Open Heaven For Today 2024 – Open Heavens 17 April

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Divine Favour

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TOPIC: Divine Favour

MEMORISE: "And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord: possess thou the west and the south". Deuteronomy 33:23

READ: Esther 2:12-18 (KJV)

12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.

14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.

15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 1-3

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

When you hear the expression ‘God is smiling on you,’ it means you are enjoying divine favour and grace. In Numbers 6:24-26, God said that the sons of Aaron were to pronounce a blessing on the people, and the blessing went thus:

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

When God’s face is shining upon you, it means the Lord is smiling upon you and you will enjoy divine favour everywhere you go. It also means that every darkness around you will be consumed, and you will be basking in His light.

When God decides to show you favour, you will achieve more than somebody who is working extremely hard without divine favour. When God shows you favour, miracles happen.

For example, Genesis 24:63 says that Isaac went for a stroll and in the 67th verse of the same chapter, the Bible says: 

And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

All the background work in getting Isaac a wife was done by some other people. When you compare Isaac’s experience to that of Jacob, who laboured for 14 years without pay before he could get the woman he wanted to marry, you will see the difference between favour and hard labour to get what you want.

I decree that from now on, God will show you favour.

Not too long ago, all the universities in Nigeria were ranked, and Redeemer’s University came second.

The first was the University of Ibadan, the oldest university in Nigeria, founded in 1948. Redeemer’s University was only 17 years old at that time, and we beat universities that were more than 60 years old. How could this be? The only explanation can be divine favour.

The question now is, what can you do to always enjoy divine favour? You can find a good answer to this question in Proverbs 3:3-4 which says:

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

To draw God’s favour to yourself, always tell the truth and show mercy to others.

Action Point

Always tell the truth and be merciful

HYMN 19: Rock Of Ages, Cleft For Me

1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 

let me hide myself in thee; 

let the water and the blood, 

from thy wounded side which flowed, 

be of sin the double cure; 

save from wrath and make me pure. 

2 Not the labors of my hands 

can fulfill thy law’s demands; 

could my zeal no respite know, 

could my tears forever flow, 

all for sin could not atone; 

thou must save, and thou alone. 

3 Nothing in my hand I bring, 

simply to the cross I cling; 

naked, come to thee for dress; 

helpless, look to thee for grace; 

foul, I to the fountain fly; 

wash me, Savior, or I die. 

4 While I draw this fleeting breath, 

when mine eyes shall close in death, 

when I soar to worlds unknown, 

see thee on thy judgment throne, 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 

let me hide myself in thee. 

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Power Makes Noise

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TOPIC: Power Makes Noise

MEMORISE: "And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him". Joshua 6:5

READ: Joshua 6:15-21(KJV)

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.

17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 21-22

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

Many Christians don’t pray aloud anymore, and this is one of the reasons we are seeing fewer demonstrations of power among us.

During the first service I attended at RCCG, we were asked to shout hallelujah, and the fellow beside me shouted so loudly that l almost ran out of the church. Where there is power, there must be noise.

The Concorde, a plane that could take you from London to New York in about three hours, was grounded partly because people said it was noisy.

With its powerful engine, it was bound to be noisy.

These days, many Christians have to be cajoled to shout ‘hallelujah’.

I remember many years ago when I was asked to preach during a Christmas carol at Aso Rock, and all the high and mighty were there.

When I asked them to shout hallelujah, they shouted like sophisticated ladies and gentlemen, until I said, 

“The next fellow to shout hallelujah is the only one who will see the new year.”

This time around, they really shouted. Real Christians do not have to be threatened to praise their Father.

Many years ago, I was walking and praying within Redemption City in the middle of the night, hungry and thirsty for the power of God. I had been crying,

“Lord, I told You from the beginning that I don’t want to be ordinary. I was serving You as much as I could when I was still lecturing at the university, making some money to do Your work, but you pulled me out. Now, You have made me a General Overseer, and I lack the power to do the work that must be done. Father, either empower me or take me home.”

As I prayed, the ground under my feet shook violently.

There was an earthquake that was felt from as far as ljebu-Ode – it was in the newspapers.

An earthquake is not quiet. Noise is necessary for power; stop trying not to be noisy.

Don’t hinder the move of God with your so-called sophistication.

I am at a point in my life where I need other people to carry more fire than me so that when I am leaving, I will know that I am leaving commandoes behind that will take the work of God farther than I did.

Stop forming, as the youths will say, when you are in the presence of God.

Be free to make a loud noise that will shut the devil out and let the power of God flow.

Action Point

Shout a very loud hallelujah!

