TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 25TH MARCH 2024)
“For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.
One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.
They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” Titus 1:10-16 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 85TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
Glory be to God for giving us another day. Day unto day we have been seeing His mercies, night unto night His faithfulness. The LORD has given us another day to be alive and well, and to serve our generation according to His will.
To Him belong all the glory; even for speaking to us day after day from this sanctified word platform. Amen and amen!! May the word He is bringing our way today do great things in our lives in Jesus precious name.
Between 2010 and 2012, I held several small apostolic training meetings, in and around Abuja. During one of those meetings, I asked a question to the audience, and that question was, “will Christians be found in hell?”
The answer I got was a resounding no, from so many. But wisdom would later speak in response. It spoke saying, “It depends on the kind of Christian, because certain types will be found in hell,” and wisdom began to show us the Christian types that will be found in hell.
Yes, Christ has redeemed us from eternal death, but many have refused His redemption by not doing away with the works of darkness. One of the major works of darkness that we are yet to burry is Hypocrisy.
We are in a season set aside to remind ourselves of our Passover.
In previous devotionals, we have urged us to find a place in the prayer room this season and reap the benefits. But today we want to deal with one major thing that can hinder the prayer of anyone, and that thing is hypocrisy.
The reason Jesus had a running battle with hypocrites, but constant friendship with sinners, gets clearer and clearer to me by the day.
Jesus was called a friend of sinners. But I am yet to see a place in scriptures where they called Him a friend of hypocrites.
He was a friend of sinners because His primary assignment was to save His people from their sins. To Him it is the sick who admits that they are sick that needs a doctor. I believe He saw things in the hypocrites that made Him scream from time to time.
One of it was self-denial – they never admitted that they were spiritually sick and needed His sin curing medicine, and the other was self-righteousness.
I am discovering daily that, it is safer to deal with an outright sinner, who tells you he or she needs help, than a hypocrite who is also a sinner but acts as if he or she is Immune to sin.
At least a sinner tells you who he really is, and that helps you to guard yourself.
BUT A HYPOCRITE DOES NOT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO GUARD YOURSELF.
Outwardly they are full of God but internally they are very wicked, malicious, and have tongues and hearts that can easily turn against you when they explode on you.
The hypocrites Jesus dealt with in His days, were outwardly known as the teachers of the law – the scribes and Pharisees.
Meaning a hypocrite is quick at wanting to teach others without going through the process of having the word work in him. He or she is quick at trying to lead others and showing them the way, while he or she resist submission to leadership.
I have seen some who cannot sit under authority, and are even lost themselves trying to lead others.
In fact, they crucified Jesus. And can still Crucify, speak ill, or assassinate the character of anyone who is truly carrying Christ and His word, or walking in His ways today. They are potential tools in the hands of the devil for killing genuine servants or people of God.
Hypocrites constitute the bulk of Church members today.
I have come to discover that the kind of falsehood that thrive among Church members and wickedness that lives in their hearts today is alarming.
Many times, they are quick at pointing at perverted pastors, bishops, corrupt Churches they served, and prophets that took their monies; but some of them are worse than the false preachers they talk about.
In fact, some of them made the preachers what they are!
Sincerely speaking, most ministers of the gospel became what they are today, because some wicked Church members killed what God gave them for their generation, and turned them into wicked men with no sexual discipline, or compassion for the suffering.
These hypocrites we treat as Church members have a way of casting evil spirits on God’s servants. They can submit to the devil to sway a servant of God to do things that are capable of knocking out love for the sheep, deep concern for people and genuine commitment to the work of God from his heart.
FOR INSTANCE, IS IT NOT OBVIOUS?
It has now become very difficult to be deeply and genuinely concerned for people, as a man of God, after being betrayed and bitterly wounded for being deeply and genuinely concerned for people you believe God brought you to raise.
Can you imagine kneeling down to pray for God to bless someone, you did not know is a hypocrite, who will soon do things that will destroy your genuine care and concern for the sheep that Jesus committed into your hands?
Can you imagine spending hours in fasting and prayers for a people you did not know are a bunch of hypocrites that will soon explode on you at a later date? Can you imagine sheltering someone who will not be compassionate towards you when you will need help?
