OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SATURDAY 19TH, AUGUST 2023.
TOPIC: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT V
MEMORISE:
"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them."
1 Samuel 2:8
READ: Nehemiah 4:1-15
4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?
4:3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
4:4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
4:5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
4:6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
4:7 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
4:8 And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
4:9 Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.
4:11 And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.
4:13 Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
4:14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.
4:15 And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
MESSAGE
From the story of Bartimaeus, we can see that darkness and stagnation go hand in hand. Bartimaeus must have been on that same spot, begging since he became blind. Since stagnation is linked to darkness, this means that light stands for progress and promotion. Psalm 75:6-7 says:
"For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another."
1 Samuel 2:8 tells us that God can pick up a beggar from a dunghilI and keep promoting him until he is standing with princes. If you notice that you seem to have been in the same position for years now, then it is likely that you are in darkness. You need to connect to the Light now, so that you can make real progress.
Stagnation is primarily caused by forces of darkness. The devil fights progress. That is why when Nehemiah was trying to rebuild the city walls, the devil raised many enemies to stop the work. One fellow was talking to me some years ago; he said, “I don't know what's happening; it seems as if my enemies are increasing”. I said, “Tell me a litle bit about how things have been with you in the past couple of years". He said everything had been good; whatever he touched had been prospering. I said, “That is the reason". There are those who love it when you come to them to beg for food, but the moment you begin to make progress, hatred comes. Darkness does not want you to progress, but thank God light stands for promotion.
There was a man who had been on one spot for many years. During one of our programmes, God spoke to me and l announced, "There is someone here; somebody close to you will die next week. Don't be sad because, after the death, your promotion will come". The following week, his father died, but before the man passed on, he confessed that he had said, "How can my son be greater than l?", so he decided to use diabolical powers to make the boy stagnant. Almost immediately after the father died, the promotion of the young man began. Anyone siting on your promotion and refusing to stand will be uprooted by the Almighty God, in Jesus' name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, destroy anything that has hindered my promotion so far and lift me high, in Jesus' name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Jeremiah 49
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 26: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Chorus:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing—
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing;
O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
5 There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
