OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
WEDNESDAY JULY 26TH 2017
THEME:
ACCESSING DIVINE COUNSEL
MEMORISE:
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17
READ: John 17:15-17
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 2, Ezekiel 16:6-22
MESSAGE:
Access to divine guidance is one yardstick you can use to determine whether you are a sheep in the fold of Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. This is very central to our walk with God, as it determines the status of our relationship with Christ. Amassing years in the faith is not as important as increasing the frequency of receiving divine guidance. This means that if you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour some 5, 10, 20 or more years ago, but still cannot easily be led by the Spirit of God on various matters, you are hardly growing spiritually. Romans 8:14 says,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
A close walk with the Holy Spirit is the bedrock for receiving divine guidance. In John 16:13, Jesus clearly stated one major reason why the Holy Spirit was sent to the world. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and so it falls within the purview of His duties to guide you along the path of truth. If you have a knotty issue that cannot be unravelled, simply go to the Holy Spirit, and He will guide you aright. He operates in the realm of truth and not necessarily facts. Some people equate facts with truth but that is not often the case. Just as lies are a distortion of the facts, facts can sometimes be contrary to truth. Facts are observations that have been subjected to interpretations based on current knowledge, and because knowledge changes, facts can also change.
What then is truth? The Lord Jesus Christ answers this question in John 17:17:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
The word of God is truth. Also, the Godhead is an embodiment of truth. In fact, Jesus in John 14:6 declared:
“…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Truth is based on faith. If you will receive divine guidance, you must be prepared to walk in God’s path of truth. The truth is ever constant. God wants His children to walk with the truth and not necessarily facts. When a child of God is ill for example, the fact is that there are physical signs and manifestations of the ailment on the individual, but the truth is that Jesus has already paid the price for the healing of every child of God. For this reason, the Bible says we walk by faith (truth) not by sight (facts) (2 Corinthians 5:7). This means, you must be a person of faith. You must live by the truth and not contradict God’s word by your lifestyle. Also, you cannot be telling lies and expect the truth of God to be revealed to you. Choose to live by truth today.
KEY POINT:
A liar cannot receive a revelation of the Truth until he or she is ready to dump falsehood.
AUTHOR:
PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 15:
THE COMFORTER HAS COME
1. Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts
And human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue
Proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain:
The Comforter has come,
The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n,
The Father’s promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found —
The Comforter has come!
2. The long, long night is past,
The morning breaks at last,
And hushed the dreadful wail
And fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills
The day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
3. Lo, the great King of kings,
With healing in His wings,
To every captive soul
A full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells
The song of triumph rings;
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
4. O boundless love divine!
How shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell
The matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of hell,
Should in His image shine!
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
5. Sing till the echoes fly
Above the vaulted sky,
And all the saints above
To all below reply,
In strains of endless love,
The song that ne’er will die:
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain:]
WEDNESDAY JULY 26TH 2017
THEME:
ACCESSING DIVINE COUNSEL
MEMORISE:
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17
READ: John 17:15-17
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 2, Ezekiel 16:6-22
MESSAGE:
Access to divine guidance is one yardstick you can use to determine whether you are a sheep in the fold of Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. This is very central to our walk with God, as it determines the status of our relationship with Christ. Amassing years in the faith is not as important as increasing the frequency of receiving divine guidance. This means that if you received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour some 5, 10, 20 or more years ago, but still cannot easily be led by the Spirit of God on various matters, you are hardly growing spiritually. Romans 8:14 says,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
A close walk with the Holy Spirit is the bedrock for receiving divine guidance. In John 16:13, Jesus clearly stated one major reason why the Holy Spirit was sent to the world. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and so it falls within the purview of His duties to guide you along the path of truth. If you have a knotty issue that cannot be unravelled, simply go to the Holy Spirit, and He will guide you aright. He operates in the realm of truth and not necessarily facts. Some people equate facts with truth but that is not often the case. Just as lies are a distortion of the facts, facts can sometimes be contrary to truth. Facts are observations that have been subjected to interpretations based on current knowledge, and because knowledge changes, facts can also change.
What then is truth? The Lord Jesus Christ answers this question in John 17:17:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
The word of God is truth. Also, the Godhead is an embodiment of truth. In fact, Jesus in John 14:6 declared:
“…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Truth is based on faith. If you will receive divine guidance, you must be prepared to walk in God’s path of truth. The truth is ever constant. God wants His children to walk with the truth and not necessarily facts. When a child of God is ill for example, the fact is that there are physical signs and manifestations of the ailment on the individual, but the truth is that Jesus has already paid the price for the healing of every child of God. For this reason, the Bible says we walk by faith (truth) not by sight (facts) (2 Corinthians 5:7). This means, you must be a person of faith. You must live by the truth and not contradict God’s word by your lifestyle. Also, you cannot be telling lies and expect the truth of God to be revealed to you. Choose to live by truth today.
KEY POINT:
A liar cannot receive a revelation of the Truth until he or she is ready to dump falsehood.
AUTHOR:
PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 15:
THE COMFORTER HAS COME
1. Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts
And human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue
Proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain:
The Comforter has come,
The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n,
The Father’s promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found —
The Comforter has come!
2. The long, long night is past,
The morning breaks at last,
And hushed the dreadful wail
And fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills
The day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
3. Lo, the great King of kings,
With healing in His wings,
To every captive soul
A full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells
The song of triumph rings;
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
4. O boundless love divine!
How shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell
The matchless grace divine—
That I, a child of hell,
Should in His image shine!
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain]
5. Sing till the echoes fly
Above the vaulted sky,
And all the saints above
To all below reply,
In strains of endless love,
The song that ne’er will die:
The Comforter has come!
[Refrain:]
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