OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17TH, 2023.
TOPIC: ALL ROUND PURITY
MEMORISE:
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8
READ:
MATTHEW 23:25-33
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
MESSAGE:
Our memory verse today says those that are pure in heart are blessed and they will see God. What this scripture is saying is that if your purity is not on the inside, you cannot make heaven. Some people will probably jump at that and say, "What matters is the inside, not the outside." That is untrue because whatever is on the inside will also show on the outside. When somebody is mad, he is mad on the inside, but the evidence is seen on the outside.
Many years ago, when we had just started the Redeemed Christian Bible College, I brought some Americans to teach the students, but they began to teach my people that I was too harsh and legalistic. They said God is only interested in what is inside the heart, not outside. When I heard this, I knew I was in trouble and sought the face of God for wisdom to handle the situation. Thankfully, He inspired me to buy two oranges of the same size and present to the students. One was yellow and the other green. I asked them to choose one and they all chose the yellow one. I asked why and they said it would be sweeter than the green one. I asked them how they came to that conclusion as we had not cut it open; they said the outside shows what is inside. The message was passed.
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that in the last days, there will be many people who will have a form of godliness. You may talk and dress like a Christian, but those things don't make you one. Christianity is being like Jesus from the inside out. Your heart must yearn to be more and more like Him. You must avoid sin in order to please God. It is when your heart is aligned with Christ that every other thing on the outside begins to fall in place. You must study God's word daily with the intention of getting to know more and more of Him. Spend quality time with Him in prayers and worship. Tell Him you want to have an intimate relationship with Him that will change you from the inside out and you would see Him reveal Himself to you like never before.
Your Purity must start from within you, but it should also reflect on the outside.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please help me to be pure inside and outside.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
ACTS 14-15
AUTHOR:
PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
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.
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
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand.
Amen and Amen🙏🙌
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