MGD: Don't Walk Away

Gracious and everlasting Father, we thank you so much for

another opportunity to commune with you in your word. We ask,

O God, that let your word transform us, let your

word mold us, that we become like you. In Jesus'

name have we prayed with thanksgiving. Amen. Amen. Coming your

way this morning with our devotion is Pastor and Mrs.

Bruce Smith from Harvest Chapel International, Denyamiku, Marseille. Beloved, let

us take our confession from Joshua chapter 1 verse 8.

Joshua 1:8

Joshua chapter 1 verse 8. This book of the law shall.

Joshua 1:8

Not depart out of my mouth, but I shall meditate

in it day and night, that I may observe to

do according to all that is written in it. For

then I will make my way prosperous, and then I

will have good success.

Amen. Our theme for today is Don't Walk Away. Don't

Walk Away. Our scripture reading will be taken from 2

2 Corinthians 4:5–18

Corinthians 4, verse 5 to 18. 2 Corinthians 4, verse

2 Corinthians 4:5–18

5 to 18. And I'll be reading from the NIV.

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ

as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness,

may this light shine in our hearts to give us

the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in

the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in

jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is

from God and not from us. We are hard pressed

on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted,

but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always

carry around in our bodies the death of Christ, so

that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body.

For we who are alive are always being given over

to death for Jesus' sake, so that we His life

may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then,

death is at work in us, but life is at

work in you. It is written, I believe, therefore I

have spoken. Since we have that same spirit of faith,

we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that

the one who raised the Lord Jesus from death would

also raise us with Jesus and present us with you

to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that

the grace that is reaching more and more people may

cause stands given to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore,

we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For

our light and our momentary troubles are achieving for us

an eternal glory That far outweighs them all. So we

fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what

is unseen. Since what is seen is temporal, but what

is unseen is eternal. This is the reading of the word.

Thanks be to God. Don't walk away. The Cambridge Dictionary

defines walk away as to stop being involved in a

situation because it is difficult to deal with or does

not give you any advantages. Pause for a moment. Has

there been a time where you ever considered the thought

of walking away? What was the cause of this decision? Beloved,

let us consider these two scenarios. The first scenario. You

insert your ATM card into an ATM. You key in

the details of your transaction. You take your ATM card out.

And whilst the money is being counted to be dispensed,

you walk away complaining and crying because you think you

have spent too much time. The second scenario, you submit

your completed cash withdrawal slip to the teller at the

bank and just when she confirms the details and is

about counting and handing over your cash to you, you

turn around to leave because you think she has delayed.

What would be your impression of someone who engaged in

any of these two scenarios? Sadly, most believers find themselves

in similar situations. You hear people say, I used to

sing in the choir. I used to be a member

of the prayer tower. I used to be a tight payer.

I used to be very dedicated in the house of God, etc.,

Most often than not, the underlining cause of this I

used to syndrome is disappointment. A feeling that God has

failed us after all we have done for him and

after all our commitment to his cause. It can be

very difficult and challenging when after all the fasting, after

all the prayers, the confessions, the giving, seed sowing, attending

church meetings and paying every price that you can think of,

that one thing on your heart, that desire and legitimate

need you have been asking God for, still seems to

elude you. We are tempted to throw in the towel

and conclude that it does not work. We are tempted

to give up on that dream or request, and sometimes

we are even pushed to give up on the faith

and on God entirely. The truth of the matter is that,

usually in these situations, our answers and breakthroughs are nearer

than we think. As the saying goes, the darkest hour

is just before the dawn. In the field of chemistry,

there is a common laboratory method of analysis known as

titration or titrimetry. In simple terms, this analytical method is

used to determine the quantity of a substance called analyte

by adding measured increments of another substance which is the

titrant until the equivalence point is achieved. The equivalence point

is usually noticed by a color change. The total volume

of the titrant that caused the color change is usually

recorded and used in the calculation for determining the quantity

of the analyte. The interesting thing about this method is that,

to the observer, it seems just a single drop of

the titrant is responsible for the color change or equivalence point.

But remember, in the definition, we mentioned that the titrant

was added in measured increment. Hence, the color change is

as a result of the cumulative volume, not just that

drop that visibly changed the color after dropping into the analyte.

Without the previous drops, the change would never have occurred. Beloved,

this same principle has been set in motion on Earth.

Genesis chapter 8 verse 22 says, As long as the

Genesis 8:22

earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer

and winter, day and night, will never cease. This is

God's verdict, that as long as this earth remains, as

long as we find ourselves here on earth, there would

always be a time to sow and a time to

harvest what was sown. Once we sow, we would reap

a harvest for sure, no matter how long it takes.

Precious one, the fasting and prayers, the consistent study of

the word, the giving, making it for church meetings and

commitments to God's work is never in vain. God is

not unjust or an unrighteous God to forget your work

and labor of love, which you have shown toward his name,

as stated in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 10. Just like

Hebrews 6:10

in titrimetry, all these acts of service serve as drops

and sooner than later, the next drop will be the

one to provoke that miracle and breakthrough you have been

waiting for. Hallelujah! Remember Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. He

Acts 10 · chapter mention

was a devout man and one that feared God with

all his house. He gave much alms to the people

and prayed to God always. Little did he know that

these simple acts of love had gone up for a

memorial before God. And when the time was ripe, God

visited him and his entire family and loved ones.

Amen.

Amen. God richly bless you for partaking in our morning

glory devotion. We shall take our memory verse from Galatians

Galatians 6:9

chapter 6 verse 9. Galatians chapter 6 verse 9. I

Galatians 6:9

read from the ISV. Let's not get tired of doing

what is good, for at the right time, we will

reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians

Galatians 6:9

chapter 6 verse 9. Let's not get tired of doing

what is good, for at the right time we will

reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Amen.

Let's share a word of prayer. Thank you, Father, for

your word today. We acknowledge the tendency to give up

at times, especially when you seem far away and untouched

with our daily cries. We, however, choose to believe in

you as a caring Father. Grant us the grace to

hold on when things get tough and be grounded in

your truth, that you, who have begun a good work

in us, will carry it on to completion until the

day of Christ.

Amen.

The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Don't be

discouraged by what you are going through. Don't walk away

on the seat you are soon. Your harvest time is near.

God bless you, beloved, for being a part of today's devotion.

Catch you at 12 p.m. for lunch hour prayer and

at 6 a.m. tomorrow for start-up prayer and at 6.30

for another time in His Word. Have a blessed day. Shalom.