Open Heaven 8th December 2020 Daily Devotional – Greatness in Influence MEMORISE:
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:” – ( Philippians 2:9) NIV
READ: Philippians 2:9-11 (KJV)
9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name;
10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Open Heaven 8th December 2020 Daily Devotional
MESSAGE: When we talk about greatness, we are talking about influence. You cannot call a man great if he has all the money in the world but nobody likes or obeys him. My mother used to pray for me thus: “You will call one person and many people will respond”. She did not need to literally say that I would be great even though that is what the prayer meant; all she had to say was that I would be a man of influence and the greatness was sure. When the Bible was talking about the great woman of Shunem, it records that when the Prophet asked if she would want a recommendation to the king or the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, she replied that she did not need assistance in that regard (2 Kings 4:13). She was a woman of influence.
Since greatness is influence, then I’m sure you know that the one who is greater than the greatest is the Most Influential One. So, how great is our God? According to Philippians 2:9-11, our God has influence in heaven, influence on earth and influence underneath the earth. He also has influence over the wind and the sea. Mark 4:41 says the wind and the sea obey Him. He has influence over fire; He can turn the fiery furnace to an air-conditioned room.
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” – Proverbs 21:1
The above passage says that God is so influential that He has complete control over the most influential people in the world. There is no area or person over whom our God does not have influence – none!
Now, when God wants to make someone great, what He does is to give the fellow some of His influence. We see that very well in the case of Jesus Christ. After Jesus had paid the price for the redemption of man, God’s reward to Him was influence. This tells us one thing: the way to true greatness is to please God. I can confidently say by God’s grace that I am a great man because I strive to please Him every day of my life. Do you want to be great? Surrender all to Jesus and He will endow you with His glory (John 17:20-22).
KEY POINT:
Seek true greatness.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Romans 8-10
HYMN 12 – I AM THINE O LORD
1. I am Thine O Lord
I have heard Thy voice
And it told Thy love to me
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
CHORUS:
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord
By the pow’r of grace divine
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope
And my will be lost in Thine.
3. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend.
4. There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
Open Heaven for 8th December 2020 Message 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