11/09/2015
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2015
THEME: SCHEMING: NOT ALLOWED
Memorise:
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1 Corinthians 12:11
Read: Numbers 16:8-14
8 And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi:
9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
10 And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
11 For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up:
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
Message
In Numbers 16, we read of a highly explosive rebellion that rocked God's people in the wilderness. Some leaders were not satisfied with the level of assignment God had apportioned to them. Instead of going through Moses to God to ask if there could be an expansion of their job description, they began to eye the priesthood. They wondered how God could give them so little an assignment considering their zeal to serve Him. How could some other people be chosen as the priests when they were there? At some point, they succeeded in convincing 250 popular leaders, who were princes, to favour their cause. What started like a joke had become a great revolt. In the end, the Lord Himself stepped in and delivered judgement to all concerned.
From this story, we should learn to be content with whatever God gives to us. God gives talents to every person according to their abilities. The Holy Spirit is in charge of assigning job descriptions to the children of God. 1 Corinthians 12:11 says:
"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
He is in charge of God's vineyard, and so He is the One to give you the portion you should work on. Also, He will give you the required ability and the spiritual stamina to perform the assignment. Someone may say, "I am still an ordinary altar minister, whereas by now I should have become a zonal pastor." The Holy Spirit knows why you are where you are.
You can be sure that when you need to occupy a higher office than where you are now, He will take you there. However, to move up the ladder in God's Kingdom is not by acts of the flesh but by the will of the Spirit. You are not permitted to seek higher office by scheming out your leader in order to take his place. Some people do this and succeed in replacing their leader, but they are completely outside of God's plan and out of their divine assignment. They are no longer in God's employment; they now serve their own bellies at best or the devil at worst. Any work done by such ecclesiastical rogues will never attract any reward from Heaven, because the foundation of that service is not the Holy Spirit. If they ever make it to Heaven, they will be told "You worked for yourself and not for God, so go and reward yourself."
Key Point:
Many leaders are operating in God's permissive will, outside of His perfect will. That God has not stopped you from following your inordinate ambitions does not mean He approves or supports your actions.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EXODUS 25-25 and ROMANS 11:25-12:8
AUTHOR: Pst. E. A. ADEBOYE
