Open Heaven 10 June 2023: Honour the Anointed
MEMORISE: “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.” – (1 Timothy 5:17)
BIBLE READING: 2 Kings 4:8-17
8 One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a rich and influential woman lived, who insisted on his eating a meal. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal.
9 And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by continually.
10 Let us make a small chamber on the [housetop] and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then whenever he comes to us, he can go [up the outside stairs and rest] here.
11 One day he came and turned into the chamber and lay there.
12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him.
13 And he said to Gehazi, Say now to her, You have been most painstakingly and reverently concerned for us; what is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people [they are sufficient].
14 Later Elisha said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, She has no child and her husband is old.
15 He said, Call her. [Gehazi] called her, and she stood in the doorway.
16 Elisha said, At this season when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.
17 But the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the following year, as Elisha had said to her.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
In (2 Kings 1:9-15), Elijah was sitting on a mountain top when a king sent 50 armed soldiers and a captain to arrest him. Elijah looked defenceless physically but when they tried to arrest him, he called fire down from heaven to roast all of them. When the king sent another 50 soldiers, they got roasted too.
Thereafter, he sent another set of 50 soldiers and their captain. When they got to the mountain where Elijah was and saw the ashes of the two sets of soldiers that had been consumed by fire, the Bible says the captain fell on his knees and begged the man of God to spare him as he was only doing his job. The angel of God then spoke to Elijah and said, “You can go with him”. What made his case different? Honour. That is why he was able to succeed at what got the previous captains and soldiers roasted.
It doesn’t matter who you are; if you despise an anointed man or woman of God, if you mock him or her, you could pay dearly for it. In (2 Kings 2:23-24), you see what happened when some children started mocking Elisha; they ended up being eaten by bears. The anointing on a man or woman of God can work dangerously against anyone who despises him or her. Any true man or woman of God will tell you that as the anointing increases, he or she speaks less because whatever he or she says when angry can kill.
There was a man who decided to take over the Parish of The Redeemed Christian Church of God he was pastoring. When I heard the news I simply said, “I leave him to God”. The man held a crusade and on his way home, he got killed by armed robbers. I had thought I was careful enough with what I said. Since then, I learned to not take offence easily and if at all I am offended, I keep my mouth shut. It is better to provoke a blessing from the anointed than a curse. The easiest way to provoke a man or woman of God to bless you is to honour him or her.
When you honour the anointed, the anointing will work in your favour. The king of Israel honoured Elisha by calling him Father. In turn, Elisha used his anointing to save him and his army when their enemies laid ambush for them. God can solve all your problems in an instant if you would just honour a man or woman of God.
REFLECTION: When next you see an anointed person, make sure you do something that just shows the person that you honour him or her.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 28-33
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Honour the Anointed – written by Pastor Enoch Adeboye
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Open Heaven 10 June 2023
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