Open Heaven 25 June 2018: [Monday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye
Let Your Obedience Be Complete
LET YOUR OBEDIENCE BE COMPLETE – Monday June 25th 2018
Memorise: And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2nd Corinthians 10:6
Read: 2nd Kings 5:8-14 KJV
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Bible in one year: 1st Chronicles 6-7, Acts 17:1-15, Hymnal: Sing hymn 4
Message:-
In the Body of Christ, we often talk about how Noah found grace in the sight of God, but we hardly ever mention what the Bible says about him in Genesis 6:22:

“Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
Noah was an obedient instrument in the hands of the Most High God, and God cherished him for that. To show the extent to which God cherishes obedience, Prophet Samuel in 1st Samuel 15:22 said:

“…Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Naaman’s story teaches that only complete obedience to divine instructions is rewarded. Prophet Elijah had instructed Naaman to go and wash in River Jordan seven times in order to receive healing from his leprosy. When he first heard this, he felt insulted for not being given a dignified reception, as Elisha, did not even grant him face to face audience. He also felt insulted at the simplicity of what he was asked to do and where he was asked to do it. He was instructed to wash seven times in “dirty” River Jordan. His initial response to God’s instructions is captured in 2nd Kings 5:12 as follows:

“Are not Abana and Pharpa, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.”

Thank God he had servants who persuaded him to do what the prophet had said. After his servants succeeded in persuading him, the result that followed shows that the pains of complete obedience pale in comparison to its benefits. 2nd Kings 5:14 says,

“Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto

Sing hymn 4
TRUST AND OBEY
When we walk with the Lord in
the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our
way!
While we do His good will, He
abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and
obey.


Chorus
Trust and obey, for there’s no other
Way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust
and obey.


Not a shadow can rise, not a
cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it
away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh
or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and
obey.


Not a burden we bear, not a
sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly
repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown
or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and
obey.



But we never can prove the
delights of His love
Until all on the alter we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the
Joy He bestows,
Are from them who will trust and
obey.


Then in fellowship sweet we
will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the
way;
What He says we will do, where
He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.