OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 26/10/2013 - DEAL WITH LITTLE SINS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

DEAL WITH LITTLE SINS

MEMORY VERSE

Abstain from all appearance of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:22

READ

1 Thessalonians 5:21-23

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

MESSAGE

If you must be victorious in the battle against Satan and his forces, you must let your separation from evil be total and absolute. Some people look at some things and say it is not too bad. If it is not too bad, then it contains some elements of evil no matter how little. When you tell a 'little' lie to get out of a fix or to cover up some wrong, you may think it is not too bad after all some patriarchs  Abraham and Isaac did the same. In fact, Jacob was worse. The truth is, any sin you indulge in without fully repenting and terminating it has a way of affecting your generations and it will enlarge as it goes further. This is why any vice you do not want to see in your future generations must be stopped in your life. Abraham lied but because he did not deal with it, the ability to lie was passed on to Isaac. He too lied and did nothing about it and by the time it got to Jacob, the ability to lie had multiplied to the extent that deception and fraud started operating in him right from the womb. He was a twin with Esau and tried to subvert him in their mother's womb. But when he could not, he grabbed his legs by the time they were coming out so that he could say they came out at the same time. Since his grandfather and father refused to deal with lies, he became lie personified!

What is the vice you are still harbouring today? No matter how small, deal with it! You cannot be victorious if sin still reserves space in you. Some situations may appear not so tempting, but do not turn them into tempting ones. A brother may be friendly with a lady at the place of work. It may be a purely official relationship and they may face no apparent temptation. But by the time he begins to touch her or she begins to touch him while they exchange banters, they are now changing the mood of the relationship. If such 'plays' does not stop, the innocent touch may gravitate into a more sensitive touch and before long, lust fills the heart and sin is born. Avoid every evil appearance!

ACTION POINT

The weakness you are able to conquer today will most likely be conquered by your generations. Start a good chain today!