PRINCIPLES, NOT TEARS - OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER 2017

THEME: PRINCIPLES, NOT TEARS

MEMORISE:
For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

READ: GENESIS 13:14-18

13:14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

MESSAGE:

If your giving reflects a financial status below the level God has placed you on, this would amount to demoting yourself. A wise fellow would rather promote himself or herself by giving beyond the level of his or her current financial status, so that God will upgrade him or her to that level. Some people look at me with envy, thinking that God is partial. No, He is not! God is not a respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of principles. When Peter realized this truth in Acts 10:34-35, He said:

“… Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

When you simply do what I do and follow the Bible principles that I follow, you will get the results that I get. I am not boasting, but if you think it is boasting, then I am simply boasting in the Lord. My God is not a God that is ruled by emotions. He is not moved by your tears or by you rolling on the ground. If there is something He expects you to do in accordance with His word, but you leave it and begin to cry your eyes out or roll on the ground for days and weeks, at the end of the day, He will still be waiting for you to do what He expected of you before he fulfills His promise to you. So the earlier you obey God, the sooner His intervention will come. Some people think they can manipulate God with their tricks. No they can’t. God would rather wait for you to obey, even if it takes years, before releasing a desired blessing. Unfortunately, some people out of stubbornness are making God wait almost their entire life time!

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” Genesis 12:1

When God called Abraham and gave him some promises, He also gave him three conditions he had to meet to access those promises. Abraham met two of these conditions, but he considered one of them not to be as important. He took Lot, his kindred, along with him. Probably he believed that his family would consider him a wicked fellow if he left his late brother’s son behind. For as long as he did not fulfill the condition of leaving his entire kindred, God also refused to fulfill His promises. This continued until Abraham began to feel the consequences of not separating from his relatives as instructed by God. It was after he obeyed and separated from Lot that God resumed discussions with him concerning His promises. Abraham lost 13 years to disobedience! Don’t be so wise in your own sight. Obey God today!

KEY POINT:
Noise, acrobatics and tears do not move God: simple obedience does.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Esther 1-3
Ezekiel 47:13-48:7

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 9: ON THE HILL FAR AWAY

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

4. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.