OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25TH, 2023.
THEME: GOD WANTS YOU TO PROSPER
MEMORISE:
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalms 35:27
READ: Genesis 26:12 -14
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
3 John 1:2
2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
MESSAGE
In John 10:10, Jesus Christ promised that He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Furthermore in Psalm 68:19, the Bible says that God daily loads us with benefits. God wants you to prosper because the Bible says clearly in Proverbs 10:15 that the destruction of the poor is their poverty. You will not be destroyed, in Jesus' name. 1 Timothy 6:10 says clearly that it is the love of money, and not money itself, that is the root of all evil.
God wants you to prosper because His plan for your life is that you will be a blessing. You cannot be a blessing to others if you are not blessed. If you have nothing to eat, how are you going to feed the poor? I decree into your life: you will prosper, in the mighty name of Jesus!
Some preachers talk about the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, saying because the rich went to hell while Lazarus the beggar was carried into Abraham's bossom, then rich people will all go to hell while only the poor will go to heaven. The conclusion is not in line with the story. When you study the passage very well you would see that the rich man pleaded for Lazarus to go back to earth to preach to his brothers but; Father Abraham responded that if His brethren did not listen to the prophets, they would not listen to Lazarus either. It is therefore clear that it is not wealth that sent the rich man to hell, but rather his refusal to listen to the prophets.
John 3:1-16 shows clearly that the way to make it to heaven is to be born again. It doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor; if you are not born again you are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire. You can be the richest person in the world and go to heaven if you are born again; you can be the poorest fellow in the world and go to hell if you refuse to surrender your life to Jesus.
Proverbs 10:22 states clearly that the blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow. You cannot end up in hell when your wealth comes from the Lord, and you live according to His will.
KEY POINT
Poverty is not a visa to heaven and wealth is not a visa to hell.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 12-15
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 26: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS
1 There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
Refrain:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
2 There shall be showers of blessing—
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
3 There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4 There shall be showers of blessing;
O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
5 There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.