Nico Smit

Author, Preacher and Lead Pastor at RiverCity Hobart, Australia

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Who is receiving your worship? A brief but powerful reflection on pride, worship, and the fall of a once-holy worship leader. Read: https://t.co/Kz3vm0gCUb

#Worship #Faith #Christianity #SpiritualReflection

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Lucifer, the fallen worship leader of heaven, deceived a third of God’s worshipping angels into darkness.

WHO IS RECEIVING YOUR WORSHIP? Lucifer was once a worship leader in heaven.

Before he became the enemy of our souls, he stood in the presence of God. Yet self-righteousness and pride corrupted what worship was meant to be. A minister of glory became a messenger of rebellion. A servant became a usurper. A worshipper became a deceiver. His fall reveals something profound: Satan has always desired and promoted himself in worship.

Not worship directed to God—but worship diverted from God.

That strategy has never changed. If Satan appeared with horns, darkness, a red face, an ominous tail and obvious evil, few would follow him. Instead, Scripture warns that he masquerades as an angel of light. What looks holy is not always holy. What sounds spiritual is not always from the Spirit of God. What comes with sweet words are often whispered with a serpents tongue.

"For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

The enemy's greatest deception is not convincing people to hate God. It is convincing people they are serving God while slowly leading them away from His truth.

A religious spirit often speaks the language of heaven while carrying the agenda of hell. It uses emotion without truth. Stirs passion without holiness. Invites experiences without discernment or obedience. Eagerly welcomes spiritual language without searching for a biblical foundation. The result is always the same: worship is redirected, authority is resisted, truth is questioned, and rebellion is justified.

This is why discernment is not optional for believers.
Not everything that cries "Holy" is pointing people to Jesus.
Not every spiritual movement is born of the Holy Spirit.
Not every voice quoting Scripture is speaking for God.

Remember, Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness.

The enemy does not merely attack the Church from the outside. Often, he seeks to infiltrate from within, sowing division, accusation, rebellion, mistrust of Holy Spirit led leadership decisions and confusion under the appearance of righteousness. What better way to deceive Christians than under the disguise of Christianity?

Isaiah gives us the measuring rod:
"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20)

Every voice, every ministry, every movement, every revelation, and every experience must be tested against the Word of God. The safest place for a believer is not in emotional excitement but in biblical truth.

When Jesus was tempted, He did not argue with Satan. He answered with Scripture: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." (Matthew 4:10)

That remains our victory today. Worship, devotion and allegiance belongs to God alone.

The good news is that Satan is fighting a battle he cannot win. His end has already been written. One day he will be cast into the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10) and all his lies and followers would be forever exposed.

Until that day, stand firm.
Keep your heart pure.
Keep your worship focused.
Keep your discernment sharp.
Keep the Word of God in your mouth.

The battle is real, but so is the victory of Jesus.

And those who cling to Christ will not be overcome.

Feel free to visit my resource bookshop https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7. You can also subscribe to my blog https://t.co/QYcT2NhAIJ

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Symptoms are to Sickness what Temptations are to Sin - https://t.co/AC4IsQuL0p

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

“No Fall is Final!” – Powerful Prophetic Encouragement from Nico Smit https://t.co/FE5CbPSDNF via @YouTube

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

The breaking can become the breakthrough. Don’t quit — keep believing. Read more: https://t.co/Zb7kovx4dv

#Faith #Breakthrough #Hope

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Visit https://t.co/6eZ0CDLiU1 for more books.

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

God’s GLORY shows up when we ask Him.
Some of the greatest miracles begin with a simple prayer:
“Lord, I need You. I don’t know what to do.”

We often think strength means having all the answers, but real strength is knowing where to turn when we don’t. Surrender is not weakness — it is the doorway to the presence and power of God.

King Jehoshaphat prayed: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12) And God moved mightily.
Peter cried out: “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30) And Jesus immediately reached for him.
David called out to God: "Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you" (Psalm 25:4-5).

Faith is not heroic self-confidence. It is trusting God when your own strength is not enough. It is lifting your eyes above the storm and fixing them on the One who never fails.

Stop carrying what only God can handle.
Stop trusting fear more than His promises.
His presence makes all the difference. When we release control and place our full trust in Him, His presence changes everything.

Let go. Trust God. Watch what He does.

Blessings, Nico Smit

for an ever increasing selection of powerful Christian books for powerful people!Visit my bookstore: https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

The well hasn’t moved. The invitation remains. A 6-min reflection on coming home — Empty wells and dry places. https://t.co/lm8HWtGJ9O #Faith #Reflection #SpiritualJourney

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Never let people walking away from your life and ministry be a measure of your success. ALMOST ALL WALKED AWAY from Jesus before the cross.

