OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SATURDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER 2017
THEME: RESISTING GOD?
Memorise:
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:22
Read: 1 Corinthians 10:21-23
10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
10:22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Message:
Colossian 1:16 tells us that all visible and invisible things were created by God and for God. You were created to make God happy by following His will, plan and purpose for your life. However, when you take the path of self-government and go contrary to the purpose for which you were created, that is rebellion. Lucifer and several angels decided to walk out of God’s original plan, and they became who we now refer to as Satan and demons (Isaiah 14:12-16, Revelation 12:7-9). Anyone who follows self-government today will also end up where the devil and his demons are. The truth is, if you fail God, you fail yourself. Therefore, pleasing God is the real path to true self-fulfillment, lasting peace and joy. I tell you the truth, living on earth without conforming to God’s original blueprint for your life makes you waste that life. Without God, life is not worth living.
“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:4
We are not here on earth by our power or design. We were created and placed here to satisfy God’s eternal plan and purpose for our lives. Even when Jesus was here, in all that He did, He did not try to please Himself but His Father (John 8:29, John 5:30). Now that He has chosen us to be His soldiers, we cannot afford to please ourselves. When He gives us an assignment, we must do it exactly as He wants it done, or risk going against Him. In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was given an assignment by God to go and utterly wipe out the Amalekites. He went out to fulfill it but made slight changes to the instructions. In the end, he failed God and failed himself. He lost his kingdom because he could not totally comply with God’s will. Today, for this same reason, many people are close to completely losing their place in God’s divine plan. A king who resisted God had to go on a seven-year trip into insanity, and he lost his throne for that period (Daniel 4). Similarly, another king who said that God’s word should not be heard was eaten alive by worms (Acts 12:1-24). If these great kings could not resist or withstand God, do you think you can? If you are wise, you will totally submit to His will today. God has a problem with the so-called obedience of a good number of His children. Although He is speaking to them, they are not listening to Him; rather they are more interested in hearing themselves. Hence, He has almost grounded them in all areas. Thinking it’s the devil at fault, such people are wrongly praying against agents of darkness. It is time to do nothing short of God’s total will in all your ways!
Key Point:
Those who resist God are fighting a battle they can never win.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Nehemiah 7-8
Ezekiel 45:10-25
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 6: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR
1. Through the love of God our Saviour,
All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favour,
All, all is well:
Precious is the blood that healed us;
Perfect is the grace that sealed us;
Strong the hand stretched
forth to shield us;
All must be well.
2. Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Christ hath purchased full salvation,
All, all is well:
Happy still in God confiding;
Fruitful, if in Christ abiding;
Holy, through the Spirit's guiding;
All must be well.
3. We expect a bright tomorrow;
All will be well;
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All, all is well:
On our Father's love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Then in living or in dying,
All must be well.
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