OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: SATURDAY OCTOBER 21ST 2023 TOPIC: YOU MUST GROW SPIRITUALLY 3

 

MEMORISE:

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." - (Matthew 10:8)

READ: Mark 16:15-18 (KJV)

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

MESSAGE:

As a child matures, he or she would get to the point when the parents can hand over some of their duties to him or her. In the same vein, as we mature in Christ, we are to start doing the works of Christ. That is why Jesus said in John 14:12 that we are to do the works that He did and indeed, greater works.

Jesus was a teacher of the word. Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 5:12: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat."

There comes a time in the life of a Christian when he or she ought to have started teaching others the gospel of Christ. Many believers don't get to this level because they only read their Bibles rather than study deeply. When you read, you read to be informed, but when you study, you study to be transformed. It is after you are transformed by the word that you begin to long to see that same transformation in others, and that longing pushes you to start teaching it. There are those who have memorised the longest chapter in the Bible, but they cannot teach the simple doctrines of faith because the word hasn't transformed them. Don't just read the Bible, study it. When you experience the transforming power of the word, you will be eager to start teaching it too.

Another work that Jesus did which we are also expected to do, is the working of miracles. Miracles are not the exclusive reserve of Pastors only; they are for all Christians. Jesus said in Mark 16:17, "These signs shall follow them that believe". As long as you are a child of God, when someone is sick around you, you are to lay hands on them so that they can recover. Many Christians don't do this because while they have been in the faith for long, they have not been deliberate about their spiritual growth. Such people don't spend quality time in God's presence, praying, studying His word and seeking His anointing.

You must be deliberate about your spiritual growth because our Lord Jesus Christ expects you to grow in Him and perform greater works than He did during His earthly ministry.

KEY POINT:

Jesus expects you to do the works He did, and greater works indeed.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: LUKE 1-2

AUTHOR PASTOR E A ADEBOYE 

HYMNAL: 30 - WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD

1. When we walk with the Lord,

In the light of His word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

REFRAIN: 

Trust and obey!

For there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey. 

2. But we never can prove

The delights of His love,

Until all on the altar we lay,

For the favour He shows,

And the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

3. Then in fellowship sweet

We will sit at His feet,

Or we'll walk by His side in the way,

What He says we will do,

Where He sends we will go,

Never fear, only trust and obey.