TODAY’S DEVOTION (WEDNESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2023)
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 256TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS
We have learnt a lot this year. I feel, now it’s time to respond. It’s like God has been talking; now it’s time for man to respond.
When God talks and man do not respond positively, there is going to be a problem. We have had wonderful teachings and awesome meetings, where God baptized us with rare truths – revelation knowledge that can doubtlessly, spark a revolution in our lives, if we do what was revealed.
Response is needed now than ever before! If we do not respond we will rot spiritually.
One thing we have always urged us to do each time we approach the end of a session with God – especially through this devotional, is “to respond” to GOD positively. The Bible say we should be doers of the word and not hearers only.
A generation that does not respond to God after an encounter with Him, will only be talking about the blessedness of the encounter, without having their lives changed.
SADLY SPEAKING, THAT HAS BECOME THE LOT OF SOME.
There was a time in Israel, during the days of Ezekiel, when the people were eager to come hear him prophesy, but none of them was responding to the word of the LORD in his mouth. God had to report the matter to Ezekiel.
What He said to him was amazing. The LORD said to him.
“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.
Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass — surely it will come — then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 33:30-33 NKJV
Sadly, so many preachers of righteousness in our age, have become like that to so many. Those who listen to them or read their materials have become like the children of Israel of that generation. But it is my prayer that the LORD change that.
It is a sad spiritual position to take around a man who has a critical word for the fulfilment of our eternal and prophetic destiny.
Personally, I am not amused by what people say positively about what we teach, and the expression of surprises at the depth of knowledge the Holy Ghost spews out through us. I have heard that for over 31 years. I will only be satisfied if we all do them.
It is in the doing that blessings come, not in the hearing!
THE BIBLE DID NOT SAY MORE BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HEAR, BUT THOSE WHO DO!
Friend, no one can be blessed doing what the Israelites did under the prophetic ministry of Ezekiel. Lack of proper response to a prophetic and an apostolic teaching, will never fulfil God’s intentions in our lives. The primary essence of apostolic and prophetic teachings is to build and bless the Body of Christ. It is to break down what presents itself as Christ while it is not and build up what is truly Christ.
So, if you are truly Christ, prophetic and apostolic teachings will build you.
They will rebuild whatever the devil has broken down in your life and bring you to full restoration. But all that will be impossible if you sit before a servant of GOD, sent to you with prophetic and apostolic teachings, hear the word of the LORD in his mouth, but not do them.
Friend, response to the LORD, is the key to recovery!
Mary said to those who needed a miracle during a wedding ceremony in John chapter 2 verse 5; “Whatever He says to you, do it.” And I want to say to you this day, “Whatever you have been schooled in concerning the matters of the Kingdom this year, respond to it.” It will do you no good, if you do not!
Understand that, a million people could sit down to hear a word from God, but response will separate those who will get result from the teachings, from those who will not.
One thing we do not know about response, or lack of it is that, what we do with the word of the LORD, or a revelation we received from Him, will stand for or against us on the judgment day. The day of judgment could come in time or eternity.
That is why it is dangerous to hear truth and not respond to it. It is in time of ignorance GOD overlooks not in time of rebellion. The Bible says,
“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…,” Hebrews 2:2-4 NKJV
The reason for schooling in the things of God, or receiving revelation knowledge from God through the scriptures, is to escape things. So, if we do not respond positively to them, we will not escape what we should have escaped.
It is good to pray and fast all the time. But from personal experiences, I have come to learn that, escape from certain traps or attacks of the devil, is not by prayer, but by being a doer of the word. That should sink into our hearts.
THE BIBLE SAYS, “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT A SALVATION.”
If we look at this scripture from the standpoint of the imminent future, it will be very clear to us that, the difference between those who will be in Heaven in the next life and those who will not be, is RESPONSE. Even in this life, response is the difference between those who reap the full blessing of a teaching, or a scriptural revelation, and those who do not.
There is what the Bible calls “the fullness of the blessing of the gospel.” You will never reap that fullness if you do not have the character to respond positively to God’s word. The Bible says,
“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Hebrews 4:2 NKJV
True faith exhumes corresponding response to a word from GOD.
Not being mixed with faith means, there was no corresponding response to the word that was preached to them; hence the word did not profit them! If we do not respond positively to what we have been sharing in the devotionals this year, or Church meetings, it will not be a blessing to us. We will not escape the things the word was sent to deliver us from.
We must understand that the kingdom of God is a “voice” and “acts” activation kingdom, in other words, a response activation Kingdom.
If you say what God wants you to say and do what He wants you to do, things will be moved from Heaven to your life on earth. In divine terms, eternity will invade time. Positive response therefore is one of the most powerful Keys in the KINGDOM.
IT IS THE TRIGGER OF MIRACLES, SIGNS, WONDERS, BLESSINGS AND EVEN THE COVENANT IN THE LIFE OF GOD’S KINGDOM CITIZENS.
For instance, to remain in the garden of Eden, Adam had to do the word of the LORD; or respond positively to God by keeping to the instruction not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day he withdrew that response or stopped doing that word, he lost the garden.
Blessings are released and retained in our lives through consistent positive response to God’s will, God’s way, and God’s word. That is why the word of the LORD is not to be argued with, but implicitly obeyed.
Our devotional text this morning gives us a stronger insight into the power of a positive response, especially in bringing earthly blessings into our lives. It says,
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
I don’t think I need to add anything to this word. It’s as clear as crystal. Obedience to the voice of the LORD is the currency of the Spirit. Without Obedience your Christian life will just be a form of godliness without power.
Christianity without obedience stinks in the nostril of GOD. Many have had their blessings reversed due to disobedience. Crisis always results in the life of a Christian in His area of rebellion. On the flip side, recovery always comes in through his area of obedience.
Obedience is a Child of positive response to a divine revelation, instruction or will. That reiterates the role of positive response in our walk and talk with God.
Positive response is the bridge upon which all blessings flow into our lives.
It’s my prayer that you catch the light that God is shining into our hearts, through this devotional, and become a son of God with a positive response mentality.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:
‘How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? for scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.
Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke,
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Proverbs 1:20-27 NKJV