Open Heavens 2 June 2015: Tuesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Don't Close Your Mouth II

Topic: Don't Close Your Mouth II [Tuesday June 2, 2015]

Memorise: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. - John 15:16

Read: Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world Amen.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 5-6, Luke 2: 1-21

MESSAGE:

In addition to opening our mouth in prayer, opening our mouth as witnesses of Jesus is another obligation we must perform. Evangelistic outreach is for all children of God; not for God's ministers alone. We must all bear fruit of souls into God's Kingdom as commanded by our Lord in today's memory verse. To back us up in this obligation, our Lord Jesus Christ assures us that all power in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. It is therefore a settled matter that no power on earth or in the spiritual world can stop us from carrying out His instructions. We are therefore inexcusable if we fail to win souls. He instructed us to go and teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The Great Commission therefore involves teaching. Let us pause and think about what this assignment of teaching means.

To teach is to expound truths that will bring about change in the taught. We are faced with a two-pronged problem in the area of fulfilling this assignment today. One aspect of this problem is that the teacher who is supposed to expound the truth is often afraid of what the reaction of the student would be to a demand for change; hence, he shuts his mouth. But the Bible in 2 Timothy 4:2 says:

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

The other aspect of this problem is that the people to be taught are not comfortable with the cry for "change". They do not want to be "intimidated" by the "dos and don'ts" of their new found faith in Christ. Such people are deceiving themselves because the Bible does not say we are called into lawlessness. As a matter of fact and whether we believe it or not, a yoke of "learning and change" is attached to our calling into the faith. Jesus in Matthew 11:29a said:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;"

It is our duty as children of God to open our mouths wide to this perverted generation and teach them the counsel of God without fear or favour. I was in a church sometime last year and I heard a sister teaching on tithes. In order to make people accept the doctrine of tithing, she said they could start by giving 5% of their income and gradually increase it! What an erroneous teaching! We must not hold back the truth from those we are sent to. This is the only way our fruit can endure, and then our prayers will be answered.

Action Point: Determine to properly disciple your converts through sound teaching of the Bible from today.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

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