Open heaven [12 January 2019] The gains of pain II

 Open Heaven 12 January 2019: [Saturday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – The gains of pain II

THE GAINS OF PAIN II – Saturday 12^th 2019

Memorise: Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: Luke 12:8

Read: Matthew 19:27-29 (KJV)

²⁷ Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

²⁸ And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Bible in one year: Matthew 24-25, Isaiah 10:5-19, Hymnal: Sing hymn 8

Message:-

Unless we want to engage in self-deceit, carrying one’s cross to follow Christ is very costly. We thank God that our Lord Jesus Christ did not hide the truth about this from us. As part of His Sermon on the Mount, He said in Matthew 5:10-11:

Open heaven 12 January 2019 The gains 

of pain II

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”

Furthermore, in today’s memory verse, He puts us on notice that it is possible for a person to deny Him in the face of persecution. He also said that whoever identifies with Him in this wicked generation is the fellow He would identify with in the Kingdom of God. Hearing Him say these words, Peter asked Jesus what the reward will be for those who sacrifice all to follow Him. It is interesting to read Christ’s response in Matthew 19:28:

“…Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

One grave lesson to learn from the scripture is that Judas Iscariot was numbered among the twelve destined to sit on one of the twelve thrones, but unfortunately he did not end well. I pray that you will finish well in Jesus’ Name. Another lesson is that Jesus Christ did not assure the disciples of gains only in the distant future of the afterlife. In Mark 10:30, He also said:

Open Heaven 12 January 2019: [Saturday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – The gains of pain II

“But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

If you are ever in doubt as to what the Lord Jesus Christ promised in this scripture verse, just try and read the story of my life. I am a living testimony of God’s faithfulness to His word. At a time in my ministry, my wife and I had to sell our cars in order to fund the preaching of the gospel. Today, you will not believe the number of cars the Lord has blessed us with. In fact, there was a time we received so many cars as gifts that we had to redistribute them to our pastors who were in need of cars to do the work of the ministry. At a point in my life, I have had to give up a big house to live in a servants’ quarters for the sake of the gospel, but a time came when I started rejecting houses being donated to me. Beloved, I can assure you that there is abundant gain in the pains endured for Christ’s sake. What is that pain you are currently experiencing for the sake of the gospel? The good news is that it has its expiry date; Jesus will recompense you beyond your wildest imagination here and hereafter.

Prayer Point

Father, grant me the grace to endure the necessary pain for the sake of the gospel and Your gospel and Your Kingdom, and please don’t let me miss out on the gains You have in store for me.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.