OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL -WEDNESDAY - 12/03/2014 - VICTORY OVER ENEMIES II BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

VICTORY OVER ENEMIES II

MEMORISE

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

READ

Daniel 6:19-22

19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.

22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

MESSAGE

Paul in Philippians 3:10 prayed earnestly:

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”

One wonders what prompted the apostle to pray this type of prayer! It may be, as we shall shortly see, that he discovered the secret of victory in the knowledge of the Most High God. It is beneficial to know Christ. In Daniel 11:32, the Bible reveals that the people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. The knowledge of God is therefore the key to doing exploits for Him. The degree of your knowledge of the Almighty God determines the level of victory you will experience over your enemies. For victorious Christian living therefore, knowledge is not a matter of choice but rather that of life and death; for lack of knowledge could lead to death (Hosea 4:6). Knowledge is generally accepted as power. Power to conquer your enemies is in knowledge. This knowledge should be the knowledge of the Most High. Let’s take a look at examples of some heroes of faith and see how their knowledge of God gave them victory.

Joseph is a hero of faith who knew God, and this knowledge helped him to abstain from sexual immorality. When his master’s wife asked him to sleep with her, he in Genesis 39:9c said:

“....how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Joseph knew that the act of sleeping with his master’s wife was directly a sin against God because He knew the God of his fathers to be a Holy God. Another example is Daniel. Daniel knew his God to the level of obeying Him rather than observing the malicious decree King Darius signed up to in ignorance. Daniel knew that with his God, all things are possible. He went ahead and prayed to the God that can kill and can make alive. Jesus said we should not fear those who can only kill the body; rather we should fear the One who can kill both the body and send the soul to hell (Matthew 10:28). The three Hebrew young men were boastful of their God as being able to deliver them (Daniel 3:16-18). They also knew that it could please Him to recall them to Himself in heaven through the fiery furnace. When you know God to be a consuming fire, you will not want to do anything that will offend Him. In return, your life of consecration and holiness will shield you against the onslaught of the enemy. Seek to know the Trinity today.

PRAYER POINT

Father, reveal yourself to me. Let me know you as I ought to, and let the knowledge of you give me victory all the days of my life.