TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Saturday 17th July 2021)
So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.
‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”‘” Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 198TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!
God has been faithful to us all the days of this year. I believe He will be faithful the reaming days of the year. Indeed. man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Through this platform, we have found words from the mouth of LORD on daily bases. We have experienced them and they have helped us. Personally, I have come to realize that words that proceed out of the mouth of the LORD, are containers of divine things following the deposits the LORD have used them to make in our lives.
It has been proved in our lives that words that proceed from the mouth of the LORD carry everything we need from God to live and thrive on the face of the earth. Jesus, the one through whom all things were made, has given us another day to spend it wisely. What a generous God we serve.
If you recall the devotional of yesterday, you will make use of today as you should. Our devotional yesterday was a call from the Most High God to spend our days as we should. Today we will be looking at other things – matters of growing into maturity!
God wants us to become matured Sons of His not just children.
If you study the Bible on matters of spiritual maturity, you will discover if we come into Son ship in Christ Jesus, things will become different in our lives. Most of what we seek Him to do or accomplish in our lives can only be done or accomplished when we grow up.
The Bible says in Galatians 4 that the heir so long as he is a child is not different from a slave though he is master of all. If you look at the Church today, you will realize that many heirs of salvation are not different from slaves because they are not mature in the things of God; standing the risk of losing their salvation.
SADLY, MANY ARE SLAVES TO SIN. THEY LIVE A LIFE OF HABITUAL SINS CALLING THEMSELVES SAVED AND SPIRIT FILLED.
For instance, many are involved in all forms of infidelity, others live a life of deception like the devil, and many others find themselves overcome by the carnal desire to do very sinful and abominable things. As we speak, the womb of the many so called, ‘born again women’ still function as an execution ground for unborn babies.
The mouth of the many so called born again men and women is still a gate of hell in spite of doing what they call ‘giving their lives to Christ.’
God does not want this to continue because you will never go to heaven if you die a slave to sin.
Actually, Jesus came to set us free from serving sin. He came to make us Heaven bound. Born again ought to be a child of our decision to accept His sacrificial death as a sacrifice for our sins, demonstrating it in a resolve not to be slaves to sin again.
I believe the son that says “I am no longer a slave to fear” should have been rendered “I am no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God.” Because a child of God is not a slave to sin but a slave to righteousness. But it seems to me people use that song as an excuse or cover to lead lives of sin.
By their life styles, they usually mean they are no longer slaves to the fear of GOD. They are now free from the fear of His judgment on sin and their wickedness. That is what they enemy wants; that we remain slaves of sin with no knowledge or fear of approaching judgment.
What many of us do not know is that Jesus terminated our slavery to sin by His death on the cross, and instituted a new kind of slavery – slavery to righteousness – by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. It is that outpouring that makes us sons of God and helps us to live a life of freedom from the slavery of sin, Satan, and the evil systems of this world.
Everyone who has been freed from the slavery of sin is a Son. Sons do not serve sin they serve righteousness.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Apostle Paul wrote saying;
“And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness…..For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” Romans 6:18-19 NKJV
The phrase ‘your members’ in this scripture refer to “our body parts and faculties.” Slavery of sin involves the use of our body parts and faculties to serve sin leading to a sinful life. But slavery of righteousness involves the use of our body parts and faculties to serve righteousness, leading to a life of Holiness.
Talking about Holiness, it’s important to note that Holiness is the nature of God.
God says in His word, “be you Holy for I am Holy.” Holiness should be the distinguished character of Sons. It should become our Character when we become slaves of righteousness the way unholy conduct and sinful living is the character when one is a slave of sin.
Our devotional text this morning has a major highlight that says,
..’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”
I have come to discover that the Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of Holiness, is God’s enabling grace for Holy living. His role in all this cannot therefore be overemphasized. When you attempt to make your body parts and faculties instruments of righteousness without Him enabling you (as God’s enabling grace), you will fail – it’s not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the LORD!
THAT IS WHY IT IS ONLY WHEN HE COMES INTO US THAT WE CAN BE MADE SLAVES TO RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Those who are wise in the faith therefore, will honestly spend their days seeking Jesus for the enabling power to live a life of righteousness in a perverse and crooked generation.
That power comes in form of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire and a drive towards additional encounters or regular infilling. Do not forget He is the Spirit of Holiness. When He regular fills us, we lead lives of fear for God and a walk away from sin and all forms of ungodliness.
The slavery of many to sin, to Satan and the evil and corrupt system of this world in many local Churches today, is the reason for all the wounds the dragon is inflicting and all the spiritual attacks in the lives of many in our battle against the forces of darkness.
Many profess salvation with their mouths but live very sinful and reckless lives. That brings us to something that will be additionally helpful.
What does it mean to be saved?
Many do not really understand what they are saying when they say “I am saved.” If you say you are saved, you are simply saying you are free from the slavery of sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt systems of this world. You are saying you have been freed from serving them. You are now serving righteousness. We call that the fruit of salvation.
Meaning people should not see you in a life of sin but speaking in tongues or serving in one thing or the other in Church.
If people look at your life, they should see a reflection of what you are saying. They should see the fruit of salvation. But if you say you are saved, and people do not see the fruits if salvation in your life; you are not saved.
Genuine salvation has fruits or corresponding works of righteousness. You need to seek the LORD, until you find Him the way our Apostolic Fathers did in scriptures.
What is the message of our devotional this morning?
The message is simple; Salvation is freedom from serving the carnal passions of the flesh; the sin in us. Any salvation that does not have that as a fruit is condemnation by stealth. Do not allow anyone to deceive you.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY;
“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”