TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 5th DECEMBER 2024)
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” LUKE 4:1-3 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 340TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
A song writer once said, “the steadfastness of the LORD, never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, oh LORD, great is thy faithfulness.”
Today, from 5:30pm EAT, the first session of this years School of Bible Prophecy, will begin. I hope you will join us for this amazing school. When you are schooled in Bible prophecy, it gives you the faith to stretch into the realm of the power of the age to come.
Yes, there is the age present, and there is the age to come. It is important to note that our world is in a prophetic motion; everything and everyone is moving towards a predetermined end, an age to come.
Yes, while we think we are moving in this or that direction, Bible prophecy points that the entire world is moving towards one direction; the direction of judgment.
Some are moving towards the direction of the the great white throne Judgment where everyone will give account of how they lived their lives on this side of eternity without Christ, while others are moving towards the judgment seat of Christ, where they will be rewarded for Giving their lives to Christ, doing His blessed will, and living His kind of life on earth.
At the great white Throne Judgment, it will not be determined either one will go to heaven or not. Everyone there will go to hell. What will be determine there is the degree of punishment that each one will receive in hell or the lake of fire. This is where God does not want any of us to go.
That is why Jesus came to die on the cross, pour His holy Spirit upon us, and planted His servants on earth to help us escape this place.
At the judgment seat of Christ, it will also be one determination; it will not be a seat where eternal destinations will be determined, but where the kind of rewards to be received will be determined. Yes, it will be an eternal place where those who are saved, sanctified and glorified, will stand to receive rewards for all the did and how they lived the life of Christ.
FRIEND, YOU ARE HEADING SOMEWHERE. HOW YOU ARE LIVING IS DETERMINING WHERE YOU ARE HEADED
We are all in a prophetic motion to come to the Day of these two categories of Judgement. Sadly, those who are trapped in the world system of evil and corruption, will end on a very bad side of eternity.
Those who love the evil and corrupt system of this world, who are maintaining friendship with it, and getting rich with its treasures, will end up in the lake of fire. That is why the Bible says;
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17 NKJV
Apart from forbidding us from being part of the evil and corrupt system of this world because of where we will be headed if we do, this scripture made it clear that the world is passing away. Yes, day in day out, the world is passing away.
Its days are numbered and appointed season for existence determined. Sadly, those who are trapped in its system are also passing away eternally along with it. But those who do the will of God, will not pass away with the world but will abide forever, with Christ.
One major thing that will help you and I not to pass away with the world is knowing the LORD, walking intimately with Him, and living under the influence of His Kingdom, Power and glory; and what will help us achieve all that is Sound Doctrine.
YES, SOUND DOCTRINE WILL HELP US ETERNALLY LIVE THE LIFE THAT WILL BRING US ALL TO THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
Without sound doctrine, we will remain in deep love with the world. Do not forget, when you are in love, you want to be intimate. When you are intimate, conceptions are inevitable. The conceptions that usually takes place whenever we are in love with the world is always dangerous to our eternal destiny.
One word we can use to describe it INIQUITY.
Yes, Iniquity is the very word that describe the conceptions that takes place in our human spirit when we are intimate with the world. It will just direct our will to begin to function against God’s will and ways, and keep us comfortable enough to accept that as a normal way of life.
When the same conception was found in Lucifer, Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-15 tells us what happened. Those scriptures tell us that he was casted out of Heaven and became an opponent of everything call God. The Bible teaches that the same thing will happen to us if iniquity is found in us.
We will no longer be able to stay under the restrictions of the Almighty, walk in His ways, and do His will. We will begin to carry ourselves like deities, without submitting to God’s ways. We will be doing exactly what God hates, and not worry about it.
For instance, God hates adultery, fornication, deception, lying, cheating, hurting others, seeking vengeance and all that. We will be doing them as a way of life if iniquity lives in us. Yes, we will be doing them, and much more if the spirit of this world rules our hearts. The Bible says,
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV
Understand that the spirit of this world that corrupt our ways, is the breath of Satan himself, and the Spirit of God that convicts us of sin and sanctify our ways, is the breath of Christ himself.
EACH BREATH CREATES A KIND OF NORMAL AND ABNORMAL.
The breath of Christ will lead to a kind of normal called righteousness; it will make a life of righteousness normal and a life of sin, iniquity and trespass abnormal. While the breath of Satan will make a life of sin, iniquity and trespass normal, and a life of righteousness abnormal.
