TODAY’S DEVOTION (Wednesday 4TH November 2020)
“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ Acts 26:12-18 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 307TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
One of the major discoveries that people who sit at the feet of the LORD make is on spiritual blindness. Everyone who sit at the feet of the LORD knows that the greatest blindness on earth is spiritual blindness.
One of the major assignments of the Spirit of the LORD this end time is to open the eyes of people. You will discover that every apostolic and prophetic mandate Jesus birth on earth, carries the commissioning grace to open the spiritual eyes of both the church and the lost world.
I remember sharing that, the few physically blind people with sharp spiritual sights in the Church today are much better and brighter than the millions who have natural eyesight but are blind spiritually.
The difference between people who will be in hell and those who will be in Heaven is in what they can see, or what they cannot see spiritually.
Many have never seen that hell is real and Jesus is the ONLY way. Even some preachers are yet to see that. The reason people will go to Heaven or hell lies in our spiritual sight that is why we need eye opening truths.
Our focus this morning has been set; spiritual blindness, the worst form of blindness that came upon the human race when Adam fell from the realm of glory. It is the very reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees united just for one moment to crucify Jesus, the one they all read and studied about for many years in their theological schools.
Religion blindfolds! It blinded these Pharisees that they could no longer see or recognize Him when he finally came.
CAN YOU IMAGINE MISSING GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE BECAUSE YOU WERE SPIRITUALLY BLIND?
Spiritual blindness can prevent a dedicated person from seeing the most important things of the kingdom God send his way. It can prevent a man from recognizing his day of divine visitation and what God sent to execute it. The Bible made it clear that spiritual blindness is over every one with no personal relationship with Christ – be it a Muslim, Hindu, Judaist, or Christian.
Now don’t be surprised because I included Christians in that sentence.
Many Christians (even members of the clergy) are blind in the spirit. They are blind to the things of God. That is why they talk about the things of men, the world, and Satan when they preach.
You can hardly hear the things of God taught in many church Circles today. They talk of the things of men, the things of this world, and the things that Satan does, spicing their messages with scriptural quotations and leaving the people empty of GOD. That is why everyone planted in such assemblies are basically spiritual vacuums, waiting to be filled with the impact of the next attack of the devil!
But I have come to realize that one may be blind to anything in GOD but one thing he or she cannot afford to be blind to, is the MERCIES OF GOD.
Friend, it is too costly to be blind to divine mercy. And sometimes the cost is eternally unredeemable. Blindness to divine mercy is simply not recognizing the mercy of God when it shows up. Whenever the enemy want to kill a warrior or a Child of God, he makes him blind to God’s mercies. The reason is because GOD’s mercies runs the life of His warriors and kingdom citizens.
We must learn to recognize God’s mercies and accept them when they show up!
Sometimes, GOD’s mercies show in form of people. That is why the reason many do not recognize it when it shows up is because of the kind of people Heaven usually use to bring it to us. Most of these agents of His mercies usually come in packages we do not like.
Other times God sends His mercy to us in form of acts of kindness, spouses we are married to, ministers of the gospel we need, or even a timely word from Him; it could be a word of rebuke or even judgment. Many do not know that there is the rebuke and correctional judgment aspects of God’s mercies.
IT IS INDEED AN ASPECT OF GOD’S MERCY THAT OUR GENERATION DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
It is an act of mercy for God to raise a man or woman who will be revealing God’s severity to us, even if it means calling us names to provoke and bring us into holiness, and making it uncomfortable for us to live in sin. It’s an act of mercy for GOD to allow unpleasant things to flow into our lives so we can sit up straight in our walk and talk with Him. But Like I said, our generation hates this aspects of GOD’s mercy.
We reject the mercy of God especially when it comes in form of people by branding them with all kinds of unprintable names, and weakening them from doing their jobs. Consequently, preventing them from doing their job.
Israel saw this dimension of divine mercy in their days and resisted it to their detriment the way we are doing today. The Bible says,
“And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 NKJV
It’s my prayer that this judgment will not be said of us on the final day.
Friend, Satan can let you see anything in the spirit realm but will never let you recognize God’s mercy when it shows up in your life. That is why the true gospel of the KINGDOM is an eye opening gospel. If anything we call gospel is not opening the eyes of the Church or the world to accurately see God’s Mercy, judgments, and will, it is not gospel but a death pill from hell.
Satan’s specialty is to blindfold people; GOD’s specialty is to open the eyes of people. Our devotional text today tells us of the encounter Paul had on his way to Damascus that also released God’s mantle upon his life.
He was spiritually blind before he had that encounter but woke up seeing spiritually and blind physically. God had to send one of His Sons to open his natural eyes having opened the spiritual eyes. The encounter of Paul with Christ shows us that true encounter with the Light of God, Jesus Christ Himself, is the only way to cure spiritual blindness.
A MAJOR HIGHLIGHT OF THE TEXT READS,
“And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
If you look at this scripture carefully, you will realize that until the eyes of sinners are opened through an accurate presentation of the true gospel (not the enemy, depths of Satan and money spinning gospel on many mouths today), they cannot be certified saved by God. Yes, the Church could certify them saved and make them Church members, and even appoint them into different positions, but God will not.
In God’s eyes, genuine encounter with the word will open the spiritual eyes of people, resulting in them turning from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to GOD. When they turn, forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among they that are sanctified will be released to them.
Meaning, there can be no spiritual blessings without us turning from sin and the power of Satan. And we cannot turn until our spiritual eyes are opened through the message of the cross – the gospel.
THE OPENING OF SPIRITUAL EYES REMAINS KEY TO ACCESSING ALL THINGS IN CHRIST!
I began this devotional by showing us that spiritual blindness is the greatest blindness on earth. It is the reason many have not genuinely repented and turned to the LORD. It’s the reason many profess salvation with their mouth but deny it with their acts. They receive Jesus with their lips but not with their hearts. It is the reason for lack of repentance!
And from our devotional text it’s clear that many have not repented because they have not heard the true gospel. The Bible made it clear that if the true gospel is preached hearts will be prinked to turn to the LORD. But the gospel that is being preached today only prick people’s hearts to give and give and give sacrificially to the prophets and prophetess. That is why we have problems!
It is really a terrible gospel!
It sounds so monetary and carnal in the mouth of preachers and most times demonic. But produce very sad ends in the lives of their listeners. It plagues them with spiritual blindness and prevents them from recognizing the true things of God.
There a gospel with capacity to spread spiritual blindness. It makes the spiritual blind more blind and vulnerable to eternal condemnation.
We can go on and on but like I have always shared, this is a devotional not a book. The message of today has been passed. Do not be spiritually blind. You may be spiritually blind to anything but don’t be blind to God’s mercy when it shows up. May God keep you sensitive in the Spirit to GOD’s mercy whenever it shows up! AMEN!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:18-32 NKJV