Open Heavens 11 June 2015: Thursday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Producing Children of God

Open Heavens 11 June 2015: Thursday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Producing Children of God

Memorise: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:17

Read: 1 John 3:1-3 (KJV)

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Bibles in One Year: 1 Kings 18:41-20:25; Luke 6:24-45

MESSAGE:

Children of God are produced by the power in the Word of God. The reason why it seems genuine children of God are scarce nowadays despite the increase in the number of churches and increase in church attendance is because the Church is suffering from a famine of the genuine Word of God. It is by faith that we become genuine children of God. However, this faith does not come by the wisdom of man; neither does it come by the philosophical sayings of the learned or the motivational words of orators. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 says.

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The world, especially devotees of certain religious, still wonder up till now how it is possible for a human being to claim that he or she is a child of God. Such people look at divine paternity with the mind of the flesh, and so they cannot understand or accept the mystery of adoption which empowers us to become sons of God through Christ Jesus. Even to us who have been conferred this prestigious status of being children of God, it is still a mystery. John the beloved expressed this mystery with awe in 1 John 3:1:

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

The Word of God came to Mary and produced the Son of God, when she had not known any man (Luke 1:30-35). This is a template for us. The mystery of divine adoption lies in the Word of God. For us to produce children of God from children of disobedience, we need to expose them to the undiluted Word of God that will produce the required faith for their adoption. Romans 10:17 says;

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

We should therefore follow the pattern of the early apostles, who produced children of God through the Word of God. We see this manifested in Acts 4:4

“Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”

Key Point: There is power in numbers. For the kingdom of God to be firmly established on earth, there must be a tremendous increase in the number of God’s children.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Open Heavens 10 June 2015: Wednesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Watchman for God II

Open Heavens 10 June 2015: Wednesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Watchman for God II

Memorise: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28:20

Read: Ezekiel 33:12-16 (KJV)

12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 17:8-18:40; Luke 6:1-23

MESSAGE:

As a young Christian, I used to think that the sole purpose of preaching was the conversion of souls. When I preached and people did not respond positively, I used to be discouraged. Often times, I felt that there was no need to preach to people whom I assumed were despisers of the message of the gospel, until the Lord led me to a truth about my assignment as a watchman. This truth is hidden inMatthew 24:14:

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

From this scripture, I understood that the gospel must be preached not only for them to believe and be saved but also to serve as a witness so that they may be left without excuse! The Psalmist also mentioned this truth inPsalm 51:4. As watchmen, we are therefore left without an excuse if we do not deliver the message as instructed.

As Christians, we should understand that we are watchmen and not watchdogs. Dogs can only bark, but we are sent to teach what our Lord has commanded us, and this we must do till the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). It is satanic to consider as pointless or obsolete, the ideals of our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in the gospels and those revealed through His Holy Spirit in the epistles. Moreover, as watchmen and oracles of the Lord, we must preach the message of hope, assuring people in our generation that there is room for sinners at the cross of Jesus for repentance. Whenever they ask us "What must we do?" We should answer with the words of Acts 3:19:

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"

God told Ezekiel to assure the people that He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Rather, His desire is that the wicked one should turn from his evil ways and live (Ezekiel 33:11). This is our message, and this is our responsibility. However, we must call a spade a spade, so that the reality of Hell awaiting unrepentant sinners may dawn on them and they may repent.

Prayer Point: Father, make me an effective watchman that will bring harvest of souls into Your Kingdom.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Open Heavens 9 June 2015: Tuesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Watchman for God 1

Open Heavens 9 June 2015: Tuesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Watchman for God 1 

Memorise: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;  - Acts 3:19

Read: Ezekiel 33:7-11 (KJV)

7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 15:25-17; Luke 5:17-39

MESSAGE:

God called Prophet Ezekiel and set him as a watchman over the house of Israel. As a watchman for God, he was to hear from Him and warn the people concerning whatsoever God told him. Just like Ezekiel, believers in these end-times, particularly ministers of the Gospel, are set as watchmen to warn the world of the impending judgment of God. One of the most important responsibilities of a watchman for God is that he or she must of necessity hear from God ( Ezekiel 33:7 ). You must hear from God in order to warn on His behalf those who are perishing. You cannot warn them using your own wisdom; rather, you must tell them what God is saying to them. How do you hear from God as a watchman? The simplest way to hear from God is through the revealed of truth, which is the Holy Bible. This holds true only for those who still consider the Bible as infallible and having eternal truths for all generations. As a watchman, you must therefore follow the admonition of 2 Timothy 2:15

'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.'

Another responsibility of a watchman for God is to maintain an intimate relationship with the One who commissioned you by remaining true to your message, because, you cannot give what you don't have. Paul emphasised the need to remain true to our message in Romans 2:21

‘Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?'

In Ezekiel 33:8, the Almighty God said His appointed watchman is held accountable for every souls that perishes if the watchman fails to sound the note of warning at the appropriate time. This is one aspect of the responsibility of a watchman, where 21st century preachers need to be careful. We need to be careful not to be negligent in our responsibility to warn evildoers without minding whose ox is gored. Beware of the fact that some pastors and teachers of the word may be condemned to the lake of fire on the last day for failure to warn people that God has set them over against sinful habits that have become part of popular culture. We are living witness to the tolerance and consideration the church is showing towards issues like homosexuality, which brought fire upon Sodom and Gomorah in the time of old. I pray that Christians, especially preachers of the word will not go to hell because of failure their to warn people against sin.

Action Point: Stand your ground in whatever sphere you find yourself to warn people against a life of sin.'

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Open Heavens 8 June 2015: Monday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Messengers without a Message

Open Heavens 8 June 2015: Monday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Messengers without a Message

Memorise: Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. -2 Timothy 4:2

Read: 2 Samuel 18:19-33 (KJV)

19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies.

20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.

21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?

23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.

24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.

25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.

26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.

27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.

29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.

30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.

31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.

32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Luke 4:38-5:16

MESSAGE:

One anomaly noticeable in the Body of Christ today is the presence of messengers running around without a message. An example of such messengers is Ahimaaz in today's Bible reading. After the death of Absalom, Joab, the captain of David's army, sent Cushi with a message to the palace; but Ahimaaz volunteered himself to also deliver a message to the king. In spite of the fact that Joab reminded him that he had no reason to go since he had no message to deliver, he insisted that he would, and he was allowed to. The funny thing about this story is that, Ahimaaz outran Cushi who actually had a message to deliver. When Ahimaaz got to King David and he was interrogated, the emptiness of his message was laid bare, and the king therefore asked him to step aside for the person who actually had substance in his message. One cannot help but wonder: what was the essence of Ahimaaz's effort, so much so that he outran the person who actually had a message?

The attitude demonstrated by Ahimaaz can be referred to as zeal without meaning. This is the situation of some so-called ministers of the gospel today. They are messengers sent by their belly or by the devil (Romans 16:18). How do we know messengers without a message? We know them by their deceptive speeches, which are geared towards making people "feel good" when they should be sober about their lifestyle of sin. Apostle Paul, while giving his final charge to Timothy, his son in Christ and a young bishop, instructed him to:

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." -2 Timothy 4:2

Today, many so-called sermons are actually motivational speeches, given by motivational speakers disguised as preachers. Their message cannot be the word of God; it contains no rebuke, no reproof and no doctrine. As a matter of policy, they would not teach doctrine because they say they have not been called to do so! One cannot help wondering who commissioned them in the first place. It is their belly, of course(Philippians 3:17-19). Beloved, I advise you to be careful of the ministers you listen to, and to filter the type of sermons you admit into your spiritual sub-consciousness. On the other hand, if you are a deceptive preacher of the gospel, desist before the anger of God comes on you without remedy.

Prayer Point: Father, help me to recognise Your appointed messengers, and grant me the grace to listen and do according to Your bidding through them.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Open Heavens 7 June 2015: Sunday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The First Commandment with Promise

Open Heavens 7 June 2015: Sunday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The First Commandment with Promise

Memorise: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. -Exodus 20:12

Read: Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV)

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Bible in one Year: 1 Kings 12:16-13:34, Luke 4:14-37

MESSAGE:

Our God is a God of reward and an excellent motivator. He gives a law, and specifies the reward that will follow if we keep it (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). In like manner, He also indicates the punishment attached to breaking any of his laws (Genesis 2:16-17). In our Bible reading, we read about the first commandment with a promise. Apostle Paul got the inspiration on this truth fromExodus 20:12. It is unfortunate that this law of life is not being heeded by the young folks of today. This is the reason why life expectancy is reducing. The story was told of a young boy in a very remote part of Africa, who respected and honoured his parents to the extent that their wish was law in his life. One of the rules his parents gave him was that he should not eat anything that did not come from them. “What if I was given something to eat outside, what should I do with it?” he asked his parents. They said, “Bring it home before you eat it.” One day, this boy went out with his friends to a neighbouring village where they were given food packages. They had scarcely stepped out of this village when all other boys started eating their food, which unknown to them had been poisoned. Only this boy remembered the instructions of his parents and refused to even open his pack. All the other boys died as soon as they got back to their village, and he alone survived the attack. To a young man or woman reading this devotional, I advise that you take this commandment which has longevity as its reward very seriously.

Besides, there are two categories of parents: biological and spiritual. Parents of both categories should be honoured(Malachi 1:6). A believer must exhibit this trait so that unbelieving parents will know that the best life to live is the Christian life. God watches over His words to honour them. If you honour God by obeying this injunction, He will keep you from evil. The problem with present day youths is that they think they know more than older people do; hence, they disregard their instructions, particularly those of their parents, to their own peril. Such youths can’t seem to learn from the story of the rebellious Absalom, who met a premature death at the prime of his life (2 Samuel 18:9-15). He was so unruly that he temporarily deposed his own father. Many youths in Church today scheme to get their pastor out of the way so that they can be in charge. May God salvage this generation from the spirit of rebellion in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point: Father, grant me grace to keep the first commandment with promise, even when it’s not convenient to do so, 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

Prayer Points for June Holy Ghost Service
1.) Worship God intensely
2.) Father I'll be your partner please visit me this month like never before
3.) Father please destroy permanently any hindrance to my serving you
4.) Father please destroy permanently any hindrance to my progress
5.) Father please let me be a testimony to your almightiness
6.) Father please make me a blessing to the whole world
7.) Father please let all my enemies be at peace with me from now on

‪#‎DivinePartnership‬

Open Heavens 6 June 2015: Saturday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Report, Don't Murmur

Open Heavens 6 June 2015: Saturday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Report, Don't Murmur

Memorise: Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. - Psalm 35:1

Read: Luke 18:1-8 (KJV)

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 11:1-12:15, Luke 3:23-4:13

MESSAGE:

One of the sins that God hates so much is the sin of murmuring. During the mass exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the reason why God destroyed some of them was due to their incessant murmuring. They kept on murmuring instead of discussing their problems with the One who had severally demonstrated the capacity to solve them. A reoccurring scene in their journey is described in Numbers 14:1-2. The consequence of this demonstration of faithlessness in God was that He denied them the joy of making it to the Promised Land. They all died in the wilderness, according to what they had said against themselves while murmuring. We must be careful of what we use our mouth to say in times of challenges (Numbers 14:28).

When confronted with the challenges of life, we should learn from our Bible reading and our memory verse what our attitude should be. In our memory verse, the Psalmist asked God to come to his aid against enemies that fought against him. He chose the correct Ally for the battle of life he was confronted with - the One whose Name is the Lord of hosts. He would rather report his enemies to the Captain of his battle rather than murmur about them. When you consider the end of David and the posthumous glory accorded him till date, you will see a man whose Ally was the Almighty God. Also, the widow in the parable of Jesus did not go to the house of the judge to murmur. She knew what she wanted: that the judge should fight her cause and grant her justice. Nobody knows what her adversary did to her; probably the adversary killed her husband and took their properties away. We are not even told for how many days, weeks, months or years she had been going to the judge for justice. But one thing we know is that, she kept on saying to him: "avenge me of my adversary" (Luke 18:3). The judge had no choice but to avenge her. Hear the Lord's conclusion from this parable inLuke 18:7-8a:

"And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily."

This is so comforting and reassuring. I therefore urge you to cultivate the habit of reporting your adversaries to your sure Ally: the All-powerful God. Don't engage in murmuring while you think you are praying. My prayer for you is that the Great God of heaven will avenge you of your adversaries this season, and you will know peace in Jesus' Name.

Prayer Point: Father, You are the All-powerful One, arise and avenge me of all my adversaries 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