Open Heaven For Today 2024 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Humility, Pride, And Miracles
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TOPIC: Humility, Pride, And Miracles
MEMORISE: "And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" 2 Kings 5:13
READ: Matthew 15:22-28 (KJV)
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 64-66
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
God does not give miracles to proud people. I have noticed that everyone who got a miracle from Jesus approached Him in humility.
The leper in Matthew 8:2-3 worshipped Him, the centurion in Matthew 8:5-10 didn’t send a messenger but came personally to ask Jesus to heal his servant, and the woman in Matthew 15:22-28 was practically insulted by Jesus when He likened her to a dog, but she took no offence.
On the other hand, everyone that would have gotten a miracle from Jesus but didn’t, exhibited pride in one way or the other, especially the people of His hometown (Matthew 13:54-58). The Bible says that He was only able to do a few miracles there.
Naaman almost died a leper because of pride.
He went to the prophet for healing and was told to go and wash in River Jordan. He got angry and wanted to return to his country to die as a leper because he thought that a man of his calibre should not wash in the Jordan river.
Thank God for his servants who talked sense into his head.
Sometimes, God will give me an instruction that sounds childish during our Holy Ghost Services.
Because I am a child in His hands, I will tell the people what He says, and those who are not too big to obey the childish instruction will come back to testify about how they got their miracle after obeying Him. One time, God told me to call out all those who had back pains and dance around them.
That was a very childish thing to do, but I obeyed, and when I was done, their back pains had disappeared, and they could all bend over to touch their toes conveniently.
If you are too proud to submit to a man of God, you cannot get a miracle through him. If you are too big to carry out an instruction because it seems beneath your social status, you cannot get a miracle.
You must humble yourself before the Most High God if you want to enjoy His miracles. It amazes me that people consult doctors in humility, answering all their questions and surrendering their bodies for examination and treatment, but when they come to God, they act in a proud manner as if they know more than Him.
If you want a miracle from God, you must put your pride aside and come to Him as a child.
HYMN 8: I Need Thee Every Hour
1 All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2 Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
3 Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
4 Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
5 Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all!
6 Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
7 Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
8 Let every tribe and every tongue
before Him prostrate fall,
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The Believer's Authority
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TOPIC: The Believer's Authority
MEMORISE: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you". Luke 10:19
READ: Ephesians 2:6-7 (KJV)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
Hebrews 11:3 says that the world was created by God through His words. God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and everything you see in this world has its root in the spirit realm.
A tree’s roots are a primary determinant of its state, so in the same vein, things in the physical realm are determined by the spirit realm. For example, in Exodus 14:16, Moses stretched his rod and parted the Red Sea.
Ordinarily, a sea cannot be parted by stretching a rod; there had to be a spiritual force working on the sea, and that force was what parted it.
Now, when you consider that the fellow stretching the rod was a physical being, then he must have had a connection with the root of all things on the earth to control the sea, and that connection is with God.
Believe me, if you are a true child of God, there is nothing on earth that you cannot control. You have complete authority over everything because Psalms 82:6 says that you are a god.
Many years ago, we were to have Bible Study at a professor’s house at the University of Ibadan, but then it started raining.
We were so many that the sitting room couldn’t contain us, so I used my authority as a child of God to command the rain to stop. The rain stopped, and we had our Bible Study.
Not long after we finished, some other people arrived. They were surprised to see that it wasn’t raining in the professor’s compound because the reason they arrived late was that it was raining everywhere else on the campus.
The moment you become a child of God, you have authority over everything that has its root in the spirit realm and that includes the weather, elements of nature, and even demons.
If you are a part of God’s family, you are a king, and where the word of a king is, there is power (Ecclesiastes 8:4).
You must note, however, that if a fellow is not a true child of God and tries to exercise God’s authority, he or she will be disgraced like the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-16).
You must note also that whatever you use your authority to decree must be in line with the word of God.
A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25). If you are really a child of God, you will act in line with the word of your Father.
Action Point
If you are a child of God, begin to command what you want in your life and what you don’t want out of your life, in Jesus’ name.
HYMN 1: All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!
2 Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
and crown Him Lord of all.
3 Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
and crown Him Lord of all.
4 Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
and crown Him Lord of all.
5 Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by his grace,
and crown Him Lord of all!
6 Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, Man divine,
and crown Him Lord of all.
7 Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
8 Let every tribe and every tongue
before Him prostrate fall,
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
And shout in universal song,
and crown him Lord of all.
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.
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]
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