OPEN HEAVENS-FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY 1

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY 1

24^TH , APRIL 2022

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 21-23

READ: Mark 14:50-72

50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.

51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,

52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.

54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.

56 Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

57 Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him:

58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’”

59 Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”

61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

63 The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.

64 “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death.

65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by.

67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.

68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.

69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.”

70 Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”

71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

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MEMORISE:

“And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.” - Mark 14:54

THE MESSAGE:

Many churchgoers these days are merely paying lip service when they call themselves Christians. If you were to really check, you would discover that instead of carrying their cross to follow Jesus closely, many are only following Him from afar. The moment things get a little bit tough, they deny Him. Peter was an ardent follower of Christ; he was also very vocal about his beliefs, thus he was the last person one would have expected would deny Christ. We need to really enquire about what happened that day in Mark 14.

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And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. – (Mark 14:54)

Take note of the first clause in the passage above – Peter followed Jesus from afar. How closely are you following Jesus now? So many Christians are following Jesus from afar, hence they deny Him over and over again. Peter had boasted of how impossible it was for him to deny Jesus in Mark 14:27-31, but in Mark 14:54, he followed Jesus from afar and ended up denying Him. Why did he follow Jesus from afar? This is because he did not want to be associated with the persecutions of Jesus Christ. Are you also running away from the persecutions of Jesus? You don’t talk like a Christian in the office because you don’t want anyone to tag you with Christ.

You go for business meetings and even though you are prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray before the meeting starts, you subdue the prompting because you don’t want the people you are meeting with to know how seriously you take God. You don’t preach the gospel to those you interact with daily because you don’t want them to start calling you a Christian fanatic.

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When you let them know from the onset that you are a child of God, there are deals and suggestions that they would never bring your way. On the other hand, if you are following Jesus from afar, they will bring those temptations to you because they have never known you to be serious about your faith. In Church, when you are engulfed in the presence of God and boasting that you will never deny Him like Peter did, ask yourself, “When I get out there in the world, would I be following Christ closely or would I be following Him from afar?”

KEY POINT

The only way you will not deny Jesus is if you are following Him closely and everyone can easily associate you with Him.

DO HAVE A BLESSED DAY

©2022 OPEN HEAVENS IS a daily devotional by PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE (General Overseer, THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD )