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Open Heavens 30th, November 2015 by Pastor E.A Adeboye

KNOWING HIM IS LIFE
Memorise: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise loving-kindness, judgement, and rightousness, in the

earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 9:24

Read: Jeremiah 9:23-24, 23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Bible in one year; Psalm 51-56, Hebrews 5:11-6:12

 

MESSAGE!
Life is not what many people think it is. It is not about financial or material abundance; neither is it about physical endowments. Life is definitely not about power, achievements or worldly wisdom. What then is life? Jesus answers this question in John 17:3:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
True life is knowing God and Jesus Christ. In today’s Bible reading, God instructs us not to boast of our wisdom, might or riches. He said if we want to boast, we should boast in what we know about Him. When you engage in such boasting, the essence is not to flaunt your knowledge like some people do today; rather, it is to rejoice in the fact that God has revealed Himself to you to that extent. Why should you take pleasure in knowing God? Why should knowing God be something you should be proud of? It is because knowing God can do certain powerful things in your life and in the lives of others around you.
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32
By the revelation of God given to Daniel, we are made to understand that knowing God produces strength and exploits. What kinds of exploits are being referred to here? When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and you daily increase in the knowledge of the Holy Trinity, you will not only have eternal life, but the life of God will also be channelled  through you to others. For instance, you will lay your hands on the blind, and as the divine life flows through you to such a fellow, he will begin to see. When you pray for the barren, the divine life will cause her to conceive. This is life! When your life begins to bring joy to the lives of many others, that is life. The life of God flowing through you will make you the light of the world, causing those in darkness to see. The divine life will also make you the salt of the earth, giving good taste to a tasteless world. This life of God is not predicated upon the material world but on the relationship you have with the Lord. How is your spiritual life? Have you gauged your spiritual life lately?
Prayer Point

 

Father, reveal Yourself to me, and help me to respond to You the way You expect me to.

BLESSED WITH THE EXCELLENT AND THE PLENTY

30
Nov

Deuteronomy 28:4

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

Would you want to buy a chair that Jesus made? I would, even if it cost US$1,000 because it would be of superb quality. Whatever Jesus did, He did it with perfect excellence.

And because Christ is in you, the things which you produce will be of exceptional quality too. That includes your children, who will be champions. Deuteronomy 28:4 says, “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”.

God was using terms that the Israelites understood since they were farmers and shepherds. Today, “your ground” is the place of your work. This means that “the produce” of your work shall be of excellent quality.

That is not all. God promises that quantity will always follow quality because Deuteronomy 28:11 says that the Lord will “grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body,” which means that you will have plenty of children, “in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground,” which means that your business will flourish and you will be a leading producer in the area of your specialty.

My friend, your excellence and plenty do not come by your efforts. They come by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for you to have divine provision—“though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus was made destitute of all material things at the cross. He had nothing! As He hung on the cross, He watched the Roman soldiers gamble for His robe. His last possession on earth was gambled away. He became poor, so that you could be blessed with the excellent and the plenty!

Thought For The Day

Jesus was made destitute of all material things at the cross, so that you could be blessed with the excellent and the plenty!

Draw the Line by Joyce Meyer – posted November 29, 2015

by Joyce Meyer – posted November 29, 2015

 

So the king said to me, Why do you look sad, since you are not sick? . . .Then I was very much afraid. . . . The king said to me, For what do you ask? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
—Nehemiah 2:2-4

When a boss demands so much of an employee that it is ruining her home life, her spiritual life, and perhaps her health, she is not being rebellious if she confronts the boss and states plainly what she can and cannot do. She actually would incur guilt if she did not.

God expects a person to put her marriage, her family, her home, her spiritual life, and her health before her job. If she loses her job as a result of proper confrontation, God will help her get a better one. It is sad when a person lives in so much fear of the loss of money and reputation that she allows herself to lose her health, the respect of her family, and a good relationship with God. It is sad to have the approval of someone, such as a boss, but to be out of the will of God. If you have been allowing someone to control you, you should ask yourself what price you are paying to have that person’s approval. Don’t play the games you have to play in order to have everyone’s approval.

Lord, when it comes to doing Your will, I trust You to help me to draw the line and stand for the right values. I will stand with You. Amen.

JESUS IS YOUR RESTORER AND NOURISHER

29
Nov

Ruth 4:15

And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…

Famine impoverished the life of Naomi, an Israelite. But it was the deaths of her husband and two sons that left her completely destitute. (Ruth 1:1–5) Or so she thought, until Boaz, who was a wealthy and close relative, entered her life.

