Morning Devotional For Friday 7th September

[Edoman]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES


FRIDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER.

MINISTERING THE SPIRIT.

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

When we minister the Gospel, we’re to minister the Spirit; otherwise, our preaching and teaching will be mere words, and empty. Preaching the Gospel isn’t about how many scriptures you can quote; it’s about communicating those scriptures with, and by the Holy Ghost.

This is what we’re called to do as God’s children and ministers of the Gospel. Anybody can sermonise or give great lectures and speeches, but without the Spirit, they’ll have no lasting impact.

In 1 Corinthians 2:4, Paul said, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 says, “…our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” We’ve been sent by the Spirit, and anointed of God; therefore, we can only carry out His work by the power of the Spirit.

This is one of the reasons we’re required to spend quality time fellowshipping the Spirit; praying in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit. That way, your message and your preaching wouldn’t be persuasive words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Read again who we are: “…able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). We minister the Spirit; we minister Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5 says, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord….”

No matter what you preach or teach, it must be Christ Jesus, and you can’t preach or minister Christ without the power of the Spirit. Therefore, get yourself immersed in Him; soak your spirit more in the Holy Spirit through fellowship. Pray and fast often. Study and meditate on the Word, so you can walk and talk in sync with Him, and His glory and power will always be revealed in, and through you.

PRAYER

Dear Father, I thank you for your Spirit at work in my life. I’m ministering life and divine blessings by the power of the Holy Ghost who’s at work in me today, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.

1-Year Bible Reading Plan
2 Corinthians 6:3-7:1 & Proverbs 20-21

2-Year Bible Reading Plan
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 & Jeremiah 25

[Edoman]

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL


DATE: FRIDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2018


THEME: DO YOU KNOW JESUS?


MEMORISE:

And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Matthew 26:72

READ: Matthew 16:13-16

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mark 10:35-40

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

MESSAGE

As a believer in Christ who has obtained the saving knowledge of the Lord, you might consider the question we are reflecting on today to be elementary or irrelevant, but I encourage you to wisely give it some thought. This becomes even more necessary when you consider the fact that after months of being with Jesus day and night, He still turned around to His disciples and asked them in Matthew 16:15b:

“……..But whom say ye that I am?”

In spite of their closeness to Him, the lord did not assume that His disciples really knew Him. Knowing Jesus is more than knowing Him as Savior, Master or even Lord. After years of walking with the Lord, Paul still wrote in Philippians 3:10:

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

As I was growing up in faith, I wondered what else Paul wanted to know about Jesus that he had not known already. Now I know better that we might not be able to know Jesus to His fullness until we see Him in glory (1 Corinthians 13:12). My prayer is that the measure of knowledge that will enable you to be with Him eternally will be given to you today in Jesus’ Name. Beloved, how much of the power of Jesus’ resurrection do you? T what extent do you think the power that resurrected Jesus Christ can work for, in and through you? How much of His suffering can you share and endure? Are you ready to be conformable to his death?

If Peter really knew Jesus, he would not have argued with Him when He told him that he would deny Him thrice (Matthew 26:34-35). Do you now see the wisdom of Paul’s longing and prayer to know the Lord? It was their lack of a deep knowledge of Jesus that made two of His closest disciples make the demand that they made in today’s Bible reading. No wonder Jesus said to them in Mark 10:38b:

“…….Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

When Peter came face to face with the reality of what Jesus Christ told him, he realized how little he knew the Master (Matthew 26:75). I pray for you today that the grace to know Jesus the way you should know Him will be bestowed upon you today. To know Christ is to know victory, and it is to know the resurrection, the truth and the life. Come to Him in humility today if you really want to know Him, as He invites you to come and learn of Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

PRAYER POINT:

Father, help me to know Jesus and His power of resurrection, and as I get to know Him, let me be conformed to his image.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 132-138

Mark 3:31-4:20

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

[Edoman]

*SEEDS OF DESTINY*

FRIDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2018

*THE RESULTS OF FAITH*

(FROM THE SEPTEMBER 2018 EDITION OF THE SEEDS OF DESTINY DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY DR. PASTOR PAUL ENENCHE)

SCRIPTURE: Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Faith is the key that opens the door to the realm of all possibilities.

It has been established that Christianity and the Christian walk is centred on faith; that is, faith is Christianity and Christianity is faith. This is very important because no one can make any tangible progress in the Christian life if faith is not in place.

Furthermore, in order to appreciate the subject of faith, it is important to understand the results of faith in the life of a Christian.

Now, what are the results of faith in the life of a Christian? In other words, what will faith do in the life of a Christian when it is in place? Let me give you four of them:

1. Faith is the key that opens the door to the realm of all possibilities.
Faith is the cure for impossibilities; faith is the key to all possibilities (Mark 9:23).

2. Faith is the spiritual weapon for the uprooting of mountain and the levelling of obstacles.
Faith specialises in uprooting mountains and levelling obstacles (Mark 11:23).

3. Faith is the key of access to your inheritance in God.
You can only possess what is yours in God by the weapon of faith (Hebrews 6:12).

4. Faith is the spiritual tool for supernatural creations, constructions, inventions and innovations.
Faith gives us the capacity to bring into existence what has never existed. Creation or production of things that had never before existed is made possible by faith (Hebrews 11:1-3).

Beloved, faith is key to every success in life; to have faith is to have positive results in life.

My counsel is, make up your mind to dare greater things by faith.

Remember this: Faith is the key that opens the door to the realm of all possibilities.

ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Make up your mind to confront any mountain in your life by faith.
2. Access your inheritance and dare what seems impossible by faith.

PRAYER: O Lord, I ask for the impartation of mountain-moving faith. I receive the grace to dare what seems impossible by faith for the advancement of Your Kingdom, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: THE FAITH-WAY OF LIFE.

AMAZING FACT: Three hundred million cells die in the human body every minute. Every day an adult produces 300 billion new cells.

TODAY IN HISTORY: 7/9/1986 - Desmond Tutu was the first black to be installed to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

DAILY READING: Song of Solomon 5:1 to 8:14, 2 Corinthians 9:1 to 15, Psalm 51: to 19, Proverbs 22:24 to 25

QUOTE: Keep that primitive faith. Contend for it. Do not adjust it. Do not amalgamate it, and do not mix it up. Keep it. The world is in need of the genuine. Culled from MAKING FULL PROOF OF MINISTRY by Dr Paul Enenche.