OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2020
THEME: THE HOLY SPIRIT
HYMN 29: WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.
- What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer.
- Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
- Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load ofcare?
Precious saviour, still our refuge,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friend despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms, He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
MEMORISE:
But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all the things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26.
BIBLE READING: Acts 1:1-8.
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
MESSAGE
The old testament, until Jesus died and rose, was the dispensation of God the father. The millennium – when Jesus Christ will return to reign for a thousand years will be the dispensation of God the son. We are however now in the dispensation of God the Holy Ghost.
So, who is the Holy Spirit? He is the third person of the Trinity (2 Corinthians 13:14). He is the comforter. John 14:16 says:
“And I will pray the father, and the he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever”.
He is the teacher (John 14:26). He is the one who reveals the future (John 16:13). He is the glorifier of Jesus (John 16:14). He is the source of divine power (Acts 1:8). You may then wonder: If He is the third person of the Trinity, what is the Trinity? Well, the Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). When we say the Holy Spirit is the comforter, we recognize that human beings can only sympathize, it is the Holy Spirit who knows how best to comfort anyone who is sorrowful. Friendship with the Holy Spirit means joy forever.
The Holy Spirit is the one who can teach you the deep secrets of God. He not only teaches well, He also brings to your remembrance whatever you have forgotten. The Christian life becomes more joyful when from time to time, the Holy Ghost tells you what is to come. When God gave Jesus the name that is above every other name, the Holy Spirit went into action to ensure that everywhere the name of Jesus is called or used in prayer by His children, miraculous results are produced. The Holy Spirit gives the power to raise the dead, to make the lame walk and to make the barren conceive. The moment you become born again, the Holy Spirit seals you as a child of God. So, whenever the devil sees God’s seal on you, he knows that you are untouchable. The fruit of the Holy Spirit also distinguishes you and helps men identify you. Indeed, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:20, by their fruits you will be able to identify the child of God.
PRAYER POINT:
You need to befriend the Holy Spirit. It is the best relationship you can ever have.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 3-4.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE.