OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY JULY 28TH 2017
THEME: SITUATION-DEPENDENT SERVICE
Memorise:
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Daniel 6:20
Read: Daniel 6:18-23
6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
6:23 Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
MESSAGE:
If you desire to see exploits from the Almighty God, you must know Him personally and believe that He is alive. Unfortunately, when some believers are going through very tough times, you will think that their God is dead. They lose their trust in God, just because they could not feel Him doing anything about their case while putting their trust in Him. Some of such people will no longer confess Him before men because they are afraid He might disappoint them. Hebrew 11:6 says that if you want anything at all from God, you must believe that He is alive and well. You must believe that He continues to exist and that He is in control. No matter how bad your situation may appear, God is still alive and He is in charge. Nothing happens in your life without His knowledge.
After Daniel was set up by some fellow leaders in the government of king Darius, He was thrown into the lion’s den. What the King said to him while he was in the lion’s den is very instructive:
“And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?” Daniel 6:20
In other words, this king recognized that the God of Daniel was the living God. Do people know your God as the living God? Also, King Darius observed the quality of worship Daniel offered to his God. Daniel not only served God in times of plenty, blessings and answered prayers, but also in times of persecution and unanswered prayers. If you truly want to see exploits, you must be ready to serve God continuously. Do you know that many people allow situations and circumstances to affect or determine when they serve God? Some people decide to down tools in God’s house just because a particular pending request has not been granted. Some even “threaten” God that if He doesn’t answer their prayer, they will stop pastoring, winning souls or doing some specific assignments that God has given to them. Can you truly threaten God? Is your love for God dependent on your situation in life? If you have downed tools in God’s service, repent and get back to doing the work that God gave to you!
Key Point:
Although God can deliver His children from any unpleasant situation, He reserves the right to decide whether and when to deliver them or not, depending on what He wants to achieve from that particular situation.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 5-6
Ezekiel 16:44-58
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 14: TAKE MY LIFE
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.
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Friday, July 28, 2017) - SITUATION -DEPENDENT SERVICE
1.I worship and adore you, my Father, because l know that l am serving a living God.
2.Father, be thou exalted, because, you are able to deliver and to save, abundantly, from very hopeless situations.
3.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.
4.Father, give me the grace to serve you, continually, diligently and dedicatedly, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, empower me to serve you, with a sincere and pure heart, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, let the mouth of any worldly lion, roaring and seeking to devour me, be shut forever, by your angel, in Jesus' name.
7.Father, give me the grace to believe in you till the very end, no matter the challenges of life, that l may face, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, help me to be totally yielded and surrendered to your Will and for the purpose you have created me, in Jesus' name.
9.Father, let me never give up my faith and hope in you, in the midst of life's storms, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, give me testimonies that will make millions to worship and serve you, in Jesus' name.
11.Father, reveal more of yourself to me, that l may be able to do exploits for you, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
1 Kings: 5. 1. And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3. Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. 4. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. 5. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. 6. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. 7. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. 8. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. 11. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. 13. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14. And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; 16. Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 17. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
1 Kings: 6. 1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. 2. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. 3. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. 4. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. 5. And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: 6. The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. 7. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. 8. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. 9. So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. 10. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar. 11. And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, 12. Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: 13. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14. So Solomon built the house, and finished it. 15. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. 16. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. 17. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. 18. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 20. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. 21. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. 22. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. 23. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. 24. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. 25. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. 26. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. 27. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. 28. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. 29. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. 30. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. 31. And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. 32. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. 33. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. 34. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. 36. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. 37. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: 38. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
Ezekiel: 16. 44. Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 45. Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47. Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 48. As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 49. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. 51. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52. Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53. When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 54. That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 55. When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 56. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 57. Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. 58. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.
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