OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY JANUARY 25TH, 2024.
THEME: WHAT IS GOD'S TEMPLE? II
MEMORISE:
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Matthew 21:14
READ: Matthew 12:9-13
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
MESSAGE
The temple is not just the house eof prayer; it is also the house of healing. In Matthew 21:14, after Jesus chased all those who were buying and selling in the temple, saying, "My house: shall be called the house of prayer," the Bible says that the sick came unto Him in the temple and were healed.
In our Bible reading for today, Jesus went into the synagogue and met a man with a withered hand. There were some scholars who felt that people shouldn't be healed on sabbath days. When they asked if He would heal the man with a withered hand, He told the man to stretch his hand, and he was healed. Note that the man
did not ask to be prayed for; just seeing a case like that in the temple compelled Jesus to heal him. Some people have challenged me before, saying: "You people who claim that you have the power to heal, why don't you go to the hospital and heal everybody there? Why do they have to come to the church to be healed?" Truly, God can heal anywhere, but He specifically heals in the temple. There are many people who, by just stepping foot on Redemption City, got their healings. Nobody prayed for them; the mere fact that they had entered God's temple brought them their healing.
Going to God's temple regularly is like going to the doctor regularly. Even when you are feeling well, and you go to see him, he will examine you, and whatever strange thing he finds in your body, he will deal with it. There are people that are carrying one sickness or the other in their bodies that they don't even know about yet. When you go to Church, and the power of God falls on you, such sicknesses disappear because you have come to a place of healing. This is why I wonder if people know what they are missing when they decide to stay at home and watch a church service on TV. If you are far from the place of worship and God sees that you sincerely will like to attend physically but cannot be there, that is a different case. However, when you
decide to stay at home and connect to a service that you could have easily attended, you cannot get the same atmosphere as those who are in the service physically.
KEY POINT
Don't ever miss any appointment to be in Church; God might decide to use the next Church meeting to bring about the
turning point you have been waiting for.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 31-34
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 25: THE GREAT PHYSICIAN NOW IS HERE
1 The Great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus!
REFRAIN
Sweetest note in seraph song;
Sweetest name on mortal tongue;
Sweetest carol ever sung:
Jesus, blessed Jesus!
2 Your many sins are all forgiv’n,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus;
The veil ’twixt you and God is riven,
Redemption wrought by Jesus.
3 All glory to the dying Lamb!
I now believe in Jesus;
I love the blessed Savior’s name,
I love the name of Jesus.
4 His name dispels my guilt and fear,
No other name but Jesus;
Oh, how my soul delights to hear
The precious name of Jesus!
Amen and Amen🙏🙌
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