Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – What Is God`s Temple? 3
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TOPIC:What Is God`s Temple? 3
MEMORISE:"And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:" Deuteronomy 12:6
READ:Deuteronomy 12:5-6(KJV)
5 But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 35-37
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Beyond being the house of prayer and healing, God’s temple is also the house of sacrifice.
Anyone who wants to sacrifice anything has to take his sacrifice to a designated place.
In Yoruba land, where I come from, when they want to sacrifice to the devil, they take the sacrifice to the crossroad, and when they want to sacrifice to witches and wizards, they put it behind an Iroko tree.
For us who give sacrifices to the Most High God, He said in 2 Chronicles 7:12 that He has chosen His temple as the place where He will accept our sacrifices.
Furthermore, Deuteronomy 16:16 says that you should not come empty-handed when you are coming to the temple of God because He wants to accept your sacrifice.
A friend of mine used to say whenever he was taking offerings,
“If you have none, borrow from your neighbour so that when the basket is going round, God will see you putting something in.”
Then he would add,
“It will not be long before you too will lend to others.”
God takes giving a sacrifice in His temple so seriously that He always observes what people drop in the offering basket.
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus watched the offerings that people gave and weighed which ones were sacrifices and which were not.
This tells you clearly that God is keen on accepting sacrifices in His temple.
Some people say that because they don’t trust their pastor, they will rather give to the poor than give in church.
First, I don’t understand why they have a pastor they believe to be a thief.
Secondly, it is good to give to the poor; Proverbs 19:17 says that when you give to the poor, you are indirectly giving to God.
However, you must never neglect giving your sacrifices in the house of God itself.
If somebody says he likes me and gives my children money whenever he sees them by the roadside, but he refuses to give when he sees that there is a need in my family, despite knowing the way to my house and having money to give, I will begin to suspect such a fellow.
It will be clear that he isn’t giving to my children because he likes me but for other reasons.
This might be because he just wants to be seen in public as a giver or that he wants to gain some undue influence over my children.
It’s the same when you claim to give to the poor in the name of God but never give in the house of God itself.
Key Point
Make it a point of duty to never go to the house of God empty-handed. It is a place of sacrifice.
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 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – What Is God`s Temple? 2
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TOPIC: What Is God`s Temple? 2
MEMORISE:"And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them." Matthew 21:14
READ:Matthew 12:9-13(KJV)
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 31-34
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
The temple is not just the house of prayer; it is also the house of healing.
In Matthew 21:14, after Jesus chased all those who were buying and selling in the temple, saying,
“My house shall be called the house of prayer,”
the Bible says that the sick came unto Him in the temple and were healed.
In our Bible reading for today, Jesus went into the synagogue and met a man with a withered hand.
There were some scholars who felt that people shouldn’t be healed on sabbath days.
When they asked if He would heal the man with a withered hand, He told the man to stretch his hand, and he was healed.
Note that the man did not ask to be prayed for; just seeing a case like that in the temple compelled Jesus to heal him.
Some people have challenged me before, saying:
“You people who claim that you have the power to heal, why don’t you go to the hospital and heal everybody there? Why do they have to come to the church to be healed?”
Truly, God can heal anywhere, but He specifically heals in the temple.
There are many people who, by just stepping foot on Redemption City, got their healings.
Nobody prayed for them; the mere fact that they had entered God’s temple brought them their healing.
Going to God’s temple regularly is like going to the doctor regularly.
Even when you are feeling well, and you go to see him, he will examine you, and whatever strange thing he finds in your body, he will deal with it.
There are people that are carrying one sickness or the other in their bodies that they don’t even know about yet.
When you go to church, and the power of God falls on you, such sicknesses disappear because you have come to a place of healing.
This is why I wonder if people know what they are missing when they decide to stay at home and watch a church service on TV.
If you are far from the place of worship and God sees that you sincerely will like to attend physically but cannot be there, that is a different case.
However, when you decide to stay at home and connect to a service that you could have easily attended, you cannot get the same atmosphere as those who are in the service physically.
Key Point
Don’t ever miss any appointment to be in church; God might decide to use the next church meeting to bring about the turning point you have been waiting for.
HYMN 25:– The Great Physician now is near
1 The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus.
Refrain:
Sweetest note in seraph song,
Sweetest name on mortal tongue;
Sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus.
2 Your many sins are all forgiv’n,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus;
Go on your way in peace to heav’n,
And wear a crown with Jesus.
[Refrain]
3 All glory to the dying Lamb!
I now believe in Jesus;
I love the blessed Savior’s name,
I love the name of Jesus.
[Refrain]
4 His name dispels my guilt and fear,
No other name but Jesus;
Oh, how my soul delights to hear
The charming name of Jesus.
[Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – What Is God`s Temple? 1
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TOPIC: What Is God`s Temple? 1
MEMORISE:"Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." Isaiah 56:7
READ: Genesis 28:10-17(KJV)
10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 28-30
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Many people don’t know why they need to go to church or any place of fellowship at all. They think to themselves,
“Why can’t we just sit down at home? After all, God is everywhere.”
So, for the next few days, l intend to spend some time looking at what God’s temple really is.
God’s temple is the house of prayer (Isaiah 56:7), and before anyone says that this is just in the Old Testament, Jesus Himself, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrew 12:2), further validated it in Matthew 21:12-13.
We go to the One who hears prayers (Psalm 65:2) in the house He has dedicated and assigned as the house of prayer.
I know you can pray anywhere, and God will hear you, but there is a difference when you pray in the place that was originally assigned as the place of prayer.
In such a place, the atmosphere is already charged, and there are heavenly protocols in place already to ensure that prayers said there are answered.
When a place has been dedicated as a house of prayer, there is tremendous power there.
For many years when I lived in the house that is now known as Open Heavens House, I had a small room that I called my prayer room. It is a room that was assigned as a place to pray and meet with God.
As a result of the constant prayers that went on there for long hours, a portal between heaven and earth was created there, just like the one we see in our Bible reading for today.
Many people had prayed for certain situations without results, however, when they entered that room to pray, testimonies followed.
For example, there have been records of people entering the prayer room with glaring physical defects, and by the time they would come out, the Lord would have touched them, and the defect would have disappeared.
What made the difference was not so much in the words they said but that they prayed in a place that had become a portal between heaven and earth.
When a place has been dedicated as a place of prayer, and intense prayers have been going on there for many years, you better believe that such a place is saturated with immense power.
You can pray on your own every day, but in addition to that, every time you have the opportunity to go to church to pray, please don’t miss it.
Key Point
The temple of God is a place that is saturated with tremendous power, make sure you go there to pray as often as you can.
HYMN 22:– Sweet Hour of Prayer
1. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
that calls me from a world of care,
and bids me at my Father’s throne
make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
my soul has often found relief,
and oft escaped the tempter’s snare
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
2. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
the joys I feel, the bliss I share
of those whose anxious spirits burn
with strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
where God my Savior shows his face,
and gladly take my station there,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
3. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
thy wings shall my petition bear
to him whose truth and faithfulness
engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face,
believe his word, and trust his grace,
I’ll cast on him my every care,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Friends Stronger Than Brothers
Click HERE for Previous Open Heaven Devotional
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.
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