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Scripture reading: Matthew 13:3-4

We thank God for bringing us all through so many days of problems, days of suffering, and days of hope. The Spirit of God has brought us from many circumstances that could have been disastrous for us; from accidents that did not happen. Some of us have even been brought through accidents. But we thank God.

I was touched by the prayer of a brother one time where he thanked God for the little things—for the bread that we get to eat, and for the sun that shines. It was kind of a revelation to see that sometimes we take God for granted, and because we have these things so freely, we never seem to realize that we need to thank God for them.

Today, I want you to carefully assess how you have received the word. You see, while the word is going forth, there is an “anointing.”  By “anointing” we mean that the Spirit of God is touching your mind and saying something to you. So remember how you have received the word. Paul spoke of it, that you must remember how you received it, because when you step out, there are some agents that come into play. These are agents of deception, agents of the devil, thieves!

Do you know where the chief thief lives? The chief thief lives inside of you! Upstairs, in your mind! The chief thief of the Word of God is in your mind. It is human reasoning! Logic! Logic says, “Well, if this is this, then this is supposed to be that.” With logic you will come to a logical conclusion, which may turn out to be a lie.

Have you ever heard of a logical conclusion being a lie? You have a person saying, “Jesus Christ is the son of Mary. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God, and therefore Mary is the mother of God.” The conclusion is a lie, because God was before Mary, and God made Mary, so Mary could not be God’s mother. Nevertheless, logic says, “Yes, she is.”

That which is “true” is not always “truth.” Truth is Christ! It may be true that a brother cheated on his income tax, but publishing the fact does not glorify God. It is not truth.

Matthew 13:3-4 says, “And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up.”

The word is in the mind, delivered by the messenger, but the black birds come in and take away the seed. I have known some people who act as these black birds. Read Leviticus 11 and you will find out that when it makes mention of predator birds, it is referring to people. Birds defy the forces of gravity and fly above earth, so they are a type of spiritual people. This chapter in Leviticus mentions the hawk, the cuckoo, the eagle, and others, and it says to us concerning these birds, “Do not eat them!” The word “eat” in Scripture means “become one with.” In John 6, Jesus said, “Eat Me, for My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” When you eat Jesus, you become “one” with Jesus.

So, let us not become one with those who take away the seed of the word from us, but let us eat Jesus so that we would become one with Him.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 1997, pg. 1-2)

Thought for today: Remember how you have received the word and don’t let the birds steal it from you.

The Laws of Redemption

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Scripture reading: Romans 8:2

God designed various Laws of Redemption for the deliverance of His people. But laws, when put in the converse, become detrimental to the very people that they were designed to deliver. Thus, we see Satan turning the word of God backwards in order to hurt humanity. Some Satanists even learn to read the Bible backwards; they even walk backwards as part of their training.

For years we were baffled by the vulnerability of Christians to satanic bedevilments even as sinners are. This particularly baffled me, when in our ministry all over the world we found Christians who loved the Lord with all their hearts and who were greatly dedicated to God still having severe satanic oppressions and needing deliverance. As God continued to reveal Himself to us, we gradually began to understand the situation. At the outset, let me say that it does not necessarily mean that a Christian has committed some sin to be bound by the enemy:

1. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior and submits to the Spirit of God, he comes under the law of Romans 6:16, and becomes a servant of God. The Blood of Jesus Christ redeems him, and all the covenants that he had made with Satan are broken. Nevertheless, his redemption is complete only in the Word of God, but in his soul he remains imperfect. That which he has received now in the Word of Almighty God and in his spirit must work its fulfillment in his soul and body. He becomes a covenant child of God. As a covenant people, we are required to keep our part of the covenant. God now lays claim to us as His property, bought and paid for.

2. The covenant that we had with Satan and sin has been broken by the covenant we now make with the Lord. Romans 8:2 say, “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

The covenants we had with devils were made null and void by our covenant with the Lord. But immediately the devils begin to try to get us to submit again to them, in order to apply Romans 6:16, so as to restrict if not altogether rescind our covenant with the Lord. Because of our imperfection, we find ourselves in constant danger of obeying devils instead of the Lord.

Let me tell you a story. There was a day when I told the Lord that I could not find anything wrong with me. In order to prove my unrighteousness, He told me to watch my members that day. When I got to the office there was a piece of chip on the ledge. A suggestion came to my mind to kick the chip off the ledge. Immediately the pride of being a good soccer player with a powerful right foot came into me, and I succumbed to the temptation and kicked the chip like I was placing a ball into the goal. The chip sailed around the corner and slammed into a man’s left eye. In one moment of light banter, I had become the servant of the devil. This was a small act of obedience to the enemy that gave him the right over me. Of course, I repented immediately, and denied Satan any further manipulation. But let me give you a more serious scenario:

Suppose there was someone I know who was worshipping the devil and I reproved him of his devil worship and told him I would have nothing to do with it, but because he is a near kin of mine, I would from time to time give him money to help him along. This money he would use to strengthen himself in his worship of the devil. Would I be guilty of aiding the work of the devil? The answer is yes! The devil is not concerned with what you thought you were doing. He claims his right over you because you participated with one of his servants.

