Open Heaven 9 May 2023

Topic:

HE CAN CHANGE HIS MIND

Memory Verse:

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have ound David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. – Acts 13:22 (KJV)

Bible Reading:

Deuteronomy 8:11-20 (NIV)

11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.

12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,

13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,

14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.

16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.

20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

Open Heaven 9 May 2023 Message

When God promotes you, you must never forget that your loyalty must be to Him and only Him.

1 Samuel 15:15-24 records that when Saul became king, he forgot the One who put him there. God sent him on a mission; he failed, and his reason was, “I feared the people”.

Don’t try to lower the standard of God because you want to be popular.

Don’t forget that God is sovereign; He can do and undo. He can change His mind. Each time we read 1 Samuel 2, we love to quote verse 8 and ignore verse 7 which says that the Lord makes rich and He makes poor, He can take a beggar from the dunghill and promote him until he is sitting with princes.

In 1 Samuel 2:30, He said to Eli, “I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”. He can promote and He can demote. 

Never forget that God always has a substitute ready. You can never hold God to ransom. If He promotes you and you think that without you, He cannot do anything, He would just bring in the substitute.

For over a decade, King Saul was still on the throne, but David had already being chosen and anointed king.

Saul was merely carrying the title but David was the approved king. Right in the house of Eli, little Samuel was already rising – the one who would take over was already there, in waiting.

My prayer is that God will promote you, but don’t forget that when He does, you must put Him first and obey Him completely.

You must help others and never use your position to oppress people. Proverbs 22:22-23 says God Himself will plead the case of those who oppress others.

Let your promotion birth promotion for any other people too.

Perhaps you are the one resisting God’s promotion by Indulging in one sin or the other. The Bible says if you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, He will Iift You. Surrender all to Him and let Him begin to lift you.

Hymn:

I Need Thee Every Hour

Prayer Points:

Father, as You promote me, I promise to always do Your will, in Jesus’name.

Bible in one year:

2 Chronicles 5, 2 Chronicles 6, 2 Chronicles 7