AN AGENT OF MIRACLES?: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 24TH AUGUST 2018

MEMORISE:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:17-18

READ: Matthew 10:1-8

1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

MESSAGE:
We need to fully comprehend what our Lord meant when He said “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). More often than not, we think of giving as being limited to material things, and so we lose sight of the fact that we can also give spiritual blessings to others and make spiritual impact.

The early apostles realized this truth and that was why Peter and John were not intimidated by their financial limitation (Acts 3:6). They gave from the spiritual deposits God placed in their lives. One of the attributes our Lord Jesus Christ bestowed upon His early disciples was the ability to perform miracles, and we should not be different.

They were specifically commissioned by the Lord to go perform miracles. Matthew 10:7-8 says:

“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”

It is a thing of unspeakable joy to receive a miracle. After I gave my life to Christ, the first notable benefit I received from God was victory over malaria that had hitherto plagued my life almost every month. The first month I did not fall sick was a month of celebration in my family.

However, the joy of this cannot be compared to the joy I had the day the Lord first performed a miracle of healing through me. I almost jumped out of the window for joy when a dumb child spoke after I prayed for healing. Ever since then, the Lord has made this a continuous experience in my ministry.

Countless miracles that may sound unbelievable have been performed by Him through our ministry. You cannot imagine the joy experienced by an agent of miracles, after God uses him or her to put smiles in the faces of several thousands of women who had been called barren. Many times, some my children would organize a dinner or luncheon for me, not only because they want to be generous to me, but because of the miracles that would follow from the encounter.

I am full of joy when this happens. My prayer is that you also will become an agent of miracles today in Jesus’ Name. All you need to do is to surrender your life to Jesus and leave the rest to Him. He knows how He turned a fisherman into a fisher of men and an agent of miracles (Matthew 4:18-19, Acts 5:14-15).

He also knows how He turned a person who was a danger to the Church into an apostle, whose apron could cast out demons (Acts 19:11-12). If you desire to graduate from being a consumer to an agent of performing miracles, He will fulfill the desire of your heart. Only believe!

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please make me a channel of blessings and miracles in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 57-63 Matthew 25:14-30

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 18: CONQUEROR AND OVERCOMERS NOW ARE WE
1. Conquerors and overcomers now are we,
Thro' the precious blood of Christ we've victory
If the Lord be for us we can never fail,
Nothing 'gainst His mighty power can e'er prevail.

Chorus
Conquerors are we, thr'o the blood of Jesus
God will give us victory, thro' the blood of Jesus
Through the Lamb for sinners slain,
Yet who lives and reigns again,
More than conquerors are we,
More than conquerors are we.

2. In the name of Israel's God we'll onward press,
Overcoming sin and all unrighteousness;
Not to us but unto Him the praise shall be,
For salvation and for blood bought victory.

3. Unto Him that overcometh shall be given,
Here to eat of hidden manna sent from Heaven,
Over yonder He the victors palm shall bear,
And a robe of white, and golden crown shall wear.