Leading With God's Fear – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Monday 29th July 2013

LEADING WITH GOD'S FEAR BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
The God of Israel Said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 2 Samuel 23:3

Read:
2 Samuel 23:1-4

(2 Samuel 23:1) Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

(2 Samuel 23:2) The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

(2 Samuel 23:3) The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

(2 Samuel 23:4) And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

Open Heavens Message
In Exodus 1:15-21, a Pharoah who did not know Joseph came on board and passed a decree to kill all male Israelites that were born. we see here that ---link--power must be balanced---link--- with fear of God for it to be productive. It occurred to me that if we leave the government of our nation in the hands of someone who lacks the fear of God, we are all bound to pay dearly for it. Even unborn children and many innocent people will suffer for it. This is why we should obey 1 Timothy 2:1-3. Verse 2 of that scripture says we should pray,

''For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty''

That means the level of peace and quiet we experience in our nation is a function of number of quality prayers rendered on behalf of our leaders. Some believers tell you they are not interested in politics. They do not care who rules over them. Yet, they complain of excessive taxation, bribery and corruption, and misrule of such leaders. If you do not pray for those who lead you, then you have lost your right to complain. Beside those in secular government, you must equally prayerfully determine who becomes your next General Overseer, Senior Pastor or Pastor. If the wrong fellow takes up any of these ecclesiastical positions, you will surely suffer. Pray that God will never allow anyone who lacks the fear of God to rule over you. This also applies to the one who you accept to be your husband. If he lacks the fear of God, that home is doomed. Wake up today and start to pray! You would be amazed how much you can achieve through prayer. Your prayer can affect who governs you. Use this power to get the appropriate candidate that will bring joy to and it will be well with you. As a student, you can prayerfully ask for your right teacher, lecturer or supervisor that will be instrumental to your success. Start to ask the Lord for a leader with the fear of God from now on.

Bible In One Year:
Deuteronomy 26-28

Action Point:
A leader who fears God is accountable to God and the people under him or her. Ask that only such leaders will govern your life and nation from now on.

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Danger Of Silence – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Sunday 28th July 2013

DANGER OF SILENCE BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
call unto me and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3

Read:
2 Kings 4:1-7

(2 King 4:1) Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

(2 King 4:2) And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

(2 King 4:3) Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

(2 King 4:4) And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

(2 King 4:5) So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

(2 King 4:6) And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

(2 King 4:7) Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

Open Heavens Message
There are several lessons to be learnt from the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4:18-26, one of these is that in her time of need, she cried persistently for help until she got it. Another aspect for which she must commended is that when her son died, she did not immediately set out for the man of God but she first exercised her faith by placing the boy on the bed of the man of God. It was when the matter was beyond her faith that she set out to meet the man of God.

Today, many Christians are very lazy. They hardly exercise their faith in times of crisis. They used to calling one person or the other over most trivial matter. What happens if there is a crisis and there is no one you can call? Start trusting in the Lord. god wants you to grow. If only you can exercise your faith, no matter how small, it will begin to grow.

When the boy failed to wake up the bed of the man of God, she decided to take the matter to the man of God himself. Sighting her from afar, Elisha sent Gehazi his servant to her but she failed to disclose her problem to him. This raises the question of credibility and integrity. If as a minister of God people cannot share confidential matters with you, it may be that you rate quite low in integrity. If you are loose tongued and what is shared with you in secret filters out, and probably become common knowledge, then you will end up overseeing strangers. Are you trustworthy as a leader?

Moreover when she got to the man of God, she grabbed his feet, resolving not to leave him. The reason many people are still nursing their problem is because they are too quiet. If you keep quiet God will assume that you are enjoying the situation and He too will be silent on the matter. A widow of one of the sons of the prophets had a serious financial problem that could have led to her untimely death but she kept quiet. It was when she cried out that God arose for her. What situation are you or your family in? Cry out today and the Lord will come to your rescue.

Bible In One Year:
Deuteronomy 23-25

Key Point:
It is your outcry that tells God that you truly need what He thought you needed

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Secure Your Salvation – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Saturday 27th July 2013

SECURE YOUR SALVATION BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
Memorise:
Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Philippians 2:16

Read:
Philippians 2:12-16

(Php 2:12) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

(Php 2:13)For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

(Php 2:14) Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

(Php 2:15) That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

(Php 2:16) Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Open Heavens Message
If you are born-again, go further to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, walk in the Spirit. Do everything possible to retain the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. Several years ago, I used to preach to my mother to give her life to Jesus, but she would tell me she has been a Christian before she was married to my father. Yet, I would ask her: “Are you really born-again?” When she could no longer stand the pressure, she asked me what I wanted her to do, so I led her to Christ. After this, I was worried about the genuineness of her salvation, so I told God I needed to see the evidence of her conversion especially because she was advanced in age; I wanted God to baptize her with the Holy Spirit before she dies, so that I can be certain she is born-again.

