27/08/2020
PRAYER MINISTRATION FOR THE DAY
CALL TO HOLINESS:
"GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. So they took Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea and the sea ceased from her raging. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" - Psalm 46:1, Psalm 9:9; Jonah 1:15, 17
Short chorus/hymn/psalms and prayer
Theme: The Battle for Salvation of Souls: Jonah Ministration in the Fish Belly
Text: Daniel 3:1-6, 12-18, 20-26; Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 2:1-10; Luke 8:22-25
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Devotion:
Jonah as a priest and a prophet of the LORD believed wholeheartedly in the priesthood of Aaron, and in the sacredness and worth of the Ark of Covenant, that always signified the presence of GOD. To Jonah where you find the Ark of Covenant, there you find the presence of GOD. It is revealed in Numbers 14:39-42, 44-45, saying, “And Moses told these sayings unto the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning, and got them up into the top of the mountain, saying, lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. And Moses said, wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? But it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. But they presumed to go up unto the hill top; nevertheless the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.” The Ark here signified the presence of GOD, and if the Ark had been with them the Amalekites and the Canaanites could not have been able to defeat them. It is also written in 1 Samuel 4:19-22, saying, “And the daughter in law, Phinehas wife, was with child, near to be delivered; and she heard the tidings that the Ark of GOD was taken and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, fear not, for thou had born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, the glory is departed from Israel: because the Ark of GOD was taken.” Instead of the women to be overwhelmed with joy of motherhood at the gift of a child, Phinehas’ wife was swallowed up with grief for the kingdom of GOD because she considered the Ark, to be where the GOD of Israel did dwell, and His presence in their midst is in the Ark of the Covenant. Jonah and all children of Israel believed and had faith in the Ark of Covenant or Ark of GOD. Thus Jonah decided to run away from the LORD with the firm belief that He, the LORD, was in Jerusalem, where the Ark of GOD was resident, His dwelling place in the midst of the children of Israel. Jonah decided to run away in opposite direction to Nineveh, and he went down to Joppa, entered a ship and went down into the ship, into a secured place from the “watchful eyes of the LORD!” and from the glare of those who were in the ship and Jonah fell into a deep sleep. Jonah was on his way to Tarshish instead of Nineveh that was about five hundred or less, about eight hundred kilometres from the home of Jonah, Gath Hepher, near Nazareth in Israel. The LORD, who is sovereign over His creation, sent a ferocious and dreaded storm that exceedingly troubled the sea that the ship was at the verge of being torn apart by the ensuing boisterous waves. When the mariners were afraid and every man prayed to his god as demanded by the captain of the ship, Jonah was not bordered because he had the know that it was only the Chief Priest that could intercede on behalf of the people, even the congregation of the children of Israel in which Jonah was an Israelite, as written in the book of Numbers 16:41-50 and Numbers 17:1-11; “When the people of the congregation of Israel murmured again, against Moses and against Aaron, saying, you have killed the people of the LORD, and GOD spoke unto Moses, saying, get you from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment.” And they fell upon their faces, and Moses said unto Aaron, take censer, and put fire therein from off the Altar, and put on incense and go quickly into the congregation, and make an atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation, and behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on incense, and made atonement for the people. And Aaron stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed. Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah, (Numbers 25:8; Numbers 16:41, 44-49). An evil heart that refuses to change cannot change, and overtime the people had come to recognise Korah and his rebellious group of two hundred and fifty men as leaders over Moses and Aaron when they accused them of killing “the people of the LORD”. The people were blinded that they could not see the leadership role GOD had placed on the shoulders of Moses and Aaron, who continually interceded for the sins of a rebellious people; otherwise GOD could have destroyed them. Moses had to command Aaron to take censer, put fire therein from off the Altar, and put on incense and quickly run into the midst of the congregation and make an atonement for the people since a plague had begun, for there was wrath gone out from the LORD: Aaron stood between the dead and the living; and the plague stayed, Numbers 16:48. Aaron stood between the dead and the living to make atonement for a sinning congregation to save them from death of the plague, for he was the one divinely appointed to stand between the dead and the living to stop the plague, while Moses fell upon his face interceding for a people who amazingly accused and attacked them as being the ones who caused the death of the so called “the people of the LORD.” Moses and Aaron by their actions led GOD to have mercy on the people when Aaron, the Chief Priest, interceded for the people before the LORD. About fourteen thousand and seven hundred died, beside them that died about the matter of Korah, before the plague from the LORD ceased. The sovereign LORD then said to Moses to bring twelve rods and place them in the Most Holy Place, one rod presented from each tribe with the name of the leader of the tribe inscribed on the rod; and the name of Aaron was inscribed on the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers, and Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the Tabernacle of witness. The next day when the rods were brought out again before the LORD and before the people, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded and brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms, and yielded Almonds. The rod of Aaron that budded and produced Almonds was placed in the Ark in the Most Holy Place, to serve as a sign to GOD of HIS MERCY to a sinning world forever. GOD then allowed man to approach Him as a demonstration of HIS MERCY towards man. Jonah was aware of the MERCY of GOD that could be discretionally applied only by the Chief Priest in Israel; and this knowledge constrained Jonah not to pray to GOD as demanded by the captain of the ship, who was a pagan. Jonah was identified as the culprit when they cast lots among themselves in an attempt to find the will of the gods, a common practice in the world in those days as written, for example, in 1 Samuel 14:41, 42, saying “Therefore Saul said unto the LORD GOD of Israel, give a perfect Lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. And Saul said, cast lots between me and Jonathan my son, and Jonathan was taken.” In the same manner, Jonah was identified as the cause of the great wind and he later told them that for fear he was running away from GOD of heaven who made the sea and the dry land: Jonah was running away from the Supreme Ruler over all people on earth, and over all creation as revealed in Ezra 1:2, “Thus said Cyrus King of Persia, the LORD GOD of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” Thus the men in the ship were exceedingly afraid. The people asked Jonah, “What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? And Jonah said unto them, take me up and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. The men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD and made vows,” Jonah 1:11-12, 15-16. The sailors, who were pagans, when they cast forth Jonah into the sea, they saw that the sea ceased from her raging, and they offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, who made the sea and the dry land, as revealed to them by Jonah. The sailors, without doubt, believed that the LORD is a god of the sea that had accepted Jonah as a sacrifice to appease Him, the reason for the cessation of the sea from her raging: they had the notion that GOD accepted human sacrifice to appease Him. In fear, they offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made a vow, even though the manner of sacrifice was not revealed. The LORD destroys any people on the surface of the earth that offer human sacrifice to appease any god. This was the reason why GOD commanded the Israelites to destroy all those that sacrifice human beings to appease their gods, even those people that served Baal; the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girsash*tes, the Amorites, and the Jebusites; the people that offered human sacrifices to appease their gods, even Baal. GOD had to reveal Himself to Jonah and to the whole world that He was the Sovereign LORD of Heaven and Earth as written in Jonah 1:17, Jonah 2:10, saying, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. And the LORD spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” What Jonah actually saw was a fish so that he could write his experience in a book for future translation into the Book, as a memorial unto the LORD, Exodus 17:14-16. PROBABLY THE LORD ALMIGHTY HAVE CREATED THE FIRST SUBMARINE COATED WITH SEMBLANCE OF FISH FOR EASE OF IDENTIFICATION BY JONAH, AND ALSO TO FIT INTO JONAH INTELLECTUAL CAPABILITY OF THE DAY. THE LORD MIGHT HAVE MADE IN HIS WISDOM THE FIRST SUBMARINE, WHO KNOWS, IN WORLD IN THE DAYS OF JONAH BUT REVEALED TO US AT THIS END TIME. The LORD probably could have made the first divine submarine primarily to be used for Global Evangelism for the salvation of souls as started by the LORD in the first evangelical mission to the city of Nineveh. In the similitude of the great fish that swallowed Jonah, man in his wicked thoughts started to build submarines as a weapons of destruction, as a self destructive “great fish” to kill each other, and not for the salvation of souls of men as intended of the LORD. The LORD GOD knows that a time would come when nations shall produce submarines in the manner of a big or great fish to claim authority and control over the deep of the sea, in order to challenge the existence of GOD and His claim as the creator of the world, haven made instruments that would enable them to control the air space, the land space, the surface of the sea space, and finally the deep space of the sea so that in their folly they could challenge the person of the LORD. Some deny the existence and the person of the LORD, while some make themselves gods over the people. many coerce the people to worship the creatures instead of the LORD who is the Creator; and others use the instrument of oppression to force people to bow down and worship them so that the scripture may be fulfilled which says, “The heart of man is desperately wicked.” This was one of the reasons why the LORD JESUS CHRIST said as written in Matthew 12:39, 40, saying, “And evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the heart of the earth.” GOD in JESUS CHRIST, the LORD, would now be, not only in the deep of the sea, but He would move through the heart or the depth of the earth to preach the gospel, like Jonah, to the spirits in prison and to them that are dead, as written in 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:5-7, saying, “For Christ also had once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to GOD, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometimes were disobedient, when once the longsuffering (patience) of GOD waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. Who shall give account to Him (JESUS) that is ready to judge the quick (alive) and the dead and for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to GOD in the Spirit. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” The Saviour, Jesus Christ, died so that we could be reconciled unto GOD, not only those who are alive presently, but also the just that ever lived since the time of Adam to this very day, even unto the day of the second coming of Jesus Christ, that is extend to the short period, between the end of the great tribulation and the beginning of the one thousand years or millennium reign of Jesus Christ here on the earth. Therefore for the three days Jesus died, but made alive in the spirit, He moved through the heart and the deep part of the earth and preached to the spirits in prison. The spirits here are human spirits who died before and during the great flood: there are also the spirits of angels who took human forms and married human women during the time of the flood, according to 2 Peter 2:4, “For if GOD did not spare the angles who sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgement.” These include all angels that had committed sexual immorality with humans of all ages. It also includes the people of S***m and Gomorrah who had committed all manners of sexual perversion, even the sin of homosexual, and they were all destroyed by fire, in the similitude of the great flood. Jesus preached or delivered the message of His victory over Satan, and that all must respond to His voice and come out of the dead when He shall call them at the appointed time; first the call of the just and finally the call of the unjust; in the manner of His call to Lazarus whom He raised him from the dead, as written in John 11:43-44, saying, “And when Jesus thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, loose him, and let him go.” Lazarus came out of the grave with his physical body and he died again. But in the final resurrection of the just and the unjust, all shall come out of the dead with celestial or heavenly or divine bodies that shall never die, bodies devoid of any grave clothes. The just shall be heavenly borne by the LORD and be with JESUS CHRIST forever, while the unjust in their celestial bodies shall stand defencelessly before the judgement seat of GOD and give a detailed account of their wickedness, of their devilry, of their deviousness while they were here on earth and they shall be thrown or cast into the lake of fire, into the lake of fire and brimstone, where they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever, Revelation 2010. GOD, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, knew beforehand the dire and immediate needs of the wicked people of Nineveh who stood between eternal life and eternal death, the people who needed salvation for their souls. The LORD patiently waited for Jonah to be thrown into the sea in order to reveal His person to Jonah and the people of the world. Firstly, the LROD revealed Himself as All-knowing GOD, the Omniscient GOD, when He prepared beforehand the big fish that swallowed Jonah. Secondly, GOD also revealed Himself as the all powerful GOD, the Omnipotent GOD, who caused the sea to cease from her raging and with His powerful arm stretch He delivered Jonah from death and brought him into the belly of the fish for safety and security. He was a very present help to Jonah in trouble, Psalm 46:1. And thirdly, GOD showed Jonah and all people of the world that He is the LORD who is everywhere at the same time, the Omnipresent GOD, who revealed Himself to Jonah that no one is able to flee away from His presence, Psalm 139:7-12. Jonah was in the presence of the LORD while he was in the belly of the great fish and his prayers were reflections of the imagery of what he had seen: the seas, floods, billows, waves, holy temple, waters, weeds, mountains, earth and payment of vows; and he concluded that “salvation is of the LORD.” And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. A rejuvenated and born of the spirit filled Jonah was set to preach the message of salvation of the LORD to the people of Nineveh. The gate way for world evangelism and mission work to all nations had been opened and started, with Prophet Jonah on the driving seat, as commanded by the LORD Almighty.
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