Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Called To Be Grateful
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TOPIC: Called To Be Grateful
MEMORISE:-"Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?" 2 Samuel 7:18
READ: Luke 1:46-55 (KJV)
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 16-19
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
One negative trait I have seen in many ministers of God is pride.
Once God calls and equips them with gifts for the calling, they begin to think that they are special.
The opposite is the case, however, because 1 Corinthians 1:27 says that God calls the weak, the foolish, and those that are nought.
When God calls you for an assignment, you must be extremely grateful to Him for the privilege of being called and for every single achievement as you walk in your calling because, without Him, you can do nothing (John 15:5).
As I mentioned earlier in this series, I studied people who were called before me and who succeeded in their callings.
One of them was Apostle Paul; He was an academic like me before he was called by God. I noticed that Paul was always grateful to God.
He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
In our Bible reading today, we see how grateful Mary was for being chosen to give birth to our Saviour Jesus Christ and she succeeded in her calling.
If you really want to succeed in your calling, then you must be grateful to God always.
I don’t know about you, but I can never forget how good God has been to me.
We had just finished a service in a foreign country one day and God really moved in that service, many souls got saved and there were all kinds of miracles.
On my way back to the hotel, I discussed the great things that happened in the service with those that were with me.
When we arrived, the fellow sitting in the front seat of the car opened the door to get down and as he slammed the door shut, my finger got caught in the door frame.
Up until today, I have no idea of how my finger got caught in the doorframe.
I cried out in pain and everyone rallied around me saying, “Sorry”.
As I went upstairs, I asked God, “Lord, why did you let this happen to me?”
He said, “You were talking about all the great things I did in the service and you didn’t even turn to Me to say, ‘Thank you Lord.’” I realised my error, apologised and thanked Him.
By the time I got to my room, the pain had completely disappeared.
God is watching to see if you will be grateful or not. He will warn you once or twice if you are ungrateful. If you refuse to heed His warnings, He will withdraw His support and that will be dangerous.
Action Point
Begin to thank God for all the things He has done for you, especially in the course of fulfilling your calling.
HYMN 6:– I am so glad that our Father in heav'n
1 I am so glad that our Father in heaven
Tells of His love in the Book He has given;
Wonderful things in the Bible I see,
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
Refrain:
I am so glad that Jesus loves me,
Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me;
I am so glad that Jesus loves me,
Jesus loves even me.
2 Jesus loves me, and I know I love Him;
Love brought Him down my poor soul to redeem;
Yes, it was love made Him die on the tree;
Oh, I am certain that Jesus loves me!
3 In this assurance I find sweetest rest,
Trusting in Jesus, I know I am blest;
Satan, dismayed, from my soul now doth flee,
When I just tell him that Jesus loves me.
4 Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,
When in His beauty I see the great King,
This shall my song through eternity be,
“Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!”
5 If one should ask of me, how can I tell?
Glory to Jesus, I know very well!
God’s Holy Spirit with mine doth agree,
Constantly witnessing Jesus loves me.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Call To Multiplication
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TOPIC: A Call To Multiplication
MEMORISE:-"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;" Isaiah 54:2
READ: Isaiah 54:2-3 (KJV)
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Many people receive the call of God, start walking in that call, and when they experience a little breakthrough, they settle for that as the best they can achieve.
That is not the assignment that Jesus gave to us when He was leaving the earth; He said we are to take the gospel from Jerusalem (your immediate environment) to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world (Acts 1:8).
God is interested in the multiplication of your impact around the world. Don’t stop until you win the whole world for Christ.
Isaac didn’t just grow to become great, the Bible says he kept on moving forward (Genesis 26:12-13).
Apostle Paul said He was constantly pressing on; in Philippians 3:13-14, he said:
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
If I had listened to people who said that I had ‘arrived’ many years ago, the impact that RCCG has made today would never have happened.
I tell such people,
“Thank you, I haven’t even started yet.”
I remember over 30 years ago when someone came into my office during a period when I was fasting for 40 days. He saw me lying there, weak because I had not eaten for weeks and he said,
“What else are you looking for that you stress yourself so much? Your auditorium is the biggest in Africa, what else do you want?”
Imagine if I had listened to such, maybe you would never have heard of Adeboye today.
You are not only to multiply in the impact you make in the world, but you are also to multiply in your knowledge of the One who sent you.
The strength with which you got to where you are today is not enough to take you to the next level.
Jesus Christ gave an open invitation to anyone who thirsted to come unto Him and drink from Him.
He went further to say that if such a fellow also believes on Him, rivers of living water will flow out of his or her belly (John 7:37-38).
You need to keep drinking from Him if you want to keep multiplying.
The deeper you go in God, the more He can commit to you.
Key Point
Don’t settle on any level of achievement, keep pressing on until you win the whole world for Christ.
