TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Sunday 26th December 2021)
“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.” Psalms 127:1-2 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 360TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS.
With Just five days to the new year, according to the Gregorian Calendar, I want to say a big thank you to the giver of life Himself, Jesus Christ, King of kings and LORD of lords, for all His goodness and mercies that we have seen.
For the 360 days that we have seen He has been our judgment seat, our refuge, our redemption sacrifice, our Rock, our Light, our way maker and much more than we can ever ask or think. Indeed, there are no words to capture the depth of His love towards us and the power of His mercies.
He has been our builder and sanctifier also. In fact, we experienced Him more as our builder. The intensity of the word and flow of the Spirit that we have experienced from Him this year has indeed given us stature. Many of us now have the stature to face our future, and the wisdom to handle so many issues of life.
For some they experience Christ as a demolition force. The saw Him pull down the walls of deceit and sorcery that had held them sway, demolishing everything and bringing them out of spiritual pits and prisons. The python spirit that chained the hearts of many was also neutralized by His outstretched arm.
It was indeed an eventful year!
When the LORD declared,
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18 NKJV)”
He was not giving a speech, He was making a declaration of war! And we have seen that in all our journey of faith.
In today’s devotional, we will be looking at truths exhumed from this scripture.
Sadly, so many who quote this scripture seems to know nothing about it. Those whose ignorance cannot be excused are preachers. The Bible says people should seek the law or the true word of the LORD from our mouths.
If the preachers who quote this scripture really know it, they would not have turned the Church into either a money-spinning machine, a metaphysical cult, a social club or a political party as we see this day! They will know they have become the very gates of hell Jesus spoke about by doing that!
WHEN A PREACHER BECOMES THE GATE OF HELL ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, HE WILL BEGIN TO ASK FOR MONEY FOR PRAYERS AND USE ALL SORTS OF THINGS TO MINISTER TO PEOPLE.
So many have become gates of hell that is why they no longer prevail against the eternal purpose of God for the Church! But there is another generation of God’s reserves who have not bowed their knees to Baal. They are the ones Jesus said He will have to give the keys of the Kingdom to so that they will be able to sense what He has bound in Heaven and bound it on earth.
And sense what He has loosed in Heaven concerning His Church and loose it on earth. He found some of this breed the first time He came and said to them;
“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19 NKJV”
When you hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven on earth, every other kingdom will have no choice but to listen to you! So many in the body of Christ today are keyless in the spirit that is why they do no exercise dominion over evil works. But we leave that for another day.
God is passing through His prophetic reserves in our generation called the remnant – people who still have their garments as white as snow. He is passing among them to raise Himself an army of apostolic warriors who will execute His end time redemptive plans in herald of the return of the LORD!
JOIN WHAT HEAVEN IS DOING IN THE NOW AT THE CRY OF THE SPIRIT MINISTRY!
What God is doing in the now is usually activated by what He is saying in the now. The sayings of the LORD and His doing are cannot be separated. They work together. What is the LORD saying to us this morning? Our Devotional text has the answer. It says,
“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.”
There is so much we can chew here. The first thing you must understand is that if the LORD is not the one building your life, nothing about your life will be pleasant.
If you become the builder and maker of your Life, it will be full of toiling and pain. You see that in the life of Peter the fisherman in Luke 5. When he was in charge of His business, toiling was the result. When he placed Christ in charged, supernatural business success became the order of the day.
There are a lot of people who wakes up very early in the morning and returns back late in the night just to make ends meet. That is not the plan of God for their lives. God never designed life to be led that way. The Bible says it is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.
Any money you earn through toiling and suffering is called the bread of sorrow in the spirit. Come to think of it, why do people toil and suffer in life? Why are people going through so much in life? Is it because of the curses in their father’s houses, voices crying against them from their villages or what? Is it because they do not tithe or sacrificially give? Most do! I was one and know what I am sharing with you this morning.
Why do people suffer and toil and go through so much in this life!
The reason is simple – they try to do on earth what God has not done in Heaven. Any life that is made in heaven can easily be assembled on earth. But anyone that has not be made and finished in the Heaven cannot be assembled on earth.
TRYING TO ASSEMBLE WHAT GOD HAS NOT MADE IN HEAVEN IS THE REASON FOR TOILING AND SUFFERING AMONG MEN.
That was why Jesus did not do anything that He did not see the Father finish in the Spirit’s realm. He knows it will be total failure to lead a life that Heaven has not revealed to Him to lead on earth. He said in His word,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” John 5:19-22 NKJV
I have just given you the keys to sweat less living, given to me by the LORD.
What is God saying to you this morning? Are you suffering? Before you call on people to pray for you, check who is the source of the life you are living? Have you been a god to yourself, taking decisions, initiating things, and doing things that you have not seen the Father do, even with the eyes of faith?
If the answer to all these not negative, start retracing your steps.
It is time to become so synchronized in the Spirit like Jesus was. It’s time to start spending your days based on revealed paths and programs of God for your life. It’s time to begin to move in the scroll of the books and doing only things that are written of you.
It’s my prayer that God will use these words to further build you up this morning and give you an inheritance among they that are sanctified! AMEN
LET THIS SCRIPTURE NE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” Psalms 40:6-8 NKJV