Theme For Open Heavens Devotional 3 June 2019 – HE QUALIFIES HIS CHOSEN VESSELS.
MEMORY VERSE:
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
BIBLE READING: Isaiah 6:1-8
1.In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also The LORD sitting upon A Throne, High and Lifted Up, and His Train filled The Temple.
2. Above it stood The Seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain He covered His Face, and with twain He covered His Feet, and with twain He did fly.
3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is The LORD of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His Glory.
4. And the posts of the door moved at the Voice of Him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen The King, The LORD of Hosts.
6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off The Altar:
7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8. Also I heard the Voice of The Lord, saying, WHOM SHALL I SEND, AND WHO WILL GO FOR US? THEN SAID I, HERE AM I; SEND ME.
MESSAGE:
A. A qualification is an official requirement that makes a person eligible for an entitlement or position.
1. It can take the form of a condition that must be fulfilled before a person is considered suitable for a privileged position,
2. Or a quality or accomplishment that makes a person acceptable for a particular job or activity.
3. Basically, a qualification is a show of skill, intelligence, knowledge, experience, competence, talent and special abilities.
4. These are obviously required in the appointment of anyone who will take up professional duties and assignments in the fields of Medicine, Banking and Finance, Security, Law, Science and Technology etc.
5. Well, I can confidently tell you that a high level of competence is also required for Spiritual Appointment, because
6. 1 Timothy 3:6 says a man of God should not be a novice.
7. 2 Timothy 2:15 says further that ministers of God as confident workers in his vineyard, having the ability to correctly dissect the word of truth.
B. However, all the skills, intelligence, talents and special abilities in this world are grossly inadequate to qualify anyone for Divine services.
1. Mankind is naturally disqualified from Divine Service because of our corrupt human nature that rebels against God’s Commandments.
2. Romans 8:7-8 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
3. And also because the heart of the natural man is highly deceitful and desperately wicked.
4. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
5. For these reasons, the qualification of any man of God is a function of God’s Grace.
6. This was demonstrated in the life of Paul, who was qualified and made competent for Divine Service by Divine Authority, irrespective of his past life.
7. Galatians 1:13-15 “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted The Chruch of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
8. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His Grace,
9. He testified to the grace of God upon his life in this regard, saying in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6a
10. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of The New Testament;”
C. This passage tells us that we do not qualify or possess sufficient abilities to merit God’s call.
1. Rather, our ability, competence and sufficiency are from God.
2. By His Mercy and Favor, we are Chozen, Qualifies and made sufficient as ministers of the new covenant in Jesus Christ.
3. God always qualifies His servants, not by any written code but by The Power of The Holy Spirit.
4. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 explains that God’s appointed ministers are usually not considered wise by human standard.
5. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
6. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
7. And more often than not, they are usually not influential, powerful or of noble birth.
8. God deliberately chooses the foolish, weak and insignificant things of this world to confound the wise, strong and influential ones, so that no one can boast of anything in His Presence.
9. There is a common saying THAT GOD DOES NOT CALL THE QUALIFIED, HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED.
10. This is so true!
PRAYER POINT:
Father, Thank You for qualifying me for the task for which You have called me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 21-22
Jeremiah 48:40-49:7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.
2.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.
3.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.
4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5. 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.
6. 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.
EMMANUEL=GOD WITH US!
Credit – Pastor E. Adeboye