COME YE APART I – Thursday August 3rd 2017
Memorise: On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Leviticus 23:35
6:30 And
the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all
things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
6:31 And
he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and
rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no
leisure so much as to eat.
6:32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
MESSAGE:
“Come
ye apart” is a call for a holy convocation or a coming together of the
saints in a solemn assembly. In the Bible, such a meeting was often
called to enable the people of God separate themselves unto God. Such
special days were devoted to spiritual activities such as praise,
worship, celebration, Scripture reading, fasting, prayers and offering
of sacrifices. In today’s Bible reading, the Lord Jesus Christ called
for a holy convocation or solemn assembly with His disciples. The
disciples had just returned from their very first missionary tour.
Although they had many victories and testimonies of healing and casting
out of demons, they were also very tired, confused (from seeing
strangers casting out demons in the Name of Jesus), and full of several
questions they wanted to ask the Master. On getting back to Jesus, they
immediately bombarded Him with their reports, but Jesus would not engage
them in the presence of the multitude. Instead, He called them apart
for a solemn assembly. He said to them, “Come ye apart and rest a
while”. Within the atmosphere of peace and quiet, the disciples were
able to tell Jesus all about their labour, victories, challenges and ask
their questions unhindered. The Lord Jesus in turn was able to properly
instruct them, answer all their questions, clear their doubts, and
minister to them appropriately.
However,
it should be noted that the call for a solemn assembly was
intentionally made to exclude the multitude. It was strictly designed
for the hardworking disciples, who were exhausted, to come away and rest
for some time. A solemn assembly is therefore a time to recharge our
spiritual battery, a time of deep reflection and a time to meditate on
the word of God. It is meant to be a time of total rest from daily
physical work in order to be in the presence of the Lord. It is a time
of separation unto God for spiritual worship, fasting and prayers, with
high expectations of divine visitation.
It is a time of very serious
business with God that leaves no room for pettiness, gossip,
indiscipline or any form of carnality. That is why the solemn assembly
in the Redeemed Christian Church of God is strictly meant for mature
ministers and workers of the Church. “Come ye apart” is an open
invitation by God to His favoured children as a means of setting them
apart for divine blessings. It could be a call to an individual, as was
the case with Moses in Exodus 34:2-3, or a call to a group of people, as was the case with Jacob and his family in Genesis 35:1-7. May you receive your own special invitation today in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point
Father, as I separate myself to You in consecration, please set me apart for Your special blessings in Jesus’ Name.
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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