OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL: TUESDAY, MAY 23RD 2017- BE FULL OF FAITH

Memorise: Be ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 1:20
Read: Acts 6:3-10
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Bible in one year: Acts 5:6, Jeremiah 34:1-16

1. According to Mark 16:17-18, the ability to demonstrate faith in God is very necessary in the ministry of signs and wonders. Hebrews 11:6 also says that without faith you cannot please God.
2. So how do we recognise someone with faith? A look at the life of someone the Bible declared was full of faith should be able to provide us some answers. Acts 6:8 says, “And Stephen, full of faith and powers, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
3. Stephen was only a deacon in the early Church. He was chosen as an usher to join others in serving food, and yet because he was full of faith, he performed great signs and wonders, even more than some apostles.
4. From the example of Stephen, it therefore means that you can be a worker in the Church and God could still use you to perform mighty signs and miracles even more than a pastor. This simply tells us that walking in the miraculous is not about titles but about faith.
5. You can be full of position or titles but empty of faith and therefore of little or no use to God in the ministry of signs and wonders.
6. Some senior pastors cannot mention just one miracle the Lord has performed through them in the last two or more years, and yet God is doing wonders through their subordinates. It is doubtful that such pastors are full of faith.
7. Are you full of faith or doubt? There is no way God will be at work among His people and His supernatural touch will not be visible for all to see.
8. Instead of building up their faith until it is full, some people choose to use everything at their disposal to secure a position or an ordination in the Body of Christ. Believing that the higher their position, the greater the anointing at their disposal. Unfortunately, they fail to realise that those who pursue position or ordination may get the title but not the power that backs it up.
9. What is important is to build up your faith. After you are saved, do not keep your faith stagnant; grow it. Feed your faith by meditating regularly on God’s word, praying in the Holy Spirit, reading sound Christian literature and texts, and by listening to good Christian music and testimonies.
10. You also need to fellowship regularly in a Bible-believing Church, so that you are constantly exposed to the truth.
11. When you are full of faith, fear will have no place to hibernate inside you.  This makes you a sure candidate for God to work with.
12. May God work with you! Do all you can to build up you faith.

Living in faith and by faith is a life every believer should hunger after. There are few points to critically examine in today’s devotional; position has nothing to do with the manifestation of the power of God; age or title is irrelevant when it comes to exhibiting great faith that will move mountains; God expects you as believer to grow in faith. With these points mentioned above, I strongly believe that the Almighty God is interested in us performing miracles, signs and wonders but the key to doing this is to be full of faith. May the Lord grant us faith beyond the physical circumstances in Jesus name. And may He bless and strengthen our Father in the Lord Pastor E.A Adeboye in Jesus name.

Key Point
Your spiritual growth is your personal responsibility, and not that of your pastor.
HYMN
1. My faith looks up to thee, 
thou Lamb of Calvary, 
Savior divine! 
Now hear me while I pray, 
take all my guilt away, 
O let me from this day 
be wholly thine! 
2. May thy rich grace impart 
strength to my fainting heart, 
my zeal inspire! 
As thou hast died for me, 
O may my love to thee 
pure, warm, and changeless be, 
a living fire! 
3. While life’s dark maze I tread, 
and griefs around me spread, 
be thou my guide; 
bid darkness turn to day, 
wipe sorrow’s tears away, 
nor let me ever stray 
from thee aside. 
4. When ends life’s transient dream, 
when death’s cold, sullen stream 
shall o’er me roll; 
blest Savior, then in love, 
fear and distrust remove; 
O bear me safe above, 
a ransomed soul! 

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