OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 15TH JANUARY 2021.
THEME: MCY: MEN-PLEASING.
MEMORISE:
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe . Proverbs 29:25
READ: 1 Samuel 15:18 -30
18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.\
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
MESSAGE:
The element' M' in our equation for Resistance in the "Mathematics of Christ in You" (MCV) series that started on the 11th of January, stands for Men Pleasing. Some people just want to be known by all. The problem with this however is that you will begin to pay too much attention to what people think of you and you will be scared to offend them even when you are on the side of truth.
"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice." 1 Samuel 1 5 :24
In the Scripture above, Saul disobeyed God because he wanted to maintain his popularity amongst men. Fame can create a major problem for you, and that is why I do not like it. You cannot live the life that you love to live; you cannot just stop by the road and buy roasted plantain when you feel like eating some. There are a lot of eyes on you. Left to me, if I could do the work of God without showing my face everywhere, I would gladly do it. I thank God I am not after fame, so when people criticize me on social media because of my Bible-based beliefs, I don't pay attention. Some preachers can't preach the truth anymore because they want to remain popular with the congregation. The fear of man brings a snare (Proverbs 2 9: 25). Beware!
Sometime ago, I went to minister in a Church for a three-day programme. I had preached on faith and other topics and many souls had been saved. I then told the Pastor that I would like to preach a sermon on restitution on the last day. He pleaded with me not to do so, tagging it 'hard teaching'. He also added
that some of the people I had gathered would leave because of this. I told him I did not care about a big congregation headed for hell. What matters most is preparing these people to get to Heaven. I have always told my children that I am a holiness preacher and so I will teach holiness until I die. This will never change even if people decide to leave the Church because of the 'hard teaching'. What I am after is ensuring that you make it to Heaven. You can call me old-fashioned; I don't care. If we get to Heaven together, you will thank me over there for teaching you holiness.
Men-pleasers seek fame at the expense of pleasing God and this ultimately leads to destruction.
Don't please people and displease God. Put Him first always (Matthew 6:33).
PRAYER POINT:
Ask God to take away every desire in you to be a men-pleaser.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 28-30
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 24: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE.
1. Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
2. Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Amen and Amen
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