OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - FRIDAY - 19/09/2014 - SELECTIVE BLESSINGS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

SELECTIVE BLESSINGS

Memorise

Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

Proverbs 11:21

Read

Deuteronomy 23:12-14

12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Message

In a gathering of the children of God, God moves round to do two things. He goes round to deliver us from our enemies, and to make these enemies fall before us. As He is moving from one person to another, if He gets to someone who is “unclean”, He would turn away. Such a person is selectively ignored by God. If God leaves us alone for one minute and the devil has his way, we are finished. This is why I pity many people who come to the house of God in clothes that reveal their nakedness. This is a very dangerous act. When God is moving around to bless people, to deliver and to destroy their enemies, when He gets to their turn and He sees them half naked, He will turn away because His eyes cannot behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). When He turns away, the devil is permitted to move in. You know very well that the moment you switch off the light, darkness comes in uninvited. Anytime God turns aside from anyone, the forces of darkness move in, because there can be no vacuum. Another thing people do that causes God to selectively ignore them in a congregation is that, they engage in the act of having side discussions while the service is going on. Some will be having their own meetings, while others will be busy with their phones, answering calls every minute without being sensitive that it is the devil trying to distract them from their blessings. The moment God sees that they are not part of the congregation, He moves away with the blessings meant for them.

There are several instances of God selectively blessing a few within a group in the Bible. Joseph was a member of a family of twelve brothers. He was neither the firstborn nor the lastborn, yet, God picked him for special blessings and said all his brothers will bow down before him. There is a reader of this devotional; this year, the Lord will assign a special blessing to you in Jesus’ Name. David also had seven elder brothers. In fact, when Samuel came and saw the firstborn, he was so sure he was the one God had chosen until God opened his eyes. God rejected all of them until it got to the turn of the one who was not even on the list for selection. I prophesy to you today that, the kind of blessing that even you cannot explain will come your way in Jesus’ Name. At most times, when God selects someone for a special blessing, it is because the one selected has satisfied several conditions that are unknown to other men. No man was there when Joseph refused the offer of Potiphar’s wife. There are many people in church who are not willing to sin when the pastor is there but they are willing to sin against God.

Key Point

When God is the One carrying you, you will be a wonder to yourself and everyone.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Judges 6:36-8:28

Job 40:15-41:4