OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY- 15/08/2014 - DOUBT DESTROYS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

DOUBT DESTROYS

MEMORISE

And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

John 1:34

READ

John 1:29-34

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

MESSAGE

Doubt is one of the greatest weapons that the devil employs in order to confuse and destroy a child of God. Doubt is a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction about something. Usually, doubt does not manifest itself until you have received knowledge or instruction about something. When you know what the Bible says about a particular subject, but something else is pushing a contrasting opinion in your mind, suggesting to you that the knowledge you have of that commandment is not perfect, that there is a better way to such matters, be sure to quickly identify it as the spirit of doubt from the pit of hell. Though its suggestions come in very subtle ways and its arguments usually appear reasonable, this spirit is the bestselling author of confusion with millions of years of experience in the business. The first stage in its methodology is to bring confusion into a person’s mind; thereafter it pushes its victim into error and then backs off to watch how the person will handle the repercussions. Doubt is such a deadly weapon that the devil has successfully used it to bring down great men and women of God in history.

Some do not count doubt as evil. Doubt is correctly identified as the opposite of faith and the Bible says that without faith, no one can please God. It therefore implies that anything done in doubt is an abomination to God. John the Baptist is an example of a powerful prophet who got captured by doubt. In John 1:29-30, the Bible says,

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.”

In John 1:33-34, the great prophet was fully conscious of the heavenly instruction he received. He was firm in his words, confident in what he must do and humble in his understanding of his relationship with the Lord Jesus. He made it clear to his listeners that it was not about himself, but it was all about Jesus. He made it clear that he must decrease for the Lord Jesus to increase. Soon after these powerful affirmations though, the spirit of doubt struck while John was in prison. He sent a very pathetic message to Jesus to confirm if indeed Jesus was the messiah. The great prophet doubted the whole essence of his existence (Matthew 11:2-6). I pray that the Lord God Almighty will deliver you from the spirit of doubt today in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please deal ruthlessly with the spirit of doubt in my life today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Luke 2:22-4:15

Job 22:1-11