OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIINAL FOR 10th SEPTEMBER 2017

THEME: HE IS AT THE DOOR!

 Memorise:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

Read: Revelation 3:19-22

3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Message:

God is a God of order, and Heaven is a place of order. Heaven is also a place where everything revolves around the will of the Owner: God. There is protocol in Heaven and a hierarchy or authority which must be respected. For this reason, when accessing God's presence, the manner of approach really matters. How you enter into a room or house will determine whether you will be welcomed or chased out. Do you know that even God subjects Himself to the law of order? In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said,

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Although God created us, He still has to knock and wait to be invited in before He enters into our hearts. Even though He created the space in your heart for Himself, he still doesn't force Himself into that space. You are the one to decide if and when He should come in or not.

In Genesis 18:1-8, Abraham saw some divine visitors near his tent. He ran to meet them, pleading for the opportunity to be hospitable to them. In this instance also, you can see that God waited to be invited in. similarly, in Genesis 19:1-3, when the two angels arrived in Sodom, Lot invited them in to spend the night. Also, in 2 Kings 4:8, Elisha was just passing by when the Shunammite woman invited him into her house for lunch, and even though he said he was not hungry, the woman practically compelled him to come in. From that day forward, whenever Elisha passed by, he stopped over at her house.

God waits to be invited in because of His humility, and due to the fact that He does not want to impose Himself on us. Also, He created us as free moral agents and not as zombies or robots: He wants us to be free to express our own will. In addition, He wants us to be able to bear the consequences of our actions and not hold Him responsible for what we do. He also wants to be able to determine if we truly love Him and whether we desire to follow Him or not. If you are not yet born again, you have been keeping the Saviour waiting all these years. Please answer the knock on the door of your heart, kindly invite Jesus in, and surrender your whole life to him. Doing this is in your own interest.

Action Point:

Invite Jesus into every area of your life from which you have shut Him out.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

2 Chronicles 21-23

Ezekiel 39:9-20

                                                                                                                     

 AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 12:  HOW SWEET THE NAME OF JESUS

1. How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds

In a believer's ear!

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,

And drives away our fear.

2. It makes the wounded spirit whole,

And calms the troubled breast;

'Tis manna to the hungry soul,

And to the weary, rest.

3. O Jesus, Shepherd, Guardian, Friend,

My Prophet, Priest and King,

My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,

Accept the praise I bring.

4. How weak the effort of my heart,

how cold my warmest thought;

But when I see Thee as Thou art,

I'll praise Thee as I ought.

5. Till then I would your love proclaim

With every fleeting breath,

And may the music of your Name

Refresh my soul in death!