TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Monday 11th JANUARY 2021)
“Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance [not fully aware of what you were doing], just as your rulers did also.
And so God has fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (Messiah, Anointed) would suffer.
So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out,
completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];
and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you, whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Acts 3:17-21 Amplified Version
WELCOME TO THE 11TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS
It pleases the Father to give us another day to be alive and serve our generation according to the will of God. To Him belong all the glory for all that He has done is still doing in our lives. For us at the Cry of the Spirit Ministries, it was a glorious service yesterday where we had our first Prophetic Summit of the year.
Indeed, the Spirit of the LORD has made us, and the breath of the almighty gives us life. He gave us so much life yesterday from his word and His presence. We believe the subsequent Prophetic Summits that will follow, will release more of what we got yesterday.
The summits will be coming up on monthly bases. They will be part of the Higher Heights moves of God for this eventful year. The Spirit of the LORD will be using them to minister greatly to the Sons of Issachar and keep the lives of His saints ignited for our LORD and savior Jesus Christ, from time to time.
Today we be looking at things that we should not allow to run their full course in our lives, and those who must allow to run their full course.
What does it mean for something to run its full course? It simply means for it to keep progressing or developing until it results in something. There are things to allow to keep progressing and developing in our lives until they result in something and there are things we should not allow.
Life is usually a product of things people allow to run their full course in it. In simple terms, your life today is a product of the things you allowed to keep developing or pressing in it.
People gets frustrated when they see the wrong things spring up in their lives, due to the things they did in ignorance; in ignorance of the consequences.
Our devotional text says, “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance [not fully aware of what you were doing], just as your rulers did also.” The truth is, we sin in ignorance of the consequences. We just look at the immediate pleasures and not the consequences.
THE IMMEDIATE PLEASURE HAS A WAY OF BLINDING US TO THE CONSEQUENCES.
That is why we get frustrated as what comes out of it without knowing that it is what we did at one time in life that brought that upon us; and if we are in derailed spiritual environments, we will begin to blame some spirits of being responsible and get ourselves engaged in rituals we call deliverance, controlled by the spirit of error!
As they move from one deliverance church or ritual to another, seeking for help, they end up being exploited by greedy prophets and prophetesses. When they suddenly realize that nothing is really working, and seek to go away, the so called prophets and prophetesses will begin to inflict them with fear.
This is to further keep them in the bondage of being a source of income to them.
It is very important to realize that if what is happening in your life is a product of what you allowed to run a full course in it, you will never solve the problems through your so called fasting and prayers prepared by ministers of the gospel controlled by the demon of deliverance.
You will never solve the problem having your feet washed, using salt to pray and doing all the prophetic witchcraft things they lead you to do.
You will never be free listening to all the spiritual symptoms they give that points to certain spirits that must be dismantled in your life. You will only be free when you identify the things that you have allowed to run a full course in your life, resulting in what you may be going through.
Some of the things we must not allow to run a full course in our lives are spiritual ignorance, Biblical Illiteracy, staying with the wrong people in life, laziness, hypocrisy, craftiness, a lying tongue, bitterness, un forgiveness, adultery, fornication, evil desires, and etc. These and many others that align with them, fall into a set of things I will like to share with us.
THEY ALL FALL UNDER SIN, INIQUITY OR TRESPASS.
Sin, iniquity and trespass are the most dangerous forces on earth. They are things we must not allow to run their full course in our lives. If any of them is allowed to run its full course in our lives, they will give birth to things that will not be pleasant.
There are people whose lives as we speak, can no longer be redeemed because these three ran a full course in their lives. In other words, they kept developing and progressing in their lives until it resulted in un redeemable consequences. The Bible made it clear in the book of James that if we allow sin to run its full course in our lives it will result in death.
Do you know how many have died because of sin? Do you know how many lives have been ruined and destroyed because of iniquity and trespassed? There are no words to tell the stories of so many whose lives have been eternally dammed for allowing these forces to run their full course in their lives.
Sin results when we satisfy the desire of the flesh, iniquity results when our will goes opposite God’s will, and trespass results when we go beyond the boundaries God has set for us in His words.
The ten commandments were actually given to help mankind stop these three from running a full course in their lives.
