Embrace Discipline, Fulfill Destiny.
[11/24, 5:14 AM] faithemm2015: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL…
DATE: FRIDAY 24TH NOVEMBER 2023
THEME: WHEN GOD PURIFIES I
MEMORISE
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3
READ : Ezekiel 36:24-26
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
MESSAGE
When gold is found, it is in its raw state. It is undesirable and filled with impurities. Raw gold must first be purified with fire before it reaches its full potential and becomes useful. Our Bible reading for today says that after God has taken you out from the heathen, He will pass you through the process of purification.
When you met Christ, you were in your raw state. God cannot leave you in that contaminated state because you can only be useful to Him after you’ve been purified.
To purify you, He will need to introduce fire. There are two types of fire God usually uses to purify. The first one is the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Peter was one of the first people called by the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 3:13-19, but he had one little problem: he was always afraid, and the devil discovered this weakness. That is why, on the day Jesus was arrested, the devil brought three people to test Peter, knowing that he would be too afraid to identify openly with Jesus. Indeed, Peter denied Jesus three times.
The devil was happy that he had gotten Peter but thankfully, Jesus had prayed for him so he repented and found his way back to God. Now, if Peter was going to be useful to God, Jesus needed to do something about the fear contaminating his heart, so He purified him by fire. On the day of Pentecost, when the fire fell on all the disciples, Jesus was purifying them to make them useful. Immediately that fire sat on the head of Peter; it consumed the fear in him (Acts 2:1-47). The man who used to be afraid suddenly became very bold.
The contamination was removed by the fire of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghost Baptism is a refining fire that takes away impurities in the life of a believer.
If you are truly baptised – that is, after sanctification (setting oneself apart for God), then that fire will burn off all impurities in you. Note that a person may speak in tongues, but if he is not yet fully surrendered to Christ, if his heart is still after the things of this world, he cannot be purified.
Sanctification must happen first before the fellow can truly be purified by the fire of the Holy Ghost.
KEY POINT
Father, please purify me with Your fire today.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR; Romans 1-3
AUTHOR: PASTOR E . A ADEBOYE
HYMN 23: Take My Life And Let It Be
1 Take my life and let it be�consecrated, Lord, to thee.�Take my moments and my days;�let them flow in endless praise,�let them flow in endless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move�at the impulse of thy love.�Take my feet and let them be�swift and beautiful for thee,�swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing�always, only, for my King.�Take my lips and let them be�filled with messages from thee,�filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold;�not a mite would I withhold.�Take my intellect and use�every power as thou shalt choose,�every power as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;�it shall be no longer mine.�Take my heart it is thine own;�it shall be thy royal throne,�it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour�at thy feet its treasure store.�Take myself, and I will be�ever, only, all for thee,�ever, only, all for thee.
[11/24, 5:14 AM] faithemm2015: SEEDS OF DESTINY DAILY DEVOTIONAL BY DR. PASTOR PAUL ENENCHE.
THURSDAY 23 NOVEMBER, 2023.
TOPIC: EMBRACE DISCIPLINE, FULFILL DESTINY.
SCRIPTURE: _Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men._
PROVERBS 22:29.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Discipline is the fuel of diligence and diligence is the platform for eminence.
It has been established that discipline is the fuel of diligence. This means, the capacity to control oneself is what fuels the capacity to work hard in life. When you see anyone who is lazy, it is because the person is bankrupt of discipline. Anyone who is unable to do what he is meant to do when he is meant to do it lacks discipline.
One day, my wife told me, “You are a very disciplined person. What I like about you is, anything you want to do, you put your whole heart into doing it, and you do it with all your might. I would like you to pray for me to be as disciplined as you are”
You see, we have been married for almost thirty years, yet, she makes references many times to this subject because she sees me at work in the night, in the day, in town, out of town, etc. Whenever we travel out of town, I must maintain my schedule. Seeing this rigid lifestyle of discipline made her ask me to pray for her.
You see, when I was a student of medicine, I read the Bible more than I read medical books. Even now, I could go through over 100 scriptures to preach one message; not that I will quote all the hundred Scriptures in the message. I read them to gather light.
There are people who prepare for 8 hours to preach for just 15 minutes. This is a lifestyle of discipline. Discipline is the fuel of diligence and diligence is the platform for eminence.
Proverbs 22:29 says, _Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall be eminent; he must stand before kings he is not permitted to stand before ordinary men (paraphrased)._
Beloved, refuse to be lazy in life. Discipline yourself to fulfil your destiny.
_REMEMBER THIS: Discipline is the fuel of diligence and diligence is the platform for eminence._
ASSIGNMENT:
1. Embrace the lifestyle of diligence and discipline so you can fulfil destiny.
2. Make up your mind not to give room for laziness in your life.
PRAYER: Lord, I refuse to be lazy. I ask that You baptize me with the spirit and attitude of brutal work and labour so I can fulfil my destiny, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: ENEMIES OF DISTINCTION.(PART 3).
QUOTE: "Responsibility imparts caution and discipline to the life of a person." Culled from the book, WHO ARE YOU?” BY DR PAUL ENENCHE.
DAILY READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 11-13.
AMAZING FACT: Asian elephants have five toenails on the front feet and four on the back feet, while African elephants have four on the front and three on the back.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Every spell of laziness in your life is broken in Jesus’ Name.
