Tuesday 8 January 2013

RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Tuesday 8 January 2013: BE THANKFUL. By Pastor E. A. Adeboye


BE THANKFUL

Memorize: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, land not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Read: 2 Chronicles 31: 1 -2

Bible in one year: Proverbs 25- 28

Key points:  You are a tank that must be full of thanks: what are you full of?

People commonly say/ "first things first". One of the things that must first come out of your mouth every day is thanksgiving to God. When your thanks precede all other activities of the day that day will most likely end up with you singing praises. How thankful are you?
Psalm 100:4 says you should be thankful to God. In other words, you should be full of thanks. This paints a picture of you as a vessel or container capable of retaining some substance.-This view tallies with what Paul says of us in 2 Corinthians 4:7, where by the Holy Spirit, he wrote that we are earthen vessels which carry or contain treasures. This means that as believers, it is not enough to be vessels but we must make sure our contents are always valuable and most precious. Are you God's jar or clay pot? What are you carrying?
One important fact is that the nature of a substance determines the type of vessel it is preserved in or served with. For instance, if you want to store or serve water you will not use paper cups or cartons that can easily be destroyed by water. Similarly, when you are dealing with more volatile substances like cooking gas, or fuel (motor gas), you will carefully select strong gas cylinders and reinforced containers that can withstand the pressure. Thanksgiving as a substance is way too precious to God to be stored in or channelled through physical vessels, hence God chose you to bear thanks. In addition to this, the nature of the vessel used for serving a particular substance such as water, wine, etc. will largely be influenced by the calibre of persons being served. If you want to drink water at home, you may not mind using plastic cups. But if you have a special guest: - such as the MO/CEO of your organization, or the pastor in charge of your province, you will fetch out your best cups that have been on reserve. And if it is the president, you may go out to buy golden cups. You are the cup being used to serve the King of kings. As a cup, how could you be gold? Be always full of thanks. Never let your heart and lips lack it.

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