God is in a process of completing our redemption. Yet, this cannot be done without a massive worldwide tribulation. The church will not voluntarily come to that standard of righteousness that God requires. At this time, when we pray for revival, it is actually a prayer for judgment. In Isaiah 26:9 is stated as divine wisdom that people in tribulation learn righteousness. Most men will call on God when they are in trouble, thus trouble is a necessity for some men’s righteousness.

To the watchmen I say, “It is time to sound the alarm.” To the sleeping, I say, “It is time to awake.” To those who are awake, I say, “It is time to trim your lamps.” To the foolish virgins, “It is time to get oil. The bridegroom is on his way.”

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, January 1993, pg. 10-11, 23, 25)

Thought for today: Let us hold fast to the words of Jesus, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

The Devil’s Claim

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Scripture reading: Romans 6:16

Scripture states in 1 Corinthians 15:56 that the “strength of sin is the law.” This means that because of sin the law was necessary. Without sin the devil would have no power over humanity. But the Christian though redeemed still sins, thus giving Satan a right over God’s possession. This law of the spirit is clearly stated in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman church:

Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants (slaves) ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness.”

In the mount of temptation, Satan clearly stated to Jesus that the kingdoms of the world were given to him:

Luke 4:6, “And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it.”

These kingdoms of men were not given to Satan by God, but man relinquished it by the law of war described by Jesus Christ:

Matthew 12:29, “Or else, how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.”

All the laws of God are good for the children of God. Nevertheless, we find the devil using them against the people of God. It is simple to look historically at God’s dealings and to see a pattern of behavior that is not human but absolutely effective. God’s ways are so much higher than man’s ways.

In delivering the Israelites from Egypt, God called out evil angels (Psalms 78:49) to kill all the firstborn in Egypt. In His order to the spirits of death, He did not tell them only to kill Egyptians, but to kill all the firstborn. The Lord then instructed Moses how to defeat the spirits with the blood on the doorposts and lintels. The lamb without spot or blemish, slain in obedience to the Lord, became an acceptable type of Christ. The blood applied to the doors and windows flashed forth the glory of God in the face of the spirits and they could not enter the houses of the Israelites. It did not matter even if many Egyptian firstborn might be within the house; they had to flee from such a house.

Another instance of God’s peculiar dealings can be seen in the story of Herod’s trying to kill the baby Jesus. God did not stop Herod, but gave Joseph a dream to flee into the land of Egypt with the young child until Herod was dead.

In the same way, the Lord told the devil in Genesis 3:14, “…dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” In verse 19, He said to Adam, “…dust thou art.” It looks at a glance that the Lord is giving us to Satan as his food, but at a closer scrutiny we find that God has actually given us the power to destroy Satan by denying him of his food. We now control the food of the enemy, and as we grow in righteousness, we more and more starve Satan and his hosts in a battle that we are winning more and more every day.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, January 1993, pg. 9-10)

Thought for today: Remember God has given us the power to destroy Satan by denying him of his food. Choose to starve Satan out in your life!

The Message of Life

This message entitled “The Message of Life“ was given by Brother Cecil duCille in November 1970.

For more audio messages please visit Audio Messages – Foundational Teachings.

Thank God for Tribulation!

Scripture reading: Romans 5:1-5

One day I said to God, “God, I see Your people. I see the “Holy of Holies”, the spirit realm where God and man walk as one; and I also see the “Outer Court” realm. How are You going to get us from the “Outer Court” into the “Holy of Holies”? How are You going to get me from being natural, carnal—from planning my own business, from planning the meetings, from doing my own thing… How are You going to get me from one place to the other? And not me alone, but the whole church? For the whole church must be one with Christ before the end comes, and I see the end coming down on us like a fast-moving train! Oh God, how are You going to get us out?”

I asked God this and He answered me. Of course, when I say that God answered me, I am talking about after many, maybe fifty, years. So do not believe that I asked this and God answered me right then and there. No, no! However, eventually, God did say to me, “I am going to do it by tribulation.” I said, “Oh, God! What kind of tribulation would there need to be to bring that pastor from his ‘pastoring’? To bring him from his situation of loving God but at the same time taking the place of Jesus Christ in the congregation? How are You going to bring him from there to the Holy of Holies? How are You going to bring me from where I am to the Holy of Holies? It must be terrible tribulation!”

But then, I did not understand tribulation. If God tribulated all of us at one time, none of us would be able to help the other. Can you understand that? We need a certain amount of tribulation to bring us into perfection. But if God tribulated all of us at one time, what would our condition be? We would be in a terrible condition! So He is very nice to us and tribulating us piece by piece, part by part.

For example, there is a hand that isn’t working right, and God starts beating on the hand. But the other hand comes and holds it up until that hand learns to obey Christ. Then He takes the other hand. Brethren, I see us going into tribulation one by one, little by little. Some of us think we are going to have a picnic. We decide to go on a picnic and we pack our lunch to take with us, but God has another plan for us. He starts to bring tribulation down upon us one by one, two by two, four by four… And it is increasing. I thank God for tribulation! That is a terrible thing to say, but I thank God for tribulation because through the tribulation He is doing a work in our midst.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 2002)

Thought for today: Let us thank God for tribulation knowing that through the tribulation He is doing a work in our midst.