Watch Attitude To Prophecies – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Sunday 21st July 2013

WATCH ATTITUDE TO PROPHECIES BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
For by their words thou shalt be justifies, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:37

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
Your confessions have a way of affecting your today, and particularly your tomorrow. If there is one thing you should do more often, it is to speak positively into your future, prophesy into your today and tomorrow and God will back it up. Don’t let the negative pronouncements of others stop you; rather, change the situation in your favour by your own confessions because Matthew 12:37 says,

“For by their words thou shalt be justifies, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

It is interesting but surprising to know that what have pegged the progress of some people is not the curses placed on them but the words they have spoken against themselves. Stop speaking against yourself! Eradicate words and phrases like these from your dictionary: ‘I cannot do it’ (except for something negative). ‘This task is not for people like me’, ‘Those who are saying I can make it in life are only deceiving me because nobody ever made it in my family’, ‘It is an impossible task’, etc. rather fill your diction with ‘I can’, ‘It is possible’, ‘I will succeed’, ‘Even if there is no way for others there will always be a way for me’

My father-in-the Lord once told me this story. Two men went before the oracle and the priest told one of them, “you will be king”, and the other, “You are a servant”. Then they left. The one told he would be king began to rejoice and celebrate his forthcoming fortune, but the other man challenged the verdict of the oracle. “Why must I be servant?” after thinking over it, he resolved there and them not to be one.

He got two cutlasses and sharpened them very well, took some food items and travelled to a far location to work. Each stroke from his cutlass backed by his confession: “I refuse to be a servant” from his labour, his farm became so big. One day, a hunter in the midst of famine stumbled on his farm and returned to tell the villagers he had found food. So the villagers came to beg the man to give them food in exchange for becoming their king. So this farmer became king while the one prophesied to be king became his servant.

Bible In One Year:
Ecclesiastes 1-3

Key Point:
A prophecy about you may be good but what you do with it is more important.

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When The Spirit Departs – RCCG Open Heavens Devotional Saturday 20th July 2013

WHEN THE SPIRIT DEPARTS BY PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

Memorise:
Cast me no away from your presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Psalm 51:11

Read:
Psalm 51:1-12

(Psa 51:1)To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

(Psa 51:2) Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

(Psa 51:3) For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

(Psa 51:4) Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

(Psa 51:5) Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

(Psa 51:6) Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

(Psa 51:7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

(Psa 51:8) Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

(Psa 51:9) Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

(Psa 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

(Psa 51:11) Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

(Psa 51:12) Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Open Heavens Message
Every believer in Christ needs the Holy Spirit. As long as He is with you, all is well, but the moment He leaves you, trouble follows. When He was with Samson, everyone saw him as a real-life Superman or Spiderman; but when He left him, Samson became an ordinary man and his enemies dealt with him (Judges 16:18-20). While the forces of darkness find it easy to deal with those without the Holy Spirit, it is an uphill task for them to deal with someone who is full of Holy Spirit. If you truly desire to be untouchable, make sure the Holy Spirit is very much with you. Demons are afraid of believers in Christ, not for their sake but because of the Spirit of God upon them.

Many years ago, while we were starting a church in Ife, a particular young and proficient female church singer mounted the stage and began to sing: ‘My city is heavenly Jerusalem. Witches, wizards and other evil doers cannot go there’. In that place, there were over 200 deities and demons. Suddenly, we observed that her mouth opened to sing but no words came out. Obviously, the witches and wizards felt she was confronting them while she lacked the power of the Holy Spirit, and so they seized her voice, she had to undergo some prayer afterwards in order to regain it. it is foolishness to dare the enemy wen your Ally is not with you.

Moreover, when the Holy Spirit departs, the joy of salvation goes with Him. If you doubt this ask David. When David sinned, the Holy Spirit left and so went his joy. This was why he began to ask for the restoration of the joy of his salvation in today’s reading. When was the last time you woke up singing? When the Spirit leaves, the relationship between you and the Lord Jesus Christ becomes like noise without substance. Romans 8:9 says if you do not have the Holy Spirit, you have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Why? You are connected to Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Beloved, do all it takes for the Holy Spirit not to leave you! But if He has already left, then do everything possible to bring Him back.

