Open Heavens 12 November 2016: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – God of Vengeance

Topic: God of Vengeance [Saturday 12, November 2016]

Memorise: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. – Romans 12:19

Read: Ezekiel 25:12-17 (KJV)

12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

Bible in One Year: Genesis 18:22-20:18, Psalms 102:16-28

MESSAGE:

God is against His children repaying evil to those who have done them evil. It is not in the place of any genuine child of God to seek revenge.

“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” - 1 Peter 3:9

No one can avenge like God. This is why I don’t worry myself about my enemies, I just report them to my father and I leave the rest of Him. When God fights your enemy, even you who was hurt will begin to pity them. This is because there is no one that can stand the anger of the Almighty God. Anyone you are trying to revenge, you are already playing God and the consequence is unbearable. Society may tell you to do otherwise. Reasoning may tell you to repay evil in return for the wrong done to you, but the scripture demands that you act differently. You are an ambassador of Christ, you are a peace maker, and you must do everything to prove that. In the world, people are taught to seek revenge, but the opposite is expected from children of God. We should hand over those who have hurt us to God. Moses handed over the rebels to God. Joseph handed over his elder brothers to God. Job forgave his accusers and left them to their conscience.

It is even possible that some people within your team will for no just reason antagonise all your actions and intents. They may show you so much hatred and make every move to work against the plan of God for your life. Some will harbour hatred just because the Lord is prospering you. Some may wish you bad, and go to the extent of including such wishes in their prayer points. But you must not fight for yourself; just allow them to face the great Avenger. We must be harmless and inoffensive so that we don’t give people reasons to quarrel with us. We must labour to preserve peace. The world hated Christ without a cause, yet he died for them. When they brought Him before Pontius Pilate, they could not find any blame against Him, yet they demanded that He must be crucified. This is the same Jesus who chose to love an unloving world. He died for us while we were yet sinners. He is called the judge of Israel (Micah 5:1). If He takes over your case, your enemies are in serious trouble. If He decides to advocate on your behalf, there can never be any appeal against His verdict. When He decides to be your witness, you can be sure that He will put all of them to shame. Is anybody troubling your peace in your home, office, neighbourhood, school, the Almighty God will put them where they belong in Jesus’ name. No matter what the enemy does, your prosperity, progress, provision and security is guaranteed in Him. The enemy that has lifted himself against you and all the voices that are fighting against your glorious destiny shall be truncated in Jesus name. The Lord will show up for you and take over all the battles of your life, and you can be sure that victory is yours. The most important thing is to stay on the Lord’s side.

Key Point: When the Lord is on your side, you can sleep with your two eyes closed.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.