OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY 12/07/2013 - SECURING FUTURE GREATNESS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

SECURING FUTURE GREATNESS

MEMORY VERSE

And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 30:43

READ

Genesis 12:1-3

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

MESSAGE

In everyone's life, there are three stages – the past, present and the future. Before looking at the future, it is only wise to consider the past and the present. Why? In most cases, the past is what brought forth the present; and a combination of the past and the present will deliver the future. Behind every success recorded today and tomorrow, there is a solid covenant somewhere in the past. Take for instance the life of Jacob: He had a past, a present and a future. His past was rooted in the covenant God made with Abraham, when He promised to bless him and to make him a blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). His present was in his limited state as Jacob – supplanter, trying to make it by his own strength and effort, while his next level was as Israel – a prince of God, where he would become God's favourite, and partake of the covenant blessings father Abraham had with God.

The covenant you make with God today will not only affect your tomorrow, but also the destinies of unborn generations. God is a covenant keeping God and He looks for those who can pay the price of cutting an enduring covenant with him. At the beginning of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, God had a covenant with our father - the founder. God asked him to do certain things and then He will begin a church through him which will go all over the world, and a church He will meet on His return to the earth. The old man kept his own side and God is still keeping His. This covenant keeping God made Abraham great and then moved into the Isaac generation which is the now (Genesis 24:34-35). For Isaac, God made him very great (Genesis 26:12-14). The future is the level of Jacob – who God made exceedingly great. From today, prophesy to yourself daily by saying: In the name of Jesus, I am going to be exceedingly great. That is my next level, and nothing can stop me because my Father is a covenant keeper. Are you operating on a covenant with God?

KEY POINT

A covenant is the foundation of relationship and blessing. Those under a divine covenant are not easily moved.