OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL... DATE : SUNDAY 25th JANUARY 2015 THEME : EX-CHAMPION? Memorize : Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. John 5:14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” John 5:14 Read: Joshua 7:1-5 1 BUT the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. Joshua 7:1-5 New International Version (NIV) Achan’s Sin 1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,[b] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : JEREMIAH 5:6 and ACTS 14.19-15:11 Message: Although it is an unpleasant experience to be a defeated contender, becoming an ex-champion is a much more grievous experience. When you are not a champion, only a few people pay attention to you. But by the time you become a champion, you will be on the radar of many people, including your enemies. A champion has more enemies to contend with than an ordinary contender. I pray you will not be an ex-champion in Jesus’ Name. The story in our scripture reading is a sad one. The people of God had just recorded victory over a great city called Jericho, and they forged ahead to occupy a small village called Ai. To their surprise and consternation, they were beaten silly! Their leader, Joshua, was downcast. But after making enquiries from God, he discovered the cause of their defeat. What great lessons we can draw from this story! There is always a reason for every set-back suffered by a child of God. Therefore, it is expedient that periodic, self examination becomes a lifestyle among children of God. The Almighty had warned the children of Israel not to take anything from Jericho as booty, but Achan defied this instruction and stole part of the accursed materials. Joshua did not know about this. This singular act brought a lot of war causalities to the Israelites and turned the whole nation to ex-war champions. The nation remained defeated until the accused thing was removed form the congregation of the people of God, including the culprit and his household. Beloved of God, I want to encourage you to abstain from any form of ungodliness because it is deadly (Romans 6:23). After a man’s sins are forgiven, the next thing is for the fellow to stop living in sin and to perform restitution. In John 5:14, our Lord Jesus Christ told the man He graciously healed to go and sin no more so that a more terrible thing does not come on him. In conclusion: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates? 2nd Corinthians 13:5 May the Lord be with your soul. Prayer Point : Holy Spirit, please help me to be vigilant in maintaining my victory in Christ and help me not to fall into any temptation. AUTHOR : Pastor E. A. ADEBOYE
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 11:45:10 +0000
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