Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Comfort Vs Fellowship
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TOPIC: Comfort Vs Fellowship
MEMORISE: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them". Matthew 18:20
READ: Hebrews 10:24-25 (KJV)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 57-59
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Today, I want you to consider very well the choice of deciding to stay at home and watch services online over attending physically. Today’s Bible text clearly states that you are not to forsake the fellowshipping together of brethren.
Therefore, if you choose to attend a service online when you can very well attend that service physically, you are forsaking the fellowshipping together with brethren for your comfort.
Due to your preference for comfort over fellowship, many things might follow. Some of these may include picking up phone calls or browsing social media while the service is going on.
Also, you might be eating and drinking when you should be concentrating on receiving the bread of life from heaven.
In that state, it is easy to welcome distractions from visitors who knock on your door and even things that you suddenly remember that you ought to have done.
These things will take your mind completely off the service and make you miss out on what God is doing at that moment.
On the other hand, if you are present at a service physically, there will be little or no distractions because almost everybody around you will be focused on God.
They will be praying or worshipping God fervently, and the environment around you will be charged; that fire will kindle your own fire too.
This is not the same as watching a service on TV. Tell me, if you put on your TV and a TV station is showing a house that is burning, will you feel the heat in your house?
Except there is absolutely no way to attend a physical service, either due to distance or other challenges, you cannot get the same impact from the service by watching it at home.
God sees your heart; He knows when you are choosing comfort over fellowship with the brethren.
He is the one who said that you should not forsake the fellowshipping together of the brethren, so He will not encourage you to disobey Him.
There is always a difference between someone watching God move and someone being a part of the move of God.
Key Point
Never choose comfort over fellowshipping physically with other believers.
HYMN 15: Pass Me Not O Gentle Saviour
1 Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry,
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
Refrain:
Savior, Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
2 Let me at a throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief. [Refrain]
3 Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace. [Refrain]
4 Thou the Spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me,
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but Thee? [Refrain]
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Your Phone Vs Your Bible
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TOPIC: Your Phone Vs Your Bible
MEMORISE: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Exodus 20:3
READ: Exodus 20:3-6 (KJV)
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Today’s cell phones are extremely effective; with them, you can communicate with anybody in the world. Despite this being a positive thing, you must be careful not to live under your phone’s influence.
You must not get addicted to your phone or live by it because Jesus said that man is to live by every word that comes out of God’s mouth (Matthew 4:4).
Your Bible is what you must be addicted to and live by, not your phone. If you are not conscious of this, your phone may easily replace the word of God in your life, and this is quite dangerous because the Bible says that our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14).
When you wake up in the morning, do you pick up your phone first or your Bible? You may say that you pick up your phone to check the time, but really, do you study the apps on your phone first or the verses in your Bible?
Throughout the day, what do you have more on your mind, what you saw on your phone or what you read in the Bible?
You are to meditate on God’s word day and night, not on social media feeds and reels.
When you want to start a conversation with your friend in your DM, what interesting thing do you start with, a funny meme or a Scripture?
Ephesians 5:19 says that we are to speak to each other in psalms and hymns, but many no longer have such conversations; it is all about celebrity gossip and memes.
Can you see that there is a need to repent if your heart has been drawn away from God for so long without you knowing it?
It is time to return to God’s word and become addicted to it again. It is time to begin to study the word first thing in the morning and last thing at night every day.
If your heart has been drawn away from God, to bring your heart back to God’s word, you will have to exercise a lot of self-control. You must take decisive actions and stick with them.
For example, decide to charge your phone far from you and put your Bible beside your pillow at bedtime.
This way, you will read it before you sleep and pick it up when you wake up.
You may need to delete some apps that you are addicted to. The time spent on them can be put to better use in prayers and the study of the word of God.
Key Point
Don’t allow your phone to become the devil’s weapon against your spiritual life.
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 – Good Followership IV
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TOPIC: Good Followership IV
MEMORISE: "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;" Romans 15:30
READ: Matthew 26:36-38(KJV)
36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
As I conclude my teaching on good followership which I started some days ago, it is important to note that no matter how strong leaders may appear to be, they need to be encouraged sometimes by their followers.
This is primarily because leadership is full of ups and downs.
During the down moments, encouraging leaders will go a long way in helping them to succeed.
Speaking words of encouragement, sending gifts, and honouring your leaders in whatever way you can, will help them feel encouraged to keep going, despite the burden of leadership.
Many years ago, I felt discouraged. I had resigned from my lucrative lecturing job to become the church’s General Overseer and spent almost all my time praying for people and teaching them.
There was a lot of burden on me, yet it seemed no one appreciated my efforts. One day, I was so discouraged and tired of my position as the General Overseer and then I fell asleep in my office.
When I woke up, a young girl was in my office with a cake. She said that God had told her to bring me the cake.
I don’t really like cakes, but late it because I was really touched by her thoughtfulness.
When God lays it in your heart to do something to encourage your leader, please do not hesitate to do it; it may be the difference between the leader giving up or continuing the work.
A good follower will always try to reduce the stress on a leader rather than add to it.
Leaders are human beings like you; they face challenges just like you do, and even more as a result of the leadership position they occupy.
You may not be able to totally relieve them of the stress that comes with leadership, but you can encourage them so they don’t feel all their effort is a waste, and so they can keep doing more.
Some years ago, I was really down, but what helped me to get up and keep going was the message of one of my daughters in the Lord.
She said,
“Daddy, let God carry you.”
Your message may be what God will use to encourage your leader.
When Jesus was close to His crucifixion, He took Peter, James and John to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray alongside Him; He needed their encouragement for the task ahead.
Pray for your leaders. Sometimes, seeing that you are praying for them is the encouragement they need to keep going.
Action Point
Send a message or buy a gift for your leader today to encourage them for all the work they do and the burdens they bear.
HYMN 8: I Need Thee Every Hour
1. I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee.
2. I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their power
When Thou art nigh.
3. I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.
4. I need Thee every hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.
5. I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Good Followership III
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TOPIC: Good Followership III
MEMORISE: "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed". Galatians 2:11
READ: Galatians 2:11-14(KJV)
11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
One major leadership challenge is that some people see leaders as being superhuman when they are not.
I mentioned yesterday that leaders need help sometimes, but beyond that, you should also note that they can make mistakes.
When leaders err, people are sometimes afraid to correct them. However, leaders need to be corrected so they don’t put their followers in trouble.
I’m sure one of David’s regrets was not listening to Joab when he was told not to conduct a census because it led to the death of over 70,000 of his followers (1 Chronicles 21:1-14).
As a good follower, you must not keep quiet when you see your leader going in the wrong direction; respectfully correct them. Y
ears ago, I published a book in which I tried to justify the statement of the midwives in Exodus 1:15-19, where they said that the Hebrew women were very strong and delivered their babies without assistance.
Somebody who read the book boldly came to me and said,
“I know you are the General Overseer, but sir, this justification is wrong.” I realized the error, thanked him, and said, “I will go to God; He knows I didn’t mean to lead anyone astray.”
I re-wrote the book, stood before the congregation, and said,
“I have made a mistake. I wrote something in this book that should not have been written. I apologize.”
I added,
“So we don’t keep remembering it, I won’t tell you what the mistake is, but I want you to return the copies you have bought, and for every copy you return, I will give you two.”
I got all the books back and burnt them.
Thank God someone was bold enough to correct me.
Today, with how God has increased our influence, it would have been difficult to erase that error from the minds of people in the body of Christ if that fellow had felt that I could not be corrected.
In correcting a leader, ensure that it is for the good of the leader and other followers rather than to show that you know better.
Discuss with the leader privately, showing love and respect.
Present the matter in a way that will be easy to accept, or find someone that is closer to the leader to present it on your behalf.
The leader might find it easier to take the correction from that fellow than from you.
Key Point
Don’t stand aloof when your leader commits a blunder, correct him or her with love and respect.
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 – Good Followership II
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TOPIC: Good Followership II
MEMORISE: "But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." Exodus 17:12
READ: Exodus 17:8-13(KJV)
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 44-46
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Yesterday, I said that being submissive to a leader and seeking common interests above personal interests are attributes of a good follower. Today, I will discuss more attributes of a good follower.
