OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-SUNDAY-10/01/2016-THE POWER OF THE MISSIONARY MANDATE-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
THE POWER OF THE MISSIONARY MANDATE
Memorise:
But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Read:
Mark 16:15-18,
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; in
my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 .They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover.
KJV
MESSAGE
The power of the missionary
mandate has been trivialized in many quarters of the church. We need to
constantly remind ourselves of the inevitability of this qualification. It is
amazing that the letters of the New Testament have been reduced to mere words
of counsel and not the law. We are so scared of the phenomenon called the “law”
that we try to avoid mentioning it, not to talk of enforcing it. The “freedom
gospel” that the devil preached to our first parents has become the order of
the day in the Church. The effect is our not paying close attention to the
inescapable instructions given to us by Jesus Christ who is Himself, Grace
Personified.
“And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge… wherefore the rather,
brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do
those things, ye shall never fall:”
2nd Peter 1:5, 10
When our Lord Jesus Christ was
going to be with His father, He gave us a mandate to reach the world with His
gospel. However, He was not presumptuous and we should not be too. We
cannot afford to jump the gun. He said; “wait for the promise of the Father …”
(Acts 1:4). Pursuing missionary mandate without the power of the Holy Spirit is
suicidal. This is the reason why we have casualties among the modern day
missionaries because some of them are not spiritually equipped. They have zeal
without knowledge; the type Uzzah had when the Ark of Covenant was in transit.
“And when they came to Nachon’s
threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of
it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah;
and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”
2nd Samuel 6:6-7
Presumptuous sin killed Uzzah.
This is the reason David prayed that God should deliver him from presumptuous
sin (Psalms 19:13); the type that destroyed King Saul when he performed the
sacrifice before the arrival of the designated priest, Samuel (1st
Samuel 13:9). We need to be endued in the Holy Spirit before we can be
effective missionaries. The irony of this is that the missionary mandate must
be kept by genuine children of God. So, this fact leaves us without the option
of whether or not to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I pray that as many as are
thirsty for the baptism of the Holy Spirit will be satisfied with it today in
Jesus’ name.
Action Point
Ensure you rid yourself of all impurities that may hinder Him from coming
into your life today. The Holy Spirit is willing to baptize you if you are
willing.
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