Sunday Open Heavens Devotional - Total Commitment: A Must

MEMORISE: Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. John 21:3.

READ: 2 Kings 2:1-8.
1.And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2.And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. 3.And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 4.And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. 5.And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 6.And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 7.And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8.And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

MESSAGE
If you must walk with God, you must be prepared to meet the conditions He has set; one of which is total commitment. To be committed is to be completely given to a cause. It involves facing a particular direction without turning back, irrespective of the challenges that come your way. This character trait was present in Elisha. After following and serving his master, Elijah, for years, Elijah called him one day and said this to him: "Elisha, I am about to be taken home; it would be a good idea for you to go back to your family, your abandoned farming business and your old lifestyle." Elisha laughed and replied him, saying "My father, I have left all these for several years and followed you with all my heart. If I go back now, where do I start from? Where do I get the capital to start my large scale farming business again? Sir, wherever you go, I go." Nevertheless, Elijah did not stop there; he still tested him two more times.
Beloved, do you know that your pastor or leader can be used to test your commitment? He or she could cut your wages or salary, deny you certain allowances or even give you an almost impossible condition to fulfil in order to continue an assignment you have been doing, just to test your commitment. If you consider the test with a natural mindset, you will be discouraged and miss out on what God wants you to see. Sometimes, unknowingly or deliberately, your leader or pastor may even be very mean to you. Would you say because he or she is mean to you, you will abandon the assignment God has given to you? When God has an assignment for you, He can use your pastor, boss or other superiors to assign it to you, but the work is not from them; it is from God. If your pastor or leader is making it impossible for you to perform that assignment, report the matter to God and ask Him for more grace to be committed. If you compare Elisha with Peter, you will discover that the former was more committed than the latter. When there was no more action and Jesus was not around, Peter chose to return to his fishing business, and he took some people along with him. If you return to the place or condition you were called out from, how committed are you (Hebrews 11:13-16)?

ACTION POINT: As close as John the Beloved was to Jesus, when Peter decided to return to fishing, he followed. Never let any man be your yardstick for divine service except Jesus Christ.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: PSALM 9-16 AND 2 TIMOTHY 3:10-4:22.