During a visit one afternoon, while praying for God’s help so that she would be baptized with the Holy Spirit that same day, I fell asleep. Two of my daughters visited and met me sleeping, so they went to ask mama whether she had been baptized of the Holy Spirit. They took some time with her and mama received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

It was the noise that woke me. Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? If you have, are members of you nuclear and extended families saved? If they are, praise God, but don’t stop at that; help them to receive the Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49 says,

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with the power from high”

The presence of the Holy Spirit will be a witness of conversion to Christ as well as make them witnesses of the power of the Gospel according to Romans 8:9 and Acts 1:8. Do not take for granted that you are saved or that your loved ones have given his or her life to Christ, take further steps to secure that salvation by having more of the Spirit of Jess Christ.

Bible In One Year:
Deuteronomy 20-22

Action Point:
If you have not experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, pray that the Lord will baptize you with His fire. You can also see your pastor to pray with you.

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Don’t Inhibit This Chemistry – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Friday 26th July 2013

DON’T INHIBIT THIS CHEMISTRY BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
Abide in, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4

Read:
John 15:1-5

(Joh 15:1)I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

(Joh 15:2)Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and everybranchthat beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

(Joh 15:3)Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

(Joh 15:4)Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Open Heavens Message
To succeed in life and in ministry as a believer, you must understand the relationship that exists between you and the Lord. You need to dully understand your rights, privileges and obligations. Today’s reading tells us that there is a tree-branch relationship between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the tree – the Vine while we are the branches. If all is well with the tree, all will be well with the branches. If the vine is fruitful, the branches, all other things equal.

What passes through the vine also passes through branches. If the vine is fruitful, the branches too will bear fruit. For a branch to be unfruitful, while connected to a fruitful vine is a rarity except the branch is sick or detached from the vine. No branch produces fruit on its own except through the vine. As a believer in Christ, whatever is produced through you – be it physical or spiritual or otherwise is by the power of working in you, which is Jesus Christ.

Once in a while, it is possible for a branch to be sick. According to Psalm 107:17, sin brings affliction. The branch that goes into sin will end in affliction. But when this happens, Psalm 107:20 says as that branch repents, God will send His Word to deliver healing to the sick. Who is that Word? John 1:1,14 says it is none other than the Word that was in the beginning, Who was made flesh – the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, John 6:51 says to live, you must eat of His flesh. Beloved, being a branch of the Vine and a partaker of the flesh and blood of the Lord, you must know that there is a divine chemistry operating in you, which you must never allow sin to inhibit.

While you live free from sin and you take the Holy Communion in faith, John 6:56 says you and Jesus will co-exist in each other. This is a very powerful revelation. If you walk in this revelation, the divine nature becomes manifest in your human nature. Your weakness will be absorbed by His strength. Your limitation will be absorbed by His super-abundance, and you will gradually manifest His person. The chemistry that connects you with Jesus is so profound that you must not allow anything external to inhibit it. As long as your relationship with Him is unbroken, you will be able to access all that God has for you. Guard your link with Jesus jealously.

Bible In One Year:
Deuteronomy 17-19

Action Point:
List 20 things that happen or cannot happen to you knowing that Christ is in you and you are in Him

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Copying Methods – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Thursday 25th July 2013

COPYING METHHODS BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

Read:
Acts 19:11-19

(Act 19:11) And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

(Act 19:12) So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

(Act 19:13) Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

(Act 19:14) And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

(Act 19:15) And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

(Act 19:16) And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

(Act 19:17) And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

(Act 19:18) And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.

(Act 19:19) Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

Open Heavens Message
While some servants of God can lay a demand on the anointing of God upon their lives, and God will immediately answer, some others cannot because they really do not have any credit in their heavenly account. Take for instance Gehazi who was the servant of Elisha. In 2 Kings 4:29-31, Elisha gave Gehazi his rod to go and place it over the dead son of the Shunammite woman. As soon as he received it, he did not even wait to pray but rushed off, only to return and tell his master nothing happened.

Gehazi spoke like his master and tried to configure things, yet nothing happened. This tells us that it is possible to be on the same bed with someone show is on fire and not catch the fire. It is not the anointing oil, it is not the staff of office; it is not how well packaged the words are; it is not your oratory abilities. You can have all these but if you do not have any credit with God, all these will fail you. It is easy to talk the talk but walking the walk is what is most important.

