Open Heavens 6 July 2015: Monday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Price Must Be Paid

Open Heavens 6 July 2015: Monday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Price Must Be Paid

Memorise: There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. -Joshua 1:5

Read: 2 Kings 6:15-17 (KJV)

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 20-22; Luke 18:9-34

MESSAGE:

After God chose Joshua to succeed Moses, Joshua was afraid, as he wondered how he could ever fit into Moses' big shoes. Therefore, God came to reassure him, calm his fears and promised to be with him. He said to him in Joshua 1:5 that:

"There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

Thereafter, he had a smooth ride in ministry until the day the children of Israel fled before Ai. Joshua felt disappointed that God had gone back on His promise, so he went back to God and asked Him "Lord, I thought You said nobody would be able to withstand us. How come we are fleeing before a little city like Ai?" God replied "That is correct, but you are now disconnected from me, and until you restitute and deal with the sin, I will not continue with you."

If God will use you for great signs and wonders, you must be prepared to make instant restitution. God is about to do great exploits, but if you are not prepared to pay the price, you will be a spectator and not a key player. Have you stolen God's money, particularly tithes, first fruits and offerings? Pay back immediately! Did your members contribute some money for a particular thing but you diverted it to something else? Restitute! Have you been looking at the wrong direction? Restitute by facing the direction God wants you to take.

There is a price to pay to be a minister or vessel of signs and wonders, one of which is a readiness to operate in both physical and spiritual realms simultaneously. When you pay this price, you will start seeing the invisible. You will not only see angels and the heavenly hosts like Elisha's servant in today's Bible reading, you might equally see demons. This should not scare you. When you can see demons, you will immediately see them in any demon-possessed individual brought to you, and when you cast them out, you will be able to know whether they have really gone or are just pretending to have done so. Asking demons how many they are inside their victim is of no use when the minister cannot see them. Even if there is just one of them, because you cannot see him, he can lie to you. How prepared are you to pay the price?

Action Point: If God's promise to you is not being fulfilled exactly as He promised it, find out what you may be doing wrong?

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

Open Heavens 5 July 2015: Sunday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Satan Targets The Holy

Open Heavens 5 July 2015: Sunday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Satan Targets The Holy

Memorise: Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. - Acts 12:1

Read: Acts 6:8-15 (KJV)

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 17:19; Luke 17:20-18:8

MESSAGE:

Holiness is very necessary for anyone who wants to fulfil destiny and make it to Heaven. Holiness also makes God to hide you in His bosom (Psalm 91:4). In other words, holiness provides a cover for the holy, whereas sin exposes the sinner. Sin exposes the one who commits it to shame, disgrace and pain, and it makes the sinner vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. When you combine holiness with being a vessel of honour, you become doubly precious to God. You become like a delicate egg in His hands. This is why Psalm 103:13-14 says God will treat such a vessel with lots of care, remembering how weak and fragile he or she is. From today, the Lord will treat you with special care. You will be special to God and He will hide you in His love in Jesus’ Name.

Moreover, as an instrument of honour, never rest on your oars. Whatever level you may be on presently, you have only started; you have not yet attained the heights that God is taking you to. If you think that you have already arrived with respect to Kingdom tasks, you may attract unwanted things to yourself. Note however that the more God uses you, the more you will be of interest to the kingdom of Satan. Satan never wants any believer in Christ to end up in Heaven; so he will do all he can to stop you. Take Peter for instance: he loved Jesus so much that he vowed never to deny Him. This he said in spite of what Jesus had foretold would happen(Matthew 26:34-35). Satan saw Peter as a vessel of honour in God’s hands and immediately marked him out as a target. He did everything possible to bring him down, but Jesus prayed for him and he overcome.

Similarly, Satan picked on another vessel of honour – Stephen. Stephen was holy, full of faith and full of Holy Spirit. He was also full of wisdom and was used to perform mighty signs and wonders in the early Church. Satan therefore stirred up serious opposition against Stephen, but he overcome them. When this failed, the enemies connived and brought false witnesses to lie against him. Satan never keeps to any rule of decency when he fights. He fights dirty. He kept working at it until he got Stephen killed (Acts 7:56-60). But unknown to him, when he thought he had won the battle, his chief vessel of persecution, Saul, was arrested by God and did even far greater works for God than Stephen did. In the end, the devil regretted his action. He wished he had left Stephen alone to have been spared the immense irrecoverable losses he got from his ex-loyal fanatic –Paul.

Action Point: Pray that every target of Satan in your local church be protected from falling.

