TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 3RD April 2023)
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” LUKE 4:1-3 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 93RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
We bless the LORD for the second day of another week. It’s our Easter week. The body of Christ is set to remember the dead burial and resurrection of Christ this week. Indeed, the steadfastness of the LORD, never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new Every morning. Great is His faithfulness.
It is my prayer that as we remember this important event this week, God will bring us out of our graves of sins, iniquity and trespasses, in Jesus precious name. The early Church actually celebrated the resurrection of Jesus the first day of every week. That was how Sunday worship started. Jesus Himself said we should remember His death on every communion table.
It is His death, burial and resurrection, that birth the Christian faith. Everything was done to rescue mankind from eternal damnation. But sadly, many have not embraced the blessing of salvation.
The world is in motion; everything and everyone seems to be moving. Sadly, while we think we are moving in this or that direction, we do not realize that the entire world system is moving towards one direction – the direction of the great white throne Judgment where everyone will give account of how they lived their lives on this side of eternity.
Bible prophecy says, all who will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment will be cast into the lake of fire. It is when one gets saved and sanctified that they escape the judgment.
If they will all be casted into the lake of fire, why would they need to appear there again? The reason is simple. The purpose of the Great White Throne Judgment is to determine the degree of punishments that each one who appears there will receive in the lake of fire. Because God is a just God, He gives to everyone according to their works.
I remember sharing these things in one of our schools of Bible Prophecy.
There will be another throne also, but that is called the Bema seat. This is the judgment seat of Christ where our works will be tested and rewards given. All who will appear before the Judgment seat of Christ will be saved. Heaven will be their home. What will be determined there is the rewards for the labors of the saints.
This is where those who are saved, sanctified and glorified will stand to receive rest from all sorrows and labors.
In simple terms, the world is in motion to bring all who are trapped in its system to the Day of Judgement. People who are in friendship or in love with it, either in the Church system or outside the church system, will be sorry on that day. That is why the early Church never maintained friendship with it.
THE SPIRIT IN IT PERSECUTED AND TRIED TO DESTROY THEM BECAUSE OF THAT. THAT WAS WHY THEY WERE KILLED!
Sadly, our generation is different. We seem to love the world much more than even God. We maintain friendship with it because of the treasures in it. We fall in love with its system and even adopt it in running our lives, our Christianity, families, ministries and churches. That is why we are moving towards the same direction they are moving – the direction of the Great White Throne Judgment instead of the direction of the Bema Seat.
Many believers are even suffering on this side of eternity already, because of moving in the same direction with the world. We all seem to have forgotten whet the word says. It’s says;
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 NKJV
This scripture made it clear that the world is passing away. Day in, day out, the world is passing away. Its days are numbered and appointed season for existence determined. The Bible implies that all who are trapped in its system will pass away along with it. But those who do the will of God, are moving towards the direction of the Bema Seat, and will abide forever; they will rest eternally with Christ.
Now, why are most believers, not moving in the direction of the Bema Seat, but the direction of the Great White Throne Judgment along with the world? One of the many reasons is because of the dark doctrines they walk in.
Yesterday we spoke about the Bible being our eternal companion, if any of us separates from it by not walking in the sound doctrine it teaches, we will move from the narrow way that leads to the Bema Seat, to the broad way that leads to the Great White Throne Judgment.
Without sound doctrine, we will remain in deep love with the world. Do not forget, when you are in love, you want to be intimate. When you are intimate, conceptions are inevitable.
The conceptions that usually takes place whenever we are in love with the world, is always dangerous to our eternal destiny. One word for it all is INIQUITY. Iniquity is the very word that describe the conceptions that takes place in our human spirit when we are intimate with the world.
THAT IS WHY THE BIBLE COMMANDED THAT WE SHOULD NOT LOVE THE WORLD. IT SAY WE SHOULD LOVE THE LORD!
When the same conception was found in lucifer, you know what happened; He was casted out of Heaven and became an opponent of everything call God. The Bible says he become one who desired (and still desires) to sit as God anywhere God is mentioned.
The same thing happens when iniquity is found in us. We will no longer be able to stay under the restrictions of the almighty – we will begin to carry ourselves like deities, without submitting to His will.
God hates abortion of babies, but not the abortion of conceptions from the intimate moments we share with the spirit of this world. A lot of us indeed, need to abort all the babies we have conceived from our intimate moments with the world in our hearts. We need to uproot the iniquity in us, because it will be our ruin on the final day.
How do we share intimate moments with the spirit of this world? What is the spirit of this world? The word spirit means breath or life-giving wind. What is it that is breathing life into the evil and corrupt system of the world? What is the spirit of this world? The Bible says;
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV
From this scripture, it is clear that the spirit of this world is the breath of Satan himself, just as the Spirit of God is the breath of God Himself.