Bible In One Year:
Numbers 34-36

Prayer Point:
Father, whatever happens, please let your Spirit never depart from me.

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When Is The Best Time To Look For Best Residential Apartment In Lagos?

I just want to share one very valuable tip on when you want to rent an apartment in Lagos so that you don’t painfully regret it.

First of all, let’s have a little introduction to the entity Lagos. Lagos State is the former capital of Nigeria. Lagos is the land of opportunity. It is the legendary Timbuktu of Nigeria. A place one must see before meeting the maker. As a kid when Lagos was the capital of Nigeria till now, there has been this mentality that people literally pick money on the streets of Lagos. If you can’t make it anywhere in Nigeria, you can always make it in Lagos the center of excellence. This mentality of Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike causes a tremendous inflow of all manner, shades and colour of people in droves into Lagos even when they don’t have any form of accommodation. Many claim to be indigenes even when they can’t speak yoruba, you can’t differentiate who the real Lagosians are.

What happens is that, the sudden population explosion in Lagos incredibly outpaces rate of growth & development and utilization of available resource. Jobs are not enough, transportation, infrastructure, healthcare, education, housing, etc. can no longer match demand. This is where daily living stops and daily hustle starts. Those American artists who sing/rap about hustling will be greatly humbled when they experience hustle the Eko style. Eko o ni baje o lol!

The Problem Of Accommodation In Lagos
This brings me to the problem of renting a residential apartment in Lagos. Anybody who understands Lagos very well will tell you that once you own your own apartment or house in Lagos and don’t pay rent, more than half your problem is solved. The money spent on rent in Lagos is astronomically high. The stress from the hands of most Lagos landlords is so hazardous to health more than anything. Almost all the residential apartments with exorbitant rent placed on them don’t worth it at all! They are grossly overpriced! Landlords just take undue, greedy and wicked advantage of demand being in excess of supply plus a government that don’t care about its citizens.

Flood Situation In Lagos
With the flood situation in Lagos getting out of hand, you don’t want to have an apartment in Lagos that is threatened by flood. It’s like all the undeveloped land in Lagos has been sold out. Rich politicians mostly control the real estate. That’s why some select privileged individuals can afford to own more than half of the property on a street. They want to buy up everywhere either by hook or crook. People don’t really buy land anymore to develop, they just buy shores, swamps, marsh, sand fill it and then erect structures as they desire or as their resources muscle can withstand. A large portion of Lagos sits on swamps, extended river banks, and all kinds of water bodies. Because the land is already saturated with water, the sand filling wasn’t done properly and no drainage system or the few drainage is blocked, flood effortlessly takes over most of the neighbourhood in Lagos once the rain starts.

Did I forget to mention the kind of disease you can contact via these floods?

When Is The Best Time To Look For Best Residential Apartment In Lagos?
The one best tip to avoid flood prone areas when searching for best accommodation in Lagos is to search during the rainy season! It’s very simple. That way you can easily tell the flood situation of the area. Unless you are ready live through any flood condition then don’t bother renting an apartment in any particular season. When I rented my place, it was dry season. That was the first time I rented a place. I was a novice, the compound is cool no doubt. The environment was ok. People asked if the area is flood prone I said NO. I didn’t quite understand their lingo until the first heavy rain. Like I said my compound is nice but the streets weren’t unfortunately no Moses to part the flood street for me. You don’t want to dress up in that lovely classy suit and be wading through flood water with elements of sewage and garbage.

You will know first-hand if the compound or accommodation is flooded. Also you can tell if the roof of the building is good or not. Don’t make the same mistake I made when looking for accommodation in Lagos.

Note, I focused on flood here, however it is not the only thing to consider when renting a place. Of course you’ll consider rent size, proximity to your office, proximity to a market, secure environment, clean water, power supply (unfortunately this may be the same for everywhere), transportation, peaceful landlord, etc. Good luck in your search for a place to live in Lagos. Eko o ni baje o!

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