TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 17TH FEBRUARY 2024)
“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 48TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
May the mercies of the LORD be upon us today. May our lives be filled with God’s presence. May our day end in great peace. May the arrows of the wicked not locate our families. Amen and amen!!!
Today God has a word for us. I believe we are all ready.
We are not just children of GOD but Children of the WORD, because in the beginning was the word, the word was with GOD, and the word was GOD. So, we are children of the word, and the word of the LORD we must always go for.
That is why as soon as you get born again, or you become a child of GOD by regeneration, a thirst for the word will be kindled in your spirit, leading to a life of searching the scriptures.
Sadly, today we no longer see that because most salvation experiences are unreal.
Searching the scriptures was one of the distinguished characteristics of those who gave their lives to Christ in the days of the early Church, especially the Berea Christians who stood beyond reproach. It was also the character that every generation of revivalist God raised in Bible History, cultivated in the lives of those they touched.
A genuine revival is not a Pentecostal noise-making movement, but a rebirth of fresh hunger for the word, and pursuit of the higher dimensions of God’s grace that a church generation is yet to see. It brings back tired believers to the faith.
Whenever you see people leaving the noise of religion, and pressing into the pages of the scriptures, a revival is either brewing or raging.
For instance, when the 1970s revival hit Nigeria, from the prayer kneel and decades of spiritual labors of Pa. Elton, searching the scriptures was so entrenched in the faith of all who gave their lives to Christ at the time, that the acronym S.U (or Scripture Union) became their identity.
EVERY BORN-AGAIN CHILD OF GOD WAS LIKE A WALKING BIBLE. THAT REVIVAL WOULD LATER BE CALLED SCRIPTURE UNION OR S.U REVIVAL.
The spark is already here in Kenya, and with God helping us, we will achieve the same feat under our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ. People will stop running after dark preachers, practices, and teachings, and start running after the word by studying their Bibles again.
Oh, how we need this to come to pass because the majority of Christians globally, are living their Christian lives, separated from personal Bible study. The consequence is the birth of a dangerous trend of Biblical Illiteracy.
People are so ignorant of what the Bible says that you wonder which book they hold in their hands calling it the Bible. Even most preachers are very ignorant. Like the one who carried oil to pour on the streets of Kenya.
The ignorance is so bad that many even celebrate it.
So many famed preachers do not accurately know what God is saying about marriage, money, sin, family, education, health, eternal judgment, and the ages to come.
Whole Churches walk in spiritual darkness, hence dark teachings like raising of altars, silencing of altars, the redemption of firstborn, spirit husbands, giving of first fruits, once saved forever saved, etc. are entrenched in the soul of many local churches.
Most believers walk 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, through very dark decision-making systems, leading to explosions that manifest as abominable things in their lives.
Some preachers have even gone as far as discrediting the Bible to the joy and cheer of their ignorant audience. But the Bible remains a light unto our paths in a dark world. It remains God’s basic instruction for every man before living earth to face eternal judgment or acquittal.
The dangerous disconnect you see between believers and the Bible has turned many into men and women who spend their days according to the scripts of their enemies.
The WORD of the LORD is clear, a Christianity that is disconnected from the scriptures is a false Christianity. Not having the urge to spend quality time with the word is a sign that your salvation is not genuine or you are losing it.
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, but it must have fruit or evidence.
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, he will be able to overcome the deception ministry of the impostors.
He also highlighted that, the salvation experience Timothy had at Childhood, which drove him to know the Holy Scriptures, is a force that will help him overcome the impostors as well.
We can see the sign of true salvation in Timothy; a drive to know the LORD by studying the scriptures. It drove him to spend time knowing the Holy Scriptures. Paul wrote saying, he had done that from his Childhood, leading to a profound knowledge of the LORD. I like that!
Meaning he got saved quite early. 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 very 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. The sons of Issachar must understand that.
YES, WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME AND AGE WHERE EVIL AND WICKED MEN AND WOMEN IN GOD’S GARMENT ARE GROWING WORSE AND WORSE.
A time when they are becoming more insane, and lethal in their works of 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.”
There is so much here, but the first thing we must do is to locate apostolic fathers, who are not part of the rot on ground in any way, but with a life and spirit, full of the word of truth and righteousness for the hour, and learn from them.
Timothy learned from Paul, and the man of God wrote to urge him to continue in what he has learned. If you have no one superior to learn from these end times, you will become a victim of these 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 their mantle. That is the first way to be saved from the impostors and evil men who are growing worse and worse.
The second way is to carry out an honest Bible check on your acclaimed salvation. To check if you really received Christ and His Holy Spirit when you first believed. Was your salvation a psychological one or a spiritual one?
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CHECK THAT AND THEN ALIGN WITH GOD.
Everyone I have seen captured by dark prophets, teachings, and practices is unsaved by fruit. They are only saved by mouth. They were captured because they were unsaved. Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice, the voice of a stranger they will not follow.
If you find people who claim saved following a false teaching or dark practice, you have seen people who are not the sheep of the master. No sheep follow a wolf perpetually. A time comes they come to their senses and depart from its system.
So, checking your salvation and aligning with God will secure you from the impostors who are getting worse and worse.
Lastly, you must spend your days feeding on the scriptures daily to be saved from the impostors. You must not allow anyone among us preachers, or church members to replace the authority of the scripture in your life.
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.”
I grew up to discover that, no one can successfully fall victim of whenevil 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 impostors will use your perils to cage you in their churches or destroy you altogether by promising you a liberty you will never get.
The Holy Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reprove, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that we all may be complete or mature, and thoroughly equipped for every good work. So, spend time with it. Plant yourself in spiritual fountains that will help you understand it.
That is the word of the LORD to us today! Make sure this message gets to as many people as you can push it to.
As we bring this to a close, I want to submit to you that, the safest thing to do these days, is to separate yourself from men and women of God who demonstrate power and prophesy accurately but cannot accurately interpret the scriptures.
LET THIS WORD BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
“Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.
“At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. Jeremiah 3:14-17 NKJV