OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: TUESDAY 11TH APRIL 2017
THEME: DIVINE VISITATION I
Memorise:
And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. Genesis 21 :1
Read: Genesis 18:1-10
18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
18:5 And l will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of flne meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
18:7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
MESSAGE
Our God is a benevolent God; when He visits an individual, He does not come empty-handed. lf you are privileged to receive a visitation from Him, you can be sure you are in for pleasant surprises. My prayer for you is that God in His infinite mercy will visit you today in Jesus' Name. When Abraham entertained three strange men in his tent, little did he know that they were messengers of the benevolent God. Take a closer look at all the effort Abraham put in just to entertain visitors he could ordinarily have regarded as casual passersby. Genesis 18:6-7 says,
"And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it."
From this passage, it is obvious that Abraham engaged his entire household in making these visitors comfortable.
There are many lessons you can learn from Abraham's experience which will make it possible for you to enjoy the blessing of receiving a divine visitation. First, you must be hospitable if you want to experience a divine visitation. Concerning this, the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 13:2 says,
"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
God visits those who share His attribute of generosity. God is so generous that He gave His only begotten Son as a ransom for our sins. Consequently, He became the Father of millions of people who were once alienated from Him. Secondly, when you are showing generosity or hospitality, you must do it willingly, and not as if you are being constrained to do it. The angelic visitors would not have waited if they had noticed unwillingness in Abraham, his wife or his men in receiving them. It was after the strange visitors had eaten their fill that they delivered the message they brought from God. Angels don't eat human food, so how come these ones ate the food Abraham served them (Genesis 18:8)? This can only be explained by the sovereignty of the Almighty God. They were transformed and given a human nature in order to be able to eat, so as to teach us valuable lessons. One of these lessons is that when God requests for your tithe, offerings or your first-fruits, it is because He wants to set you up for a divine visitation in your business or chosen career. Be wise!
Prayer Point:
Father, please visit me with Your awesome presence today.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Leviticus 21:22
Jeremiah 11:9-23
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 10: THERE SHALL BE SHOWER OF BLESSING
1. There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Chorus:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops 'round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing-
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
[Chorus]
3. There shall be showers of blessing:
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come and now honor Thy word.
[Chorus]
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we're confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
[Chorus]