TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 21st May 2023)**
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 141st DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS & WONDERS!
“I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” We are alive today because our help has been coming from the LORD.
Yes, our reason for living has been coming from the LORD. Our health has been coming from the LORD. Our sleep has been coming from the LORD. Our waking up has been coming from the LORD. The flow of blood in our vein has been coming from the LORD. The breath in our nostrils has been coming from the LORD.
Our protection has been coming from the LORD. Our prosperity has been coming from the LORD. Our peace has been coming from the LORD. Our making has been coming from the LORD. Our success has been coming from the LORD.
He blows all these and much more into our lives, making it impossible for devils to stand on our way successfully. That is the practical definition of what it means to have a Heavenly Father.
Blessed be the name of the LORD who have been our help!
The word Father, means source; source of life, and source of genetical order. You enjoy things from Heaven if you have a Heavenly Father. He becomes your source. Your sustenance comes from Heaven if you are Fathered from Heaven. That is why it is not good to live in sin or walk in lies.
Jesus looked at people who were walking in lies and said to them, “you are of your father the devil.” Those where church leaders of His days, so to speak. If it is today, they will accuse Him of touching the anointed.
IN THE BOOK OF 1 JOHN 3:8, THE BIBLE SAYS;
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Walking in lies, or living in sin, is a spiritual phenomenon that makes people to switch fatherhood in the spirit. It makes the devil the father of many. And since father means source, he becomes their source in life.
Believe me, you will never outsource peace from the devil. The BIBLE says his mission, nature, and orientation, is to kill, steal and destroy. Meaning, anything you outsource from or through him, either good or bad, will kill, steal or destroy something good and Godly in your life. That is how many destroy their marital lives, by outsourcing it from sin and Satan, instead of righteousness and God the creator of marriage.
It is better to be fatherless than to have the devil as your father!
For instance, when the devil fathers you, you cannot lead a holy and consecrated life. God is the Father of Righteousness, Purity and Holiness. That is why the closer you get to Him, the more consecrated you become. But the closer you get to the devil, the more sinful, unrighteous and wicked you become. You cannot be righteous, pure or holy when he fathers you – directly or indirectly.
No one teaches consecration to people who are fathered by God, or are close to Him. They just live it, because it is natural in that realm. They just lead a righteous, pure and holy life. That is why the Bible says;
“And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].
[So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents].
But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]”. 1 John 1:5-7 AMPC
From this scripture it is clear that consecration becomes effortless when it flows from a close walk with GOD.
IT BECOMES THE WAY OF LIFE WHEN WE ELIMINATE EVERY DISTANCE THAT EXIST BETWEEN US AND GOD.
Righteousness, purity and holiness will effortlessly spring forth from the life of any people, who has no distance between them and God. It is actually when we are far from God that we have problems with righteousness, purity and holiness.
We have seen what the Bible teaches about the sanctification of the spirit, and soul, and now we will be looking at what it teaches about the sanctification of the body. The sanctification of the body begins from the day we decide to spare our bodies the burden of living in sin.
There is so much about this subject in the holy scriptures.
To start with, the human will is what controls what happens to the human body. In other words, it is what the will says that the body does. That is why our bodies cannot be sanctified, pure, and holy, if our will are not sanctified, pure, and holy.
The sanctification of the body is the separation of the body from all forms of spiritual defilements. It is the setting a part of the members of our body, from sin, iniquity and trespass, with the aim of yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit *(who inhabits our sanctified human spirits, and influences our souls), *to make our bodies, tools or instruments of righteousness (you can go over this definition again).
One of the responsibilities that salvation places upon us, is the responsibility of not continuing to offer or yield the faculties, parts, or members of our bodies to sin and wickedness. For instance, our eyes, ears, mouths, tongues, feet, hands, heads, even skins must be sanctified for the LORD’s use. Our looks, dressing, or walk and talk, should not be stimulants of any sin, iniquity or trespass.
The Bible says;
“Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness.
For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].” Romans 6:13-14 AMPC
This scripture and other related ones, hold so much truth about the sanctification of the body! People have mistaken the sanctification of the body to be what they call outward holiness.
JESUS ACTUALLY CALLS OUTWARD HOLINESS WITH INWARD FILTHINESS HYPOCRISY.
He will prefer sitting in dinner with a known sinner with the aim of changing him, than in a feast with a hypocrite who appears holy but is not.
