Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
MEMORIZE: “But in a great house there are not only vessels
of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some
to dishonour” (2 Tim. 2:20).
READ: Acts 8:5-8
God can use all categories of people for His purpose. Some
may be used for honourable purposes and others for dishonourable purposes. May
the Lord use you for honourable purposes in Jesus name. There is this friend of
mine of blessed memory by name Moses. Until his conversion, he was a terror to
the villagers. Whenever he was on holiday, everyone ensured their children were
safely locked indoors for fear of being defiled by him. But after his
conversion, he began to serve God with the same intensity with which he served
the devil. If you find yourself in the same taxi cab with him, he will not let
you go until you receive Jesus Christ. If God can use Brother Moses, He can use
you. History and experience tells us the greatest potentials for the gospel lie
in the staunchest opposers of the good news, fanatical antichrists, and even
atheists. They can end up as mighty vessels in God’s hands. So do not pray that
these should die because they are persecuting you and the Kingdom of God.
Rather, ask that the One who arrested, converted and commissioned Paul will do
same to them.
2 Timothy 2:20 places the vessels God uses into different
categories; there are golden, silver, wooden and earthen vessels. In
Scriptures, one outstanding golden vessel in God’s hands was Mary. There are
certain opportunities and tasks that occur only once. Anyone so favoured to be
used for such an assignment becomes very outstanding. There is no way our Lord
Jesus Christ could have been born through a virgin more than once. So, in the
choice of which virgin to use, virgins all over the world went through some
kind of secret unofficial contest. This was a winner-takes-all situation. At
the grand finale of the competition, one winner emerged! Mary! What a golden
vessel she was! Even when you are not chosen for such a one-time opportunity,
you can still be a golden vessel. In Acts 8:5-8, we see another golden vessel.
As a deacon, Philip stood out of the crowd. He not only performed his duty in
distributing food but allowed the Lord to use him to turn the city of Samaria
to Christ. He became a reference point to someone who later became one of God’s
greatest golden vessels – Paul. The latter, an erstwhile antichrist, became so
transformed that God began to perform special miracles through him (Acts 19:11-12).
You too can become a golden vessel. However, are you prepared to pay the price?
To be a golden vessel, you must be wholly yielded and obedient to Jesus. Your
goal in life should be serve and please God with no ulterior motive at all.
Yes, you must be ready to die in the service of His Majesty. Are you ready?
ACTION POINT:
A golden vessel will risk everything he or she has just to
please the Master. Are you capable of taking the highest risk for Jesus? Pray
that you will attain the level of Gal 2:20
Bible in One year: John 7-10
Yes! To be a golden vessel, we must be wholly yielded and obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog.Yes! To be a golden vessel, we must be wholly yielded and obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanks for the blog.