The word of truth and righteousness is preached to stop sin, iniquity and trespass from running their full courses in our lives. That is why when we hear the word of the LORD that confronts us of our ungodly lives and we refuse to follow that word, we will allow them to keep developing and progressing in our lives until they result in death, destruction or damnation.
The first death is usually spiritual. Spiritual death is a disconnection from the life of GOD. When it happens, it will shut down Holy Spirit enabled or controlled Christian life. When the true Holy Spirit is shut down and we do not realize it on time and go back to God for help, a false one will take over and start running our lives, resulting in terrible ruin.
CHILD OF GOD IT IS DANGEROUS TO ALLOW SIN TO RUN ITS FULL COURSE IN YOUR LIFE.
It is dangerous to allow a life that is opposite God’s will to start developing and progressing until it brings you to destruction. That is why when you start a journey of life in a direction that is not God’s will for you; maybe in the area of marriage, business, church attendance, or interpersonal relationships and God comes warn you, do not ignore.
Sin, iniquity or trespass, all have a way of making us love doing them. They have a pleasure in them that keeps us repeating them. It is in repeating them that we allow them to establish a stronghold in us to keep running their full course in our lives. It is the ‘enjoyment’ you get from a poisonous substance that makes you forget its destructive power.
As we keep enjoying the pleasure in them we will keep repeating them. As we keep repeating them, we are allowing them to run their full course in our lives. When they run their full course in our lives, they will result in either death, destruction or damnation come sin.
Many of us in the faith have seen the ruin of allowing these things to creep into us and run their full course. I have personal seen the ruin of allowing sin, iniquity or trespass to keep developing or progressing until. It will keep promising you that everything will be well until you wake up one morning to realize that you are doomed.
The bible calls that the deceitfulness of sin.
History is full of great men and women of faith fell into ruin when these thing subtly creeped into their lives and ran their full course, resulting in serious problems.
BUT THERE ARE ALSO GOOD THINGS TO ALLOW TO RUN THEIR FULL COURSE.
Things like the anointing of the Holy Spirit, revelation, Faith, the gifts of the Spirit, deposits we get from our encounters with the power and glory of God, the sanctification power of the Holy Spirit and God’s Holy words and the like. If we allow them to keep developing and progressing in us, we will come to a point of faith where sin, iniquity or trespass will have no dominion over us.
The spiritual act of allowing what is evil and corrupt to run its full course is called sowing to please the flesh, while the act of allowing what is right to run its full course is called sowing to please the Spirit. The Bible says,
“For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8 Amplified).
Our ruin as children of God usually comes when we sow to our sinful capacity, worldliness and disgraceful impulses. In another word, when we do things that activate our sinful capacity, worldliness and disgraceful impulses, or when we yield to them.
That is why we are being admonished this morning not to allow them to keep developing and progressing until something bad begin to happen. We should stop them through repentance.
Repentance is what helps us to stop what will destroy us when it runs its full course from running its full course. It is the process of changing our inner self or old way of thinking that involves regretting past sins and returning to seeking God’s purpose for your life and living for it. When that happens, you will no longer allow sin, iniquity or trespass to develop or progress in your life.
A portion of our devotional text says,
“So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];”
We must understand that a onetime or sometimes, many times sin, may appear to have done us no harm. But no act of sin leaves us without harming our spirits. Only the dead in spirit will not notice that.
Another thing it does, it leaves a desire in the flesh to keep going back to it again, and again; and as you keep going back from time to time, you will come into a phase when it will run its full course and bring destruction. But repentance can change all that.
Repentance is s a beautiful act that helps us in stopping sin, iniquity and trespass from developing and progressing until we are ruined.
This morning God is calling on us to stop what is corrupt and evil from running its full course in our lives. We should stop wrong behavior from running its full course in our lives. We should rather allow the word of the LORD to impact our lives and His Holy Spirit to run His full course in our lives.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOUR DAY
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to Your precepts].
With all my heart I have sought You, [inquiring of You and longing for You]; Do not let me wander from Your commandments [neither through ignorance nor by willful disobedience].
Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
Blessed and reverently praised are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts].
I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:9-16 Amplified Version