Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: FRIDAY 7TH AUGUST 2020

THEME: PLAY YOUR PART

MEMORISE:

Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

READ: Matthew 25:1-12

25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.  25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.  25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.  25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.  25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.  25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.  25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

MESSAGE

As Christians, we have a great inheritance. God told Abraham that in blessing, He would bless him and since we are children of Abraham, his blessings are ours. However, the Almighty God who deploys these blessings is holy and very hardworking. Hebrews 11:6 says it is the diligent that God will reward. Thus, if you want to enjoy any reward from God, you must say goodbye to laziness, and indolent people. In Proverbs 13:20, the Bible says:

"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroy.” 

Stop being slothful; drop your lazy friends. Spend every minute productively. Stop spending countless hours on social media, just lazing around. The extent to which you will fulfil destiny depends on the quantum of effort you are willing to put in. The brightness of any fire is determined by the fuel applied. 1 Corinthians 15:41 tells us: 

”There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.” 

You cannot just keep singing ’Abraham’s blessings are mine’; you must be ready to put in the work. Jesus, during His earthly ministry worked so hard that, one day, in the middle of a storm, He fell asleep. The testimony about His work ethic is thus: 

”But lesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

John 5:17 

Even though God had said, many years before I joined, that the RCCG is a covenant church that would have parishes all over the. world, I as the General Overseer still work very hard for this prophecy to be fulfilled. Whatever God is involved in involves hard work because He cannot work with lazy people (Amos 3:3).

KEY POINT:

God's plan for you can only be fulfilled with your cooperation.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Jeremiah 4-6

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 19: MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS

1. My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus name.

Chorus

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness seems to veil His face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood,

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Thursday, August 6, 2020) - 

How Hot Is Your Fire? 

Special Note:

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, about 5 years ago, (effective January 1st, 2015), to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.

If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”

Prayer Points:

1.Th.ank You, Father, for the salvation of my soul, and, for Your precious blood that was shed for my redemption from eternal destruction destruction.

2.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.

3.Father, destroy every spirit of lukewarmness in my life and destiny; and, rekindle the fire of Your revival in my life and destiny, in Jesus' name.

4.Father, give me the grace to watch and to pray; and when You shall come in Your glory, please, let me still be found in You, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, baptise me afresh with Your fire, and uphold me till the end by Your right hand of righteousness, in Jesus' name.

6.Father, You're the God of restoration, please, restore every inch of backsliding in my life, and let my life become too hot for the enemies to handle, in Jesus' name.

7.Father, please help my fire to burn bright always and never go down, in the mighty name of Jesus.

8.Father, let Your fire fall afresh, upon my life, and let every fire extinguisher in my life, be consumed, in Jesus' name.

9.Father, please, make me an overcomer and write my name in the book of life, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and let him finish well and strong, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus' name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus' name.

13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus' name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

#GodBlessOurNation

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: THURSDAY 6TH AUGUST 2020

THEME: HOW HOT IS YOUR FIRE?

MEMORISE:

Revelation 3:16 "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

READ: Revelation 3:2-6

3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.  3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

MESSAGE

There are three possibilities with your fire. It could be burning bright, burning low or completely out. If the fire is burning bright, be careful. 1 Peter 5:8 says:

”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

1 Corinthians 10: 12 says:

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 

When fire is burning bright, demons take note of it and are watching closely. Since they cannot touch the fire, they await a time when it will burn out, so they can pounce on the fellow. Make sure you stay connected to God (John 15:5).

If the fire is burning low - you still go to Church, still look and talk like a Christian, but inside, you know you are not as close to God as you used to be, that is being lukewarm. Being lukewarm is dangerous (Revelation 3:15-16). Revelation 2:5 is a great warning:

"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” 

Cry to God for a fresh baptism of fire if you have become lukewarm. 

On the other hand, if your fire Is completely out - if you have gone back to the filth of your past and are now doing those things which are completely against the word of God, know that though you have drifted far, God has not rejected you. The fact that you are still alive means He is still interested In having you back. Ezekiel 37:1-10 makes it clear that dry bones can live again. In John 21:15-19, Peter missed it by going back to being a fisherman, but Jesus came to meet him there and restored his destiny. Peter’s repentance was genuine; he wept bitterly and was restored. You too can be restored if you cry genuinely to God. 

