October 15, 2020 Open Heaven Devotional : Topic – THEME: THE COMMANDOS (1).
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OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
DATE: THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER, 2020.
THEME: THE COMMANDOS (1).
MEMORIZE:
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Timothy 2:4
BIBLE READING:
2 SAMUEL 23:8-17
8. These be the names of the might men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
9. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
10. He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victor that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.
11. And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of round full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.
12. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.
13. And three ofthe thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
14. And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15. And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
16. And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.
17. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
MESSAGE:
Sometime ago in the American Army, a battalion was dropped behind enemy lines.
Initially, it was believed that the enemies were not aware, however the enemies eventually surrounded the battalion.
Once it became clear that the battalion would be defeated, the leader of the group phoned their headquarters for support saying We are totally surrounded and outnumbered at least 100 to 1; send the Marines.
Legend has it that the phrase send the marines was derived from this event.
At that time, only three Marines were available for the assignment and they were all sent.
They worked all night and created a path for the battalion to escape.
While the battalion was moving, they saw thousands of dead enemies. The three commandos had killed them in just one night.
There are ordinary Christian soldiers and there are Christian commandos.
As for me, l have determined not to be an ordinary soldier for Christ, I want to be a commando. What about you?.
Commandos go through the most rigorous qualification training.
That is why a commando for Christ can weather any storm. He is unshakable.
Job was a commando. No wonder he stood strong and even came out stronger in the face of adversity.
The true strength of a boxer is measured by the opponent he/she faces.
Likewise, the strength of a true Christian soldier is known by the kind of opponents he/she has brought down.
If an ordinary insult is enough to bring you down, then you are not yet ready to be a member of this select group in the army of Christ.
If you are still finding good excuses to commit sin, you are obviously not yet ready for the training, talk less of becoming a commando.
If you would be used by God, you must go through the training.
Just as no one can join the army without being fit, God cannot use an untrained person.
If you would be a commando for God, you must go through the most rigorous training.
Surrender all and make yourself available today. Stay on the winning side.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, I surrender all to You. Please help me to trust You even more as You train me to become a commando for You, in the mighty name of Jesus.
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE.
BIBLE READING IN ONE YEAR:
MATTHEW 9:1-38, MATTHEW 10:1-42
HYMN 2: ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER.
1. All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
CHORUS:
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3. All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
4. All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame;
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!