Open Heaven [20 May 2018] From Jacob to Israel

FROM JACOB TO ISRAEL – Sunday May 20^th 2018

Memorise: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2^ndCorinthians 5:17

Read: Genesis 35:9-15 (KJV)

⁹ And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.

¹⁰ And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.

¹¹ And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

¹² And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.

¹³ And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

¹⁴ And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.

¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 15-16, 2^nd Peter 3, Hymnal: Sing hymn 12

Message:-

Jacob was the second son of Isaac. His early life projected a lifestyle and behavioural pattern that closely matched his name, which can be interpreted as supplanter, impersonator, deceiver or usurper. However, he received mercy from the Lord and had a divine encounter where God decided to change his name. In Genesis 32:28, God said to him:

Open Heaven 20 May 2018 From Jacob to Israel

“….Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel…”

The renaming of Jacob as Israel (which means “triumphant with God”) was a spiritual event that had far reaching effects on his physical life and his personality. Immediately after his identity was changed, Jacob stopped exhibiting the characteristics of his old name and began to behave in line with the meaning of his new name. The old things about Jacob passed away and all things became new for him as Israel. I pray for someone reading this devotional that every old symptom of sin, sickness, poverty, bondage and oppression shall pass away from your life today in Jesus’ Name.

Open Heaven 20 May 2018: [Sunday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye From Jacob to Israel

It is important to note that what happened to Jacob in the Old Testament is closely related to the regeneration experience seen in the New Testament. Regeneration is the change brought about by the Spirit of God, which makes a person a new creature in Christ Jesus. The salvation that Jesus brought to us is not simply to energize the old creation with new ability and power; rather, it brings about a new creature that has the divine nature of God (2^nd Peter 1:4). It also ignites a spiritual process wherein everything working against the regenerated person is thoroughly dealt with (Colossians 2:14). The practical result of this is spiritual regenerated evidenced by radical change in the nature, character, desires and motives of the transformed person. This new requires a new diet to survive, which is the word of God. That is why Matthew 4:4b says:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

 Open Heaven Daily devotional, today's open heaven, rccg open 

heaven today topic, today open heaven, open heavens 

devotional 2018

Concerning regeneration, the key element is change. God is calling all of mankind to change through the power of His word. However, there is a strong resistance of this change in every human being (Romans 8:7). This resistance comes from the mind and the body, and must be overcome before any real change can manifest;. The transformation experience requires serious effort to overcome this resistance (Romans 12:2). Whenever anyone surrenders his or her life to Jesus, God takes hold of the old lifeless creature and fashions it into a new creature that is heaven-bound, full of life and suitable for His use. Have you experienced this transformation indeed?

Key Point

The inner transformation that Jesus gives must manifest as outward change for all to see.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

Sing hymn 12

TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET

IT BE

Take my life, and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them

move

At the impulse of Thy love;

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee,

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing

Always, only, for my King;

Take my lips, and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee,

Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my sliver and my gold;

Not a mite would I withhold;

Take my intellect, and use

Every power as Thou shalt choose

Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine;

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart; it is Thine own;         

It shall be Thy royal throne,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure-store.

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only, all for Thee,

Ever, only, all for thee