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

Open Heavens 4 July 2015: Saturday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Anointing Speaks

Open Heavens 4 July 2015: Saturday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Anointing Speaks

Memorise: But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. -1 John 2:27

Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-9 (KJV)

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

4 And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

Bible in one Year: 1 Chronicles 15:16; Luke 17:1-19

MESSAGE:

The anointing creates the opportunity for you to be entrusted with God’s heritage. This great responsibility requires that you have divine information and guidance to carry out the assignment. As stated in our memory verse, the anointing speaks to or teaches the anointed, providing him with divine information. If you have the anointing, it will speak to you; it will tell you the truth. If you say you are anointed but you cannot hear from God, your anointing is very much in doubt. Based on 1 John 2:20, one way you can know that you are anointed is by the divine information released to you. The more the anointing on your life, the more you should have access to divine information (Number 12:6-8). To what extent does then anointing speak to you?

What does the anointing teach? If you closely look at Saul’s experience. You will learn that the anointing reveals future events to the anointed. After Saul was anointed by Samuel, the latter told him of a series of events that he was going to experience sequentially, and they happened accordingly. Do you know that God loves speaking to you? God is looking for those He can share certain vital information with before they occur. No wonder Amos 3:7 says,

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”

Any information that is only accessible by God is God’s secret. The anointing makes God share His secrets with His anointed. Do you hear God’s voice? How often does He speak to you? Does He confide in you concerning future events that will affect you or members of your family? As we speak, there are some people who are acquainted with divine information of events that will occur in some 2,3,5 or 10 years’ time. May the Lord anoint you afresh and open to you the door of communication, granting you access to knowledge of events long before they happen. When you know what will happen in the future, you will be guided on how to handle your today and tomorrow.

Prayer Point: Father, make me sensitive to Your voice. Help me never to mistake Your voice for that of any other person.

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

PRAYER POINTS FROM RCCG JULY 2015 HOLY GHOST SERVICE.

THEME: "THAT YOU MAY HAVE LIFE". BY PST. E.A. ADEBOYE.

1. PRAISE HIM FOR BRING YOU HERE TONIGHT OR TUNNING IN TO THE BROADCAST.

2. FATHER, PLEASE, KEEP AWAY FROM MY FAMILY, EVERY FORM OF DEATH.

3. FATHER, IF I HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE YOUR CURSE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME AND HELP ME TO RESTITUTE ALL MY WAYS.

4. FATHER, HELP ME TO FRUITFUL, PARTICULARLY IN SOUUL WINNING.

5. FATHER, PLEASE HELP ME TO BE HOLY.

6. FATHER, I CHOOSE LIFE, HELP ME TO LOVE YOU MORE AND OBEY YOU TOTALLY.

7. FATHER, BREATH LIFE, YOUR LIFE INTO ME, MY FINANCES, MY HOME AND MY CHURCH.

8. YOUUR PERSONAL REQUESTS.

Open Heavens 3 July 2015: Friday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Prayer Can Subdue People

Open Heavens 3 July 2015: Friday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Prayer Can Subdue People

Memorise: He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. -Psalm 47:3

Read: Genesis 32:6-12 & 33:4, (KJV)

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Genesis 33:4

4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 12:14; Luke 16:14-31

MESSAGE:

When Jacob was told that his brother, Esau, who had sworn to kill him, was coming to meet him with four hundred men, he was justifiably afraid and distressed. However, he prayed to God for deliverance, reminding Him of His covenant with his father. Several things happened to Jacob as a result of this prayer. After he prayed, God changed his name from Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28). Prayer can rename a situation or an individual, and it can also terminate the regime of an evil era induced by a bad name. When prayer ends a bad name, there will no longer be any reason to call the fellow by the former name. God told Jacob “From today, nobody will call you that name again.” As soon as He said it, every reproach the name had attached to him was completely erased. Royalty took over from there. From today, you shall no longer be called barren! You shall no longer move around in circles. You shall no longer labour without receiving a commensurate harvest. From today, sorrow, tears and disappointment have ended in your life!

Beside this, prayer gave Jacob power with God and helped him prevail over the anger of his brother. To subdue impossible human beings, you need power with God. The extent to which you can control men will be determined by the power you have with God, because it’s God who subdues men under you (Psalm 47:3). Whenever you pray intensely from your heart, power is produced. The power that prayer generates can be channelled towards achieving any goal. When you pray effectively concerning your business, the power to succeed in it is released to you. If you are struggling in your studies, you need to pray intensely, and the power to enable you all that you should do to succeed in your academics will be released.

