OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY MARCH 23RD, 2023.
THEME: LISTEN TO THE WORD
MEMORISE:
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Jeremiah 6:10
READ: Matthew 13:3 -23
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
MESSAGE
Having discussed the word of God in the last few says, l must say that there are many who don't have ears to hear. Revelation 2:7 says, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches..."
There is danger in not hearing the word of God because Isaiah 6:8-10 says if you can hear, then you will repent and be healed. That is why the devil puts in all efforts to steal the word of God from our hearts as we see in our Bible reading for today. I am certain that the day you gave your life to Christ, you were not the only one who heard that message. Others heard it and many of them did not surrender their lives to Christ. This is because though they had ears physically, the devil had blocked their spiritual ears. Furthermore, there are a lot of Christians who have been going to Church for many years; the Pastors preaches powerful sermons, but it has had no effect on their lives because the devil has simply blocked their ears in order to keep them in bondage. I pray your spiritual ears will never be blocked, in Jesus' name.
There are also people who practice selective hearing of the word of God. In their case, the devil doesn't have to bother himself, they block their own ears themselves (Jeremiah 17:23). They don't want to hear that passage of the Bible that will condemn what they are doing wrong. When such people hear me say, "God said we should be holy for He is holy" they say, "Doesn't he have anything else to say"?
Psalm 95:6-8 made it clear that if you want to hear God's voice, "Harden not your heart". Some of us have hardened our hearts; we don't want to hear anymore. Remember the rich man's plea in Luke 16:19-31 when he told Abraham to send Lazarus to preach to his brothers. Abraham told him that his brothers had prophets speaking to them on earth; if they didn't listen to them, they wouldn't hear anyone else. They were destined for destruction.
You have genuine men and women of God teaching you the word now -'this devotional is a testament to that. Listen so that you will not regret it for eternity.
REFLECTION
Is your heart always open to receive the true word of God?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 4-7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 3: ANCIENT WORDS
1 Holy words long preserved
for our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart
Oh, let the Ancient words impart.
Chorus
Ancient words ever true
Changing me, and changing you.
We have come with open hearts
Oh let the ancient words impart.
2 Words of Life, words of Hope
Give us strength, help us cope
In this world, where e'er we roam
Ancient words will guide us Home.
3 Holy words of our Faith
Handed down to this age.
Came to us through sacrifice
Oh heed the faithful words of Christ.
4 Holy words long preserved
For our walk in this world.
They resound with God's own heart
Oh let the ancient words impart.