Just as fellowshipping with the Spirit of God only happens through times shared with anything that inhabits God; like revealed truths, people who dwell in His presence, and etc., so also fellowshipping with the spirit of the world happens through moments shared with anything that inhabits it. It could be a movie, a time shared with friends, a social function, a trip or a doctrine.
It creates in someone a mindset that opposes God or anything that brings His presence down. That is why you will never want to be intimate with God after a time with anything that carries the breath or spirit of this world.
FALSE DOCTRINES, HERESIES AND DOCTRINE OF DEMONS FOSTER INTIMACY WITH THE SPIRIT OF THIS WORLD.
That is why you find a Christianity that is controlled by the things that are in this world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, wherever false doctrines, heresies, or doctrines of devils are preached. That is why you find all manner of sexual infidelities, pride and all forms of moral decay in such places.
If you sit under teachings that make you intimate with the world, you will never be intimate with the LORD. You will be calling Him “LORD, LORD” without doing what He says. You will not be able to live right because of the conceptions that will take place in your human spirit.
The conceptions will be pushing you in the direction of moral decay, despite your efforts to live right. Your Christianity will be a form of godliness without power. The conceptions will reduce it to a mouth confession instead of a heart commitment to the LORD. It is eternally dangerous to sit under doctrines that foster one’s relationship with the world instead of the LORD!
I have come to discover that false doctrines, heresies and doctrines of demons will make people love the world, and sound doctrines or the doctrine of Christ will make people love the LORD. People who sit under carriers of the doctrine of Christ are passionate about the LORD, and the needs He has or the eternal purposes He wants them to fulfill in time.
But those who sit under carriers of other doctrines are passionate about their earthly needs, the world, and all it has to offer to them.
To their sensibilities, God is like a good will charm or deity that you give your tithes, offerings, and lands, cars, and other forms of things they call sacrifices to, so that He can grant you the desires of your heart, either good or bad. Their best scriptures are scriptures they twist and make need oriented.
One of the scriptures they twist says, “God will grant you the desires of your hearts.”
Any impartation of a false, heretic or demonic doctrine will bring you into intimacy with the spirit of this world. The spirit will then impregnate your human spirit with the seed called iniquity, making it impossible for you to lead a godly life.
THAT IS HOW THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY OR WICKEDNESS IS FORMED IN PEOPLE.
When the mystery is formed in people, it does not matter what they may be doing for God, they will become eternally irrelevant. The Bible shows us how this mystery (from the seed called iniquity) can ruin lives eternally, when Jesus said;
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23 AKJV
A lot of believers and preachers you take for miracle workers are actually workers of iniquity.
Satan will not mind doing a miracle that will harden people’s hearts and prevent them from aligning with God’s will. He will not mind doing a miracle to keep one on paths that leads to eternal damnation. Hell will give us anything that looks Heavenly, if only our wills, can be allowed to be in conflict with God’s will. Do not forget, the devil offered Jesus the whole world just for one moment of worship.
He was willing to give Him what was handed over to him by Adam if only Jesus would allow iniquity to be found in him.
I HAVE SHARED OVER AND OVER THAT INIQUITY IS WHEN OUR WILL COMES IN CONFLICT WITH GOD’S WRITTEN, SPOKEN, OR HIDDEN WILL.
God’s written will is the Bible, His spoken will is the voice of His Holy Spirit, and His hidden will are things written in the volume of the books concerning us. Whenever we become intimate with the world, we will conceive things that will not let us submit to or walk in God’s written, spoken or hidden will for our lives.
It is therefore important that we secure ourselves from this dangerous spirit. And, how do we do that? That brings us to our devotional text. It says;
“Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread]. And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.” Luke 4:3-4 AMPC
Under the glory of God, the doctrine of Christ is made up of words and expressions of God that injects the Christ-life into the human life, making it a carrier of the divine seed; the mystery of godliness. When our lives carry the mystery of godliness, it will become very easy to do God’s written, spoken and hidden will.
That was what Paul carried when he called himself a bond servant. A bond servant is different from a slave. A bound servant is one who willingly offered himself for servitude just to do the will of one who was not, but now has become his master.
In the same way, Jesus was not our master when we were living in sin and operating the spirit of this world. But when we accepted Him, absorbed His doctrine, and became carriers of the divine seed called the mystery of godliness, we could now do His written, spoken and hidden will, becoming His bond servants.
As we bring this to a close, it is important to ask ourselves, which seed are we carrying? The answer lies in the doctrine we have been absorbing. If we live by what proceeds from the mouth of the LORD (the doctrine of Christ), we will be intimate with the LORD and become carriers of the mystery of godliness.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.
which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” Romans 1:1-6 NKJV