Acts 1:8 declares that when the Holy Spirit comes, power comes with Him. When you pray in the Holy Ghost with your heart, power comes. This power may come in the form of understanding difficult subjects you are studying, wisdom to relate with subordinates in such a manner that garners their support to enable you succeed in your assignment or ministry, and so on. Prayer also helps you to be victorious over men. Are people rising up against you? Pray! As you pray, they will be subdued. Is anyone threatening your life like Esau did to Jacob? Pray, and the Lord will subdue them.

Action Point: One weapon every leader requires to keep the loyalty of their subjects and subordinates is prayer. Pray that God will keep those under you faithful to your righteous cause.

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

Open Heavens 2 July 2015: Thursday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – He is Wonderful

Open Heavens 2 July 2015: Thursday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – He is Wonderful

Memorise: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7

Read: Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 9:35-11:47; Luke 15:25-16:13

MESSAGE:

One of the names or titles of our Lord Jesus Christ is wonderful (Isaiah 9:6).The word ‘wonderful’ is a combination of these two words: ‘wonder’ and ‘fully’, which jointly mean full of wonders. Acts 2:22 says,

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:”

The terms miracles, wonders and signs in this scripture are placed according to their order of awesomeness. It means that wonders are superior to miracles in awesomeness and of a higher grade. When you look at Jesus, you will discover that everything about Him is full to wonders. His Name is Wonderful because it is far highly exalted above every other Name (Philippians 2:9-11). His Name commands the compulsory obedience of every force or power that exists.

Not only is His Name full of wonders, but His love is also wonderful. No one else can love you like Jesus does. He loves you even much more than you love yourself. What about His peace? It is very unique; it is unlike anything the world can offer you (John 14:27). No wonder Philippians 4:7 says His peace passes all human understanding. If God gives you peace? It is equally wonderful.Matthew 28:18 says:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

All authority comes under His divine majesty, what about His grace? It is also full of wonders. The richness of His grace goes beyond what we are currently enjoying in this world(Ephesians 2:7). His grace is inexhaustible to the fellow who knows how to relate with Him, which is why He has a throne of grace that we can boldly approach to receive mercy (Hebrews 4:16). Grace made God’s provision available to us at the expenses of Christ sacrificing His life on the cross of Cavalry. In addition, His joy is wonderful, and so is His strength. If you have Jesus Christ in you and you give Him the freedom to do whatever He likes in your life (i.e. you regard Him as Lord and not as a guest), His wonders will be replete in every area of your life. Do you allow Him to do His wonderful works in your life?

Prayer Point: Father, come and perform Your wonders in every area of my life.

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

Open Heavens 01 July 2015: Wednesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Return Reduced Wages!

Open Heavens 01 July 2015: Wednesday daily devotion by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Return Reduced Wages!

Memorise: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. -Romans 13:8

Read: Genesis 31:36-42 (KJV)

36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? What is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.

40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.

41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 7:14-9:34; Luke 15:1-24

MESSAGE:

God is a righteous God, and as a result, He hates all forms of Fraud. According to Leviticus 19:13, it is a crime to delay your workers salary for 24 hours. Do you promptly pay your staff – whether church or secular? Another aspect of fraud is manipulating your workers’ salaries. One Bible character who was a victim of this was Jacob. All the years he worked for Laban, he suffered a great deal. He was deceived, cheated, made to bear the losses his boss should have borne and earned an ever-decreasing wage. Laban was extremely wicked. But do you know that some employers today are like Laban? They take all the gains of their businesses and push all the losses to their staff, irrespective of what caused such losses. Also, while they plan to make more profit and push their staff to work hard at it, they hardly ever plan to increase their salaries. If anything, they continue to come up with excuses as to why such salaries should remain at the same level, or even be reduced.

Laban reduced Jacob’s wages 10 times. If you are happy to cut down your staff salaries rather than increase them, though your business is not diminishing, you are toying with Hell. If your business cannot afford an employee anymore, it is better to let such staff go after paying their entitlements. Take note of the words of Romans 13:8:

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another. For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”

Every cent, kobo or penny you fraudulently cut off the wages of your staff amounts to a debt you owe them. Also, the fact that you owe your staff shows your lack of love for them. You cannot be cutting down the salary or wages of those you love, while your business is doing fine. Do not be surprised that some employers who claim to be believers in Christ will die and get to the gate of Heaven, only to be told that they cannot enter in because of the debt they owe their staff. At that checkpoint, the entire amount owed will be found on them. They will then say “I am sorry; I am now prepared to pay the debts I owe my staff”, but the angles will say “Sorry, it’s too late.” The money such persons fraudulently stole from their staff will follow them to Hell-fire and torment them there for eternity. For your own good, go and restitute all the wages you have cut off without just cause.

Key Point: Besides pride, another vice that God cannot stand in people is breaking of agreements. If you make a promise, you must keep it.

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