OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY APRIL 10TH, 2024.
THEME: THE CHALLENGES OF BEING ANOINTED I
MEMORISE:
And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of
them.
2 Kings 2:24
READ: Numbers 20:1-13
1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.
MESSAGE
Do you want to be heavily anointed? The One who generates the anointing has more than enough for everybody. Psalm 23:5 says, "Thou anointed my head with oil, my Cup runneth over." He has more than enough for everybody, but are you willing to pay the price? Are you willing to go through the challenges that come
with being anointed? Hebrews 1:9 says that if you love righteousness and hate iniquity, God will anoint you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
Yesterday, I mentioned some benefits of being anointed, but it is also important to note that the anointing also comes with some challenges. The major challenge with being anointed is that power can corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The more anointed you are, the more careful you must be because of the tendency to misuse the power. In Numbers 20:1-13, especially verse 10, Moses said to the people, "Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?"
Only a few minutes before then, he was on his face before God, asking for a solution to the problem. The moment God told him what to do, he turned to the people who had been provoking him, called them rebels, and spoke as if the power to bring water out of the rock was from him and not from God. In verse 12, God said that because he did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people, he will not enter the promised land.
I have always told pastors in The Redeemed Christian Church of God that no one must ever feel as if he healed anybody. Left alone, you cannot even heal a rat! It is God who heals, and you are only a vessel through which the healing takes place. You must always see that as a privilege. Since the power to perform miracles is not yours, God can use anyone else to do it. A man of God once said that if you remove God from him, there will be
little left. I was surprised because, in my own case, if you remove God from me, there will be absolutely nothing left.
Beloved, never forget that without God, you are nothing. Anyone who thinks that he or she can be something without God is clearly on a path to destruction. No matter how anointed you are, never allow yourself to think that you are all-powerful. Ensure that you remain humble.
KEY POINT
Never forget that it is God who works miracles, not you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 6-7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME
1 All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2 O seed of Israel's chosen race
now ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all!
3 Let every tongue and every tribe
responsive to his call,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all!
4 Oh, that with all the sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
Amen and Amen🙏🙌
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