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 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Stop Taking Nonsense

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TOPIC: Stop Taking Nonsense

MEMORISE: "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves," Matthew 21:12

READ: Acts 13:5-12(KJV)

5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.evermore.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 19-20

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

There are many Christians who say that they do not take nonsense from anybody. However, these same people take nonsense from the devil.

Whether you take nonsense from people or not is not very important, what is most important is that you do not take nonsense from the devil.

The Bible says:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

Will you sit around and let him come and devour you? You should stand your ground against him and set his tail on fire so that he can run far away from you.

One of my daughters shared a testimony some time ago. Her child was sick, and they took the child to the hospital. On getting there, the doctor said that there was nothing he could do to save the child.

The woman asked, 

“In that case, can you refer us to another hospital?” 

The doctor referred them, and on their way, they got stuck in a terrible traffic jam. While in the traffic jam, the child died.

The woman said, 

“I am not going to take this” 

and after five hours on the road, she suddenly had a brainwave.

She said, 

“At least my father will call his God, and his God will answer. I will call on the God of my father, and l even have a handkerchief that he once prayed over.”

She laid the handkerchief on the child, called the child’s name and commanded him to come back to life.

The child jerked awake, and there was no need to go to the hospital anymore.

When you are determined not to let something evil happen, your prayers will be more fervent than usual.

There are probably things in your life that the devil has been using to torment you.

These things will only stop when you become determined not to take any nonsense from him again.

If you have been praying gentle prayers concerning these things, it is time to use your authority in Christ and start issuing commands in your prayers.

You must however, submit yourself to God first before you can successfully stand up to the devil. 

James 4:7 says:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

If you are sure of your right standing with God, when you resist the devil, he will run away from you. Stop taking nonsense from him!

Action Point

Command the devil to take his hands off your life and everything that concerns you now.

HYMN 24:– That Wonderful Name 

1 That wonderful Name, Jesus!

That wonderful Name, Jesus!

That wonderful Name, Jesus!

There is no other name I know.

2 The Great Redeemer, Jesus!

His blood washed me clean, Jesus!

And now I am saved, Jesus!

There is no other name I know

3 The Great Physician, Jesus!

His stripes health me, Jesus!

And now I am whole, Jesus!

There is no other name I know.

4 The Great Lord of host, Jesus!

His truth set me free, Jesus!

I am free indeed, Jesus!

There is no other name I know.

5 The Great Provider, Jesus!

He supplies my needs, Jesus!

And now I am full, Jesus!

There is no other name I know.

6 My Great Companion, Jesus!

Always by my side, Jesus!

I have a sure Friend, Jesus!

There is no other name I know.

7 The Soon Coming King, Jesus!

Coming back for me, Jesus!

I will reign with Him, Jesus!

There is no other Name I know.

8 Let us praise His Name, Jesus!

Name above all names, Jesus!

Let us shout His Name, Jesus!

I will sing I will shout, JESUS!

Open Heaven For Today 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – In One Accord

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TOPIC: In One Accord

MEMORISE: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalms 133:1

READ: Psalms 133:1-3(KJV)

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 16-18

Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE

God loves unity; wherever He finds people uniting in His name, He will show up. You can see a good example of this in 2 Chronicles 5:13:

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;

In the above passage, as the trumpeters, singers and musicians all sang as one, God’s presence came down like a cloud and filled the temple.

God loves it when His children worship Him in one accord. This is why Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:20,

“Where two or three people are gathered in my name, there will I be.”

At the upper room in Acts 2, 

the Bible says that when the people were in one accord, the Holy Spirit filled the room with a sound like a mighty rushing wind.

Wherever believers are gathered in unity, God will show up in His glory.

Today’s Bible reading tells us that when brethren come together in unity, it is like the anointing oil that was poured on Aaron’s head which went all the way down to his feet.

Do you know what that means? It means that it is only when God’s people are united that the anointing can flow amongst them.

Without unity, the corporate anointing will not flow.

The reason many churches are not experiencing the power of God amongst them is that they are not united.

Where there is gossip, strife and backbiting, don’t expect the power of God to flow. These vices are not of God, and so, God cannot be where they exist.

1 Corinthians 12:12 says that we are all different parts of one body. If the hand is envious of the eyes and the leg is keeping malice with the head, how can the body function effectively?

When we become united in our local assembly and in the body of Christ as a whole, we will see great miracles amongst us that will amaze the whole world.

If you are a pastor reading this now, you should ensure that all forms of strife amongst workers and/or members of your local assembly are resolved today.

Action Point

Call a member of your local assembly and say, “I love you with the love of Christ.”

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]