Open Heaven 24 June 2025: Fear God Alone 1
MEMORISE: Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do
that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
READ: Acts 12:1-11
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the
days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of
soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two
soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote
Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto
him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but
thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto
the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one
street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his
angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of
the Jews.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
The Bible says clearly in today’s memory verse that if you do the right things, you should not be afraid
of the government or their agencies.
For instance, when a driver becomes afraid on seeing a traffic official, it is most likely that he or she
has done something critical or committed a traffic offence. If you fidget when you learn that tax officials
are coming to meet you, it probably means that you have been robbing the government, and Jesus
said in Matthew 22:21 that you should give to Ceasar (the government) what belongs to Ceasar.
Rather than being afraid, why not just do the right thing? Stay in the right and do good so that you will
never be afraid of government officials.
In certain regions, some people are afraid of government officials, not because they are guilty of any
wrongdoing, but because of racism or oppression. If a government official decides to use his or her
authority to terrorise you, don’t be afraid of such a person. Rather, take the matter to God, and He will
fight for you. You must, however, have built a culture of depending on God before trouble comes.
Many years ago, I heard that the military government that was ruling my country at the time was
planning to arrest me because the head of the government was told by his spiritualists that my prayers
were hindering their selfcentred agenda for the country.
At first, I was afraid, but that night, I handed the matter over to God, and in less than one week, the
government official who wanted to kill me was dead. If you fear God and always do the right things, He
will fight for you.
In Daniel 3:16, the three Hebrew boys defied the evil order of the king, and God protected them from
his wrath. God protected them because they chose to fear Him and not man.
When Herod began to terrorise the church, killing James and imprisoning Peter, the Christians began
to pray without ceasing.
Their prayers worked great wonders; Peter was freed miraculously on the eve of the day he was to be
executed, and Herod was later eaten by worms (Acts 12:1-23).
Beloved, please stay away from anything that will put you in a position of being afraid of the
government. However, if you have not done anything wrong and a government official decides to
terrorise you for whatever reason, simply hand him or her over to God, and He will surely protect you.
KEY POINT:
As long as you fear God and keep doing the right things, you don’t have to fear any other person,
organisation, or government.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Psalms 107-111
Open Heaven 24 June 2025
