Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SUNDAY 20TH DECEMBER 2020.

THEME: TRUTH AND WISDOM.

MEMORISE:

 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

Proverbs 24:24

READ: Proverbs 24:23-26

23 These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.

26 Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.

MESSAGE:

Many times, we Pastors find ourselves in situations where we are faced with either speaking the truth or telling a lie to flatter someone who is influential or from whom we can get a lot of benefits. At such times, we must ensure that we do not lie. Our God has never been in support of respecting people to the extent of endorsing their wrongdoings. It does not matter who the fellow is or how much you can gain from them, never lie to get their favor. When God told Prophet Jeremiah that He would be sending him to nations, he knew that meant that he would be confronting some really influential people, so he responded in Jeremiah 1:6:

“Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”

And God reassured him in Jeremiah 1:7-8 thus:

“…….and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”

This message is still relevant is still relevant today: fear not, God is with you to deliver you. The elders have a saying that it is not the one who we are sent to that we must fear, but the one who sent us.

Now, when God has sent you to correct an influential person, you need to do it with wisdom. John the Baptist confronted Herod and lost his head, but Nathan confronted David and the king repented, what is the difference between the way the two prophets carried out their assignment? John the Baptist was straight and direct with Herod. The Bible says in Mark 6:18:

“For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.”

Nathan, in his own case, decided to tell the king a fictional story about someone else who did something similar to what David had done, so he got David to judge the case by himself and when David acknowledged the fellow’s sin, Nathan turned it around and said “Sir, that fellow is actually you”. Thereafter, he went on to deliver the message God had sent him to deliver (2 Samuel 12:1-14). If Nathan had come straight to tell the king that the sword would never depart from his house, that God would raise his own family members to go against him and so on, he may have lost his head too.

KEY POINT:

Make sure you delivered message that God has sent you with, but ask Him for the wisdom with which to present it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Hebrews 1-6

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 conflict, 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 armor, and watching unto prayer,

Where calls the voice of duty, 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: (Saturday, December 19, 2020) - 

By Grace, Through Faith

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, 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.Thank You, Father, for the abundance of Your grace over my life, and for Your finished work at Calvary,  that brought salvation to my soul.

2.Thank You, Father, for Your kindness, mercy and  unmerited favour upon my life and destiny, and, for the grace to believe in You.

3.Thank You, Jesus, for going to Calvary to pay the price for my sin, which I could not pay, with Your own blood.

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

5.Father, please, let me have works to show for my faith; empower me to do great and mighty works of miracles and exploits in Your kingdom, in Jesus name.

6.Father, increase my faith in You on a daily basis; please, don't let my faith fail me, in the face of life's challenges and adversities, in Jesus name.

7.Father, please, give me the grace to always obey You and to do Your perfect Will, at all times, in Jesus name.

8.Father, please, let me never abuse Your grace over my life, or take You or Your word for granted, in Jesus name.

9.Father, please, let the reason for which I was born and born again, be fulfilled, in my life, in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye; thank You, Father, for the abundance of Your grace over his life, ministry and family, in Jesus' namPrayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Saturday, December 19, 2020) 

By Grace, Through Faith 

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, 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.Thank You, Father, for the abundance of Your grace over my life, and for Your finished work at Calvary,  that brought salvation to my soul.

2.Thank You, Father, for Your kindness, mercy and  unmerited favour upon my life and destiny, and, for the grace to believe in You.

3.Thank You, Jesus, for going to Calvary to pay the price for my sin, which I could not pay, with Your own blood.

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

5.Father, please, let me have works to show for my faith; empower me to do great and mighty works of miracles and exploits in Your kingdom, in Jesus' name.

6.Father, increase my faith in You on a daily basis; please, don't let my faith fail me, in the face of life's challenges and adversities, in Jesus' name.

7.Father, please, give me the grace to always obey You and to do Your perfect Will, at all times, in Jesus' name.