HYMN 26:– There Shall Be Showers Of Blessing
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Saviour above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing:
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honour Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing,
Oh, that to-day they might fall,
Now, as to God, we’re confessing.
Now as on Jesus we call!
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Call To Tenacity
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TOPIC: A Call To Tenacity
MEMORISE:-"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;" Romans 4:20
READ: Genesis 37:6-28(KJV)
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
READ: Genesis 41:39-44
39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 9-11
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
When I studied those who had gone ahead of me in ministry, I discovered that many of them got promises from God concerning the assignment He called them to do.
For a long time, however, their situation did not look like the promises they received, yet, they kept doing the work and, after some time, saw God fulfil His promise.
When God calls you for an assignment, He will show you the exciting end results.
However, when you begin to walk in that calling, you will start to see tough situations that you must go through to get the results He promised.
Joseph had dreams about his brothers and parents bowing to him.
That was exciting, but for those dreams to come topass, he had to be sold into slavery, be lied against, and be thrown in prison.
Nonetheless, he remained steadfast, believing that one day, what God showed him will come to pass – and it did come to pass.
Beloved, if God has called you to an assignment and has made some promises to you, and yet things are not looking like what He has said, you are in good company.
Everyone who ever received a call from God also went through this, but only those who were tenacious enough to stay the course succeeded.
When God called me to full-time ministry, one of the promises He made to me was that I will lead a mighty endtime army for Him.
At that time, the church was very small.
I thought He will grow the church quickly to build that army, but we would increase by two members in one week and reduce by four the next week.
I held seminars, fasted, prayed, and did everything I knew to do but the church did not grow.
I had left my well-paying job to answer God’s call, so I became a laughing stock to my friends at the university because they thought I was crazy to have made that decision.
Nothing seemed to be working, but I kept at it. I did not compromise on my faith and I did not stop trusting God.
Today, The Redeemed Christian Church of God is in over 190 nations of the world and we can indeed say that it is a mighty end-timearmy.
Like Joseph, don’t compromise in times of trials; keep pressing on and you will see God’s promises come to pass.
Prayer Point
Father, help me to hold firmly to Your promises. Help me to hold on to You until the very end, in Jesus’ name.
HYMN 30:– When we walk with the Lord
1. When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2. But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows
And the joy He bestows
Are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]
3. Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – A Call To Diligence
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TOPIC: A Call To Diligence
MEMORISE:-"The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute". Proverbs 12:24
READ: Acts 28:1-6 (KJV)
1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 5-8
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
When I realised that if God hadn’t found me, I would have remained as a university lecturer heading towards hell, I made up my mind not to be an ordinary Christian.
A mathematician who doesn’t want to be ordinary will study those who excelled and reached the top, like Pythagoras and other great mathematicians.
As I didn’t want to be an ordinary Christian, I spent three years studying some people who God used mightily.
One of such was Elijah. If you have listened to my series of sermons titled ‘Going Higher’ (they can be found on Dove TV’s YouTube channel) you will know that l have spent a lot of time studying Elijah.
I also studied Paul because he was an academic, a professor of law that went into ministry like me and ended well. I found out that according to 2 Timothy 4:6-8, he was a diligent man.
Paul was diligent in every facet of his life. In Acts 28:1-6, when there was a shipwreck on the Island of Malta, while everyone was gathered around the fire because of the cold, it was Paul who went out to fetch firewood.
In the earlier days, during the RCCG conventions, my boys and l used to fetch firewood for the conventions.
We also washed plates and did other menial work with joy.
Whenever it was time to wash plates and anyone wanted to collect the sponge from me, I would tell them, “Wash your own portion of plates, let me wash mine.”
The hands that cannot do manual labour for the kingdom cannot heal the sick.
When a programme is going on in your church, do not shy away from doing menial work.
Get your hands dirty, and you will be amazed how the anointing will begin to surge through your fingers.
Many of the Assistant General Overseers in RCCG now were my boys in those days.
This is because it is those you knew to be diligent when you were starting out that you can trust to remain diligent when you are successful.
I have seen people advise that there are lots of people with great callings these days. They may have a calling, but have they been tested? Your calling is never enough to succeed.
Can we put you in charge of something and go to sleep knowing that you will do the work as it should be done?
Only those who are diligent can make full proof of their calling.
Key Point
A calling without diligence will yield no success.
HYMN 4:– To The Work! To The Work! We Are Servants of God Flatimes.com
1 To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the might of His power our strength to renew,
Let us do by His grace what He calls us to do.
Work for Him by His grace;
Work thru Him for His praise;
Work with Him all the days;
And work in Him in many ways.
2 To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the thirsty be led;
In the cross and its vict’ry our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”
3 To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
By the pow’r of His Name, with the light of His Word,
All the slaves of the darkness of Satan set free
And His riches of grace in His glory we’ll see.
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