Open Heaven Daily Devotional For September 1, 2024: Topic – To Be The Greatest, Serve
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Open Heaven 31 August 2024 TOPIC: To Be The Greatest, Serve
MEMORISE: “But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:” – Mark 10:43 (KJV)
READ: Matthew 20:20-28 (KJV)
20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
24 And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 25-27
MESSAGE
In God’s kingdom, to become the greatest amongst any set of people, you must be the lowest of all of them. This does not sound logical to the natural man, but that is how God made it. The higher you want to go, the lower you must first go.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: – 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
The above Scripture tells us that God does not choose people that believe themselves to be the best to lead, He chooses those that are humble enough to serve others.
I studied Jesus’ ascension into heaven and realised that God raised Him seven steps high after He had gone seven steps lower (Philippians 2:9-11). Though His disciples called Him ‘Master,’ He was humble enough to wash their dirty feet. Can you wash the feet of those you are leading? When there is plenty of work to be done, can you take the lowest of all the work?
There are people who somehow get to the top without serving, but before long, they will lose their position if they refuse to serve. Some years ago, we held a camp meeting at a secondary school when the students were on holiday. We arrived at the school, and I went to check the toilets. They were an eyesore as there were faeces everywhere. I told my team how horrible the toilets were and that we had to wash them in preparation for those that would be attending the camp meeting. I intentionally chose the dirtiest of all the toilets and washed it. When the rest of the team saw me washing the toilet, they were moved to wash the other toilets. When we were building the first auditorium at Redemption City, some church members would come to the building site when they had closed from their offices to help out with the construction work as we did not have enough money to pay labourers. Every single evening, I worked with them, carrying cement and doing every other thing that needed to be done even though I was the General Overseer. This is how I have remained at the top – by serving.
ACTION POINT
Do something today in service of your colleagues and/or subordinates. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
HYMN 16 – ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
1 ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
2 O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
3 Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
4 I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Open Heavens 2024 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. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2024