Open Heaven 25 July
MEMORISE: “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” – (Luke 9:62)
READ: Luke 9:59-62 (KJV)
59. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven here
Backsliding is horrible. In (2 Peter 2:20-22), the Bible says it is better not to have tasted salvation than to have been saved once and then backslide. Hebrews 6:4-6 says: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
This passage describes backsliding as though the backslider were actually crucifying Jesus Christ again. In Acts 1:15-20, the Bible tells us of the sorrows and torment of Judas Iscariot. Luke 15:11-17 tells us of the depression of the prodigal son. In Psalms 51:1-19, after David had lost the joy of his salvation, he cried to God for it to be restored to him.
The devil knows what it is to be close to the Almighty God and then to be far from Him. He is aware of the sorrows of backsliding and losing contact with God; that is why his greatest desire is to lure you back to sin, but you will overcome him in the mighty name of Jesus. (1 Peter 5:8) says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Just as God is looking for people to set aflame for His kingdom, Satan is looking for people to devour (John 10:10). The fact that he is seeking, however shows that he cannot devour everybody. He shows you all the glitters of the world and uses them as bait. Don’t ever let these things entice you. The moment you get to the stage where the pleasures of this world do not matter to you anymore, he knows he has lost you. I pray for you just as Jesus prayed for Peter: the devil will not get you in the mighty name of Jesus.
KEY POINT: Backsliding is like crucifying Jesus afresh and putting Him to open shame. Don’t do it.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 40-43
Thank you for reading today’s Open Heaven – Dangers of Backsliding 2 – by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.
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Open Heaven 25th July 2020 Devotional
