Thursday Open Heavens Devotional - Unexpected Spiritual Uplift

MEMORISE: The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Psalm 110:2

READ: Mark 9:2-10.
2.And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3.And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4.And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6.For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. 7.And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 8.And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. 9.And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10.And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

MESSAGE
Just as God can suddenly pick up a beggar from the dunghill and set him on the throne, it is also possible for Him to give a sudden spiritual promotion. One blessed morning, Elisha woke up as the farmer’s son who wandered around with Elijah as his servant; but by the evening of the same day, he had become a father of all the sons of the prophets, and had in his possession twice the anointing of his master (2nd Kings 2:9-15). How awesome! Yes, it is possible to experience a sudden spiritual promotion.

Several years ago, at the Ebute-Metta (Lagos) national headquarters of our Church, we normally held our workers’ meetings in the evening with pastors and workers sitting opposite each other. On this particular Sunday evening, just before we prayed, we decided to do some Bible study. I gave a passage of Scripture and asked everyone to give their interpretation. By the time all the pastors had given their interpretation of that scripture, they were not anywhere close to what I was expecting. Thereafter, I extended the opportunity to the workers. One young worker got up and gave an accurate interpretation of the subject matter, and I said, “Congratulations, pastor!” As soon as he heard me say that, he immediately grabbed his seat and moved over to sit with the pastors. In protest, the pastors said, “No, it was only a mistake”. “What mistake?” asked the young man, “The General Overseer has called me a pastor; what else do I need? Then I waded in saying “My son, ordination with the anointing oil will come later, but from now on, you are a pastor.
Here is another truth about promotion: whether you experience an ascent or descent in life depends on who is holding your hand. If God is holding your hand, He will take you from glory to glory, and your promotion will continually be accelerated. This was the secret of Joseph’s unprecedented promotion. Genesis 49:24 says: “But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hand of the mighty God of Jacob; (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)” But if you decide to go to the devil for promotion, you will surely end up in shame. You cannot hold God with one hand and at the same time hold the devil. If you do so, you can rest assured that you are on your own because God will simply step aside. How close are you to the Lord? He can still take you up suddenly in the area of the anointing and in other spiritual matters.

KEY POINT: Some sudden promotions are a result of a hidden period of conscientious deliberate and sustained work of excellence.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: NUMBERS 7:12-89 AND 2 CORINTHIANS 2:12-3:18.