For your own good you must rethinking what success in ministry looks like.
There’s a quiet lie that creeps into the heart of anyone called to lead, serve, or build something for God: if people stay, you’re succeeding—if they leave, you’re failing. But that measure doesn’t hold up under the weight of truth.

Look at Jesus. Before the cross, the crowds didn’t grow—they thinned. In John 6:66, many who once followed Him turned back and walked away. Loyalty faded when the message became costly. By the time the cross drew near, even those closest to Him scattered. Mark 14:50 puts it plainly: “Then everyone deserted him and fled.”

Jesus wasn’t abandoned because He failed. He was abandoned because following Him demanded something.

His ministry was never measured by who stood beside Him in the hardest moment—but by His unwavering obedience to the Father. He knew betrayal was coming. He knew denial was inevitable. He knew many would choose comfort over conviction. Yet none of that altered His course. And it shouldn’t alter yours.

One of the deepest pains you may experience won’t be the battle itself—but discovering who remains when the battle begins, and who is still there when it ends. Many will promise to stand with you. Few will endure when it costs them something. Some are drawn not by calling, but by convenience—and when the cost rises, they quietly step away.

It’s easy to say, “I’m with you,” when there’s no pressure. But storms have a way of revealing what words cannot. When the weight increases—when ministry stretches you, when opposition rises, when the fire burns—hands that once held tightly may let go.

Don’t let that define you. The faithfulness of others is not the measure of your success. Their departure is not your failure. God is not counting who stayed with you—He’s looking at whether you stayed faithful to Him.

Jesus did. All the way to the end. And that’s what pleased God.

God was with Him in the silence, with Him in the suffering, and faithful beyond the grave—raising Him, exalting Him, and placing Him in the highest place. That same standard still stands today: faithfulness, obedience, and steadfastness in the assignment God has given you.

So don’t let the inconsistency, failure and weakness of people walking away shake your consistency with God.

Stop measuring your life by human approval. Anchor yourself in truth like Galatians 1:10: “Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?”

Because when it comes to your calling, you can’t serve both.
People may walk away. God does not.
He doesn’t abandon.
He doesn’t break His promises.
He doesn’t leave when things get hard.

Even now—especially now—He is present.

So lift your head.
Stand firm.
Stay faithful.
That’s success in the eyes of God.

MORE GREAT RESOURCES AVAILABLE FROM NICO SMIT
Books, ebooks, audiobooks and devotionals
https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

“God Promised You a Mountain NOT a Tombstone” – Powerful Prophetic Encou... https://t.co/JzfveyCqH5 via @YouTube

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

https://t.co/Gvy6ZnfQp3

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Rise in Courage https://t.co/kXGuskdPcF

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

YOU ARE HEALED — Symptoms are to sickness what temptations are to sin. Refuse to live by what you feel; stand in the victory already won. Read: https://t.co/VUHBRFpUMl #FaithOverSymptoms #Healing #Mindset

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

King David said: I dare not come to God with something that cost me nothing. [2 Samuel 24:24; 1 Chronicles 21:24]

Quote: 'There is a clear difference between worshiping God with convenience, expediency, and leftovers, and worshiping Him in ways that cost something—ways marked by sacrifice, devotion, and wholehearted surrender.'

New Testament Christians should come with more than the leftovers of their busy lives. It is a common belief that we can give God what remains after we have fully satisfied our own desires and expenses. Biblically this is not true for those living in Christ. God desires the "first fruits"—the best time, energy, and devotions—, because He gives 'first fruits". [Ephesians 2:8]These are the things that release a sweet aroma and brings presence into our lives.

Old Testament giving was based on the last, but New Testament is on the first. First day vs last day. God gave Jesus before anyone called on Him for salvation. That is why He sets the example of what 'first fruit" giving looks like for a follower and worshipper.
Who willingly gave Himself to be crucified on our behalf to redeem us and purchase our freedom from all wickedness, and to purify for Himself a chosen and very special people to be His own possession, who are enthusiastic for doing what is good. [Titus 2:14]

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable worship. [Romans 12:1] But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. [ Hebrews 13:16] Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. [Proverbs 3:9-10]

'First fruit' is why so many struggle with God's presence. It is worship and God is looking for worship. Sadly, too much of what modern day Christians call worship is built around their likes, dislikes and what is left after serving their own desires. It has nothing to do with worshipping God! It's time to get back on our knees before the Lord and stay there for as long as it takes for Him to answer. It is a reasonable service to the one who sacrificed His best for you!

What are you doing with your 'first fruit'? Who has it and where did you lay it when you worshiped to one you gave it to?

MORE GREAT RESOURCES AVAILABLE FROM NICO SMIT
Books, ebooks, audiobooks and devotionals
https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

I found Aimed & Ready to be a spiritually focused book about how seasons of delay, silence, loss, and apparent backward movement can actually be forms of divine preparation. Author Nico Smit's central image is the bow and arrow: the life that feels pulled back is not abandoned, but being aimed. From there, he builds a sustained meditation on surrender, waiting, spiritual alignment, and eventual release, moving through ideas like the "holy hush," the reset that becomes a re-aim, David's devastation at Ziklag, and the insistence that hope is not sentimental optimism but evidence that God is still at work. It's a book written for readers who feel stalled and bruised, and it keeps returning to the same steady conviction that what looks like burial may be the first stage of resurrection.
What stayed with me most was the emotional steadiness of the book. Smit writes with the urgency of a preacher, but also with a pastoral tenderness that keeps the message from feeling harsh or abstract. I liked the way he lingers over images until they start to feel lived in. The bare fruit tree, the buried seed, the rowers facing one way while still moving forward, the ruined city of Ziklag, all of it feeds the same argument from slightly different angles, and that repetition gives the book a kind of devotional pulse. At its best, the writing has real lift. There are passages that feel genuinely bracing, especially when he reframes pressure as alignment and refuses the easy language of defeat. I also appreciated that he opens by reminding readers that this book is not Scripture and shouldn't replace Scripture. That note of humility matters, and it gives the book a better spiritual proportion than it might otherwise have had.
Smit is so committed to the pullback/comeback framework that nearly everything gets absorbed into it. For readers already attuned to prophetic Christian language, that will probably feel clarifying and consoling. I admired the conviction. The prose can also swell into exhortation. Still, even when I felt the book pressing too insistently on one note, I couldn't deny the sincerity behind it. Smit clearly believes these ideas down to the bone, and that kind of belief gives the book warmth, gravity, and a persuasive emotional center.
The book gives discouragement a shape people can actually work with. Smit turns spiritual exhaustion into something legible through the bow-and-arrow metaphor, the "holy hush," and the Ziklag section, so a reader in a hard season can feel less lost inside their own experience. A lot of encouraging books tell you to hold on, but this one tries to explain what holding on feels like from the inside. I think that interpretive quality is one of its real strengths.
I found Aimed & Ready earnest, vivid, and often moving. It's a book that wants to steady the heart, reframe suffering, and call the reader back into trust. I'd especially recommend it to Christians who are living through a season of disappointment, transition, spiritual fatigue, or long waiting, and to readers who respond to devotional writing that leans on metaphor, exhortation, and hope. For the right reader, this will feel less like a lecture than a hand at the shoulder, firm, warm, and convinced that the story isn't over yet.
Thomas Anderson, Literary Titan, Irvine CA, USA, Posted on April 12, 2026

📷WANT MORE??????… AUDIOBOOK now available! Also look for the 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 on Amazon and Yeshua Collective that will make a fantastic companion to this book. Whether used individually, in a group study or as a church activity, this workbook is a great tool to help build disciples, deepen surrender, strengthen faith, and equip people to finish strong in their walk with Christ.

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Visit my USA based site https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

God is Not in the Noise—He speaks in the holy hush. A short reflection on where to seek God in a loud world: https://t.co/1JIrH4rtUw

#Faith #QuietTime #SpiritualReflection

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? — Matthew 16:26

We live in a world obsessed with building—building brands, building wealth, building influence, building platforms, building reputations. Humanity spends its days stacking bricks toward success while heaven keeps asking one question: What is it all standing on? Foundations matter more than facades.

Religion often convinces people that God is impressed by structures. Bigger churches. Louder titles. Longer resumes. Larger ministries. More followers. More applause. It teaches people to offer God a house, a structure, a building, while all He is asking for the ground beneath it.

What have you built your life upon? What are your achievements resting on? What supports the image you have carefully constructed? If the foundation is pride, self-glory, fear, ambition, or empty performance, then no matter how polished the house appears, it will not stand before the presence of God.

The tragedy of many lives is not failure—it is success built on the wrong foundation. What good is reaching the top of the ladder of success when its leaning against the wrong wall?

You can gain the world and still lose what matters most. You can collect possessions and yet become spiritually bankrupt. You can be celebrated by people for your religion and be unknown to God. You can sing loudly and make big impression; and still hear Jesus say: “Who are you? I don’t know you!” You can fill your hands with treasure while your heart remains empty.

