DAILY ⓂANNA DEVOTIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2018 DANGER OF FAMILIARITY TEXT: LUKE 4:23-32 Key Verse:

DAILY ⓂANNA DEVOTIONAL

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2018

DANGER OF FAMILIARITY

TEXT: LUKE 4:23-32

Key Verse: “And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.” (Luke 4:23,24)_

Prophecy, in part, is the revelation of a future occurrence by God to His servants for the benefit of humanity. However, prophetic utterances especially about Christ by false prophets “which come to you in sheep clothing” are not of God and should never be believed. God never kept the world in the dark concerning the coming of the promised Messiah and His mission on earth. He sent a good number of prophets to give precise details of the coming of the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world”.

Jesus had preached and taught in the synagogue with unmatched eloquence and authority and performed miracles in Capernaum, which His audience wanted Him to replicate in Nazareth, His hometown. ‘Physician heal thyself’, was their cynical remark. They contemplated His acceptance as the expected Messiah. How could they? “A prophet hath no honour in his own country” (John 4:44). The people who are familiar with the prophets, messengers and teachers of the gospel do not often see them as Godsent. Miracle are not for doubters.

The miracles, signs and wonders performed by Jesus were never for impressing anybody. He would have done so before Pilate and Herod if that was His sole mandate on earth (Luke 23:8). Our preachers, evangelists and pastors should act like our Lord Jesus Christ and resist the urge to impress the crowd by performing ego-boosting, so-called wonders and miracles. Any act of the supernatural which confers honour on the minister and not on God is of the devil. Neither should a true gospel minister strive to please his hearers. Ours is to preach the unadulterated gospel and leave the rest for Christ to confirm with signs and wonders.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Playing to the gallery with signs and wonders is vain and damning.
COVER to COVER: _NUMBERS 18-20.

PONDER:
1. The disciples of Jesus were very familiar and free with Jesus, and many at times sleep and eat together. Yet the "familiarity" did not diminish the honour and faith they had for Jesus. Why?
2. There are couples who are very free and familiar to each other and yet the wife takes the word of her husband as the word of God that should be trusted and believed. The problem is not really familiarity lest the leaders deliberately stay away from their people in order to avoid familiarity.
3. Familiarity becomes a problem when you see more of human frailties in the leader more than you see the glory and the grace of God.
4. Familiarity becomes a problem when there is carnality and and evil heart of unbelief in the heart. Carnality looks up to prophet/minister for miracles and not on God who can use anybody to bless him/her.
5. In order to escape the "danger of familiarity," always pray for the minister and to God to use the minister for you, while overlooking the visible human factors in the minister.

HYMN: No Other Plea

1. My faith has found a resting-place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the Ever-living One;
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

2. Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out.

3. My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Saviour's name,
Salvation thro' His blood.

4. My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, give me the grace for others to see more of Christ in me as I become more familiar with them.
2. Lord, I promise to be praying for my pastors, accept and honour them as your messengers of miracles and blessings to me.
3. Let not carnality and evil heart of unbelief have a place in my life.
4. Pray for your pastors that more of Christ and less of human frailty will be seen in them.