DO NOT IGNORE THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW

HOLINESS REVIVAL MOVEMENT WORLDWIDE

DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY:  PASTOR PAUL RIKA
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR Of Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide

TOPIC:
DO NOT IGNORE THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE LAW

Date:
Tuesday, December 1

Text:
Matthew 23:16-24
"16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

Key verse:
Matthew 23:23
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Some pastors give special attention to tithe payment and give tithers special treatment but shy away from the weightier matters of the law that talk about judgment, righteousness and mercy. They specialize in preaching prosperity messages and make their congregations believe that gain is godliness. Some of them use satanic powers.

When these preachers give interpretations to some verses in Scripture, you will be amazed how they arrived at those interpretations. They give meanings to scriptures to suit their purpose and bring doctrines that will confuse people saying, “We are your mentors, come and tap into apostolic anointing with money.”

Let me narrate a real-life story I was told in order to explain this point. A man organized a crusade in Aba, a city in eastern Nigeria. As the story went, somebody who was not going home after work in the evening gave his neighbour thirty thousand naira (N30, 000) to take home for him until he returned, because he did not want to be tempted to spend the money where he was going.

As the neighbour was coming home, he saw people gathered at the crusade ground. He moved closer to witness what was going on there. As soon as he came to the crusade ground, Satan reported through the preacher: “There is a man here with thirty thousand naira (N30, 000) in your pocket. In fact, that money does not belong to you. Your neighbour gave it to you to take home for him, but the Lord said I should tell you to try Him with that money and you will see miracle.”

These people use witchcraft and divination to extract information from people. The devil-inspired minister said, “Before you reach home, the Lord said He will surprise you.” These pastors send demons to the markets and streets to report to them what is happening there. The neighbour believed, having expressed shock at the accuracy of his word. He gave out the thirty thousand naira, but on the way home, no miracle took place. He arrived home, yet the miracle did not happen, until the owner of the money returned and demanded for his money. What a deception! What a shame!

Thought for the day:
Beware of false prophets

Song for the day:
I love my Jesus, my Jesus loves me, No circumstances can change....

Bible reading for the day:
​Ezekiel 45-46; 2 Peter 3