Devotionals

OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL by Pastor E.A Adeboye NOT REPROBATE Saturday October 29th 2016

Memorise: But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. 2nd Corinthians 13:6
Read: 2nd Corinthians 13:5-8 (KJV)
5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
7 Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
Bible in one year: Zechariah 6:9-10:12, Psalms 89:38-52

MESSAGE

To be a reprobate is very dangerous for the society and for the Christian faith in particular. The reason is not far-fetched; a reprobate does immoral and unethical things without any sense of guilt or remorse because his or her conscience has been seared with hot iron of defiance.
In our memory verse for today, Apostle Paul affirmed his confidence in the Corinthians Church premised on the fact that they would do according to the godly instructions he gave them. The problem of some of the 21st century believers is the philosophy of relativism which makes them think that an acceptable statement or action in the time of war will also be acceptable in the time of peace.
For instance, if you kill while on a battle field, you are valiant and patriotic, however, if you kill in the time of peace, even as a soldier, you will be charged with murder. An extreme case of relativism is when killing in the time of peace is considered the same with killing in the time of war. This is a human error that should not be allowed in the body of Christ because it turns believers into reprobates.
In our text today, Apostle Paul admonished the Church at Corinth, and by extension, the Church of today to make sure they are still in the faith. He goes further to challenge us to prove that we are carriers of Jesus’ image. This is the reason why John, the beloved wrote in 1st John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
Some people have sold themselves to reprobate minds, and so no number of sermons they hear can change them. They keep saying, “My conscience does not condemn me.” The truth is that a dead conscience cannot condemn, because it is not active.
Prayer Point
Lord Jesus, please cleanse my conscience with Your Blood so that it may be more active and sensitive for you.

HYMN 5

1 O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound.
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
The Comforter has come!
Refrain:
The Comforter has come! The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n,
O spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found:
The Comforter has come!
2 The long, long night is past; the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
3 Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And thro’ the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
4 O boundless love divine! How shall this tongue of mine
To wond’ring mortals tell the matchless grace divine –
That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine?
The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

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OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Memorise: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalms 30:5
Read: Psalms 30:1-5 (KJV)
1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Bible in one year: Zechariah 1:1-6-8, Psalms 86:15-37

MESSAGE

A truth catches one’s attention in today’s Bible reading; God can be angry! If this wasn’t the case, the Bible wouldn’t have said; “For this anger endureth but a moment”. Jeremiah 25:6 further corroborates this fact by saying that the God of love can be provoked to anger. “And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.”
It is only a false teacher or prophet that will teach that God is so lovingly holy, therefore, He can’t be provoked to anger. This type of teaching makes children of God take the love of their heavenly Father for granted. Having said this, we must also acknowledge the fact that His anger does not last forever. There is a condition though. When you don’t take God and His mercies for granted, and you genuinely turn away from your wickedness, He will deal with you as if you have never sinned before.
Proverbs 28:13 says: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” When God is angry with an individual, that fellow cannot know joy. Psalms 32:10 says: “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.”
Going by this scripture, every man born of a woman is doomed for sorrow until Jesus Christ redeems him from the curse of sin. Our trust in the work of redemption without taking the One who made it possible for granted, will bring us unspeakable joy. When our relationship is cordial with God, we can boldly say like the Psalmist; “weeping may endure for a night…” (Due to the variable nature of life) “…but joy cometh in the morning.”
When I first became General Overseer, anytime I returned from my missionary journeys, my wife would be eager to tell me about all the matters that needed my attention. After listening to them all, I would ask for my food and after the meal I would go to bed. My wife kept on wondering about my attitude. I had to explain to her the fact that joy will come in the morning because I was leaving everything to God while I sleep. Faithful is He who has promised us joy in the morning; it shall surely come.
Prayer Point
Father, let my morning of joy come now.

HYMN 11

1 Standing on the promises of Christ my king,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.
Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of God my Savior;
standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
3 Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love’s strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
4 Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

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Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Memorise: Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:29
Read: Matthew 9:20-22, (KJV)
20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Bible in one year:Obadiah 1, Jonah 1-4, Psalm 85

MESSAGE

There is tremendous power in a touch. It may be positive or negative as there are categories and types of touches. Naaman knew the power in a touch, especially from representatives of God and said with a sense of disappointment when Elisha did not come out to touch him when he went to Samaria: “…Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” 2nd Kings 5:11
A touch can bring death as in the case of Uzzah in the book of Samuel: “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.” 2nd Samuel 6:6-7
During one of our Conventions at the Redemption Camp in Nigeria, the Lord asked me to lay out a piece of cloth for people to touch by faith and receive their healing, with a warning that it should simply be touched and not held. A man went ahead to touch (I will say without faith) because he also grabbed the cloth. It took special grace and forgiveness of God for him not to die the moment he touched outside of faith; his entire body began to shake uncontrollably from morning till evening. It would have been a touch of death but for God’s intervention.
Another touch can bring healing as in the case of the woman with the issue of blood in our Bible reading for today. “For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.” Matthew 9:21. This is the touch of faith. The touch of faith can work for the one who touches and for the touched. In the same chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus Christ was met by two blind men who were crying for mercy of healing. When Jesus found out that these men had faith to receive divine touches for healing, the Bible says: “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, see that no man know it.” Matthew 9:29-30
The touch of faith is required anytime you need a miracle. I pray for someone using this devotional; the Lord will touch you for healing and deliverance today, and will have a testimony in Jesus’ name. I also pray that whatever you touch by faith today will prosper in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point
Father, please touch me in the areas where I need Your intervention today and let my joy be full in Jesus’ name.
AUTHOR : Pastor E.A Adeboye
HYMN 7
1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.
3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.
4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

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