TODAY’S DEVOTION (Tuesday 14th July 2020)
“So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.
‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘” Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 194th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
Jesus, the one through whom all things were made, has given us another day to spend wisely. What a generous God we serve.
Our devotional yesterday was a call from the Most High God to grow up spiritually! I do not know how many of us saw it that way. But spiritual growth is not possible without sound doctrine given its place in a saved and sanctified heart.
“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
People who are intimate with the Word of the LORD, can attest to the fact that words that proceed from the mouth of God are “containers” of divine things. They carry everything we ever need from God to live and thrive on the face of the earth. That is why this month has been our month of God’s Rhema Word; in other words, “God’s proceeding word.”
The Spirit of God made it clear to us in that beautiful word from the LORD yesterday, that if we come into Son ship in Christ Jesus, things will become different in our lives. Most of what we seek GOD to do or accomplish in our lives, can only be done or accomplished when we grow up.
The Bible says, “the heir so long as he is a child is not different from a slave though he is master of all.”
If you look at the Church today, you will realize that many heirs of salvation are not different from slaves because they are not mature in the things of God, thereby some even standing the risk of losing their salvation. So many are slaves to sin.
THEY LIVE A LIFE OF HABITUAL SINS CALLING THEMSELVES SAVED AND SPIRIT FILLED.
For instance, many are involved in all forms of infidelity, others live a life of deception like the devil, and many others find themselves overcome by the carnal desire to do the unthinkable. The womb of the many so called, ‘born again women’ still functions as an execution ground for unborn babies even after salvation.
The mouth of the many so-called born-again men and women is still a gate of hell despite ‘giving their lives to Christ.’ God does not want this to continue because you will never go to heaven if you die a slave to sin.
Few know that Jesus came to set us free from serving sin, and to make us Heaven bound by turning us into slaves of righteousness. Born again ought to be a child of our decision to accept His sacrificial death as a sacrifice for our sins, demonstrating it in a resolve not to serve sin again, but to become slaves of righteousness.
What do you mean by these? You may ask. Well, on the cross, Jesus terminated our slavery to sin by His death and instituted a new kind of slavery – slavery to righteousness – by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. It is that outpouring that makes us sons and helps us to live a life of freedom from slavery of sin, Satan, and the evil systems of this world.
Everyone who has been freed from the slavery of sin is a Son. Sons do not serve sin they serve righteousness. In other words, they are slaves of righteousness. Apostle Paul wrote saying,
“And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness…..For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” Romans 6:18-19 NKJV
The phrase ‘your members’ in this scripture refer to “our body parts and faculties.” Slavery of sin involves the use of our body parts and faculties to serve sin leading to a sinful life. But slavery of righteousness involves the use of our body parts and faculties to serve righteousness leading to a life of Holiness.
TALKING ABOUT HOLINESS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT HOLINESS IS THE NATURE OF GOD.
God says in His word, “be you Holy for I am Holy.” Holiness is the distinguished character of Sons. It becomes our Character when we become slaves of righteousness the way we were slaves of sin before accepting Christ.
Our devotional text this morning has a major highlight that says,
..’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘”
I have come to discover that the Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of Holiness, is God’s enabling grace for Holy living. His role in turning terrible sinners into blazingly holy people can only be ignored to our detriment.
When you attempt to make your body parts and faculties instruments of righteousness without the Holy Spirit enabling you (as God’s enabling grace), you will fail, because in the school of Holiness, “it’s not by might nor by power but by My Spirit” says the LORD!
That is why it is only when He comes on us that we can be made slaves to righteousness. Those who are wise in the faith, therefore, will honestly spend their days seeking Jesus for the enabling power to live a life of holiness by becoming slaves of righteousness in a perverse and crooked generation.
Sadly, the slavery of many in Church today is a slavery to sin, Satan, and the evil system of this world. That is why the dragon has inflicted so many wounds in the lives of believers in our battle against the forces of darkness. So many of us say, “we are saved” with our mouths, but deny we ever said that with our lives.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOMETHING THAT WILL BE ADDITIONALLY HELPFUL.
What does it mean to be saved? Many do not really understand what they are saying when they say they are saved.
If you say you are saved, you are simply saying you are free from the slavery of sin, Satan, and the evil and corrupt systems of this world. You are saying you have been freed from serving them. You now serve righteousness. So, if we look at your life, we should see a reflection of what you are saying.
I hope you understand me!
But if you say you are saved, and we do not see that reflection in your life; you are not saved. Genuine faith has fruits or corresponding works of righteousness.
What is the message of our devotional this morning? The message is simple; maturity is the key to actualizing our status as heirs of salvation. If we do not spend quality time with God (privately or together with other believers), to eat what comes out of His mouth regularly, we will never grow up in our walk with God. We will remain slaves to sin, Satan, and the evil and corrupt systems of this world.
Maturity will help us to present our bodies and faculties as instruments of righteousness, serving the LORD as slaves (Slave Sons) of righteousness. However, the Holy Ghost is the facilitator of all that. That is why it is “not by power nor by might but by My Spirit” says the LORD! You must therefore seek Jesus until He has baptized you with the Holy Ghost and Fire!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY;
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
“His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:7-12 NKJV