Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday – A LOVER OF GIFTS?

Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday – A LOVER OF GIFTS?

Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Memorise: And he said unto them, Take heed, and behave of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Luke 12:15

Read: 2nd Kings 5:15-27 Open Heaven 11 October 2019

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.

17 And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules’ burden of earth? For thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord.

18 In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing.

19 And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.

21 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, is all well?

22 And he said, all is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.

23 And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him.

24 And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed.

25 But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.

26 And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

27 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Open Heaven 11 October 2019

Bible in one year: 1st Chronicles 26-27, Revelations 6:3-17

Hymnal: Sing hymn 3

Message: – Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday Daily Devotional

It is sad but true that some people love gifts more than their very lives. In other words, they are covetous and love to reap where they did not sow. In order not to be caught in this devilish snare, our Lord Jesus Christ warns us against covetousness in today’s memory verse. One man who loved gifts exceedingly was Elisha’s servant, Gehazi. His master rejected the gifts offered by someone who God had healed through him, because he understood the principle of “freely ye have received, freely give,” which led to say in 2nd Kings 5:16a:

“As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none.”

However, greedy Gehazi was not happy with this response, so he decided to run after the rejected gifts. He went and collected them in secret, not knowing that in the realm of the spirit, “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Luke 12:2). Imagine the shock he felt when Elisha said to Him in 2nd Kings 5:26:

“…Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?”

Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday

Dumbfounded, Gehazi could not answer these questions. You need to learn some critical lessons from this experience today, Gehazi did not know the spiritual eyes given to his master followed him as he executed his devious scheme. If Elisha’s spiritual eyes could see the things Gehazi did in secret, how much more will God’s eyes, which run to and fro the earth, see those who secretly toy with sin? Also, learn that there is a time for everything.

There is a time to receive gifts and there are times they must be rejected. Elisha asked Gehazi whether it was the right time to receive gifts. Gehazi did not consider this when he went ahead to demand and not just receive gifts from Naaman. However, this earned him God’s judgment, and he instantly became leprous. Beloved, it is vain to run after gifts that are not approved of God. Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says:

“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?”

Beware of the love for gifts because some gifts are ill-motivated and can destroy your future, like it happened to Gehazi. May the Lord spare you the agony of gifts from ill-gotten wealth in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point – Open Heaven 11 October 2019

Father, please deliver me from the snare of covetousness in Jesus Name.

That all for Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday, do consider to bookmark this site for your Open heavens daily devotionals and also if you missed yesterday Devotional click to read Open Heaven 10 October 2019 Thursday and may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob continue to keep us all. God bless you. Open Heaven 11 October 2019 Friday. Please comment and share what you have learnt, you might be a blessing to others.