Breath of Power - Week 03/04

Week 3: January 12 - 18, 2004

LIFE TO THE STONES

Key Passage: Matthew 3: 7 - 10

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

God is sovereign and omnipotent. In our devotion and service to Him, He demands that we serve Him humbly and faithfully. We must not fall into the error of thinking we are indispensable, or be haughty about our gifting or calling. Whatever we are is what He made us, and whatever we achieve is by His grace. He can reject us if we become conceited and unfruitful, and He can raise people we do not expect to take our place.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the religious elites of Israel in the days of John the Baptist. They were prideful and self-righteous hypocrites who believed that because of their holy heritage as descendants of Abraham, they had the exclusive right to the covenant blessings of God, irrespective of the life they lived. They oppressed the poor and lived in ostentation and pride. They held tenaciously to their sectarian beliefs, observations and interpretation of the law, regardless of the fact that many of them contradicted the word of God. John called them, “Brood of vipers”; people who are wicked and malignant like venomous snakes, and who are in the danger of God’s judgment. He called them to begin to live a life that manifests true repentance. He pointed to the pebbles on the beach of River Jordan and said, “God can raise replacements for you from these stones who will be true children of Abraham.”

Stones are lifeless, but John said that God could raise them up to fulfill His purpose. When Israel rejected God, He raised us, Gentiles, who like the stones, had no life, no Christ, no hope, no covenant of promise and no God; and reconciled us to Himself through the Gospel (Eph 2:11-12).

Today, we have become children of Abraham by faith (Gal 3:29), and the people of Israel to whom the promise was first made has become rejected and disinherited (Rom 11:7). However, God warns the Gentiles that they can as well be “broken off” if they fall into the same folly of the Israelites (Rom 11:20-22). It is also a warning to anyone of us who is called or gifted by God to serve Him reverently and faithfully. He can do away with us and replace us with people we think cannot be used, because He is God. Pray, Lord, give me the grace to serve you reverently and faithfully, take away pride and self conceit from me, in Jesus name.

Written by – Evangelist Oguazi Onyemobi



Home Table of Contents 2003 2004 2005 2006 January '04 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 February '04 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 March '04 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 April '04 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 May '04 Week 19 Week 20 Week 21 Week 22 June '04 Week 23 Week 24 Week 25 Week 26 July '04 Week 27 Week 28 Week 29 Week 30 Week 31 August Week 32 Week 33 Week 34 Week 35 September '04 Week 36 Week 37 Week 38 Week 39 Week 40 October '04 Week 41 Week 42 Week 43 Week 44 November '04 Week 45 Week 46 Week 47 Week 48 December '04 Week 49 Week 50 Week 51 Week 52 Week 53	Breath of Power A Weekly Devotional of Jesus Power Outreach Ministries
	Week 3: January 12 - 18, 2004 LIFE TO THE STONES Key Passage: Matthew 3: 7 - 10 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” God is sovereign and omnipotent. In our devotion and service to Him, He demands that we serve Him humbly and faithfully. We must not fall into the error of thinking we are indispensable, or be haughty about our gifting or calling. Whatever we are is what He made us, and whatever we achieve is by His grace. He can reject us if we become conceited and unfruitful, and He can raise people we do not expect to take our place. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the religious elites of Israel in the days of John the Baptist. They were prideful and self-righteous hypocrites who believed that because of their holy heritage as descendants of Abraham, they had the exclusive right to the covenant blessings of God, irrespective of the life they lived. They oppressed the poor and lived in ostentation and pride. They held tenaciously to their sectarian beliefs, observations and interpretation of the law, regardless of the fact that many of them contradicted the word of God. John called them, “Brood of vipers”; people who are wicked and malignant like venomous snakes, and who are in the danger of God’s judgment. He called them to begin to live a life that manifests true repentance. He pointed to the pebbles on the beach of River Jordan and said, “God can raise replacements for you from these stones who will be true children of Abraham.” Stones are lifeless, but John said that God could raise them up to fulfill His purpose. When Israel rejected God, He raised us, Gentiles, who like the stones, had no life, no Christ, no hope, no covenant of promise and no God; and reconciled us to Himself through the Gospel (Eph 2:11-12). Today, we have become children of Abraham by faith (Gal 3:29), and the people of Israel to whom the promise was first made has become rejected and disinherited (Rom 11:7). However, God warns the Gentiles that they can as well be “broken off” if they fall into the same folly of the Israelites (Rom 11:20-22). It is also a warning to anyone of us who is called or gifted by God to serve Him reverently and faithfully. He can do away with us and replace us with people we think cannot be used, because He is God. Pray, Lord, give me the grace to serve you reverently and faithfully, take away pride and self conceit from me, in Jesus name. Written by – Evangelist Oguazi Onyemobi

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