Open Heaven 24 March 2020 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Topic: Sheep or Goat?

Memorise: “Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently..” – Psalm 119:4

Read: Matthew 6:31-34 (KJV)

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Bible in One Year: Joshua 9-11

MESSAGE:
Jesus is the Shepherd of sheep, not goats. John 10:27 says:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”

The sheep is totally dependent on the shepherd while the goat is stubborn and disobedient. No matter how anointed you are, if you are disobeying or ignoring God in any way, you are behaving like a goat.

Jesus Christ said His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. Did you see any part of that passage that talked about the sheep asking questions? No. When Jesus gives an instruction, His sheep follows immediately. They trust Him and know that He will not mislead them.

Has God been telling you to reach out to certain people for so long but you are stalling? Has He been asking you to write a book but you are wondering if people will buy it? Has He been nudging you to sow something into His work but you are wondering how you will cope after sowing the seed? Obey today. It is a dangerous thing for God to stop asking or nudging you to do something, because it means He has found someone else. Act fast before He gets a replacement for you.

Many times, His instructions don’t make logical sense, but that is exactly what a miracle is – something that is logically impossible. A long time ago, God asked me to tell the Pastors in The Redeemed Christian Church of God not to contribute for feeding during the annual convention anymore; that He would use me to feed the people. I was afraid, so I ignored the instruction until He said “You are about to lose a miracle”. I quickly announced it, though my plan was to sell the two cars we owed back then to pay for the feeding. I had decided that, once the provision ran out in the middle of the Convention, I would simply announce that the programme was over, assure everyone that they had received their miracles and could go home. What little faith I had! It has been over twenty years now and I have not had to sell any car to feed the people during our programmes.

Key Point: When God instructs, His sheep obey immediately and completely.

Hymn 30: When We Walk With The Lord.

1 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

2 But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay
For the favor He shows
For the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey

3 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