OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - WEDNESDAY - 6/11/2013 - A CHAMPION BY OBEDIENCE BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

A CHAMPION BY OBEDIENCE

MEMORY VERSE

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12

READ

1 Kings 18:30-36

And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.

And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:

And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.

And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said,Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

MESSAGE

 A divine champion is someone loved by God. He or she is God's beloved and as a result, the fellow becomes greater than a conquering general according to Romans 8:37. A divine champion is also someone who is sponsored by God. He does everything according to the instructions he receives from God. He never runs ahead of God at anytime. He would rather not move than go anywhere outside of God's will. When Elijah was praying on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18:36, he said he has done everything according to God's instructions. The fellow who is truly smart is the one who carries out God's instruction without relaxing any detail. He or she is totally obedient. He waits on God. Do you hear God's voice? How obedient are you to His commands? Do you obey His commands selectively  taking what is convenient but leaving what is deemed too sacrificial? If you want to be a divine champion, then you must search out every pending divine instruction and carry it out to the letter. If you still select what to obey and what to disobey from what God has commanded you, you can never be a divine champion.

Moreover, a divine champion is the fellow who is sustained by God. God used the ravens to feed Elijah and afterwards He used the widow in 1 Kings 17:2-16. Do you know that Elijah did not question God on the method He chose to feed him by? He received all with thanksgiving. Today, when some of us are praying for provision, we also dictate to God how the provision should come. Do you know that some believers refuse a provision that God has given simply because they disagree with the source through which the blessing is coming? After God has answered the prayers of some of His children, He will begin to face their queries: Why did you provide this money through this fellow and not through me? Do you want to take me through some more reproach? Beloved, you can ask God for anything but God is free to answer your request in any way that pleases Him.

KEY POINT

If Elijah had rejected God's provision because it came through ravens, he would have starved. If God gives you something, just accept it with thanksgiving