GOD’S FAVOURITE: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, SUNDAY 18TH MARCH 2018

THEME: GOD’S FAVOURITE

MEMORISE:
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:17

READ: Hebrews 1:7-9
7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

MESSAGE:
The word ‘favourite’ is used to describe a person who is preferred to others or who is especially well liked. Treating a certain class of people as favourites is generally considered to be an unfair practice. Why would God then have favourites? Looking at God’s principles of truth and justice through the prism of our human understanding of favouritism makes this question a very tricky one to answer. 

Indeed, Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us this about God:
“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
We also understand from John 3:16 that He loves all human beings alike. Likewise, Romans 2:11 clearly states that there is no respect of persons with Him. 

However, another truth of God’s word is that He is sovereign and He does as he pleases (Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6). To demonstrate His sovereignty, in Romans 9:15 He declared:
“…I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
The choice to have favourites is therefore a manifestation of God’s sovereignty which He says cannot be questioned (Romans 9:20). God has shown this aspect of His sovereignty in the lives of individuals like Abraham, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, Moses, Pharaoh, Esther, Mary and several others.

I am happy to declare to you that my Daddy has a special relationship with me that come with special privileges that are not common to all men. How else can anyone explain my appointment as the General Overseer of the redeemed Christian Church of God, or the phenomenal growth the Church is experiencing even now? 

What shall we say about the fulfilment of seemingly impossible prophecies, outstanding miracles and great testimonies of unbelievable proportions? How can one explain all these, except that I am God’s favourites?

In Matthew 3:17b, God proclaimed these words concerning Jesus:
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
For those who are born again, it then follows that since we are joint heirs with Christ, and since the Holy Spirit has indicated that has Jesus is, so are we in this world (Romans 8:17, 1 John 4:17), we are truly the beloved of God and therefore His favourites.

I pray that you will begin to walk in the reality of this truth from today in Jesus’ Name. Being God’s favourite surely sounds good, but it comes with some responsibilities. As a favourite of God, you must make holiness your lifestyle. You must dedicate yourself to God in true worship, submitting yourself totally to His will. 

You are also expected to dedicate yourself to service in the Body of Christ. Are you God’s favourite?

PRAYER POINT:
Father, let it be glaring to the whole world that I am Your favourite in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 1, Galatians 1

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE
1. Nearer, my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be.
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!

2. Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down.
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone.
Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!

3. There let the way appear
Steps unto heaven;
All that Thou send'st to me
In mercy given:
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee!
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!

4. Then, with my waking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I'll raise
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee!
Nearer, my God to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!

Open Heavens 18 March 2018, Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries