Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Memorise: The man
that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation
of the dead. Proverbs 21:16
Read: Ephesians 2:1-3
Knowing your spiritual standing is very important at any
point in time. But one challenge is how to judge where you are, whether you are
dead, sleeping, sitting, standing, running or flying. Who is a dead fellow? A
dead man is one that has no feelings. If your conscience is hardened, you are
spiritually dead. There are some pastors who are dead. No matter what they hear
like: stop stealing, falsifying church records, committing adultery, etc. they
will say, Amen; but when they return to their parishes, they will continue with
their evil deeds. This they do because they are dead spiritually. Ephesians
2:1-3 speaks of those who are dead in sins and trespasses. The dead are those
who sin and take pleasure in it. They enjoy living in sin which makes them no
different from unbelievers.
It is as sport to a fool
to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. Proverbs 10:23.
The pastor who verbally runs down his senior pastor and sees
nothing wrong with it, is dead. It is a dead fellow who will witch-hunt other
believers with the motive of replacing them. There is a growing congregation of
the dead in the church today. If you want to stay alive, you must avoid them
like a plague. Avoid any group in your church that promotes rebellion,
gossiping, backbiting, segregation and any other evil. The day God’s wrath will
fall on them, if you are with them, you will not be excluded.
If you have no feeling for your brother or sister, your
conscience is dead. If you sin or do wrong and you do not feel anything, you
are probably not only dead but buried in sin. If you oppress others,
particularly your brethren that you were asked to do good to, it is because
your conscience is dead or seared with a hot iron. Jesus says let the dead bury
their dead. If you are dead, it is people like yourself that will finally nail
your spiritual coffin- that is, they will ensure you never rise up again
spiritually. This means, if you are part of the congregation of the dead, in
order not to be buried by them, run back to Jesus today. Cry out to God to
change your heart. Ask for a heart of flesh and make all necessary
restitutions. Are you dead? The Lord says to you arise and He will heal your
backsliding (Jeremiah 3:22).
PRAYER POINT:
Father, in any way I have become insensitive to your pricks,
cause me to arise today.
Bible in one year: Amos 7-9
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