As her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz married Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. And through that union, Naomi had a grandson. The birth of her grandson gave her a new lease of life, causing the womenfolk in her village to declare that the restorer of life and the nourisher of her old age had come into her life. (Ruth 4:14–16)

Boaz is a picture of Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer. Jesus became our kinsman when He was born into this world as one like us. And He became our Redeemer when He paid with His life and blood at the cross to redeem us.

Jesus gave Himself to us as our restorer of life and nourisher of our old age. When the restorer of life is in our lives, what we have lost can be restored. (Joel 2:25−26) And with the nourisher of our old age in us, our bodies can be gloriously renewed even though we advance in our years.

That is why when Moses died at the age of 120, his eyes were not dim and his natural vigor was not diminished. (Deuteronomy 34:7) Caleb, at 85 years old, could still drive out the giants from the land. God had literally nourished his body and made it strong for war. (Joshua 14:11) Sarah was certainly rejuvenated in her old age by God for she was still desirable to a king at the age of 90. (Genesis 20:1–2) God even renewed her womb. She received strength to conceive seed (Hebrews 11:11), giving birth to Isaac in her old age.

Beloved, God is outside of time and your faith in Him brings you into this timeless zone. There, what the years have stolen will be restored. And even as your years increase, you will not grow weak and weary because the restorer of life and nourisher of your old age is in you!

Thought For The Day

With Jesus the nourisher of our old age in us, our bodies can be gloriously renewed even though we advance in our years.

FOR POWER Today: 2015-11-28

FOR POWER

Today: 2015-11-28

God’s power is not for strong people.

It is weak people that requires God’s power.

Paul, the apostle described himself as an embodiment of weakness and power.

“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, “…And my preaching was… in demonstration of the spirit and of power.” 1 Corinthians 2:3, 4

2 Cor 4:6, 17; 6:10; 12:10; 13:4

The demonstration of weakness is exhibited by

          –        Submission

          –        Obedience

          –        Contriteness

          –        Brokenness

These are fundamental virtues that must be in existence in man before God will endue Him with power.

Open Heavens , Saturday 28-11-2015, by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Seek Revelation
REVELATION 
Memorise: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: Ephesians 1:17

Read: Acts 16:25-34, 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

 

 

26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Bible in one year: Psalm 40-44, Hebrews 3:7-4:7
MESSAGE!
There is a relationship between information, knowledge and revelation. Information is a collection of known facts on a subject matter, particularly those garnered from cumulative experiential knowledge. There are pieces of information to help you in various areas of life. For instance, in marriage, there is a lot of information that can help a couple with martial problems to improve their situation, which can be found in books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, seminars and so on. As long as a couple does not access such information, it remains simple information, but the moment they take it, it becomes knowledge. The knowledge you receive but fail to act upon cannot profit you. If anything, it will lead to condemnation when the negative event that could have been averted through the use of that knowledge finally occurs. However, getting insight into how knowledge can be applied in solving a specific problem is dependent on inspiration, which is closely related to wisdom. Having knowledge is good, but having revelation in much better, because revelation tells you how to apply your knowledge to a specific situation you are confronted with in order to get the best results.
Take for instance the jailer in today’s Bible reading; by asking Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, it shows he already had the knowledge that salvation was available, but he did not know how to get it. It also shows that information was available on salvation at that time. Although he had obtained the knowledge about salvation, he remained in the dark and joined the authorities to punish and oppress innocent citizens, because he had no revelation on salvation. When eventually he caught the revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, He received Jesus into his heart and restituted his ways. He washed, fed and took care of the same prisoners whose beating and imprisonment he had supervised. As long as you remain at the level of knowledge, you are bound to make series of mistakes or take regrettable steps concerning certain situations of life. Today, many people have information but lack revelation. They acquire knowledge but do not know how best to utilise it. Being religious is all about having knowledge. That is why you find out that the most religious people commit the greatest sins. Beloved, knowledge is not enough! You need revelation. This was the essence of Paul’s prayer in our memory verse. Call on God to give you revelation concerning the things you know. Revelation links you with the purpose of a thing, in order to optimise that purpose.
Action Point
Religion fanatics like Saul of old persecute other religious people, because they have knowledge but lack revelation. Pray that God will reveal Himself to them.

