Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: THURSDAY APRIL 11TH, 2024.

THEME: THE CHALLENGES OF BEING ANOINTED II

MEMORISE: 

But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:  and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.     

Luke 12:48

READ: Mark 6:31-34 

31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

MESSAGE

In continuation of my discussion from yesterday, one of the challenges of being anointed is that anointed people are perceived to be stronger than they are. Because they pray and God answers immediately people think that they don't need prayers themselves. Also, because they lay hands on the sick and the sick get healed, people think that they are superhuman and can never be weak or tired. Because they preach and souls get saved, there is a tendency to think that they never get tempted, whereas they probably face temptations more than other people.

Moses made just one mistake in 40 years of leading the Israelites, but God said he would not get to the promised land. He had been interceding for Israel whenever they did terrible things, and God had been forgiving them. Now, in his own case, there was nobody to plead for him.

Do you want to be heavily anointed? Be ready to work endlessly. When I discovered that the Bible says that we should earnestly covet spiritual gifts, I was happy. I asked for double the anointing on Elisha, Peter, Paul and Jesus Christ when He was on the earth and then asked that all should be combined and doubled again. God warned me then that I was asking for a dangerous thing because people would not let me rest. When people see that you are anointed, they will bring all their problems to you. Even after you minister to them from the altar, they will still want to see you personally. You cannot send them away because the purpose of the anointing is to serve.

When I employed a personal assistant, and he asked, "What are our work hours?" I said, "We start the day at 5am and only God knows when we will close." This is why raising other people who will also become anointed is necessary. RCCG is in over 190 nations in the world. How will I cope if every member comes to me with their problems? This is why each local assembly has anointed pastors that can pray for the members; only the cases they can’t handle come to me. God has also made things easier by making it possible for me to pray from the altar and anoint handkerchiefs which are used to perform the miracles that people would have called the General Overseer to pray about in the past.

A lot of responsibilities and challenges come with being anointed, so if you desire to be anointed, you should be ready to embrace them.

KEY POINT

The anointing comes with challenges and responsibilities.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 8-9

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 23: 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 ceaseless praise,

Let them flow in ceaseless 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,

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3 Take my voice, and let me sing Always, only, for my King;Take my lips, and let them beFilled with messages from Thee,Filled with messages from Thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as Thou shalt choose,

Every power 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,

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,

Ever, only, all for Thee.