That is why when sin, iniquity or trespass is not troubling you, the breath of Satan is working in you, and if you die that way, the Great white Throne Judgment will be your destination.
God wants everyone of us to come to the LORD and be intimate with Him. He wants us to be fellowshipping with His Holy Spirit so that our lives will be sanctified and made holy and blameless. The reason is because, He wants us not to end at the Great White Throne Judgment when we fulfill our days and die.
However, none of this eternal vision of God for our lives can be fulfilled when we do not feed on Sound Doctrine, the doctrine of Christ.
Sound doctrine will create in us a mindset that seeks God and stay on Him. It will help us to build resistance against the spirit of this world and be receptive to the Spirit of God. The reason is because Sound doctrine is a child of the teaching ministry of the Holy Ghost, that comes to us as the Testimony of Jesus Christ.
This is one major reason why false doctrines are dangerous. They are not a testimony of Jesus Christ. They do not promote intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that false doctrines, are usually heretic and are doctrines of demons, released from hell.
Often, they are peddled by greedy, fame seeking and money minded preachers in the body of Christ, and upheld and defended by those whose minds have be stolen. They make the preachers rich and famous, but foster intimacy with the spirit of this world in the lives of those who sit under them.
That is why you find a Christianity that is controlled by the spirit of this world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, wherever false doctrines are present. You find all manner of sexual infidelities, pride and moral decay taking root in Churches where such things are taught and practiced.
It is important to reiterate again that if you come under the influence of false doctrines, it will bring you into intimacy with the spirit of this world. You will become mindful of the things of men than the things of God. You will be money controlled and flesh governed. You will be impregnated with the seed of iniquity, making it impossible for you to lead a godly life.
THE MYSTERY OF INEQUITY WILL TAKE RESIDENT OR FORMED IN YOU.
When the mystery is formed in people, it does not matter what they may be doing for God, they will become eternally irrelevant. The Bible shows us how this mystery (from the seed called iniquity) can ruin lives eternally. It says,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23 AKJV
A worker of iniquity is not just one who is not doing the will of God, while doing His works, it is also one who influences others not to do the will of God as well.
A lot of believers and preachers you take for miracle workers are actually workers of iniquity. Satan will not mind doing a miracle that will harden people’s hearts and prevent them from aligning with God’s will. He will not mind doing a miracle to keep one on paths that leads to eternal damnation.
Every believer must understand that Satan can give us anything that looks Heavenly, if only our will can be allowed to be in conflict with God‘s will. We should not forget that the devil offered Jesus the whole world just for one moment of worship, and become careful what we call prosperity.
YES, WE MUST BE CAREFUL WHAT WE CALL PROSPERITY
What many people call prosperity is simply the proceeds they got for offering not just one moment, but many moments of worship to the satanic. Offering worship to the satanic is one thing the doctrine of Christ will help us to resist and overcome.
Which brings us to our devotional text for the day. It says;
“Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread]. And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.” Luke 4:3-4 AMPC
You can see the necessity of sound doctrine embedded in the response of Christ to the evil one. It holds the key to overcoming all the seduction and enticement of hell on earth. That is why we must all become Christians who do not listen to any other doctrine apart from the doctrine of Christ, to prevail in this hour. The days are dangerous!!!
As we bring this to a close, understand that under the glory of God, the doctrine of Christ is made up of words and expressions of God that injects the Christ-life into the human life, making it a carrier of the divine seed, which is the mystery of godliness.
When our lives carry the mystery of godliness, it will become very easy to do God’s written, spoken and hidden will. That was what Paul carried when he called himself a bond servant of Christ. Our calling this end time is to carry the same seed and function as bond servants of Christ.
If we are not bond servants, we will be lost because the days are dangerous.
A bond servant is different from a slave. A slave is one who is made a bond servant, but a bond servant is not made a slave because he is already like a Son. A bond servant is one who willingly offered himself for servitude just to do the will of one who was not but now has become his master.
In the same way, Jesus cannot be our master if we live in sin and operate the spirit of this world. Satan will be our master. But if we accept Jesus Christ, absorbed His doctrine, and become carriers of the divine seed called the mystery of godliness, we can become his bond servants.
It is my prayer that we all become so, in Jesus precious name. Amen!!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” Romans 1:1-6 NKJV