Open Heaven 25 November 2020: [Wednesday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Looking for Greener Pastures
LOOKING FOR GREENER PASTURES – Wednesday
November 25th 2020
Memorise: And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into
Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Genesis 26:2
Read: Genesis 26:1-4, 12-17 (KJV)
26 And there was a famine in the land, beside
the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech
king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
2 And the Lord appeared
unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall
tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless
thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I
will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and
will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed;
Genesis 12-17
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I
will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:
and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all
their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in
Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of
Canaan they came.
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto
the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And the Lord appeared
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he
an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel,
and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there
he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt
to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt,
that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman
to look upon:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see
thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they
will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me
for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the
Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before
Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and
oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and
camels.
17 And the Lord plagued
Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast
done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me
to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him
away, and his wife, and all that he had.
13 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his
wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto
the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first:
and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and
tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell
together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and
the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then
in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee,
between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee,
from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if
thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan,
that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east:
and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities
of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
14 And the Lord said
unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and
look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and
westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to
thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a
man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the
breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of
Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
14 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel
king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal
king of nations;
2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king
of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king
of Bela, which is Zoar.
3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the
salt sea.
4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year
they rebelled.
5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that
were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in
Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the
wilderness.
7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and
smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in
Hazezontamar.
8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah,
and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same
is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of
nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings
with five.
10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of
Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the
mountain.
11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their
victuals, and went their way.
12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and
his goods, and departed.
13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew;
for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother
of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed
his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and
pursued them unto Dan.
15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by
night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand
of Damascus.
16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his
brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from
the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the
valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he
was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high
God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and
take the goods to thyself.
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto
the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven
and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that
I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made
Abram rich:
24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of
the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their
portion.
15 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear
not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord God,
what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is
this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo,
one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be
thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine
heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So
shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees,
to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord God,
whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a
she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove,
and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and
laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them
away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram;
and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall
afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and
afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in
a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was
dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those
pieces.
18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the
river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the
Jebusites.
16 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children:
and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee,
go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram
hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after
Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband
Abram to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw
that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my
maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in
her eyes: the Lord judge
between me and thee.
6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do
to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from
her face.
7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the
wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither
wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and
submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed
exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child
and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and
every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his
brethren.
13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for
she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between
Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which
Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael
to Abram.
17 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,
the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am
the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply
thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a
father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name
shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations
of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed
after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto
thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land
wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore,
thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and
thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall
be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you,
every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with
money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy
money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an
everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not
circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my
covenant.
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not
call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will
bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of
her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his
heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall
Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and
thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for
an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him,
and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes
shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall
bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his
house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of
Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame
day, as God had said unto him.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.
Bible in one year: Acts 17:1-18:18, Hymn: Sing hymn 19
Message:-
It is no longer news that every day, lots of people flock out of developing countries in search of greener pastures in developed nations. It is saddening when we hear of those who are so desperate that they go abroad through boats that are death traps or by walking through deserts and terrible weather conditions.
Open Heaven 25 November 2020 – Looking for Greener Pastures
Thousands have died and many others have been
kidnapped and used as sex slaves because they were so desperate to leave their
countries in search of greener pastures.
The principles of success are as effective in
your nation as they are in the developed world, and as a Christian, you have a
greater advantage in the word of God and the presence of His Holy Spirit in
you.
Open Heaven 25 November 2020: [Wednesday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Looking for Greener Pastures
Now, I am not saying you cannot achieve
greatness anywhere aside from your home
country, after all, Daniel and Joseph succeeded tremendously in Babylon and
Egypt respectively. However, if you cross the borders without an instruction
from God, you may just be leaving God’s plans for you behind. You are to ask
God where you ought to be per time and His direction will keep you on the right
path. You may say “Oh, but the situation in my country is not favourable at
all”; well, Isaac was in such a situation too in Genesis 26, but God told him
to stay in that same land in spite of the famine and he eventually prospered so
much that he became the envy of the nation. God told him in Genesis 26:3:
“Sojourn
in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee;”
This is all that you should be after: the
presence of God with you. It is that same presence that made Joseph succeed,
according to Genesis 39:1-2
Open Heaven 25 November 2020 Wednesday Key Point
“And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.”
Seek
God’s face to know His will for your life. His presence will be with you as you
obey Him and the works of your hands will prosper greatly in the mighty name of
Jesus.
Key Point
Only go where God has instructed you to go.
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