Leaders are not omnipotent; they need help sometimes. Good followers recognize that their leader needs help and seek to provide it before the leader asks for it. They watch to see which areas they can support the leader in and provide the support as needed.
In today's Bible reading, Moses did not ask for Aaron and Hur's help. He did not even explain why he was stretching his hands towards the battlefront.
They both saw him stretching his hands and noticed that they were winning as he did so. They also noticed that his hands were getting tired, so they went to him, gave him a stone to sit on, and held up his hands. That is good followership, the kind that will make a leader surmount any mountain that stands in his or her way.
Sometimes, supporting your leader will not be convenient. When Aaron and Hur helped Moses, they were not sitting down, neither was anyone helping to hold their own hands up.
They must have gotten tired too, but they stayed like that until the battle was over. Sometimes, when you step in to help your leader's weakness, others might laugh at you and even call you names. However, you must not fail your leader; you must take whatever comes with helping out.
It is a terrible thing when followers take advantage of their leader's weaknesses. Some followers, because their leader doesn't know how to keep track of money, start stealing from the accounts instead of helping to manage them. Some others tell people about their leaders' weaknesses to discredit them.
If there is someone in the Bible that every follower should study, it is David. Even though he had already been anointed as he next king o Israel in 1 Samuel 16:13 and had done many exploits (1 Samuel 17:48-51, 1 Samuel 18:5-7), even though he had seen Saul's weaknesses (1 Samuel 16:23 ), he remained loyal and never discredited the king.
While running for his life because Saul was trying to kill him, he got the opportunity to kill Saul but didn't do it (1 Samuel 24:4-13) - that is a good follower! As a result, he not only fulfilled his destiny, but the King of kings, who is also called the Son of David, came from his lineage (Revelation 22:16).
Key Point
Never try to take advantage of your leaders' weaknesses. Help them instead.
HYMN 4: To Walk! To The Work! We Are Servants Of God
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.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Good Followership I
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TOPIC: Good Followership I
MEMORISE: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ". 1 Corinthians 11:1
READ: 1 Kings 19:19-21(KJV)
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 41-43
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Many people talk about leadership, but you hardly hear them talk about fellowship. The truth is, no leader can succeed without good followers. Leaders are raised from amongst the followers, so the better the followers, the better the quality of leaders.
Submission is one of the greatest attributes that a follower can have. It is different from cooperation. You cooperate when you agree with a leader's instructions, but you are submissive when you obey, whether you agree with the instruction or not. Not being submissive indicates that a follower is acting in his or her own interest rather than the interest of the entire group that the leader represents. Some followers steal because they are ready to sacrifice the interest of the entire group to satisfy their personal interest. If the behaviour continues unchecked and the follower eventually becomes a leader, he or she will only care about himself or herself.
Gehazi showed this in 2 Kings 5:20-27. Elisha had collected nothing from Naaman for curing his leprosy, but Gehazi was after his personal interest as opposed to that of the Lord, which his master represented. He proceeded to collect gifts from Naaman and was immediately struck with leprosy. Judas Iscariot was also recorded to have been stealing from ministry's purse (John 12:6). This is why he could not be amongst the apostles to carry the gospel around the world after Jesus left. Such a person will never make a good leader because his or her personal interest will be more important than common interests.
Some people may say,
"I don't steal, I just disobey my leader because I don't like him."
This is, however, just as bad as stealing. In Matthew 25:24-30, the servants who was given one talent to trade with did not steal the talent, he hid it rather than trade with it as instructed because he did not like his master's leadership style. The master wasn't annoyed that he did not trade with it as instructed, but that he could have at least put it in the bank to yield some interest. Putting it in the bank would have shown that even though he did not like his master, he was interested in the company's prosperity. This made his master call him an unfaithful servant. He was more particular about himself, which is a bad trait for any follower or leader.
Beloved, if you want to be a good leader, you must first be a good follower by obeying your leader and putting common interests above yours.
Reflection
Am I a good follower?
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]
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