OPEN HEAVEN 19 September 2023: The Most High 4

Open Heaven 19 September 2023: The Most High 4

MEMORISE: “Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” – 1 Samuel 2:30 (KJV)

BIBLE READING: Isaiah 38:1-8 (KJV)

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

²Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord,

³And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

⁴Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

⁵Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

⁶And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.

⁷And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken;

⁸Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here

Today, I want to introduce you to the other side of the Most High. You already know from previous discussions that He can overrule anybody, but did you know that He can also overrule Himself? In Isaiah 38:1-8, the Most High sent His Prophet to King Hezekiah to tell him that he was about to die. Hezekiah prayed to God to give him some more time on earth, and the Most High granted him 15 more years. The Prophet must have wondered, “But Lord, forever O Lord, Your word is settled” (Psalm 119:89), and God must have responded, “I am the One who said it. I am the One reversing it”. That is an example of God overruling Himself to answer a man’s prayers. He can also overrule Himself to punish a man. When you read (1 Samuel 2:30), you see Him overruling Himself to punish Eli. This is where we need to be very careful.

In (1 Samuel 9:15-17), He chose Saul, who was the least in the least of the tribes in Israel, to be king. However, Saul became arrogant and God decided to reject him. At the end of the day, God sent a tormenting spirit to him and then made sure that he and his sons died on the same day. I am sure that if Saul knew that he would end up that way, he would never have disobeyed God.

The Most High is a wonderful friend to have. When He is on your side, He can overrule anybody or anything that is against you, but He is a very dangerous enemy. If He was once your friend and becomes your enemy, you are in trouble. This is why I want to appeal to you again to surrender your life to Him. The Most High is not someone you toy with. He is not someone you can cheat or deceive, He knows all things. He knows those who pretend to belong to Him but are still doing the will of the devil. Before He changes His mind, I beg you to surrender to Him and let Him be your friend for life. If you claim that He is your Lord, serve Him in total surrender. Serve Him with all your heart and in sincerity. Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and the result will be beautiful. If however, you think you can play games with Him, He will show you that He is a Consuming Fire.

KEY POINT: If you are wise, you would never want to be in the bad books of the Most High; you would live holy.