OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: FRIDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2017

THEME: GOD’S WATCHMAN

Memorise:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

Read: Exodus 33:1-6

33:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

33:2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

33:4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

33:5 For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

33:6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

Message:

Humanity is perishing every day because of sin. So many people are unaware of the truth of God’s word about the consequences of sin, and some who know this truth are drawing back from it. Due to the pervasiveness of iniquity in the world today, those who used to be very hot for the Lord are now cooling off in the flesh, while some have even departed from the faith completely. The irony of it all is that the Church is behaving as if all is well. 

The world is blind and needs to know about God. As God’s watchman, you are the light of the world. You are a city set on a hill, and you are the salt of the earth. However, are you measuring up to God’s expectation in the area of your responsibilities towards the great commission? How many sinners have you spoken to about the consequences of their actions? How many souls have you followed up this year? Many believers who are supposed to be God’s watchmen are now complacent; they are no longer aware of what the Spirit is saying. 

Today, there is so much religion without the visible demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost. It is through salvation in Jesus that there can be restoration of life to those dying in sin. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is for the purpose of going into all part of the world to effect deliverance of all those held captive by Satan (Acts 1:8).

As God’s watchman, you cannot afford to remain empty spiritually. You must be fruitful (John 15:16). We need to wake up and start bearing fruit if we do not want to be condemned. Most of the things happening around us today that have become a threat to the Body of Christ are happening because we are not doing what God expects of us. If we preach the true gospel as handed over to us by the apostles of old, the Church of God today will be more vibrant, healthier and spiritually active.

If you will be equipped for the great assignment of the great commission, you need to avoid falling into the sin of covetousness, pride, self-centeredness, love of money, and ambition for power. We need to go to God in prayer and ask for His fire to be released upon our hearts, so that we can recover lost grounds. To God’s watchmen, He is saying return to the great commission. The great commission is God’s ultimate assignment, and it entails transforming people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Let the gospel be preached to all people in all places. If there are places you can’t go yourself, make arrangements to send others there to do the work. The gospel of reconciliation is a message of universal concern, and we can all make a difference as we play our part.

Prayer Point:
Father, please help me to play my role in Your Kingdom agenda.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Corinthians 4-7
Daniel 6:14-28

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 13: WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE

1. Wonderful story of love;
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love;
Wake the immortal strain!
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, oh, won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love.

Refrain:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful, wonderful story of love.

2. Wonderful story of love;
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love;
Still He doth call today;
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal-bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation,
Wonderful story of love.

Refrain:
3. Wonderful story of love;
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love;
For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus,
Wonderful story of love.