Open Heavens 27 May 2016: Friday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Vengeance is the Lord’s

Topic: Vengeance is the Lord’s [Friday 27, May 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 25:12-14 (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.
Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 28-29, Proverbs 30:7-17
MESSAGE:
 Many passages of the Bible reiterate the fact that vengeance belongs to God alone. Because vengeance belongs to the Lord, it is His right to execute it. He said in Romans 12:19, "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord." Deuteronomy 32:35 also says, "To me belongs vengeance." Even Psalms 94:1 says, "O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs, show thyself". God’s people are not to avenge themselves; especially when He makes use of them as His Instrument. God must be seen as the one in action, personalities involved should assume the position of an ordinary instrument in the hand of the Almighty. Romans 12:19 says:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
We as Children of God must never make any move to avenge ourselves under any circumstance. You can be sure that God will surely fight on your behalf according to His word. God will avenge His people upon their adversaries; He will not allow any unrepentant sinner to go unpunished. You must know that God does not want the death of any sinner; therefore, He will make ways for repentance by making a reasonably long period of grace available to sinners and adversaries alike. But you can be sure that at the right time, He will make good His promises to His people, and they will be avenged of their enemies. But, because His mercy endures forever, He will even send several warnings to the enemies to prompt then towards repentance as record in Isaiah 47:3:
“Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.”
But let the enemies not be encouraged by this to continue in wickedness, because God will surely avenge His elect, because they are so near and dear to Him. God has always been a witness to the rage and oppression of the enemies; He is a quiet listener to the threatening and arrogant boastings of these enemies. It does not please any father to watch his dear children being tormented, beaten, enslaved, burned alive, and killed, before his eyes. We are His beloved; He suffered and died by carrying out the ultimate sacrifice for our sakes. The compassionate and tender heart of a husband toward his betrothed wife cannot be over emphasized. Our Heavenly Father is always sharing in our affliction, and bitterness of soul, every time any of His children is being brutalized. God will avenge His own elect to convince the world of how grievous it has been for him to behold all the violence and cruelty wicked men have done unto His own people.
 God will avenge His people because the days of the wicked must end, and the days of the saints must begin. Also, because the harvest of the prayers and cries of God's elect is now ripe. Your deliverance is here, you can begin to celebrate Jesus. Praise God!
Prayer Point: Father, from today, I will stay quiet and watch you avenge me.
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.
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