OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH 2024
THEME: DESTINY DESTROYERS I
Thursday, September 26
MEMORISE: But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. Proverbs 6:32
READ: Judges 16:5-16
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
MESSAGE
The devil is always looking for signs that mark out people of great destinies. You may have noticed long ago that you are not in this world to be ordinary, and that there is a great destiny that God has ordained for you. The devil may also sense this, and even though he is unable to fully understand it, he will begin to send destiny destroyers to the fellow to ensure that he or she does not fulfil that glorious destiny. One major destiny destroyer the devil tries to use is illicit sex.
In Genesis 37:5-9, the devil heard Joseph talk about his destiny and marked him for destruction. He tried to get his brothers to kill him, but they ended up selling him into slavery. The devil thought that Joseph would not fulfil his dreams in slavery, but when he saw how he prospered in Potiphar's house even as a slave, he knew that the only way he could stop him was to tempt him with illicit sex, so he sent Potiphar's wife to seduce him (Genesis 39:11-12). Thankfully, Joseph did not fall for the temptation because that would have been the end of his big dreams and destiny. Every time you are tempted to engage in illicit sex, that is the devil trying to destroy your destiny. Your response will determine if you will still fulfil destiny or not.
No matter how great a person's destiny is, giving room to fornication or adultery will destroy such a fellow because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 that our bodies are God's temple, and if a fellow defiles God's temple, he or she will be destroyed. Samson was really great and powerful, so much so that he could single-handedly defeat an entire army. However, as powerful as he was, he met his defeat in the laps of a woman that he wasn't married to. Before long, he was grinding corn for his enemies (Judges 16:21).
If you find out that you are having illicit sexual desires towards someone of the opposite sex, you should run to God for mercy, go on a fast, and pray for those desires to die. This way, you will strengthen yourself enough to avoid falling into the temptation and those illicit sexual desires will die eventually.
Beloved, guard yourself against the devil's temptations to engage in sexual immorality. Don't allow him to make you destroy your destiny with your own hands. Resist him, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
KEY POINT
Flee from sexual immorality. Itis a destiny destroyer.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Haggai 1-2
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 31: YIELD NOT TO TEMPTATION
1. Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each vict’ry will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.
Refrain:
Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.
2. Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,
God’s name hold in rev’rence, nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.
3. To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown,
Through faith we will conquer, though often cast down;
He who is our Savior, our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you through.
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