OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: SUNDAY 26TH DECEMBER 2021.

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

 

DATE:  SUNDAY 26TH DECEMBER 2021.

 

THEME:  THE HOLY SPIRIT I.

 

MEMORISE:

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. 

2 Kings 2:24

READ:  2 Kings 1:7-15.

7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?

8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.

10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.

12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.

15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

MESSAGE:

I love the Holy Spirit so much. We are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit so it will be good for everyone to learn about Him. Who is the Holy Spirit? Amongst many others, there are two ways in which the Holy Spirit shows Himself to mankind: one is as wind and the other is as fire. When He comes as a wind, you can hear and feel it, but every time He is visible to the human eye, He is always seen in the form of fire. On the day of Pentecost, at the upper room, He was seen as tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). When God spoke to Elijah, it was just after the fire (1 Kings 19:11-12). After the burning bush, Moses saw fire. To get to know the Holy Spirit more, we need to look at the characteristics of fire.

Fire, if not controlled, can destroy. When a man carries the Holy Spirit, he has to always put that fire in check because if not, it can destroy. In 2 Kings 2:23-24, when Elisha did not yet know how powerful the fire inside him was, some children were mocking him and he cursed them. Out of nowhere, two she-bears came out and killed forty-two of them.

Many years ago, I went on a retreat to recharge my spiritual battery. On my way back home, I decided to stop by to see a friend of mine. When I got to his house, his wife was so excited that she rushed and hugged me; as she touched me, the fire hit her and she fell. Then the husband came too and before I could say anything, he rushed to hug me and fell too.

If you carry the Holy Spirit, you have to learn how to control the fire so that it does not put you in trouble. 

On the other hand, once in a while, someone who carries the Holy Spirit and knows how to control it can decide to leave the fire without control when he is angry. He does not have to say a word, he can just ignore controlling the fire and the result is always terrible. That is why it is dangerous to make someone who carries the Holy Spirit angry. If you carry the Holy Spirit, you need to really work on yourself not to get angry easily. What you carry is fire and if you don’t put it in check, it can destroy even your loved ones. The reason the Lord has not put His fire in many people is that they would cause havoc. If they have it. If you want the fire, work on your temper first.

KEY POINT:

The fire of the Holy Spirit can be dangerous if not controlled.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 John.

 

 AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

 

 HYMN 26:  TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE.

1 To God be the glory, great things He hath done,

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life our redemption to win,

And opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Refrain:

  Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

  Let the earth hear His voice;

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

  Let the people rejoice;

Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

  And give Him the glory; great things He hath done.

2 Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

3 Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;

But purer, and higher, and greater will be

Our wonder, our transport when Jesus we see.