TODAY’S DEVOTION (Wednesday 1st January 2020)
“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
“I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a burden.” Zephaniah 3:17-18
WELCOME TO THE 1ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
I am so exciting writing this devotional. Yesterday I told my wife that it seems I should stop writing the devotionals because of the toll it takes on me. Though God’s grace has been more than enough, but I felt I need to take a break. She Did not say anything. Maybe she thought it is a deal between me and GOD and that she has no say in it.
Glory to God am on it again this year. Maybe I was really fatigued and needed some rest. I now understand why Mike Murdock said, “Do not make a decision when you are tired.” I shared in one of our Church services how I spent time in my teenage years reading his books available to me. But that started after hearing David Oyedepo say the books were responsible for his success. You know everyone wants to succeed. The rest is history!
In our cross over service, the LORD brought a lady from Meru, here in Kenya who have been feeding on the devotionals since 2017. She said that was her only source of spiritual food. Then she decides to come visit the Church this time. I was amazed.
Obviously, she was meeting me for the first time and was overjoyed. I guess that was the miracle I needed to get back to work.
Waking up this morning, the first day of the year, I felt it was better to bring the devotionals late than not to write and publish them at all. God indeed have been faithful in putting us on our toes to do His work. A little sleep, a little slumber may mean the spiritual dead of someone.
That encounter taught me so much. God has indeed wired the faith of many to what I write or speak in His name. Yes, the Heaven worthiness of many is depending on the devotional I learnt. God have been sending his word and using it to refresh His elect and keep us aflame in His Holy Spirit and Holy Will. Though there is great famine of the true word and the elects are starving many are being fed.
I now understand why Paul said woe is me if I preach not the gospel. The woe is not just on him but on all who will not hear what he would have preached. I must follow in his footsteps and keep the lamb burning. An apostolic assignment is indeed for men of extraordinary strength. There is need to keep squeezing oneself for the LORD until one finishes the race.
SO, I HAVE DECIDED TO WORK THE WORK OF HE THAT SENT ME WHILE IT IS DAY. FOR THE NIGHT COMES WHEN NO ONE CAN WORK.
As I was thinking about our year of REJOICING while getting ready to write this devotional, something sparked in my spirit. You see, 2019 was our year of going forward. I suddenly realized that only those God made to go forward can rejoice. You find that all through the BIBLE. And since the LORD does not lead His people outside Biblical parallels, it is important that we take it to heart.
For instance, the nation of Israel was told and made to go forward after departing from Egypt and facing the red sea. They rejoiced later when they saw God close their enemies in the Red sea. The Bible said that Miriam led a praise match of women to sing and REJOICE unto the LORD.
“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” Exodus 15:20-21 NKJV
But Moses was the FIRST to sing and his song is called the Song of Moses. The Bible made it clear that we shall sing the Song of Moses at the completion of GOD’s redemptive works on earth. You see that in the book of Revelation.
But concerning the Praise Match to REJOICE unto the LORD led by Miriam, some have said that was the start of women ministry, but it is not true. That was women REJOICING unto the LORD for His marvelous deeds. That tells me that our year of REJOICING shall be a year where the Egyptians we saw last year, we shall see no more. Remember, God made that declaration shortly before the sea jammed upon them.
I see a spiritual pattern of what to expect from the LORD this year. The sea of His marvelous acts will cut our enemies once and for all from us. We will never see the snakes, scorpions, and all we saw in 2019. In Jesus precious name!
Yes, there will be more giants to kill and bring glory to the name of our LORD but whatever represents the Egyptians in our lives is gone forever. God said in His word;
“I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers.
And the Egyptians I will give into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them,” Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 19:2-4 NKJV
This is one prophetic template we are going to see happen in 2020 to the conspiracy of wickedness that was mustered against us in 2019 (In fact if it has not even happened already).
Yes, if there was anything that came against you (riding) on the spirit of Egypt, any preachers, any fellow church member or any unsaved one swayed by the devil – whatever came against you riding on the spirit of Egypt in 2019, will either receive in full or begin to receive the harvest of its wickedness in 2020.
EXPECT AN UNCOMMON OUTBREAK OF GOD.
But if you look at our devotional text this morning, you will realize a lot about the YEAR OF REJOICING declaration. It is not just for the Cry of the Spirit ministry GLOBAL. Prophecies, from an apostolic point of view are not limited to a local assembly. They are usually global in effect, because the apostolic is for the nations.
This outbreak of GOD will be global. It will be a YEAR OF REJOICING for the elects of Christ who have been waiting for the consolation of Israel. A major highlight in it says:
“I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden.”
Who are those who sorrow over the appointed assembly? And who are the appointed assemblies? In a present prophetic sense, it is referring to the elects of Christ who are grieving over the state of the Church.
Those whose hearts a stricken with God’s displeasure on the charlatans and expired prophets on parade today as ministers of the gospel. People who are sad at the Church members that are moving in the spirit of divination deceiving people to take it as revelation.
Not everyone in Church today believes that the church is sick. But the few who believe and are grieving about it, sorrowing over the appointed assembly will rejoice this year. They will rejoice because the LORD will REJOICE OVER them with singing and do things that will make us say “Thank God, this reproach is not more.”
Our eyes will see the salvation of the LORD and His zeal for His Church. That is one of the things the LORD will do to rejoice over us with singing. There are a lot of other things the LORD will do this year in the lives of individual elects. Our reproach will be rolled away. Not the reproach the enemy put on us but the reproach that fellow believers put on us for not understanding our pain and grief for Zion. God further said in His word:
“Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.” Zepheniah 3:19
GET SET TO BE APPOINTED FOR PRAISE AND FAME!
Yes, get set for an outbreak of God that will fulfill this prophetic promise in your life. It is a divine appointment that is coming our way in 2020. That is why I admonished all who attended our Cross over night to stay away from sin, filth, and all forms of iniquity. Secret sinners will be exposed this year with great reproach. They will hide their faces in shame when the LORD will begin to expose them to the world.
Men who are committing adultery in secret, sleeping even with Church members without the knowledge of their pastors should get set for disgrace this year. Ladies who are hiding in church and sleeping with other people’s husbands and lurking on them like the devil, should get set this year. Your secret sin will appoint you for shame and disgrace. Repentance and confession to the right ears is the only way out.
All who are acting “born again” should get set this year. It is a year of disgrace for them. God will expose their hypocrisy and save His people from their spell of deceit and lies. The essence is for Heaven to rejoice.
It is not only the elects that will rejoice, even Heaven will rejoice. When people lead hypocritical and wicked lives Heaven groans and mourns. But when they are disgraced and exposed to promote righteousness Heaven rejoices. It is a YEAR OF REJOICING for Heaven as well. It is the JOY that will happen in Heaven that will flow into our lives on earth.
As many of us that are waiting for the consolation of Zion – it is our season to see the salvation of the LORD bringing the much-expected sanctification to the End Time.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AND ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” Luke 2:24-32 NKJV