TODAY’S DEVOTION (Monday 6th July 2020)
“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
“But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:13-17 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 186th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
I remember sharing about searching the scriptures few years back on this platform. Searching the scriptures was one of the distinguished characters of those who gave their lives to Christ between the seventies and late nineties.
The great devotional habit was killed by the fall down and die synagogues and the perverted gospels that was embraced in the late nineties, leading to a Christianity that is mixed sorcery.
Before then, especially in Nigeria, this great devotional habit was so entrenched in the faith of fresh believers, that the acronym SU (or SCRIPTURE UNION), was used to describe every genuinely born-again Child of God.
Sadly, this story has become a mare history to the present-day generation of believers. I guess sincere ones will be wondering if that ever happened. We now live in days where so-called born-again Christians are dangerously separated from personal Bile study.
Consequently, over 90 percent of local church members do not personally or accurately know what God is saying about marriage, money, sex, sin, family, education, health, eternal judgment, and the age to come.
You find a generation of believers walking in the dark of what God has said in His written word about things that are so dear to us, consequently, stumbling into paths loaded with spiritual dynamites, and coming under the explosions of the enemy. That is why we have so many Christians who are yoked in one thing or the other.
FRIEND, WE HAVE BEEN SO DISCONNECTED FROM THE SCRIPTURES THAT WE NOW SPEND OUR DAYS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTS OF OUR ENEMIES.
In my opinion, a Christianity that is disconnected from the core truths of the holy scriptures is a false Christianity. Yes, if your Christianity is disconnected from what the Bible says about the faith that was first delivered to the saints of the early church, that Christianity is false.
Remember they never presented Church like we have it today.
I have come to discover that not having the urge to spend quality time with the word, is a sign that your salvation is not genuine. Authentic salvation experience will drive you to DEVOUR the scriptures. It will drive you to live a lifestyle of searching the scriptures to know God and be intimate with Him.
Jesus buttressed this when He said, “You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me,” (John 5:39 CEV).
True salvation encounter will get Christ established in your heart through Faith.
If Christ is really established in your heart, He will begin to drive you to the Holy Scriptures to search about him. That is what makes not having a personal thirst for the written word a sign of false Christianity.
Our devotional text today is full of truths we cannot unpack in a devotional. Paul wrote to his son in the LORD, Timothy, first to warn him of impostors and second to show him the way to overcome them.
He showed him that continuing in the things he had learned from him (basically, the apostolic doctrine), will help him to overcome the deception in the ministries of the impostors of his age and time. He also highlighted that the salvation experience he had at Childhood that drove him to know the Holy Scriptures, is a force that will help him overcome the impostors as well.
FROM WHAT HE WROTE, TIMOTHY’S SALVATION EXPERIENCE WAS VERY REAL.
It drove him to spend time knowing the Holy Scriptures. Paul wrote that from Childhood he has known the Scripture which is able to make him wise unto salvation. I like that!
Then he concluded the chapter by exposing to him the power of the Holy Scriptures to save him and those who hear him from the impostors.
All that this Apostolic Father wrote to his Apostolic Son is truly relevant in our time and age. The Church today is full of evil men and impostors who are growing worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Four years ago, while speaking over a Radio station here in Nairobi, one of our listeners sent one of the most shocking news I have ever heard then, since I came to East Africa. A prophetess he went to for prayers took him to see a witch doctor instead by deceit, and after that, she lured him to have sex with her, and he did.
She said it was for cleansing. Evil men will indeed grow worse and worse.
I have said it repeatedly that for every ten prophetesses in the land, nine are evil and wicked women, prophesying by Baal; they are not of God. What that young man sent to us as feedback and subsequent horrible things I have heard since then confirmation all that.
We are living in a time and age where evil and wicked men and woman in God’s garment will grow worse and worse. A time when impostors will grow worse and worse; deceiving and being deceived. The only way to survive the season we find ourselves is to apply every word Paul wrote to Timothy captured in our devotional text today.
He wrote to him saying,
“But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
THE FIRST THING WE MUST DO IS TO LOCATE APOSTOLIC FATHERS WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LEARN FROM THEM.
Timothy learned from his apostolic father, Paul, and the man of God wrote to him, urging him to continue in what he had learned from him. If you have no one superior to you in scriptural understanding to learn from, especially these end times, you will become a victim of this evil men and impostors.
I would like to announce to you that God still has men like Apostle Paul in our generation. He still has a remnant among the clergy that has not bowed down to Baal or departed from His ways. You must locate one of them and sit under his apostolic and prophetic teaching grace; you must search for one and attach yourself to his mantle until you become a matured spiritual father yourself.
The second thing you must do is to carry out a check on your salvation.
Did you really receive Christ into your heart when you believed? Was your salvation a psychological thing or a real spiritual experience? That young man who was taken captive by the prophetess and lured, first to a witch doctor, then to have sex with her, did not really met Jesus.
If He had met him, the Spirit of Christ in him would not have allowed him to fall a victim of such wickedness.
None who does what he and the prophetess did has really met or seen the LORD. He and the prophetess are simple lost sinners, playing spirituality and religion. We have this kind of people everywhere in local Churches today, under false prophets, lying apostles, fake pastors, and demonic prophetesses.
I have said it repeatedly that born again is not a religious title but the description of an encounter between a lost sinner and Jesus Christ, KING of kings and LORD of lords.
So, you must re-assess your salvation and get truly saved if you were not. Because it is that initial encounter Timothy had with the LORD that Paul said should further reinforce his spiritual security, or salvation against the evil men and impostors feasting on the souls of the men of his day.
IF YOU LACK AN ORIGINAL ENCOUNTER WITH THE LORD, YOU WILL NEVER BE SAVED FROM WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IN OUR AGE.
Lastly, you must feed on the scriptures daily. The Bible says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
No one can fall victim of EVIL MEN AND IMPOSTORS if he has a healthy relationship with His Bible.
Like I stated earlier, if you do not study the scriptures you will spend your days according to the scripts of your enemies. The Holy Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reprove, correction, instruction in righteousness that you may be complete (or mature), thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Finally, he safest thing to do these days is to separate yourself from men and women of God who demonstrate power and prophesies without unfolding the deep things of God in the Bible to you. If you do not do that, they will keep spewing miracles for you until you end in hell fire thinking you are dreaming.
A lot of people are trapped in this deceit of hell bond miracles. A hell bong miracle is a miracle that is sent to make one hell bond when he or she dies. It tells you; all is well in your relationship with God while nothing is well.
It quickens you to think if God is not happy with you why is He blessing you? A lot of Christians are trapped in hell bound miracles.
This kind of miracle is sent to convince false believers that they are saved and sanctified, while living in terrible, open, or secret sins. It is not like a typical miracle from Heaven that kindles a hunger for more of God in us and show us how terrible we look in God’s sight, and how much we need the savior we claim we already have.
There was a Church in the book of Revelation that was caught in this kind of deceit. The Bible says it said it was rich wealthy, and had need of nothing, but that was not how it truly looked in God’s sight. I pray none of us will fit that destructive position.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURAL AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
“And to the [c]angel of the church [d]of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither [e]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
“I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” Revelation 3:14-18 NKJV