May your fire always burn bright and never go out in the mighty name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINT:

Father, please help my fire burn bright always and never go down, in the mighty name of Jesus.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Jeremiah 1-3

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 26: STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS

1.Stand up! stand up for Jesus,

Ye soldiers of the Cross!

Lift high His royal banner;

It must not suffer loss.

From vict'ry unto vict'ry

His army shall He lead,

Till every foe is vanquished,

And Christ is Lord indeed.

2. Stand up! stand up for Jesus,

The trumpet call obey;

Forth to the mighty conllict,

In this His glorious day.

Ye that are men, now serve Him

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger,

And strength to strength oppose.

3. Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

Stand in His strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you,

Ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armour;

And watching unto prayer;

Where duty calls, or danger,

Be never wanting there.

4. Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long;

This day the noise of battle,

The next the victor's song;

To him that overcometh,

A crown of life shall be;

He with the King of glory

Shall reign eternally.

Open Heavens Prayer Points

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Wednesday, August 5, 2020) - 

Exalt Not Thyself 

Special Note:

These prayer points are not written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, but by one of his numerous disciples, of Christ, who was inspired and mandated by the Holy Spirit, about 5 years ago, (effective January 1st, 2015), to start writing these prayer points, based on the Open Heavens Daily Devotional, authored by Pastor E. A. Adeboye.

Some of the prayer points are deep spiritually and may not be understood by carnal minds.

If you want to be blessed from these prayer points, you must first, surrender Your life, to the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, by saying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to You with a deeply repentant heart, please, forgive me all my sins. I surrender my life to you, today, and, I accept You, as my personal Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save my soul from eternal destruction in hell fire. In Jesus' name, I pray.”

Prayer Points:

1.I worship and adore, You, my Father; You are the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the creator of heaven and the earth; You are the Most High God.

2.Father, I confess that, there is nothing that I can lay claim to in life that has not been given to me by You, from above.

3.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, or shared Your glory with anyone, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.

4.Father, let every spirit of pride, arrogance and self-centredness, in my life be consumed by Your fire, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, please, purge and deliver me from the spirit of haughtiness and pride, before I fall and I am destroyed, in Jesus' name.

6.Father, please, give me a humble and a contrite heart, which You will not despise, in Jesus' name.

7.Father, deliver me from the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life, in Jesus' name.

8.Father, break me, remould me and use me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name.

9.Father, without You, I am nothing; please, help me to walk in humility and total reliance on You, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye and reward him for all his labours of love in Your vineyard, in Jesus' name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus' name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus' name.

13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus' name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

#GodBlessOurNation

These prayers have no expiry date! Please, pray them, irrespective of the time they get to you. Remain blessed, in Jesus' name.

Kindly, purchase your own hard copy or online version of the Open Heavens devotional & buy for your friends too, as a potent evangelism tool. God bless you, as you sow, into Pastor E.A. Adeboye's book Ministry, in Jesus' name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY 5TH AUGUST 2020

THEME: EXALT NOT THYSELF

MEMORISE:

Luke 14:11 "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

READ: Luke 14:7-11, Proverbs 16:18

Luke 14:7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,  14:8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;  14:9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.  14:10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.  14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

MESSAGE

Every human being has the tendency to be proud. We see our possessions as a leverage for us to feel better than others who are less privileged. Beware of pride; God hates it. Indeed, He said in 1 Peter 5:5 that He resists the proud. 

One thing about pride is that even though it makes the proud feel he is better than others, it actually makes him less than they are, as seen in today’s memory verse. 

Generally, a humble fellow gains more respect and honour, but people tend to ridicule the proud. If even we humans don’t like proud people, how much more God. Wear humility like a garment, pride is a destroyer. It destroyed King Saul: in a bid to protect his ego, he sinned against God. 2 Chronicles 26:1-21 tells us about King Uzziah. When he was young, he did the will of God, but later became proud and died a leper. What do you have that makes you feel you are above others? You need to recognise that God can take it away in an instant. Psalm 75:6-7 says: 

”For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” 

God dethroned a proud Vashti to raise a humble Esther as queen in her stead (Esther 1, 2). King Herod in Acts 12:22-23 was destroyed because of pride. He never uttered a word in that instance; his pride was in the heart. He heard the people praising him, but did not stop them. God does not share His glory with anyone. If you are beginning to feel like several things or people cannot do well without you, then He will show you that you are nothing. So when you hear anyone praising you, immediately ask them to stop before it annoys God. Remain humble, otherwise destruction is coming. Proverbs 16:18 says: 

”Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a faIl.” 

