Perry Martins
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL…
DATE : SUNDAY 10th JANUARY 2016
THEME :
THE POWER OF THE MISSIONARY MANDATE
Memorise:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth. Acts 1:8
Read: Mark 16:15-18,
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In
my name shall they cast out devils; they shall
speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink
any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Message
The power of the missionary mandate has been
trivialized in many quarters of the Church. We need
to constantly remind ourselves of the inevitability of
this qualification. It is amazing that the letters of
the New Testament have been reduced to mere
words of counsel and not the law. We are so
scared of the phenomenon called the “law” that we
try to avoid mentioning it, not to talk of enforcing it.
The “freedom gospel” that the devil preached to our
first parents has become the order of the day in the
Church. The effect is our not paying close attention
to the inescapable instructions given to us by Jesus
Christ who is Himself, Grace Personified.
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge… Wherefore
the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do those things,
ye shall never fall:”
2nd Peter 1:5, 10
When our Lord Jesus Christ was going to be with
His Father, He gave us a mandate to reach the
world with His gospel. However, He was not
presumptuous and we should not be too. We
cannot afford to jump the gun. He said; “wait for the
promise of the Father …” (Acts 1:4). Pursuing
missionary mandate without the power of the Holy
Spirit is suicidal. This is the reason why we have
casualties among the modern day missionaries
because some of them are not spiritually equipped.
They have zeal without knowledge; the type Uzzah
had when the Ark of Covenant was in transit.
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor,
Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took
hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the
Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote
him there for his error; and there he died by the ark
of God.”
2nd Samuel 6:6-7
Presumptuous sin killed Uzzah. This is the reason
David prayed that God should deliver him from
presumptuous sin (Psalms 19:13); the type that
destroyed King Saul when he performed the
sacrifice before the arrival of the designated priest,
Samuel (1st Samuel 13:9). We need to be endued in
the Holy Spirit before we can be effective
missionaries. The irony of this is that the
missionary mandate must be kept by genuine
children of God. So, this fact leaves us without the
option of whether or not to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. I pray that as many as are thirsty for the
baptism of the Holy Spirit will be satisfied with it
today in Jesus’ name.
Action Point:
Ensure you rid yourself of all impurities that may
hinder Him from coming into your life today. The
Holy Spirit is willing to baptized you if you are
willing.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : DEUTERONOMY 1:1-2:25 and
JOB 1:13-19
AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE
Good morning how was your night?
Happy Sunday
