OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SUNDAY 23/06/2013 - GOD OF GREATNESS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GOD OF GREATNESS

MEMORY VERSE

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Psalm 67:7

READ

Genesis 24:34-35

Gen 24:34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.

Gen 24:35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

MESSAGE

 While seeking a wife for Isaac, Abraham's chief servant was sent to Abraham's family in Nahor of Mesopotamia, to choose a wife for him. Standing before the family, he testified of how God had greatly blessed his master in all things (Genesis 24:34-35). If the God of Abraham is your God, you cannot die small, poor or insignificant. Why? The God of Abraham takes pleasure in making His children great. Which of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, of whom God is associated with by name was poor? Jeremiah 29:11 says,

“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Are you a child of the Most High God? The Lord will equally make you great. You will not die in poverty. You will not be insignificant.

I have tasted both poverty and wealth and make bold to say that the latter is far better than the former. I have had to walk for the first 15 years of my life without shoes because we could not afford them. In my final year in the grammar school, I was a fairly good student so I won some prizes. We used to have a prize giving day shortly before the school vacated. On that day, all who excelled in a particular subject would come out and shake hands with the principal and be given a prize. The final year students were expected to wear a white shirt on white trousers and shoes. Having won a prize, I had no trousers or shoes to wear. I began to question God why He allowed me to win a prize when He knew that I had no complementary uniform to receive it. At that point, one of the boys in the hostel who had six pairs of trousers called me to help him decide which to wear. As I did this, I used the opportunity to ask for a pair of trousers even though he was taller than I was. Then I remembered an uncle who had a pair of shoes and a pair of sandals that were not okay. He agreed to give me the sandal. Since I never wore a shoe before, I began to practice how to walk with it before the prize giving day. On that day, I appeared with extra long trousers and oversized shoes but received my prize. Have you gone through the bad side of poverty? Because you are now a seed of Abraham, things will turn in your favour from today.

ACTION POINT

 No amount of wealth you take from God can deplete His resources. Just ask, ask and keep asking.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

James 3 - 5