Open Heavens Daily Devotional For Wednesday, 4th January, 2017

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4 2017.

THEME : DO YOU KNOW HIM?

MEMORISE :  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? JOHN 14 : 9.

READ : JOHN 14 : 4 - 11 :

4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

MESSAGE :

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”
Daniel 11 : 32.

It is clear from the above passage of scripture that knowing God is the key to doing exploits. The knowledge of God releases the power that helps us perform exploits. To know God means to be a partaker of His divine nature and essence ( 2 Peter 1 : 3- 4 ). Because our God is a God of exploits, those who manifest His nature will consequently do exploits. To know God, you need to have experienced Him as God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. Someone might ask: Does this mean we have three Gods? The answer is no! He is only one God, but He manifests Himself in three personalities. How can this be? Permit me to use myself as an example. To my children, I am Adeboye the father; to my mother, I am Adeboye the son; while to my wife, I am Adeboye the husband. Does this make me three? No. I am still the same person. How I respond over an issue will be determined by the person I’m dealing with. The way I behave as a father will be different from the way I behave as a son or as a husband.

How God relates with you depends on whether He is relating with you as the Father, as the Son or as the Holy Ghost. To further illustrate, I will use the example of my beautiful crystal drinking glass-cup. If it falls from my son’s hands and gets broken, I will rebuke him sharply with words like: “Son, what is the matter with you? Don’t you know that you should not be careless with such an expensive cup?” But if the same cup falls from my mother’s hands, I would be gentle with her, showing understanding and care. In this case I would say “Mama, take it easy; I hope you were not hurt; I am sorry about that incident ma.” The same cup, the same me, yet my reaction as a father is different from my reaction as a son. Similarly, there are some ways I would relate with my wife that cannot be applied to my mother. For you to boldly say that you know God, you must know Him personally under His three personalities. Can you say you truly know Him? Do you have firsthand knowledge of God as the Father? Have you experienced Him as the Son? Do you walk with Him as the Holy Spirit? What strength or exploit has your knowledge of God produced in your life? Ask God to reveal Himself the more to you today.

PRAYER POINT : Father, more than You have ever done, reveal Yourself to me today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : MATTHEW 9 : 10 AND ISAIAH 3 : 1 - 23.

AUTHOR : PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE.

HYMN 3: HOW GREAT THOU ART

1. O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed:

Chorus:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:

Chorus:

3. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in:
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Chorus:

4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home - what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!

Chorus.