Thursday 13 June 2013

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY 13/06/2013 - FOLLOWING FASHION OR CHRIST? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE


FOLLOWING FASHION OR CHRIST?

MEMORY VERSE
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
1 John 2:17

READ
1 John 2:15-17

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

MESSAGE
How you are dressed determines how you are received or treated. Your dressing is a part of your identity. How you dress equally affects your Kingdom walk. In 2 Kings 1:1-8, when the king was sick, he sent some people to enquire if he would recover or die. They met Elijah who told them that it was a sickness unto death. In order to verify the authenticity of that prophecy, the king asked for the name of the prophet but they could not tell because he did not disclose his name. But by the time they described the type of clothes he wore, the king immediately knew it was Elijah. Does your dressing portray you as a child of God? If you as a minister of God were to dress in regular clothes and not priestly robe or cassock, would your dressing showcase you as a servant of the Most High God? If you compare what John the Baptist wore in Matthew 3:1-4 with what Elijah wore, you would find some resemblance. Who do you resemble when you dress? How is your hairdo? What of your beard? How do you adorn yourself with jewellery moderate or loud? What kind of dresses do you put on?

When Moses fled from Egypt to Midian after killing one of the Egyptians, he met the daughters of the priest of Midian and helped them. When they got home earlier than usual, their father asked why they were back home so soon. They said it was because they received protection and help from an Egyptian (Exodus 2:15-20). He was taken for an Egyptian because he dressed like one. If you dress like the world, what follows worldly attires will equally follow you. Worldly fashion is controlled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life according to 1 John 2:16. Don't be surprised to see pride and worldly lust gaining ground in your life if you are given to worldly fashion. If you are obsessed with the latest fashion and style, rather than running the heavenly race you were called into, you will find yourself running a race that God did not call you to. The unfortunate thing about this is that those who are given to worldly fashion share a common destiny with what they are given to. Are you following fashion or Christ?

KEY POINT
The race after worldly fashion and the race to Heaven are two distinct races leading to separate destinations. You must choose which one to run.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

3 comments:

  1. Lord give us d grace 2 shun wordly appetite.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Right on point!!!some of us are so guilty of this.

    ReplyDelete

    Total Pageviews