God has never been captivated by human monuments. He is not moved by the size of your ministry, the prestige of your title, the wealth of your portfolio, or the praise attached to your name. Heaven is not impressed by what earth applauds. What moves the heart of God is faith. What captures His attention is love. What delights Him is worship flowing from sincerity.

What He seeks most is not the work of your hands, but the surrender of your heart.
GOD DOES NOT NEED YOUR EMPIRE. HE WANTS YOU!

He is not waiting for a perfected version of you, polished and decorated. He is not demanding performance before presence. He is not asking for your trophies before welcoming your tears. He is happy with the bare, honest, yielded you.

So lay down the masks. Tear down the idols. Stop trying to impress the One who sees through walls and into foundations. Let the house fall if it was never built on Him. Because in the end, the greatest success is not what you built for God—it is becoming wholly His.

When the foundation belongs to Him, everything built upon it can finally stand.

.............................
Visit https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7 or Yeshua Collective to explore my range of powerful Christian books and resources and be sure to pick up MIRACLES BEYOND THE CROWD, now available in audiobook. Whether for personal inspiration or group study, these resources can help you grow in your faith and live the life you were always meant to lead.
Available 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 good books are sold!
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[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Aimed & Ready book by Nico Smit. Good review... https://t.co/YzZDAxwdmt

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

“Resurrection Declaration!” – Powerful Prophetic Encouragement from Nico... https://t.co/ddJjoHZ0PL via @YouTube

[Nico Smit @psnicosmit]

Jesus proves you can take life’s worst hit and still get back up.
Even after your hardest blow, you can still rise again.

Resurrection is not just an event—it is a declaration. It is the glaring smile on Jesus face that nothing is bigger than God. It is the triumphant voice of Jesus echoing through time: death is not enough, the grave has no victory, you have nothing to fear, and life will always have the final word. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He proclaimed. “Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live… Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)

When the true Champion steps onto the field, every lesser power must step aside. Death itself had no choice but to yield before Jesus. What once seemed unstoppable was suddenly defeated. What once ruled with fear was stripped of its authority.

Consider those living in the first century. They walked through grief, loss, and death without the magnificent revelation we now carry. When death situations came, it seemed final. When dark circumstances struck its hardest blow, there was no expectation of ever rising and living again. Resurrection was not a concept they considered, leaned on, nor a hope they could cling to. It simply wasn’t seen before. It was not an option.

But praise God—because of Jesus, everything has changed.
Now we live with a living hope. We can stand in the face of despair and still believe. We can see life where others see only endings. Where death appears certain, we declare life. Where hope seems impossible, we hold onto it anyway. This is the gift Jesus has given us through His resurrection.

The enemy would have you fix your eyes on the power of death—to fear it, to bow before it, to believe it has the final word. But Jesus came to reveal something far greater: the overwhelming, unstoppable love of God for you.

On that resurrection morning, the enemy wanted the story to end in silence. He wanted a sealed tomb, a lifeless body, and a defeated people. Imagine it—a stone unmoved, hope buried, and humanity left in awe of death’s apparent victory. But God had already decided otherwise. The stone was rolled away. The grave was empty. And the declaration rang out through eternity: “He is not here; He has risen!” (Luke 24:6)

After the cross and the empty tomb, no one can honestly doubt the power of God. He does as He pleases, and nothing—absolutely nothing—can stand against Him. Resurrection proves it: God holds authority over death, over life, and over every power that exists.

And if that were not enough, He extends this promise to us:
The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead now lives in those who call on His name. That power breathes life into us, strengthens us, and anchors us in the promise of eternal life.

This changes everything. Because Christ was raised, death no longer has dominion. And in the same way, we are called to see ourselves differently—not bound to sin, not defeated, not finished—but alive to God, fully alive in Christ.

So, if you find yourself today staring down fear, loss, or what feels like the end—lift your head.
Laugh in the face of despair.
Rejoice in the middle of uncertainty.
Speak life where others see defeat.
Because here is the truth: your situation is not greater than death—and death is not greater than Jesus.
And if you are in Him, then His victory is your victory.

So take courage. Take hope. Stand in faith. In Jesus Christ, no fall is final. You can rise again.

Visit https://t.co/Xd8wIq8Tu7 to explore my range of powerful Christian books and resources and be sure to pick up MIRACLES BEYOND THE CROWD, now available in audiobook. Whether for personal inspiration or group study, these resources can help you grow in your faith and live the life you were always meant to lead.
Available 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 good books are sold!
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