Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

DATE: SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2022.

THEME: BENEFITS OF WITNESSING lll

MEMORISE: 

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 

Matthew 24:14 

READ: Romans 8:19 -23

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

MESSAGE 

Every athlete on the racetrack is always looking forward to reaching the finish line. The Heavenly race is not a sprint but a marathon. We have been looking forward to the coming of Christ now for more than two thousand years. I, in particular, have been running this race for almost 50 years now, and l am still running. I don't know how long you have been running, but l am quite sure that you are looking forward earnestly to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, there is a way you can make Him return quickly - sharing the gospel of Christ and winning souls into the Kingdom of God. Mattnew24:14 says "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

The Bible reading for today says that all Children of God are waiting earnestly for that day when we will be transformed and reign with our Father in heaven, but the only way to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is to preach the gospel. Until people who have not heard the gospel hear it, Jesus will not come. If you want Him to return quickly so that you can reign with Him in paradise (that is of course, if you are sure that you will make it to heaven), then you will preach the gospel. I am really looking forward to His return so l will win souls even in the remote parts of the world. I have been to a country to win souls where they were so few in the whole country, everybody knew one another. Their prison inmates were allowed to go home on weekends to visit their families and come back the next Monday. That is how small the country is. I will go anywhere, as long as there is someone there who will hear about Christ and can become saved, l am ready to go.

Now, it may amaze some people that Jesus has not come yet because you think the whole world has heard about Him. I was preaching to a group of Ambassadors about God one day; after preaching for more than 30 minutes, one of them asked, "What is God?" I realized then that he didn't understand all that l had been saying since. There are still people out there who haven't heard about Christ, and we will keep waiting for His coming if we don't go out there to preach to them. Until they hear, He will not return. Thus, we must reach the whole world for Him if we want Him to return soon.

ACTION POINT 

Look for new people to tell about Jesus Christ.

Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 35-37

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD 

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 Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

3 But we never can prove 

the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, 

for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey. 

4 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.