16/02/2024
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 17TH 2024
THEME: DONT TOUCH HIS GLORY
MEMORISE: Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:2
READ: Matthew 6:1-4
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
3 They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
MESSAGE
I have seen people who help others and at every opportunity, refer to the time they helped them. That is a very terrible thing to do, and it is not how God taught us to do good. Jesus said in Matthew 6:3 that when you give alms, you must not let anyone else know about it. In Matthew 5:16, He said that as your light shines and people see your good works, they must glorify God. In other words, you are not to seek any glory for yourself as a result of the good works that you do; all the glory must be to God and God alone.
When you help someone, and you go back to tell the fellow, "Remember how I helped you that other time," you are indirectly trying to make them your prisoner. Don't ever make anyone feel like they owe you because you helped them at one time or the other. When you do good, do it unto God. Don't become a pain in
somebody's neck or a source of remembering their shame just because you once helped them. You must note that it is God who ordained for you to perform that good deed for that fellow. He already planned on doing it, you were only privileged to be the one He chose to use. Ephesians 2:10 says:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
If God created you for good works and ordained that you walk in them, and you turn around to announce the good works as your own doing, proclaiming yourself as the helper of someone else's destiny, what you are doing is trying to take God's glory, and if you know anything about God at all, you will know that He does not share His glory with any man. Isaiah 42:8 says:
I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Don’t try to contend with God over the good things He is doing in the lives of others through you. You are merely His vessel and all the glory must Go to Him. This way, you will receive rewards for the good that you have done rather than face consequences for trying to take His glory.
KEY POINT
Don't become a pain in someone's neck just because God used you to help him or her at one time or the other.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 25-26
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME
1 All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2 Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
3 Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
4 Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
5 Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all!
6 Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
7 Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
8 Let every tribe and every tongue
before Him prostrate fall,
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