8.Father, please, let me never abuse Your grace over my life, or take You or Your word for granted, in Jesus' name.

9.Father, please, let the reason for which I was born and born again, be fulfilled, in my life, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye; thank You, Father, for the abundance of Your grace over his life, ministry and family, 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's name.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

 OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: SATURDAY 19TH DECEMBER 2020.

THEME: BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH.

MEMORISE:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:8

READ: Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

MESSAGE:

Many of our beloved ‘grace’ preachers have often misinterpreted today’s Bible reading to mean that since being saved is not by works but grace, you can do whatever you like and still maintain your salvation.

Grace means unmerited favor. That means, you did not do anything to be amongst those who God decided to save. John 6:44 says “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 15:16 says “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you” It is only by grace that we had an encounter that brought us into a relationship with Christ.

The passage then goes on to say that we are “saved through faith”. So, we are not only saved through faith. This means that even if the grace is available for you to be saved, salvation can only occur through your faith. Now faith is the belief in Christ and His finished work on the cross. Romans 10:9 says: 

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

So, no faith, no salvation. The Bible says in James 2:18-20:

“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”

You cannot claim to have faith in Christ finished work on the cross and still be acting againt His word. Without faith, even with the availability of grace, you can neither be saved nor please God (Galatians 6:7).

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

KEY POINT:

Grace does not give you the liberty to sin, rather, it gives you the ability to live above it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  1 Peter 1-5

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 18: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE,

1. My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Savior 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 Savior, then in love,

Fear and distrust remove;

Oh, bear me safe above,

A ransomed soul!

Open Heavens Prayer Points

 Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: Friday, December 18, 2020

Support Missionaries

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, 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.Thank You, Jesus, for leaving all Your glory in heaven, to take the form of a man, in order to bring the good news of the gospel and salvation to us.

2.Thank You, Father, for all Your missionaries, who have left their comfort zones, in order to take the gospel of Christ to hostile and war-torn communities, all over the world.

3.Thank You, Father, for creating me in Your image and empowering me, as an agent of transformation, in this wicked and perverse generation.

4.Thank You, Father, for all those You have inspired to leave their comfort zones, to take the gospel to people in villages and remote areas, that lack basic amenities, like good water, electricity and education for their children.

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

6.Father, please, use me and my family to alleviate the sufferings, financially and materially, of these noble men and women, labouring in various mission fields, all over the world, in Jesus name.

7.Father, help me to encourage missionaries, who are on the brink of giving up, to return to cities, due to lack of financial and other support from established Christians, in Jesus name.

8.Father, where I could not go to evangelise, due to personal and other constraints, please, give me the grace to send my money and other materials, monthly, to support those who have gone, in Jesus name.

9.Father, please, make me and my family to be a source of support and encouragement, morally and financially, to missionaries, who are our 'frontline soldiers' in the battle against the 'gates of hell', in Jesus name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye; meet him today, and everyday, at the points of his needs, 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: FRIDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2020.

THEME: SUPPORT MISSIONARIES.

MEMORISE:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Isaiah 52:7

READ: 3 John 1:5-7

5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

6 Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

7 Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

MESSAGE:

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

As we pray for and bless the Shepherds around us with gifts, let us not forget those in hostile and war-torn communities too.

It is not God’s will for missionaries to be abandoned while wealthy Christians enjoyed His blessings in the urban centers. Usually, these gospel crusaders risk their lives, having left their cities and families to do God’s work in places most of us would not consider going to. This is why we must support them with both our prayers and resources.

You can commit a certain percentage of your monthly income to support a missionary group. What you consider negligible could go a long way to ease their burden. A constant supply of food and amenities for their communities would make their audience more receptive, while also giving them some influence even amongst the rulers of the land.

When Christians missionaries first arrived Nigeria, their work was easy because as they came with Bibles, they also brought education for the children and medicines for the sick. If they hadn’t succeeded, perhaps many more of us would have been involved in rituals today.

