OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL by Pastor E.A Adeboye (DATE: WEDNESDAY 17TH AUGUST 2016) THEME: DESIRE ACCELERATED PROMOTION?

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Memorise:
Seeth thou a man diligent in his
business? he shall stand before
kings; he shall not stand before
mean men. Proverbs 22:29

Read: 2 Kings 2:9-15
9 And it came to pass, when they
were gone over, that Elijah said
unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do
for thee, before I be taken away
from thee. And Elisha said, I pray
thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked
a hard thing: nevertheless, if
thou see me when I am taken
from thee, it shall be so unto
thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they
still went on, and talked, that,
behold, there appeared a chariot
of fire, and horses of fire, and
parted them both asunder; and
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he
cried, My father, my father, the
chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof. And he saw
him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent
them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of
Elijah that fell from him, and went
back, and stood by the bank of
Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the
prophets which were to view at
Jericho saw him, they said, The
spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.
And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground
before him.

MESSAGE
Some people wrongly believe
that God will promote them
irrespective of their attitude in life. God is not a God of mediocrity, laziness or indolence.

God is interested in promoting those who make good effort in their endeavours. Joseph was not just promoted in the house of Portiphar, his master saw a mark of excellence and diligence in him before he was put in charge of everything. Those who think God will favour them
despite being lazy, dormant, inactive and lethargic are only
wasting their time. There are people who have privileges but refuse to use them. Joseph utilized the privilege he had in his master’s house and he was in charge. He also utilized the privilege he had in the prison and he was put in charge.

This attitude of hard work and
diligence continued with him until space was made for him at the top.

There are many people who have
remained in the same spot for a
long time because they have refused to engage their God given potentials. They want God to provide food for them and cook it and also put it in their mouths.

You must be able to strike the iron while it is red hot. Maximizing the opportunities given to you by God can change the story of your life and attract uncommon promotion to you.

If one knows how to work efficiently, he will have no problem getting to the top. He will be able to provide for himself and his family. Industrious people will always rule over those that are lazy.

What were the other sons of the prophet doing when Elisha was following Elijah? They were making mockery of Elisha, reminding him
that his master will soon be
taken away. Even though all of
them were sons of the prophet
they did not see Elijah as their
own master. They told Elisha that ‘his master’ will soon be taken
away.

The anointing you do not respect will never work for you. The office you do not respect can never get to you. They were all there viewing from afar. They refused to step out of their comfort zone. Complacency had taken over their hearts.

Elisha followed his master from Gilgal to Bethel and from Bethel to
Jericho and from Jericho to Jordan but the others just viewed from afar.
Are you like one of the 50 sons of the prophet? When you see your
leader pursuing a vision, you just
stay and watch from afar? Are you one of those who discourage others from putting their best into what their superiors are doing? Are you one of those who specialize in pulling down others because their promotion is a threat to you?

You have to have a rethink of
heart if you don't want to remain
in the valley of life. God is interested in blessing you and promoting you but you have to convince Him that you desire that promotion.

If you are hardworking, there is
no demon that can stop your
progress in life, but God will never bless the lazy. You must be up and doing. You should be diligent in all your duties. It is takes diligence to get to the top and the same diligence is required to sustain your place at the top. You must challenge yourself to rise above every
limitation and barrier and work
your way to the very top through
hard work.

Key Point:
It is the soul of the diligent that will eventually be made fat.

Bible IN ONE YEAR:
Isaiah 30:18-33:24, Psalm 36

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE