Open Heaven For Today 2024 – Open Heavens 23 January

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Friends Stronger Than Brothers

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TOPIC: Friends Stronger Than Brothers

MEMORISE:"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

READ:1 Samuel 18:1-4 (KJV)

1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 24-27

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

Friendship is a very sensitive topic to discuss, especially in these last days when many have become lovers of themselves (2 Timothy 3:1-2).

In spite of this, however, everybody still needs good friends. Some friends can be closer to you than a brother – you need one or two of such friends around you.

Such friends will challenge you to do more for God and can tell you the truth when everyone else is afraid to do so. They are people that you can have as a shoulder to lean on when the chips are down.

Acts 3:1 says that Peter and John went to the temple. You may ask yourself, after the Holy Ghost descended on 120 people in Acts 2, why is the Bible bringing only these two to our notice?

The reason, I believe, is that they were friends who were part of Jesus’ inner circle. They were three in that circle – Peter, James and John.

Out of these three, Peter and John had a close relationship even before Jesus died. If you read John 13:21-26, at the last supper, when Jesus said somebody was going to betray Him without telling them who it was, Peter beckoned to John and told him to ask Jesus.

That is an example of a friend you can ask to pray for you concerning a matter you are not clear about, and he will hear from God for you.

After Jesus died and rose from the dead, the link between them obviously grew stronger.

In John 20:1-8, when Mary Magdalene discovered that Jesus had risen and came to tell the apostles, two of the apostles ran to the tomb; they were Peter and John.

It’s interesting to note that John is the one who wrote the story, and he stressed that he outran Peter and got to the tomb first – in fact, he repeated it twice!

I always wonder, 

“Why are you telling us that you beat him so emphatically?” 

There seemed to be a friendly competition as to who loved Jesus more between them.

You need friends you can have healthy competitions with on who can pray the longest, who reads more Scriptures, who wins more souls and so on.

The link between Peter and John was strong, and it rested on their relationship with Jesus. You need friends whose link with you is majorly based on the link you both have with Jesus Christ.

Reflection

Do you have a friend who challenges you to draw closer to God?

HYMN 11:– I Have Found a Friend in Jesus

⁠1 I have found a friend in Jesus, He?s everything to me;

He?s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul!

The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see

All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.

In sorrow He?s my comfort, in trouble He?s my stay;

He tells me every care on Him to roll. (Hallelujah)

Chorus:

He?s the Lily of the Valley,

the Bright and Morning Star;

He?s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

2 He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;

In temptation He?s my strong and mighty tower;

I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn

From my heart, and now He keeps me by His power.

Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,

Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal: (Hallelujah)

3 He? ll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,

while I live by faith and do His blessed will;

A wall of fire about me, I?ve nothing now to fear;

with His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.

Then sweeping up to glory, I?ll see His blessed face,

where rivers of delight shall ever roll. 

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – God`s Best Friend 4

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TOPIC: God`s Best Friend 4

MEMORISE:"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."  John 15:2

READ: John 15:1-5 (KJV)

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 17-20

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

One thing about being one of God’s best friends is that you must be ready to be pruned.

God’s best friends are fruit-bearers; that is why He said in John 15:16 that if you bear fruits and those fruits abide, you can ask anything of Him, and He will do it.

God will prune you till you are genuinely humble.

He will prune you till you are completely dead to the flesh. Once He marks you as someone to bring closer to Himself, He will start pruning you.

This is where many people drop off His friends list because they cannot endure His pruning. 

Many years ago, I was at an airport, and I was to declare all the money that I had with me. I only told the attendant about the notes and left out the coins.

She told me to show her my purse, and I was embarrassed because I had to admit I had lied.

The lady let it go, but I heard God’s voice at that moment, “You are special to me, so I will not condone the smallest of lies from you.”

If you really want to be one of God’s best friends, you must be ready to meet His high standards.

Nobody can get close to God without going through intense discipline. You must be willing to submit to His discipline if you want to become His best friend.

If God disciplines a person for doing something wrong and the person does not desist from committing that particular sin, He will eventually leave such a person as He cannot become friends with unrepentant people.

Once in a while, God tests His best friends. He takes them through a period of trials to prune them and make them perfect, wanting nothing (James 1:3-4).

Only a few people go through these trials and come out on the other side perfect. Only a few people can submit to these tests without compromising their faith. Are you one of those people?

Beloved, it is true that divine pruning can be a painful exercise, so you must spend quality time in God’s presence daily to build your spiritual strength.

If you hold on and do not give up, you will not only become more fruitful, but you will also become one of God’s best friends.

Reflection

Are you willing to be pruned by God so you can get closer to Him and produce more fruit?

HYMN 23:– Take My Life, and Let It Be

⁠1 Take my life and let it be

consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days;

let them flow in endless praise,

let them flow in endless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move

at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

swift and beautiful for thee,

swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing

always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

filled with messages from thee,

filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

every power as thou shalt choose,

every power as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine;

it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart it is thine own;

it shall be thy royal throne,

it shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour

at thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be

ever, only, all for thee,

ever, only, all for thee. 

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – God`s Best Friend 3

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TOPIC: God`s Best Friend 3

MEMORISE:"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

READ:1 Corinthians 3:5-9 (KJV)

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 17-20

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

Many people want to be one of God’s best friends so that whenever they ask Him for something, He will do it for them immediately.

This is surely one of the benefits of being one of God’s best friends, however, those who really become such care more about Him than they care about themselves.

The priorities of a man are known from his prayer points. If your prayers are always selfish, God will not make you one of His best friends. In fact, He will not answer your prayers when they are born out of your lusts (James 4:3).

Those who will be one of God’s best friends are people who pray God’s prayers and want to partner with Him to establish His will on earth.

They are people who say regularly, 

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

When such people go to pray, they don t go with preconceived prayer points at all times.

They make a habit of going into His presence with a burden to hear from Him about what He wants to be done on earth and to pray those things into existence.

Every now and then, God needs someone to stand in the gap for His people, He needs someone to pray about a particular situation so that He can have the legal right to step into that situation.

If you are an intercessor, always willing to pray God’s will into existence, He will draw you closer to Himself.

He will tell you things that He usually doesn’t tell others and show you sides of Himself that others don’t see – He will even reveal His burdens to you!

Only those who are willing to share in God’s burdens can become one of His best friends.

In Matthew 26:36-39, Jesus’ best friends saw His sorrow; they saw Him in His time of distress at the garden of Gethsemane when He was crying for God to take away the cup from Him and more importantly, to let His will be done.

Jesus was the one who invited them to watch with Him; they were His prayer partners.

Can God invite you to watch with Him over a nation, His church or any matter at that?

Can you forget all your prayer points and just keep praying for the will of God to be fulfilled like Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane?

Do you care more about God than you care about yourself?

Prayer Point

Pray for the body of Christ with specific reference to Christians facing persecution across the world.

HYMN 20:– Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

⁠1 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

Ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner,

It must not suffer loss:

From vict’ry unto vict’ry

His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed.

2 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

The trumpet call obey;

Forth to the mighty conflict

In this His glorious day.

Ye that are men, now serve Him

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger.

And strength to strength oppose.

3 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you;

Ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the Gospel armor,

And, watching unto prayer,

Where duty calls, or danger,

Be never wanting there.

4 Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long:

This day the noise of battle,

The next the victor’s song;

To him that overcometh

A crown of life shall be;

He, with the King of glory,

Shall reign eternally.

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – God`s Best Friend 2

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TOPIC: God`s Best Friend 2

MEMORISE:"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend." Isaiah 41:8

READ: Hebrews 11:5-6 (KJV)

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 14-16

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

From yesterday’s discussion, I believe you must be very interested in becoming one of God’s best friends.

If you truly are, you must study those who have been best friends with Him and do what they did. One major thing you will notice about such people is a great level of faith.

Faith is a major attribute that is required of anyone who wants to become God’s friend. Those who will be one of God’s best friends will not only have faith but have so much faith that they will be doing things that do not seem to make sense according to human understanding.

Romans 4:18 says that Abraham hoped against hope – that is a great level of faith! He not only hoped in his heart, but it also showed in his action when he told everyone to start calling himself and his wife ‘father of nations’ and ‘mother of nations’ respectively, even when they were old and didn’t have a child.

Romans 4:19 says that he did not consider his body that it was dead; he believed God like a fool.

Can you have that much faith in God that you will begin to say and do things that would make people who do not understand God’s ways wonder if you are normal?

Will you see the word of God as more real and potent than anything else, including natural laws? When God sees this kind of faith in someone, He draws the fellow closer to Himself.

Early in my Christian walk, I learned during a Sunday School class that faith can be likened to when a child jumps from a high surface at his father’s instruction without being scared of falling because he knows that his father will catch him.

When I heard that, I started jumping without being scared of falling because I know from His word that He will catch me.

I noticed that every time I made audacious statements or moves of faith based on God’s word, He drew me closer to Himself.

You can have a close relationship with God if you can just be audacious with your faith.

If you can hope against hope and become a fool to others because of what you so obsessively believe in the word of God, not only will you see His word come to pass in your life, but you will also discover that He has brought you close to Himself to make you one of His best friends.

Key Point

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

HYMN 7:– I am Thine, O Lord

⁠1 I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

And my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]

3 Oh, the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend! [Refrain]

4 There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]