Open Heaven For Today 2024 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Check The Spirit
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TOPIC: Check The Spirit
MEMORISE: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1
READ: Matthew 16:13-23 (KJV)
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 13-15
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
For everything we do, whether it is something we are saying, an action we are taking, or a decision we are making, there is a spirit within us influencing it.
In Matthew 16:13-23, Peter was saying to Jesus Christ in one moment that He is the Christ, to which Jesus Christ said flesh and blood could not have revealed it to him, implying that only the Spirit of God could have revealed that to him.
Not long after, the same Peter said to the Lord,
“You will not die.”
and the Lord turned to him and said,
“Get thee behind me satan.”
This tells us that we must always check what spirit is influencing our actions. You can be a powerful man of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, and still be influenced by the devil.
When you read in 1 John 4:1 that you should test all spirits, don t just conduct tests on the spirits in other people; conduct a test on the spirit influencing you too.
Check the things that you are doing, saying and believing; check if they are in line with the Spirit of God.
How do you check what spirit is influencing you? Matthew 7:16-17 says:
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Check the fruits you are bearing. Check if they are in line with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
If what you are doing does not show love, you are not being influenced by the Spirit of God.
If you are doing something that is opposed to peace, it is another spirit influencing you. If a Christian decides to do something outside the will of God because he or she does not want to suffer for God’s will, he or she is following the will of the devil.
Beloved, you must always check what spirit is influencing you at every point in time. A good way to know is to check if your decisions and actions are in line with the various expressions of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
If you are not born again, you should surrender your life to Christ so that you can be influenced by His Spirit. If you are a Christian and your decisions and actions do not reflect the fruit of the spirit, retrace your steps to being influenced by the Spirit of God only.
Key Point
Always weigh your thoughts and actions against the expressions of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
HYMN 28: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
1 Guide me, O my great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty;
hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever sing to you,
I will ever sing to you.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Saturday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Don't Be Unstable
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TOPIC: Don't Be Unstable
READ: James 1:6-8 (KJV)
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
When you make a claim in a law court, you will be asked to provide an evidence to show that what you are saying is true.
The purpose of the evidence is to validate your claim and show everyone that you are sure of what you are saying.
If you have evidence, you will confidently present it to support your claim. If you, however, do not have any evidence, it will be hard to have that kind of confidence.
In other words, an evidence gives the claimant confidence.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
The above passage says that faith is the evidence of things not seen.
If your faith is really an evidence, you will be confident about your claims concerning God’s word and the things that you pray about, just like the claimant in the example I shared above.
You will not pray for something today and speak in doubt about the same thing tomorrow.
When you pray. you must believe with all your heart that what you have prayed for is already settled (Mark 11:24). It is only then that you can see your prayers answered.
Doubt must not be allowed in your heart at all. A little doubt will contaminate your faith and may hinder you from getting what you are praying for.
Matthew 21:21 says:
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Beware, however, because the devil will try to send fear into your heart. He will give you every reason for your miracle not to come, but you must attack him with the word of God.
Romans 10:17 says:
“…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Whenever doubtful thoughts come, recite the word of God that counters it over and over again until the word drowns the doubts.
In Joshua 1:8, the Bible says that to have good success, the word of God must never depart from your mouth. Note that it did not say from your heart but from your mouth.
Beloved, if you desire anything in your life, pray about it in faith and declare God’s word concerning it without any doubts.
Key Point
Never ever allow doubt into your heart because there is nothing impossible with God.
HYMN 30: When We Walk With 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 – The Fig Tree
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TOPIC: The Fig Tree
MEMORISE: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2
READ: Mark 11:12-20 (KJV)
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 11-12
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
In today’s Bible reading, Jesus was hungry and went to get some figs from a fig tree nearby but unfortunately, He did not find any. Jesus cursed the tree, and it dried up.
Even though it was not the season for figs, meaning that it was natural for the tree not to have fruits at that time, Jesus still cursed it.
You may think that Jesus was being unfair to the tree, but He was sending a message to us with that act. You must never wait for the right conditions before you begin to bear fruits for your Master.
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4
If God has given a believer an assignment, he or she should work towards it whether the conditions are right or not.
If such believers keep waiting for the right conditions, they will never achieve their goals or fulfil their destiny.
If you keep observing the wind, you will not sow, and if you have already sown, if you keep observing the clouds, you will not reap.
You must set out to bear fruit even when the conditions around you do not suggest that you should.
When I became the General Overseer of RCCG, I got many promises from God apart from the covenant that God had with my Father in the Lord about the church’s great future.
All the conditions surrounding the church at that time were not palatable. We did not even have enough money to pay the General Overseer’s salary, not to talk of getting money to establish parishes around the world or hosting large meetings where millions of people will gather.