 

Don’t Forget God by Joyce Meyer – posted November 28, 2015

For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.
—Jeremiah 2:13

The first and biggest mistake anyone can make is to forsake or ignore God, or act as though He doesn’t exist. This is what the people Jeremiah wrote about in today’s verse had done. Later in the same chapter that contains this verse, God says, My people have forgotten Me, days without number (Jeremiah 2:32). What a tragedy; it sounds as though God is sad or perhaps even lonely.

I sure wouldn’t like it if my children forgot about me. I never go many days without talking to each of them. I have one son who travels extensively with the ministry. Even when he is overseas, he calls me every few days. I remember a time when Dave and I had dinner with one of our sons two evenings in a row. Yet the next day he called just to see what we were doing and to ask if we wanted to do something together the following evening. He also called to simply say that he and his wife really appreciate all the things we do to help them. These are the kinds of things that help build and maintain good relationships.

Sometimes the little things mean the most. My children’s actions let me know that they love me. Even though I know with my mind that they love me, it sure is good to also feel their love.

That is the way God is with us, His beloved children. He may know we love Him, but He also likes to experience our love for Him through our actions, especially our remembering Him and our desire to spend time with Him.

THANK YOUR WAY TO PEACE

28
Nov

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

You would probably have read this verse before, but would you like to know how to apply it in your everyday life? Let me give you an illustration to help you.

Let’s say that you are one of those in your company eligible for a promotion and you will know tomorrow whether you get it. You want the promotion badly because it means more income for your family. So you lie in bed at night tossing and turning. You pray, “Father, please take away all my worries about this promotion. Give me faith.” One hour later, you are more anxious than ever. It seems like God is not answering your prayer!

How come? Because you are not doing it God’s way.

Pray like this instead: “Father, I cast all my worries about the promotion into Your loving hands because You care for me and love me.” The Bible tells us to cast all our cares upon the Lord for He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) Then, say, “Father, I would like to have the promotion.” It is okay to ask Him for that. Now, here comes the most powerful part—thanksgiving. Finish off with thanksgiving. Thank God for His faithfulness.

Say something like, “Father, whether I get the promotion or not, I thank You that You will always provide for my family with more than enough. You who feed the birds of the air and clothe the lilies of the field will take care of us. So I am not going to worry about this promotion. You are the source of all my blessings.” (Matthew 6:30, Philippians 4:19)

When you pray like this, all of a sudden, you are no longer held hostage by the promotion. I call this the “thank You” therapy. The more you know God’s Word, the more you can thank Him. The more you thank Him, the more His peace reigns in your heart. And many a time, before you know it, it is morning! You don’t even remember falling asleep. The peace of God reigns like that.

My friend, whatever your concern is, bring it to your Father in prayer and thank your way to peace!

Thought For The Day

The more you know God’s Word, the more you can thank Him. The more you thank Him, the more His peace reigns in your heart.

Becoming God’s Mouthpiece by Joyce Meyer – posted November 27, 2015

She opens her mouth in skillful and godly Wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness [giving counsel and instruction].
—Proverbs 31:26

Regardless of our specific ministry within the body of Christ, each of us is a mouthpiece for God in some way. Whether you and I have been given a worldwide teaching gift or whether we have been given the ability to witness to our coworkers, God wants us to use our mouth for Him.

A wise man once said to me, “Joyce, God has given you the ear of many. Stay broken and only speak when spoken through.” Obviously this requires intensive training by the Holy Spirit. If we desire the words of our mouth to carry God’s power, then our mouth must belong to Him. Is your mouth God’s mouth? Have you really given it to Him for His purpose?

A person’s heart can become hardened as a result of making excuses for his behavior. For a long time, I excused my “mouth problems” by blaming them on my personality, or on abuse in my past, or on the fact that I felt bad or was so tired. Actually, the list of excuses we make for our failure to conform to the will and Word of God is endless.

Finally the Holy Spirit got my full attention so that I began to become accountable for my words. I still have a long way to go, but I feel I have made much progress because I have reached the stage of true repentance.

Those who desire to be used by God need to allow Him to deal with them concerning their mouth and what comes out of it.

 

STOP LOOKING FOR CHEAP THINGS Today: 2015-11-27

The queue for cheap things is usually longer than that of costly things. An average man will rather line up for what is cheap because he does not want to stress or strain.

Those who look for cheap things will wait for too long on the queue. It may never become your turn to make a mark as long as you are on that queue. Life is too short to remain on that queue.

Be prepared to pay for the fast lane, depart from the slow lane.
It is better to fail taking risk than to remain on the queue hoping and waiting for your turn to come.

Therefore take the risk by jumping the queue.
Pay the price today to obtain the prize tomorrow.