OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 17/10/2013 - BROTHERS AND FATHERS BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

BROTHERS AND FATHERS

MEMORY VERSE

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Romans 12:10

READ

Genesis 27:30-35

Genesis 27:30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

Genesis 27:31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

Genesis 27:32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

Genesis 27:33  And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

Genesis 27:34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

Genesis 27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

MESSAGE

Your calling and divine destiny as well as your present spiritual build up add up in determining the kind of battles that will come your way. You cannot ask a featherweight to engage a heavyweight in the ring. When you consider David, you will observe the kind of opponents that he faced “ a lion, bear and Goliath, all these were heavyweights (1 Samuel 17:34-37). If you consider your life, you will realise that God has brought you this far because His purpose for your life is yet to be fulfilled. Many like me, should be able to say that if not for God, they would have been dead long before now. The Lord that has kept you alive will continue to keep you.

However, considering the life of Joseph, there is need to note the difference between a brother and a father. You will note that some brothers can kill. In Genesis 4:8 when the first murder was recorded, it was committed by a brother. A brother can steal your blessing: if you doubt this, ask Esau and he will tell you of his experience (Genesis 27:30-35). Brothers can also try to kill your dream like it happened to Joseph (Genesis 37:13-20). This is why when it comes to the issue of making heaven; you cannot rely on anybody other than yourself and God. Are you a brother with a negative assignment to fellow brothers?

However, fathers are different. Thank God for fathers! They can bless and prophesy into your future. Genesis 49:1 relays when Jacob gathered his children together to prophesy into their future. When your father prophesies into your future, it becomes a settled matter. For this reason you must honour your father and mother so that you can live long on earth. Honouring your father is one thing that can sustain you amidst the battles of life. How often do you do this? To provoke the best from your father, you must please him and obey him. You must avoid what he hates and give him the good things that he likes. Lead him to Christ, and make his remaining days on earth worthwhile.

Key Point

You can be the ideal brother or sister to both your blood relations as well as fellow brethren in Christ