Open Heaven 6 June
MEMORISE: “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” – (1 John 5:18)
READ: Judges 16:16-21 (KJV)
16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, 17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. 19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.
21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
There is an adage in my mother tongue that says “When God has revealed your enemies to you; they can no longer kill you”. The belief is that once you identify your enemies you would be able to relate with them with caution such that there would be no loopholes through which they can harm you.
Today, many people become victims of the plots of their enemies because they cannot identify them. David knew this and that was why he did not leave any stone unturned to identify his enemies throughout his lifetime.
1 Kings 2:5-6 says:
Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Ismael, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace:
Beyond identifying his enemies however, David was always quick to go to God in prayer for deliverance. It is wisdom to hand over someone you cannot handle to the one who can deal with them on your behalf.
There can be internal and external enemies; the former are more dangerous than the latter. This is because if the internal enemy does not open the door to the external one, you cannot get hurt. As we see in our Bible reading for today, Samson never identified his internal enemy – lust, which led him to succumb to his external enemy – Delilah.
Sin is the greatest enemy of man and resides in everyone yet to be born again. Apostle Paul described this in Roman 7:18,23. He however did not just lament about it, he dealt with it. Sin is the enemy within; it must be identified and dealt with decisively.
How do we deal with this dangerous enemy? The only way to deal with sin is to confess it, forsake it and ask Jesus to use His blood to cleanse you from it after accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour. If you do, you will be forgiven and made free from all the consequences of sin.
ACTION POINT: Prayerfully identify your enemies – both internal and external. Ask God to deal with them on your behalf.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 1-3
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Identify Your Enemies (1) – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 6 June 2021