In the Church today, some People who were not properly taught on how to sanctify their bodies, are cultivating an outward holiness, that lacks inward purity, making this holiness thing a scam and a sham. You see women dressed like Egyptian mummies, because they want to cover their nakedness, but inwardly the are full of all kinds of sexual desires and passions.
I was shocked one day when a lady who appeared like virgin Mary told me she masturbates. She had no earrings, no make ups! She had on her head a ‘holy ghost’ Scaff, and look too holy to be involved in that. Many are insulting this holiness thing with annoying religious appearances that are making them terrible hypocrites. It is not our looks but our inward man.
She had been misled to live a holy life through appearances, ignoring the very place where holiness begins; the heart. She had tried her best to live right but it was not just working, hence coming for counseling. She wantedto be holy, hence appearing holy, but inwardly she was full of all sexual desires and carnality.
I made her to understand that none can lead a pure life that way.
We are first cleansed on the inside, before the outside, not the other way round. Jesus said
“First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26 AMPC).
GOD WILL NEVER DWELL WITH THE HYPOCRITE.
His manifest presence will be missing in their lives. That is why you do not find hypocrites carrying the manifest presence of God. There is a lot of claims of knowing God but little or no active presence of God in their lives to stop diseases, death, destruction, and attacks of the enemy.
The sanctification of the body begins with the sanctification of the spirit, then the soul. That is why as we sanctify our souls daily by the word and Spirit of the LORD, our bodies go in the direction of the holiness, righteousness and purity commanded by the LORD. It is automatic. Inward sanctification is responsible for genuine outward holiness.
On the flip side, we cannot appear seductive, or put on dresses that stimulates unrighteous living, saying, “Holiness is in the heart.” That will be delusional, because if holiness is in your heart, as you profess, it will be seen in your walk, talk, dress and everything. If it cannot be seen, it means it is not there. Yes, if our holiness can only be seen in our dress codes and not in our deeds, it is still not there. God cannot be deceived.
The sanctification of the body is not a product of do and don’ts. It is a product of the sanctification of the spirit and the soul. That is why I do not tell women what to wear but preach them to sanctify their spirits and souls, because when that happens, it will one day manifest in what they wear.
Many concerned people have asked me why I do not preach about dress code. Jesus never preached about dress code. He preached about getting our inward lives sanctified, so that out outward life will also be sanctified. He said;
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts (reasonings and disputings and designs) such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, and irreverent speech. These are what make a man unclean and defile [him]; ……” Matthew 15:19-20 AMPC
All the sins mentioned in this scripture has body parts or faculties that can be used to commit them. To prevent those body parts and faculties from engaging in what is mentioned in this verse, the heart must be pure and sanctified. That reiterates again why an inward life must be clean for an outward life to be pure.
WHAT DEFILES US COMES FROM A HEART THAT IS UNSANCTIFIED. WHAT EDIFIES US COMES FROM A HEART THAT IS SANCTIFIED.
That is why the Holy Spirit and God’s Holy Words are to be allowed to dwell richly in our hearts, so that what will be coming out of us will be sanctified; it will be expressing itself in the members of our bodies in such a way that they will serve as instruments or tools of righteousness.
The first portion of our devotional text says;
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
This is not possible if our spirits and souls have not been sanctified. It is a heart that have been presented as a living sacrifice that will present its body as a living sacrifice. When our bodies are presented as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, we will not be using any faculties or parts of our bodies to engage ourselves in sin.
Our feet will not be swift in running to evil. Our hands will not be involved in wickedness, they will not be used to kill, steal or destroy.
Yes, we will not use our hands for sexual sins, like masturbation and etc. We will not use our eyes for evil purposes like disdaining people with our looks, practicing deception, or spreading seduction, and etc. No part of our body will be used as a tool or instrument of wickedness.
I believe enough to think about and meditate on have been said.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTRE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY.
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue mutters wickedness.
None sues or calls in righteousness [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage]; no one goes to law honestly and pleads [his case] in truth; they trust in emptiness, worthlessness and futility, and speaking lies! They conceive mischief and bring forth evil!
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and [from an egg] which is crushed a viper breaks out [for their nature is ruinous, deadly, evil].
Their webs will not serve as clothing, nor will they cover themselves with what they make; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths and highways.
The way of peace they know not, and there is no justice or right in their goings. They have made them into crooked paths; whoever goes in them does not know peace.” Isaiah 59:1-8 AMPC