OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY - 23/08/2013 - STAND OUT! BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

STAND OUT!

MEMORY VERSE

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye seperate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2 Corinthians 6:17

READ

Acts 19:11-12

Acts 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

Acts 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

MESSAGE

There are people who have gone through the best of theological institutions and have been certified and recognised by men, but they are nowhere to be found among God's favourites because they have not drawn closer to God as He expects of them. May you be among the divine eagles! However, among eagles, there are stand-out eagles. Acts 5:12-16 says special miracles were performed by the hands of some eagles while others only experienced ordinary miracles. All the apostles were eagles but only Peter had his shadow healing the sick.

One of my very young children returned from Sunday school one day and asked: 'Dad, do you really know the Bible?' 'I know the Bible very well I replied'. Then he said 'Who is Prochorus?' I told him I don't know that person. 'What about Nicanor?' Then I asked, 'Is that in the Bible?' He further asked, 'What about Timon?' 'Do you mean Simeon?' He said no. So I said 'I don't know what you are talking about'. 'But Dad, I thought you said you know the Bible; these are among the seven deacons in the early church'. I said, 'God have mercy on them because I only know Stephen and Philip'. I obviously lost sight of the others because they were hardly ever mentioned afterwards, whereas Stephen and Philip were shinning stars as God's favourites. Believe it or not, some Christians may never taste of the level of special miracles that Paul saw God doing through him in Acts 19:11-12. To become a divine favourite, there is a price to pay. First, you must be prepared to separate from every unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Nobody can become outstanding if he or she is unwilling to stand out. While pigeons gather together, eagles fly alone. You cannot afford to do things the way others are doing them if you want to become God's favourite. Others may overeat or oversleep but you cannot afford such luxury because of where you are going. Are you ready to pay the price to become His favourite?

PRAYER POINT 

Father, everything that will work against my standing out, separate them from my life today.