Even though the conditions did not look right, I still set out to do the things that God called me to do. When we moved to Redemption City, we did not have money to pay labourers to build the auditorium, not to talk of building a city.
I worked every night with other members of the church to build the first auditorium. Today, everyone can see the city that God promised us.
Beloved, if you wait for perfect conditions before you bear fruit, you will be just like that fig tree, and I am quite sure that you don’t want to end up like it because Jesus said in our memory verse for today that any branch in Him that does not bear fruit will be cut off.
Key Point
There is no excuse for failing to bear fruits.
HYMN 12: Onward Christian Soldiers!
1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
2 At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!
3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity.
4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages
men and angels sing.
5 Onward, then, ye people!
Join our happy throng;
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor
Unto Christ, the King;
This through countless ages
Men and angels sing.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Take A Break
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TOPIC: Take A Break
MEMORISE: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2
READ: Genesis 2:2-3 (KJV)
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
God rested on the seventh day of the creation week to set an example for us. He said in Exodus 23:10-11 that even the land should be cultivated for six years and then be made to rest in the seventh year.
We all need to take a break every now and then so that we can be refreshed enough to be effective at what He has called us to do.
Many people break down because they hardly take breaks. Some people have been working for years without taking any vacation.
What they don’t understand is that taking time to rest will help them to be more effective when they resume their work.
In 1 Kings19:1-8, Elijah had just called fire down from heaven and brought revival to the land. Then, he heard that Jezebel wanted to kill him and ran for his life.
By the time he gotto the juniper tree, he was tired, and in that state, he asked God to kill him. God knew that he really didn’t want to die; he just needed to take a break.
He made him fall asleep and sent an angel to feed him twice. After resting and eating well, he was strengthened to continue for the next 40 days.
Sometimes, the reason you feel frustrated is that you have not taken a break in a while. Just try sleeping and eating only for one day, and you will see the difference.
Taking a break is not expensive. If you don’t have money to travel or check into a hotel, you can go to a family member’s house or any quiet place where you know that no one will disturb you, and just rest there.
You need to rest weekly and yearly also, especially after a strenuous period of work, as Elijah did in 1 Kings 18.
No matter how anointed you are, as long as you are still in the flesh, you need to take a break once in a while.
The only reason I have been able to host the Holy Ghost Service every month for almost 40 years is that I take breaks when necessary.
After every major programme that lasts for at least one week, I take a break and get some good rest.
Don’t wait for a doctor to put you on bed rest because by then, it will be more expensive, and you will have no choice but to rest for a longer time than you want to.
Key Point
God did not create your body to work non-stop. Take a break every now and then.
HYMN 29: When Peace Like A River Attendeth My Way
1 When peace like a river attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Refrain (may be sung after final stanza only):
It is well with my soul;
it is well, it is well with my soul.
2 Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control:
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and has shed his own blood for my soul. Refrain
3 My sin oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
my sin, not in part, but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more;
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! Refrain
4 O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend;
even so, it is well with my soul. Refrain
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Focus
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TOPIC: Focus
MEMORISE: Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Proverbs 4:25
READ: Colossians 3:1-3 (KJV)
3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
READ: Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV)
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
In 2 Kings 2:10, Elijah was basically telling Elisha,
“Son, you have asked a hard thing that I can’t give you, but God can give you. Just don’t be distracted, stay focused.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 says that you should lay aside every weight and look unto Jesus. Be focused.
The devil will try to put many weights on you to distract you, but you must stay focused. People may criticise you, lie against you, and say negative things about you, but you must remain focused.
Some years ago, people were criticising me almost everywhere. l ignored all of them and remained focused on what God called me to do.
By God’s grace, I am still marching on, but no one knows where some of the people that were criticising me are now.
The weights that the devil will try to use to sway your focus will not only be from people that dislike you; some of them will be from people that love you.
Their praises, for example, can be a weight that you must set aside so that you do not lose focus.
A man once offended a great king and should have been beheaded. However, the king decided to give him a test. The king told him to carry water in a spoon and walk for some metres.
If he spilt a single drop of water, he was to be beheaded. The king asked some people to stand on his left-hand side and criticise him; they were to rain abuses on him and keep booing him.
On his right-hand side, the king asked some other people to stand and keep praising and hailing the man until he got to the finish line. The man started walking, and the people on both sides did what they were told to do with all their strength.
At last, the man got to the finish line without spilling any water. The king asked him,
“Which of these people helped you succeed?” He responded, “None of them. I was carrying my life in my hands, and so I did not listen to either of them.”
Beloved, you are carrying your life in your hands; don’t let anyone make you lose your focus.
Action Point
Set aside every weight that the devil is using to distract you and focus on achieving God’s purpose for your life.
HYMN 10: In Christ Alone
1 In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
2 In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
3 There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
4 No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
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