OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL DATE: TUESDAY 9th JUNE 2015.........

THEME: A WATCHMAN FOR GOD 1
MEMORISE: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19
READ: EZEKIEL 33:7-11
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith
the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
MESSAGE
God called Prophet Ezekiel and set him as a watchman over the house of Israel. As a watchman for God, he was to hear from Him and warn the people concerning whatsoever God told him. Just like Ezekiel, believers in these end-times, particularly ministers of the Gospel, are set as watchmen to warn the world of the impending judgment of God. One of the most important responsibilities of a watchman for God is that he or she must of necessity hear from God ( Ezekiel 33:7 ). You must hear from God in order to warn on His behalf those who are perishing. You cannot warn them using your own wisdom; rather, you must tell them what God is saying to them. How do you hear from God as a watchman? The simplest way to hear from God is through the revealed of truth, which is the Holy Bible. This holds true only for those who still consider the Bible as infallible and having eternal truths for all generations. As a watchman, you must therefore follow the admonition of 2 Timothy 2:15
'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.'
Another responsibility of a watchman for God is to maintain an intimate relationship with the One who commissioned you by remaining true to your message, because, you cannot give what you don't have. Paul emphasised the need to remain true to our message in Romans 2:21
' Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?'
In Ezekiel 33:8, the Almighty God said His appointed watchman is held accountable for every souls that perishes if the watchman fails to sound the note of warning at the appropriate time. This is one aspect of the responsibility of a watchman, where 21st century preachers need to be careful. We need to be careful not to be negligent in our responsibility to warn evildoers without minding whose ox is gored. Beware of the fact that some pastors and teachers of the word may be condemned to the lake of fire on the last day for failure to warn people that God has set them over against sinful habits that have become part of popular culture. We are living witness to the tolerance and consideration the church is showing towards issues like homosexuality, which brought fire upon Sodom and Gomorah in the time of old. I pray that Christians, especially preachers of the word will not go to hell because of failure their to warn people against sin.
ACTION POINT:
Stand your ground in whatever sphere you find yourself to warn people against a life of sin.'
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 KINGS 15:25-17 and LUKE 5:17-39
AUTHOR: Pst E. A. ADEBOYE.