WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2020.THEME: THE WIND III

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE:  WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2020.

THEME: THE WIND III.

MEMORISE:

 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2

READ:  Acts 2:1-18

1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

MESSAGE 

the Holy Spirit can move massively, so massively that you would even think there is a storm. In Exodus 14:21, when Moses lifted his hand across the Red Sea, the Bible says the east wind blew all night, massively, until the Red Sea parted. Moses described it thus in Exodus 15:8:

“And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.”

Now, while the speedy move of the Holy Spirit within a man is to work miracles, the massive move of the Holy Spirit is to birth an unusual passion for the things of God such that you will bear and do anything for the sake of the gospel. When the massive wind hit the Red Sea, the water received unusual strength such that the flood stood upright as a heap. When a timid person like Peter preached to thousands of people such that three thousand people surrendered their lives to Christ, you know the wind of the Holy Spirit has moved massively.

“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

This was Peter- the formerly timid Peter, speaking boldly to the rulers of the city. Something within him- a force that was pushing him to do whatever was required for God, had strengthened him greatly. Oh, how I wish Christians of today can catch that fire! Christians today are too careful for their lives. No one wants to go on a missionary trip again, no one is willing to take the gospel to war-torn areas where it is really needed; we prefer to stay in our comfort zones and talk about Jesus from there. Many of us these days cannot preach the gospel in the face of the slightest opposition, allowing and even partaking of atrocities because we are afraid of what people will say if we oppose them. God has not given us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

REFLECTION:

Is there a limit to how far you can go for the gospel? Break that limit today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 24-27

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 12:  I AM THINE O LORD.

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

  And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

  And be closer drawn to Thee.

   Refrain:

 Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

      To the cross where Thou hast died;

    Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

        To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

  By the pow'r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

  And my will be lost in Thine.

O the pure delight of a single hour

  That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

  I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I yet may know

  Ere Thee face to face I see;

There are heights of joy that I yet may reach

  Ere I rest in peace with Thee.