you depart from iniquity, or when the filthy garment is removed, you will lead a Christian life that respects and not disregard the commands of the LORD.
Now, when we say a Christian life that respects the commands of the LORD, we are not referring to a legalistic Christian life carved out by religion. No! We are referring to a life that respects and not disregard the commands of the LORD carved out by the indwelling presence of God in your life.
JESUS PRESENTED THAT AS CONDITION FOR MAKING HEAVEN WHEN HE SAID;
“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?
And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” Matthew 7:21-23 AMPC
This Bible truths makes it clear that a salvation without sanctification is a salvation that will not result in Heaven making. Sanctification is enabled by an indwelling presence of the LORD that enables a life that obeys the commands of the LORD.
With the help of God’s indwelling presence, we receive a salvation that has sanctification in it.
It is important to note that Only a salvation with sanctification will result in glorification at the end of our days. Only that salvation plugs us to a grace that teaches us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lust, stirring us to live soberly, godly and blamelessly in a pervert and crooked generation.
The ultimate blessing of God’s indwelling presence is a life that is saved, is being saved, and shall be saved. There is no space to decode that. But I trust that as you press deeper into God’s presence, things will become clearer.
The truth remains, the indwelling presence of God is a child of God’s grace that delivers a soul from sin. It delivers us from the penalty and the practice of sin in this life, and will deliver us from the presence of sin in the life to come.
Understand that the genuine grace of God has already made it clear that people will go to hell because of the penalty, practice and presence of sin. That is why it delivers us from all three.
If the grace you have or believe is therefore, talking about your deliverance from the penalty of sin and not enabling your deliverance from the practice of sin, you are derailed. You have believed in a false grace. If eternity point of view, You need to change the preacher you listen to.
That is the word of the LORD!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR TODAY!
“For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind.
It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world,
Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.” Titus 2:11-14 AMPC