Yesterday’s message
was titled “THE REALITY OF FAITH ”. Today’s message is titled “THE
QUALIFIED” as provided by Pastor E. A. Adeboye in Open Heavens Devotional
(Adeboye, 2014). In today’s message, we have been asked to memorise
2
Corinthians 3:5: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any
thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" and
read Philippians 3:5-9.
The Bible in one year for today has
been taken from Daniel 1-2 and Psalm 78:1-8 (Adeboye, 2014).
Quoted below is
today's message for our usual discussion
"Any genuine
child of God would want to be used by God for great things. God's decision to
use a person, or how far He would go in using an individual, rests on several
factors, of which self-inadequacy is prominent. We need to realise straightaway
that there is no adequacy anywhere apart from God. Many passages of scripture
attest to this. He is the one that owns power (Psalm 62:11), and power
according to scientists is the ability to do work. This has to do with
adequacy. What about wisdom? He is the Source and the Giver (Colossians 2:2-3,
James 1:5). How about strength? Isaiah 40:29-31 says that He gives strength and
might. In light of these therefore, no man ought to think of himself as adequate.
Whether it is knowledge, strength, power, wisdom, connections etc, none of
these can qualify a person as adequate before God for divine choice. As a
matter of fact, relying on your natural abilities before God amounts to pride.When God called
Moses to go for Him to set the Israelites free from the bondage of Egypt, the
reply Moses gave was: ”Who am I?” This shows a sense of inadequacy. He was
saying: ”Are you sure you are not picking the wrong person?” Beloved, until a
man empties himself of all that he is, God cannot use him. Only empty vessels
can be filled (2 Kings 4:3-4). Many of God's people are still full of
themselves or of something else apart from God's resources. This is why God is
not using them optimally. You need to take a look at yourself; maybe you are
also still full of yourself. Maybe you think you can get the job done by your
education, oratory prowess, human connections, charisma etc. This is not the
way of God. God in reply said to Moses, ”Moses you are right, you are forgotten
at the backside of the desert, you are nothing, but that is why I AM picking
you”. Beloved, if you go through scripture, you will discover that those used
of God were those who either were nothing or those who reduced themselves to
nothing. If at any time He picked anyone who seemed to be ”something”, such
persons had to empty themselves of what they were - Saul of Tarsus for instance
(Philippians 3:8). If you are chosen by God while you are nothing, all you need
is His presence. His assurance to you is this: ”My presence will be with
you”.That is all you need."
Today's prayer
point is "Father, I empty myself of all my pride and personal acclaim, fill
me up and use me for your glory."
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