TODAY’S DEVOTION (Sunday 17th May 2020)
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:7-8 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 137th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
In our devotional yesterday we began uncovering the mystery behind problems that have refused the prayer and power of very anointed men and women of God – issues of life that have survived even corporate prayers.
We discovered that just like Daniel’s relationship with God was what saved him from the lions, there are issues in life that only a person’s relationship with God can solve. If therefore you do not have a viable relationship with God, those things will consume you.
Many who run after prophets and go from meeting to meeting looking for who to pray for them to get married, get a job, get healed, get delivered and all that have done so for ages and remained the same. The reason is they need to be planted in an assembly of people who emphasis deep intimacy with God to improve their strength in the spirit and break from the yokes of their enemies.
Today we are going a step further!
Our devotional text today contains an instruction that if all Christians obey, there will be no deliverance case in our midst. It says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” That to me is the key to the solution of all the problems you may be going through.
Satan, the real enemy, will not want you to draw near to God because he knows if you draw near to God, God will draw near to you.
AND IF GOD DRAWS NEAR TO YOU, THE DEVIL WILL BE EXTREMELY FAR FROM YOU.
You see, the distance between you and your troubles tells us the distance between you and God. If sickness, poverty, failure, hard life, disappointments, or any kind of demonic assault is remarkably close to you, it is a sign that you are extremely far from God.
Sadly, most Christians are not close to these things, they live with them. Living with satanic affliction all the time is a sign that we are not living with God.
One of the first set of ladies that God healed of HIV in our meeting in 2016, came to meet me in the office earlier with the problem. She was not just living with that diseases, she was living with other works of darkness. Like I always do, I did not rush to pray for them. I gave her one instruction, “Keep coming to the meetings.” On day you will gain dominion and break from the yoke.
What did God really do? As she kept coming and listening to the word, receiving prayers and impartation, she began to move closer to God in the Spirit. The closer she got to God, the far the diseases got away from her. That continued until the day she was certified healed by her doctors.
DRAWING NEAR TO GOD IS THE KEY TO PUSHING THE DEVIL AWAY FROM YOUR LIFE. GOD IS NOT A MAGICIAN.
The key to having rest from the days of adversity is to draw near to God. The key to defeating your enemies is to draw near to God. The key to making sure those who come to attack you in one way flee in seven ways is to draw near to God.
If you live a Christian life that is not drawing near to God on daily bases these last days, you will be sorry both in time and eternity.
There are problems in the life of a Christian that can only be eliminated when he or she eliminates the distance between him or her and God. Such problems cannot be eliminated by one-time prayer from anyone on earth. They can only be eliminated when that child of God becomes deeply intimate with God.
That is why I tell Christians to stop running after prophets and start running after the prophetic word (the Bible), and anyone who can unveil the mysteries in it.
Enough of the charismatic madness we call Christianity. We have reduced ourselves to choose meals on the dining tables of witches and wizards because we are extremely far from God. We look remarkably close to Him by our loud confessions and religiosity but, only our mouths are close to Him; our hearts are extremely far from Him.
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND GOD IN THE SPIRIT IS THE REASON BEHIND OUR AFFLICTIONS AND MANY TROUBLES.
If we will stop this noise, we call Christianity and start drawing close to God in spirit and in truth, peace will begin to settle in our lives.
Our devotional text made it clear that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. When God draws near to us, hell, death, and grave will go permanently away from us. When hell, death, and grave go permanently away from us, we will begin to have rest from all forms of adversity.
Now how do we draw near to God? Heaven has made available ministries and ministers on the face of the earth to help us do just that. Locate one and plant yourself there. Do not compromise your faithfulness in that place and you will see the move of God.
The people God have been healing in our meetings while we were having Church in the Hall, were very faithful in attendance and in service to the LORD. Whatever they were doing drew them closer and closer to God, and God drew closer and closer to them, and the works of Satan disappeared from their lives. Today they are celebrating God’s faithfulness, grace, and mercy.
You are the next on God’s list.
Locate a ministry that is moving in the kingdom, power and glory of God and plant yourself there. Within a short while, you will see yourself too close to God for any evil works to remain in your life.
It is a new day for you!
Join us for Church in the House on Morning Cloud TV, on any free to air decoders. We cover Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and part of Machakos counties here in Kenya. If you live outside these areas, you can follow us on Facebook or You Tube.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION
“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls; all your waves and billows have gone over me. The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me — a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalms 42:7-8 NKJV