TODAY’S DEVOTION (SATURDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2024)
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 272ND DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
First of all, I want to thank the LORD for giving us life and health this morning. I want to thank Him for His mercies in our lives and for His marvellous deeds. He has not given us over to the will of our enemies, to Him belong all the glory!
I also want to thank Him for all He has been showing us on marriage in this years Marriage and Family Life Conference. It has been an eyeopening meeting on marriage matters, especially in the light of the Bible prophecies that are been fulfilled in our days.
Talking about Bible prophecies, it is important to note that Bible Prophecy tells us things that God has predetermined and appointed to happen in their pre-appointed times and seasons, to bring the sin age to an end and usher in an Age where righteousness dwells.
At a time, our fathers who began the Church age, just before the Day of Pentecost, had no interest on matters of Bible Prophecy. The reason was obvious; they were more mindful of deliverance from the Romans, whose bondage the nation of Israel was under then, than deliverance from the sin age completely, which is responsible for all bondages.
That was why instead of setting their hearts on the Eternal order of God that Jesus came to establish in time, they were asking, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
THE ANSWER THE LORD GAVE THEM WAS OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF WHAT THEY ACTUALLY ASKED.
He said to them;
“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”
This scripture made it clear that before the Cross, the agenda of God for those who were with the LORD was not to delve into matters of the times and seasons God has set in His own authority, but to focus on the next feast of the LORD that was about been fulfilled to usher in the Church age, the feast of Pentecost.
Jesus had already fulfilled the feast of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First fruits, bringing the practices to an end (though some in our age still practice first fruits because of the cash it brings to preachers). Jesus came to bring the practices to an end by fulfilling their prophetic purpose in God’s eternal ORDER.
As of when the disciples asked that question, Heaven was set to fulfil the next feast, the feast of Pentecost, kept for many years as a shadow of what was to come. The response of the lord was aimed at directing their hearts to what was about happening.
God will not have us distracted with concern for our immediate earthly needs when there is an agenda of Heaven to pursue or step into. There is always a huge blessing for forgetting yourself when GOD needs your total attention. Whatever Heaven wants done when your needs are staring you in the face, must be given priority.
The problem we have today, is people not being able to put their needs down when God’s agenda calls on them. Many are backward for not knowing how to be selfless. They blame it on so many things, and try to attack those things but life remains the same.
They do not know that they are backward because they do not know how to forget their pressing needs when God’s kingdom agenda need their attention.
Your greatest breakthrough in Christian life will come, when you begin to lead a life that prioritizes what God wants done, above your pressing needs. That was what the widow of Zarephath did, which some preachers who scam people make seekers of miracles do.
IF YOU ALLOW A SCAMMER IN GOD’S GARMENTS MAKE YOU DO WHAT THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH DO, YOU WILL PERISH.
Anything you allow a heretic lead you do, will not produce God’s will in your life. Yes, anything you allow preachers whose god is their belly make you do, will not produce righteousness in your life. You might be earth worthy but not Heaven worthy at the end of the day.
Leading a life that prioritizes what God wants done above our pressing needs is a holy act that should only be done at the beckoning of the LORD Himself. It should not be induced by a hungry preacher who wants you to give some money.
A preacher who limits this holy act to giving alone is a scammer. This holy act is for all aspects of our worship. That is why it makes you a true worshiper, or let me say, its is a sign that you are a true worshiper. True worship is not a lip thing but a life thing; a life that prioritize God above all, including its needs.
Yes, a true worshiper is not a skilful singer or player of musical instrument. Worship is not singing but living. We can sing to worship God but worship is not singing. Worship is living!
It takes true worshipers, who know how to lead a life of worship, to push kingdom agenda forward against all odds and make things prosper.
It is a holy act of worship to lead a life that prioritizes what God wants done above one’s pressing needs.
Like stated earlier, many believers are backward in life because they do not know how to do that! The truth remains, you will never test what the Bible calls “the power of His resurrection” until you know how to forget your pressing needs and respond to God’s pressing agenda for the now.
The disciples wanted Jesus to break the bondage of the Romans over Israel, establish His kingdom, and make them judges of the 12 tribes of Israel instantly. That was their need, but it ran opposite God’s need for them at that moment.
What they desired had been pre determine to happen but not in their time. It will happen in the Age to come. But it will not be deliverance from the Roman bondage.
IT WILL BE DELIVERANCE FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE SIN AGE.
But at that time, they were to forget that desire and press into the next feast of the LORD that was about being fulfilled. Three had been fulfilled in His death burial and resurrection. The fourth one was about being fulfilled, which is the feast of Pentecost.
Its fulfillment will begin a move of God in their lives that will give them a higher purpose for living. With a higher purpose for living, they will no longer be concerned with the need to have the bondage of the Roman government broken over Israel. So, He said to them;
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”
Friend, meeting your earthly needs will no longer be a purpose for living when God gives you a higher purpose for living.
While our fathers were mindful of the Roman bondage, Jesus wanted them to step into the next fulfilment of His feast, a much higher purpose for living, and become His witnesses, operating a power that the world have never seen.
This is a great lesson for us all. If you are a child of God, who is presently bedeviled with needs, God sent this word to tell you there is a higher purpose for living in Christ Jesus. It is bigger then having those needs of yours met.
Ask Him for the revelation of it, and spend quality time seeking to step into it.
If you do, it will release the power of His resurrection in your life, a supernatural power that the entire gates of hell, death or grave cannot withstand. With that power turned on in your life, your problems will begin to disappear into the fulfillment of the higher purpose you have stepped into.
Friend, understand that if you are experiencing a shut down in your economy, marriage, faith, health, relationship with the LORD, or in anything in life, it’s a sign of supernatural power failure.
But when you do what we just stated above, when you step into God’s purpose, that which is higher than having your needs met, you will begin to generate so much power into your life. That is the word of the LORD!!
So, as you pass through this day, do not forget that there is Kingdom Power that will never be seen in your life until you begin to lead a life that prioritizes God’s eternal needs in time above your urgent needs; yes, above your earthly needs.
I have come to realize that with so many enemies around us, it is not the greatness of our shouts and prayer screams that will neutralize them. It is important to pray and maybe shout in joy before the LORD. But what will neutralize our enemies is the greatness of God’s power at work in our lives.
One way to turn on that power is to do what this devotional is saying to us this morning.
Make the rest of your life the life of a true worshiper. Start prioritizing God’s urgent needs above yours, and you will see God prioritizing your needs above every other people’s needs.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURAL VERSE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
Say to God, “How awesome are your works! Through the greatness of your power your enemies shall submit themselves to You. Psalm 66:3 NKJV