OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-FRIDAY-25/03/2016-THE ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
Memorise
My little children, these things write
I unto you that ye sin not, and if any
Man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. 1st John 2:1
Read
Hebrew 12:22-26,
22 But
ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And
to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him
that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, yet once more I
shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
KJV
MESSAGE
At the point of the counsel in
our memory verse for today, John had gained enough experience as an elder and a
counsellor, that he could counsel new converts that one sin does not have to
lead to another, and a feeling of guilt should actually birth the fruit of repentance
rather than a surrender to a life of sin and perpetual guilt. There are many
people who in times of trials and weaknesses commit sin against God, like the
wife of job who advise her husband to curse God. The words of John warn all
Christians against the possibility of allowing sin become habitual in our
relationship with God.
The fact that you sinned
yesterday does not mean that you have been completely rejected by God. In fact,
that you are still alive means that Jesus is currently pleading your case with
God, to give you a chance to change your ways as He sets you up with messages
that will speak to your conscience and save you from imminent destruction. I
pray that you will change your ways immediately, because you never can tell
when God will run out of patience waiting for you to change (1st
Samuel 16:1)
The Holy Spirit has been given
to us to inspire us into all truth. Jesus is our Advocate who stands between us
and the Father, and speaks in our favour in the heavenly realm, so that we can
receive help with our problems of sin. He is the One who pleads our case every
night and day, and blots out the handwritings of the devil our lives. He works
in close communion with the Father so that there is no barrier when we want to
access the throne of grace. Jesus, as the Advocate, is the One who atones for
our sins and reconciles us back to the Father through His precious blood that
was shed on the Cross of Calvary. Through the role of Jesus as our advocate, we
can come back to the Father and experience the peace we lost through sin.
The reassurance
of our salvation comes from knowing that we have an Advocate in Heaven, no by
affirming that we have no sin. Our relationship with God is assured as we keep
His commandments daily and remain friends with Jesus our Advocate. The truth is
that our righteousness is as a filthy rag to the Father. Our perfection is of
Jesus, there is therefore the need to rely meekly upon His grace to make us
perfect by His love. The self-made religious traditions of men and our works
alone cannot guarantee our perfection. You are a child of God basically because
you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and you have given your life
in obedience to the instructions of God and not the self-imposed dictates of
man.
Prayer point
Father, please let me be justified through your grace.
Bible in one year
Judges 12-14, Job 42:1-9
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