Can you imagine going out of your way to pull people out of the fire – hypocrites you thought were your assignment from Heaven?
One thing I discovered is, Jesus never prayed for Hypocrites. He never delivered them from anything.
Their hypocrisy neutralized His mercy and power to save them. Your hypocrisy will neutralize God’s power to save you in the day of adversity even if prayer is made for you.
All the hypocrites in Jesus’ day ended very badly.
No hypocrite has ended well. I have come to discover that even when you prophesy peace to them, your peace will return back to you. When you try to help them, your help will do little or nothing to save them.
They sit as teachers while they ought to be students, hence missing the help they need. They call themselves spiritual fathers and mothers while they ought to be Children to be fathered.
When you see a Child calling something, “My Son,” that thing is a dull baby, not a real person. Have you ever seen those little Children who carry dull babies behind their back? You got it!
That is who you are if a hypocrite who needs fathering is calling you “My spiritual son” or “my spiritual daughter.”
As they yield to the devil to destroy the deep concern a preacher has for the lost and suffering, so they are destroyed by the same devil whose influence they are under.
A VERSE OF SCRIPTURE IN OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT SAYS “TO THE PURE ALL THINGS ARE PURE”.
So as a preacher who dearly cares for the sheep, you might never know they are hypocrites, but God knows. So even when you sacrifice your life in prayer and fasting for them, God will never answer you. He will wait until they change their ways.
If you choose to be a hypocrite, please do not forget that your hypocrisy is destroying you more than anyone the enemy may be using it to target. I have seen so many hypocrites around me destroy over the years.
One thing the devil does, to stop a work that is pulling men from the fires of hell, is to surround it with hypocrites – people who have God on their lips but not in their hearts.
People who are quick to make a pledge they will never pay, or commit themselves to doing something in Church they will never do.
They rush out to tell you, “Pastor you can count on me,” but will never be there when you may need them. It is part of the warfare hell musters against divine purposes! That is why Jesus declared woe upon them.
The Bible says;
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:13-15 NKJV
The easiest way to walk into these curses is to be a hypocrite in Church. In fact, no hypocrite needs anyone to curse them again because they are already cursed by Christ.
If you understand what it means when Christ says “woe to you” you will never follow the paths of a hypocrite.
SOME BEAUTIFUL INSIGHTS FROM OUR DEVOTIONAL TEXT
A scriptural verse in our devotional text says
“They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”
I think there is no description of a hypocrite that fits like this one. He or she profess, act, preaches, behaves and do all to show that they know God but, in their works, or inner life they deny Him.
A hypocrite will be doing something but as soon as the one they may be deceiving walks in, they stop whatever they may be doing and start pretending. The hypocrite presents himself as saved but is very much unsaved.
They see themselves by the positions their hearts tell them they qualify for in Church and gets their hearts filled with spiritual pride.
They are interested in Charisma and not character. They may miss Church for years but the day they appear they will tell you how far they have gone with God.
Some are always hearing a word from God. They see themselves as world changers but inwardly need a lot of Change themselves.
Jesus said they are like grave yards that look beautiful outside but inside are full of rotten bones.
One other thing our devotional text today said is,
“For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.”
This scripture made it clear that the mouth of the hypocrite must be stopped because he or she is not circumcised at heart. The Bible calls them deceivers, insubordinate and idle talkers.
It also said their mouths must be stopped.
Meaning, those who are preaching the gospel should close their mouths. The reason is because, whoever hears them, will become a son of hell like them. Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15 NKJV
From these scriptures what Paul said becomes clearer. They are great at having forms of godliness but deny the power. Paul said from such people we should turn away.
He did not say we should marry them, make them our Church members, accept them as sons and daughters in faith or make them our financial supporters.
He did not say we should make them Church workers or give them some pastoral assignment. He said we should turn away from them. If we do otherwise, they will explode on us and kill everything God in or around us!
If you want your prayers to be answered, stop being a hypocrite. That is the word of the LORD today.
MAY THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ Matthew 23:25-30 NKJV