Theme For Open Heavens Devotional 4 March 2020 – INDULGING THE FLESH?
MEMORY VERSE:
“But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” 1 Timothy 5:6
BIBLE READING: 2 Timothy 2:3-4 & 1 Corinthians 9:25-2
2 Timothy 2:3-4
3•. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4•. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
1 Corinthians 9:25-27
25• And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26• I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27•. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Message For Open Heavens Devotional 4 March 2020
A. FOOD and RELAXATION are good, but if excessive, can be dangerous.
1•. If FASTING for even one day has become difficult for you, then your flesh is exerting too much control over you.
2•. Even in marriage, if you cannot go one week without being intimate (Having SEX) with your spouse, then you really need to get yourself under control.
3•. Humans are actually spirit beings; The flesh is just a container that helps us operate in the physical world.
4•. MANY HOWEVER HAVE GIVEN THE CONTAINER PRIORITY OVER ITS CONTENT- THE SPIRIT.
5• The spirit is supposed to be in control of the flesh and not the other way round.
7• What happens mostly however is that, a fellow will look fresh and healthy in the physical, but spiritually, he is weak and dying.
8• The purpose of your flesh is to keep you alive, not to kill you.
9• If you let it dictate to you, it will end up killing you.
It Was Most Rewarding
B. 1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
1•. Here Apostle Paul urges us to subdue our flesh.
2•. When I first became born-again and was introduced to fasting, I thought “These people want to kill me!”
3•. But I eventually tried it and found it most rewarding.
4•. When you decide to start putting your body under control through fasting, it will be difficult at first, in fact, it may feel like you are trying to kill yourself.
5•. That is just the flesh battling for the position of authority that it has always enjoy.
6•. At that time when it seems really difficult, energize your spirit in prayers.
7• You will discover that during the prayers, your flesh will be suppressed and its voice will be silenced.
C. I leave you with The Words of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:12-13:
1•. “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient:
2• All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
3• Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them.
4•. Now THE BODY IS NOT FOR FORNICATION, BUT FOR THE LORD; AND THE LORD FOR THE BODY.”
Action Point For Open Heavens Devotional 4 March 2020
Stop indulging your flesh; rather SUBDUE IT WITH PRAYER AND WITH FASTING.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 23-25
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN: 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.
Refrain:
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.
Refrain:
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! Refrain:
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.
Refrain:
EMMANUEL=GOD WITH US!
Credit For Open Heavens Devotional 4 March 2020 – Pastor E. Adeboye Ministries