To learn more about the details for activities happening during the 10 days, please read here. Each day we will be sharing a devotional here on the KCI Blog, which you can follow via RSS here or by signing up to the emails here. Read Day 9's devotional below.
Day 9, A Generation Set Apart
Today's reading is from Deuteronomy 11:18-21:
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”
John 1:1 teaches us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:12-14 continues, “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Jesus is the Word made flesh who has come to light up the world and set us apart for His glory.
Today’s passage is all about how Jesus sets us apart as children of God when we follow Him wholeheartedly in life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and we need His Spirit to dwell within us.
This is the time to conquer, to see the rain of heaven and possess the inheritance God is leading us to as a church and live bearing abundant fruit. Deuteronomy 11:18-21 gives us profound advice on how we will see this set apart for God living by His word.
Deuteronomy 11:18-20, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
The Word is the foundation. The Word is the framework. The promise of the Word needs to be bigger in our hearts and mind than our perspective of any circumstance!
We need to ask ourselves in every situation -- what does the Word say? We need to make sure we obey. This means putting it into practice in every area of our lives. The Word brings the power, protection and deliverance to our lives.
What are you building your life on? Are you building on the ways of the world or on the Word? Are you building a Word culture or world culture in your life? Philippians 4:8 encourages us to focus on the right things in life, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
Deuteronomy 11:18 says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.” This means we are to spend quality time with the Lord every day focused on the Word, filled with His Spirit, open to God in our heart and minds. When we do this, we will see the word take root and see God’s blessing and fruitfulness at work in our lives.
Deuteronomy 11:18-19, “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children.” People need to literally see the Word through how you live your life. They need to literally see the word ‘on you’ -- symbols on everything you put your hand to, bound around your head. People need to see Jesus in us through the way that we think and the way that we live.
People are watching our every move. What do we focus on in life? What are we passionate about? Are we passionate about the church and the Kingdom of God? Is this your all-consuming passion that makes sense of everything else?
We have to live the lifestyle of Jesus bringing the word to people and seeing them raised to life. What you model others will follow. 2 Corinthians 6:14 asks, “What fellowship can light have with darkness?” If we want people to see the light we need to get rid of the darkness!
The Word must be on our lips. Deuteronomy 11:19 says, “Talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
We need to cultivate an atmosphere of faith and conquest by the Word. A lifestyle of always talking and speaking faith when we are at home and when we are out and about. And at all times of the day - in the morning, throughout the day and in the evening!!!
This means we need to be intentional about this. This needs to be in us. This needs to be our new normal. This needs to be us in the good times and in the tough times.
Let me encourage you to speak faith, be positive and impart confidence, cast vision, share dreams, speak the Word and talk about the promises of the Word, plant seeds of hope and see God’s power save, heal and deliver people.
The Word brings the Kingdom rule of God to our lives. Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says, "Fix... tie... bind... teach... talk... write.” These words and actions bring the rule of God to our lives. This is why the Lord instructs to pray “let your Kingdom come.”
We are asking the rule of God into our lives to bring order so that we can be fruitful in life and experience His fullness and favour over our lives. Sin brings disorder. Fear brings disorder. Our past can bring disorder. Circumstances brings disorder but when God’s kingdom comes there is rule. We are changed and transformed and we manifest the fruit of the Spirit of God.
And as we change everything around us changes. As a church we need to be determined to see God’s Kingdom rule come to our lives.
We can’t be ruled by our emotion, our fears or the circumstances that we find ourselves in. We need to be ruled by the presence and power and word of God in our lives as we yield ourselves before the One who is mighty to save.
We have to be committed to this process. Methodical and systematic and determined to see God’s Kingdom established in our lives. We need to be disciplined and diligent and over time we will increasingly see the fulfilment and fullness of the promises of God.
We need to learn to rule our mind, emotions, body, time, finances, career, rest, homes, studies, and agenda; every area of our lives.
This is the pursuit of excellence of a people set apart for God giving our very best offering to God in the way that we live. Where there is rule there is blessing. Fruitfulness comes out of order.
Let’s not bow down to fear. Let’s not bow down to pressure. Let’s not bow down to worldly influence. Let’s not bow down to money. Let’s not be ruled by these things. Let’s rule with God and see His blessing flow in our lives!!!
We have a high calling as the people of God. 1 Peter 2:9 puts this in perspective, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
Philippians 2:15-16, “Become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
We are a generation set apart by the Word of God and we need to live this out.
1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.”
Set apart by a new birth into a living hope as explained in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” 1 Peter 1 goes on in verse 8 that when we receive Jesus into our lives and live by his word we are, “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
This is why we must be set apart, so that we can first experience the goodness of God and then share it with our generation and raise a new generation.
We will do this by giving our best to God and by being set apart as teams of 12 that will go and see the glory of God fall. It seems to me that the establishing of the 12 is a significant moment in the release of the presence, power and purposes of God in scripture.
Ezra 8:22-28 is one such example, “‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him...So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer...Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests...and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisors, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God...I said to them, ‘You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord.”
Leviticus 20:24 says, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.”
It’s time to move forward as God’s set apart generation and raise a new generation for God.
Let’s declare together the words of Psalm 78:4, “we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”
We know that the, “Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
We will take the advice of the prophet Joel in Joel 1:3, “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.”
We know that our children, “will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” (Psalm 112:2).
We will transmit God’s word and works from our generation to the next - Psalm 145:4, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” Psalm 79:13, “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you for ever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.”
We will thank the Lord that He will establish our spiritual descendents forever - Psalm 89:4, “I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.”
So together as the children of light, as a generation set apart for God, it is time to shine brighter than ever before and see multitudes of people raised to life by the power of the Word of God!
Ephesians 5:8 & 13-14, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light...everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”
Prayer
Lord I will trust in you with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I will submit to you and you will make my path straight. Thank you that before you formed me in the womb you set me apart for great purpose. Thank you that you will use my life to raise a new generation for you.
Declaration
I will fight the good fight of faith. I will take hold of eternal life and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness all the days of my life.