MFM DEVOTIONAL 28TH SEPTEMBER,2021 - DON'T BE A PILATE

 

Mountain Top Life DAILY DEVOTION

DON'T BE A PILATE

28TH September, 2021

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 2; Luke 2:29-52

FIRE SCRIPTURE: Matt.27:15-24

15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.

16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.

17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered.

22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”

23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

MEMORY VERSE: " Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding:"- Prov. 23:23

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:

A compromising life is unstable and insecure, liable for eternal destruction.

PRAISE WORSHIP: Take a worship song as led by the Holy Spirit

PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY:
I pray for you to receive the discerning power to distinguish between the voice of truth and that of deceit and destruction, in the name of Jesus.

THE MESSAGE:

The gospels recorded the story of Pilate, particularly in relation to the trial of our Lord Jesus Christ and the release of a prisoner, according to the Jewish laws at that point in time. This man knew the truth, was warned by his wife, saw no justifiable reasons for declaring Jesus guilty, yet he yielded to the pressure from the people.

He sought the favour of men against his conscience and the Truth. He was close to being saved, but he missed it. If only he realized that he was writing eternal history, even his own destruction. There are still many Pilates around, even in the church. Christians that get easily manipulated, such that they fall into compromise.

Men-pleasers, fame and popularity seekers, forgetting that it is God that promotes and celebrates a man. Unfortunately, in his ignorance, Pilate washed his hands! An outward show of, “my hands are clean”. He had forgotten or was ignorant of the fact that God does not look at the face of a man, but his heart. No amount of washing of hands can cleanse anyone from guilt or the consequences of his or her sins.

Only the blood of Jesus can! The problem here is the conscience! What is that other voice that is louder than your conscience? Watch it! It is a distraction and a destroyer. Your conscience is the police of your mind, telling you what is good or bad. Listen to it! Refuse to yield to the voice of sin and temptation. Don’t be a people- pleaser, but a God seeker and pleaser. You are created to do that which is pleasing unto Him.

Are you afraid of people as against God? Pray for boldness to stand for the truth at all times, even when you may need to stand alone. Stephen did. He was stoned to death, but he saw Jesus. The truth is naked, but lies wear many coats to cover up. Embrace the truth and experience peace and the fullness of all that is in Christ. Fear has torment! How long will you stand against the truth and die in torment.

Either in church, in your family or at your work place, stand for Christ and for the truth. Those who hailed you today will pull you down tomorrow. Jesus is the only friend that will never forsake you!

PRAYER POINTS:

MORNING

1. Every spirit of compromise, lose your grip upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
2. Power to live above human pressures, come upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
3. I shall not be a victim of evil compromise, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING

4. Satanic trap, prepared to catch me and rubbish my salvation, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.
5. O God, arise and set me above the evil entanglements of this world, in the name of Jesus.
6. I shall stand for Christ alone all the days of my life, in the name of Jesus.
7. Holy Spirit, enable me to discern correctly and live

DO HAVE A BLESSED DAY

MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, MOUNTAIN OF FIRE and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)