In Acts19:11-19, when the sons of Sceva saw the miracles that Paul did, they became interested. Unknown to him they bbegan to study the 'methodologies' and at the end, they tried to replicate what they saw, but because they lacked the relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ, they paid dearly for their abuse of His name. Never copy others by prophesying except when God has spoken to you, or you will pay dearly for it.

Today, some pastors who do not have the word of wisdom or knowledge, and are not prepared to pay the price for these gifts, are gradually imitating those who have it. They want to belong to the class of spiritual leaders by applying guesses and common sense. The things of the Spirit do not work like that. If you copy the methods but lack the Spirit, you can never get the result of the Spirit. What are you copying? Is it from men or from God?

Bible In One Year:
Deuteronomy 13-16

Prayer Point:
A copy cannot be the same as the original. Why copy when you can have the original?

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Resisting Darkness – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Wednesday 24th July 2013

RESISTING DARKNESS BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
The light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not john 1:5

Read:
John 1:45

(John 1:45) Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Open Heavens Message
We are enjoined to arise and shine in Isaiah 60:1. To shine could mean Fulfill your purpose. It could mean Resist darkness. John 1:5 says

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

You are not saved to fold your arms and be idle, but to resist darkness. Paul fought the good fight of faith and a part of that fight is to resist evil. The more you increase the number of lights around a place, the less darkness you will have there. This is the wisdom in planting churches. The more churches we planted, the more forces of darkness will be driven away.

There was a time in my village that if a well-dressed individual was going there with a car, on arrival at Ife (South-West Nigeria), the fellow would have to park the car, change to a less flamboyant dress and unpolished shoes before heading for the village. On getting home, after greeting them, they may ask how long the visit would be, and then the individual would lie that he would stay for three days whereas he was already preparing to leave. When it is time to leave, if the way to the motor park is to the right, he will follow the left and after going some distance, the fellow would reconnect the road to the park.

Why all that pretense? It was because darkness was thick and prevalent in the area. If they discovered the fellow had achieved something in life, that visit might just be his last visit to the village. But today, things have changed because the light of God has shone over them.

Now, I can even visit in a helicopter and be seen by people, yet no evil is envisaged. If you are a light of this world, you will shine by resisting evil. Every soul you win to the Kingdom further reduces the pressure of sin and death upon the community where you are. Do all it takes to enlarge the coast of the Kingdom because in doing this, you will not only be shining, but also multiplying good in the midst of a dark world.

Bible In One Year
Ecclesiastes 7-9

Action Point:
Go out and win souls into God’s Kingdom and thereafter thank Him for His light that is spreading into those lives and community at large.

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Why You Must Abide – RCCG Open Heavens Devotion Tuesday 23rd July 2013

WHY YOU MUST ABIDE BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

Read:
Proverbs 18:6-8

(Pro 18:6) A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

(Pro 18:7) A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

(Pro 18:8) The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Open Heavens Message
In John 9:6-7, a man who was born blind had contact with the Lord and his eyes were opened in a very dramatic way. If just one contact could do that much, how much more when you abide in Him. When you abide in Christ, He makes everything to become new. 2 Kings 4:8-17 tells of the Shunammite woman who offered Elisha food, and he decided to abide more regularly in the apartment she built for him.

Because he was abiding there, this woman who had lost hope of becoming a mother became the mother of a son. When you abide, there is a new beginning. The widow of Zarephath had the servant of God abiding with her and her son and what was supposed to be her last meal became the meal that sustained the trio for over two years of famine. Are you abiding in Christ? If you are today in Christ, tomorrow in sin, you are not abiding in Him.

Moreover, why do you need to abide in Him? Abiding in Him creates the perfect atmosphere to get the best results from God’s Word. Psalm 119:11 says,

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

If you are in a hurry to study God’s word, it will not sink into you, and you will be unable to reach the depth where you can get revelation. You need to read, study, memorise and mediate on the word, so that you can have good success (Joshua 1:18). You cannot continue in sin and expect a breakthrough from God because God is a miracle worker and not a magician. Abiding in Him helps you to stay holy.

Several years ago, a woman wanted to be fruitful. Like others who came. I laid hands on her and prayed. Much later she was angry that nothing happened even though she fell under the anointing. While I was about to pray for her again, the Lord stopped, and told me to ask this great woman how many boyfriends she had, beside her husband, and she said six. What some people are seeking is magic not miracle to prosper and become fruitful or successful through Him, you must be holy.

Bible In One Year
Ecclesiastes 7-9

Key Point
Anytime you step out of Christ, you are exposed to the bullets and arrows of the enemy. Stay in Him!

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