KEY POINT:

You cannot do anything without the grace of God. However, He only gives His grace to humble people. Are you humble?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Zephaniah 1-3

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 2: ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER

1. All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever low and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

Chorus

I surrender all, I surrender all:

All to Thee, my blessed saviour,

I surrender all.

2. All to Jesus I surrender, 

Humbly at His feet l bow; 

Worldly pleasures all forsaken.

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

3. All to Jesus I surrender.

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

4. All to Jesus I surrender,

Now I feel the sacred flame 

O the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory to His Name!

Open Heavens Prayer Points

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: 

Tuesday, August 4th, 2020

Remember Lot's Wife II

1. I worship and adore You, my Father; Your dominion is an Everlasting dominion, and Your kingdom is from generation to generation.

2.Thank You, my Father, the God of second chance, for Your mercy that endureth forever over my life and family.

3.Father, in anyway I have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.

4.Father, please, let Your fire consume, in my life, every spirit of pride, arrogance, disobedience and self-will, in Jesus name.

5.Father, please, teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart to wisdom, in Jesus name.

6.Father, fill me afresh to the brim with Your Holy Spirit, and give me a humble, submissive, obedient and teachable heart, in Jesus name.

7.Father, give me the grace never to harden my heart against Your word and instructions; please, make me not only the hearer of Your word, but also the doer, in Jesus name.

8.Father, please, help me to learn from my own past mistakes, and the mistakes of others, in Jesus name.

9.Father, please, take me away from every path, leading to eternal destruction, that I may be treading, now; and place me on the path of eternal life, by Your mercy and grace, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and, grant him the grace to finish well and strong, in Jesus name.

11.Father, bless Your son, that You have been using to prepare these prayer points, beyond measures, and all those who have been rebroadcasting them, in Jesus name.

12.Father, let every challenge, hindrance and obstacle of getting these prayer points across to Your children, timely, and on daily basis be removed, in Jesus name.

13.Your Personal petitions.

( Philippians 4:6)

14.In Jesus name I pray.

(John 14:13-14; 15:16)

15.Thank you Father for answered prayers.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

#GodBlessOurNation

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: TUESDAY 4TH AUGUST 2020

THEME: REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE II

MEMORISE:

Proverbs 10:14 "Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction."

READ: Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

MESSAGE

It is wise to learn from the experience of others, but sometimes, we ourselves have experiences we ought to learn from. Nebuchadnezzar was a man who learnt from his personal experience. God had warned him in a dream and also arranged for Daniel not only to interpret the dream to him, but also to counsel him on how to escape the wrath of God. Unfortunately, he did not heed the warning and for seven years, he ate grass like an animal (Daniel 4). Thank God he got a second chance. By the time he came back to his senses, he had learnt his lessons and recognised Jehovah as the real King. Nobody needed to teach him that again; his experience had done enough. Daniel 4:34 says:

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:"

There are however, some foolish people who refuse to either learn from the experience of others or even theirs. Such people usually never live to tell the story. King Pharaoh for example, should have realised, at least by the third plague, that the God of Israel is not a God to fight. Little wonder God hardened his heart afterwards and he did not realise this truth even after the tenth plague and his eventual death (Exodus 9).

Many people talk about the foolishness of Pharaoh, but some are doing the same thing. How can someone who committed adultery and lost some privileges from that act still go back into it? How can someone who stole and was imprisoned come out and steal again? For people who refuse to learn from personal experience, the end will be disastrous if they don't repent and forsake their sins. A word is enough for the wise.

REFLECTION:

Learn from your past experiences and those of others. Remember Lot's wife.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

2 Kings 22-23

2 Chronicles 34-35

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 18: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE

1. My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Saviour divine!

Now hear me while I pray,

Take all my guilt away,

Oh, let me from this day

Be wholly Thine!

2. May Thy rich grace impart

Strength to my fainting heart,

My zeal inspire!

As Thou hast died for me,

Oh, may my love to Thee

Pure, warm, and changeless be,

A living fire!

3. While life’s dark maze I tread,

And griefs around me spread,

Be Thou my guide;

Bid darkness turn to day,

Wipe sorrow’s tears away,

Nor let me ever stray

From Thee aside.

4. When ends life’s transient dream,

When death’s cold, sullen stream

Shall o’er me roll;

Blest Saviour, then in love,

Fear and distrust remove;

Oh, bear me safe above,

A ransomed soul!