Modern Christians have not supported mission trips as much as in the past, thus, allowing the devil spread his message of perversion like wildfire.

Those who would have loved to be missionaries hold back because of the fear that no one would remember them. Some have left the mission field, not for their sakes, but for their children’s. A little help could reverse the trend. You may not be able to go to the field but you can also win souls to God with your resources and prayers. Don’t miss this opportunity. Support missionaries today.

KEY POINT:

If you cannot go on mission trips, at least support those who do.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Titus 1-3

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 9: HOLD THE FORT.

1. Ho, my comrades, see the signal, waving in the sky!

Reinforcements now appearing, victory is nigh.

Refrain:

“Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still;

Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.”

2. See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on;

Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!

3. See the glorious banner waving! Hear the trumpet blow!

In our Leader’s Name we triumph over every foe.

4. Fierce and long the battle rages, but our help is near;

Onward comes our great Commander, cheer, my comrades, cheer!

Open Heavens Prayer Points

 Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Thursday, December 17, 2020) 

ON THE LORD’S SIDE? 

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, 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.Thank You, Father, for the salvation of my soul, and for the abundance of Your grace, in my life.

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

3.Father, give me the grace never to cover my sins, that I may prosper; and,  empower me to always confess and forsake them, that I may receive mercy, in Jesus' name.

4.Father, let every spirit of hypocrisy, deceit, betrayal, disobedience and eye service, in my life and in Your church be consumed by Your fire, in Jesus' name.

5.Father, not my Will nor the Will of  church members, but Your Will be done, at all times, in my life and in Your church, in Jesus' name.

6.Father, let me never water down or compromise Your word or standard, or set aside Your instruction, in order to please men, for whatever reason, in Jesus' name.

7.Father, if I have to stand alone and become unpopular with men, for Your Will to be done, please, strengthen me to do so; for I know the truth will always prevail over falsehood, in the end, in Jesus' name.

8.Father, reveal Your Will to me in all things and at all times; and let Your revelation, be the final word upon which my decisions are based, in Jesus' name.

9.Father, please, give me the grace to always be on Your side in my words, attitude, comportment and actions, and, not against You, in Jesus' name.

10.Father, bless your son, Pastor E.A.Adeboye, and, uphold him till the end, by Your right hand of righteousness, 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 17TH DECEMBER 2020.

THEME: ON THE LORD’S SIDE?

MEMORISE:

 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 12:30

READ: Exodus 32:22-26

22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

MESSAGE:

The Israelites had departed from God while Moses was on the Mount. They had begun to worship a golden calf which Aaron was pressured to make for them. This made Moses ask “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26)

Even in God’s service, people have varying motives.

While many may profess to be for God, their claims may not be entirely true, considering their secret lives. However, some Christians are true friends of God; in private and in the open. Even when they make mistakes, they don’t give excuses or seek to cover them up; they repent immediately. Their objective is ‘holiness unto the Lord’. Are you on the Lord’s side?

As there are two sides to a coin, so there are to the spiritual also: the good and the bad, Heaven and hell, God’s kingdom of light and Satan’s kingdom of darkness. You are either on one side or the other.

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” Joshua 5:13

Like the angel in the above passage had his sword drawn, so does everyone in the sprit realm, but who is your sword working for or against?

With every word you say and every action you take, your sword is swung, for or against God. If you conspire with people to sin instead of rebuking them, you are swinging, for or against God. If you consciously give erroneous interpretations of the Bible to fellow believers, you are clearly against God and on the side of Satan.

So many tongue-speaking ‘Christians’ are with the devil. This is dangerous. I pray for God’s mercy on such people.

Whose side are you truly on? 

ACTION POINT:

Examine your heart to see if you are truly on The Lord’s side. Make amends in repentance today if you find yourself wanting.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  1 Timothy 1-6

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE 

HYMN 4: BLESSED ASSURANCE, JESUS IS MINE.

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels, descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.