Open Heaven 20 December
MEMORISE: He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: Proverbs 24:24
READ: PROVERBS 24:23-26 (KJV)
23. These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him;
25. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26. Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven here
Many times, we Pastors find ourselves in situations where we are faced with either speaking the truth or telling a lie to flatter someone who is influential or from whom we can get a lot of benefits.
At such times, we must ensure that we do not lie.
Our God has never been in support of respecting people to the extent of endorsing their wrongdoings.
It does not matter who the fellow is or how much you can gain from them, never lie to get their favour.
When God told Prophet Jeremiah that He would be sending him to nations, he knew that meant that he would be confronting some really influential people, so he responded in Jeremiah 1:6:
“Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”
And God reassured him in Jeremiah 1:7-8 thus:
“… and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”
This message is still relevant today: fear not, God is with you to deliver you.
The elders have a saying that it is not the one who we are sent to that we must fear, but the one who sent us.
Now, when God has sent you to correct an influential person, you need to do it with wisdom.
John the Baptist confronted Herod and lost his head, but Nathan confronted David and the king repented.
What is the difference between the way the two Prophets carried out their assignment?.
John the Baptist was straight and direct with Herod. The Bible says in Mark 6:18:
“For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.”
Nathan, in his own case, decided to tell the king a fictional story about someone else who did something similar to what David had done, so he got David to judge the case by himself and when David acknowledged the fellows sin, Nathan turned it around and said “Sir, that fellow is actually you”.
Thereafter, he went on to deliver the message God had sent him to deliver (2 Samuel 12:1-14).
If Nathan had come straight to tell the king that the sword would never depart from his house, that God would raise his own family members to go against him and so on, he may have lost his head too.
KEY POINT: Make sure you deliver the message that God has sent you with, but ask Him for the wisdom with which to present it.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: HEBREWS 1:1-14, HEBREWS 2:1-18, HEBREWS 3:1-19, HEBREWS 4:1-16, Hebrews 5:1-14, HEBREWS 6:1-20
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Truth and Wisdom- written by Pastor Enoch A.
Don’t forget to Follow Elanhub on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Open Heaven 20 December 2020