Open Heaven 22 October 2018 Memorise: Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. Luke 12:37

Open Heaven 22 October 2018 Bible Reading: Mathew 13:24-26

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Open Heaven 22 October 2018 Bible Reading in one year – Jeremiah 14-15 and Luke 9:28-50. Hymnal: Sing Hymn 18

Temptation is the pressure to yield to influences that can lead a person away from God and into sin. It is also the means by which the loyalty, commitment and obedience of a child of God is tested and proved.

Temptation is a part of life that no one can escape from, because nobody is protected or exempted from its influence. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself experienced temptation (Hebrews 4:15).

The one who orchestrates temptations, also known as the tempter, is the devil (Mathew 4:3). He has perfected highly deceptive means of carrying out his evil enterprise, because he has been long at it.

However, glory be to God because the Lord has developed a way of escape for every type of temptation the devil can come up with (1 Corinthians 10:13). If we refuse to use the means of escape provided by God, we will end up falling for devil’s tricks and disobeying God. Click Here To Read – Open Heaven 20 October 2018

This can have devastating repercussions, as seen in the fall of mankind through temptation and the judgment of God which followed (Genesis 3:1-24). It is therefore important for us to learn how to overcome temptation and also reduce our exposure to it by applying the antidote provided by the Lord.

Open Heaven 22 October 2018

In the last few hours before our Lord Jesus Christ was arrested, knowing what was about to happen shortly, He gave the discipline the antidote to temptation, saying in Matthew 26:41:

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

In this verse of scripture, He named watchfulness and prayer as the antidotes to temptation. Watchfulness is the state of being alert and expectant while carefully observing a person or situation.

The word of God lays particular emphasis on the need to keep watch for two important events: the second coming of our Lord and the devil’s temptation, which is our focus today. Click Here To Read – Open Heaven 21 October 2018

We are called to be alert to the dangers posed to our Christian life by false teachings, sinful pleasure, sexual immortality, and all other forms of temptation. Your watchfulness should begin with the admonition of Proverbs 4:23, which says:

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Romans 12:2 also speaks about renewing your mind, and this is best done by filling your heart with the undiluted word of God. Another aspect of watching is bridling our tongue in order not to sin with it (1 Peter 3:10, James 1:26).

For your faith not to suffer shipwreck due to temptation, you are called by God to soberly watch and be prayerful (1 Peter 4:7). Are you keeping watch?

Open Heaven 22 October 2018 Prayer Point: Father, please don’t allow any temptation derail my Christian journey in Jesus’ Name.

Open Heaven 22 October 2018 Hymn 18

CONQUERORS AND OVERCOMERS NOW ARE WE

Conquerors and overcomers now
are we,
Thro’ the precious blood of Christ
we’ve victory
If the Lord be for us we can never
Fail,
Nothing ‘gainst His mighty powe
Can e’er prevail.

Chorus:
Conquerors are we, thr’o the blood of
Jesus
God will give us victory, thro’ the
blood of Jesus
Through the Lamb for sinners slain,
Yet who lives and reigns again,
More than conquerors are we,
More than conquerors are we.

In the name of Israel’s God we’ ll
Onward press,
Overcoming sin and all
Unrighteousness;
Not to us but unto Him the praise
Shall be,
For salvation and for blood bought
victory.

Unto Him that overcometh shall
be given,
Here to eat of hidden manna sent
from Heaven,
Over yonder He the victors palm
Shall bear,
And a robe of white, and golden
Crown shall wear.

Open Heaven 19 October 2018 Memories: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Open Heaven 19 October 2018 Bible Read Mathew 7:13-14 (KJV)

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Open Heaven 19 October 2018 Bible in the year: Jeremiah 7-8 Luke 8:22-39, Hymnal: sing hymn 5

In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus Christ made a declarative statement to Thomas, which even today some archbishop cannot fathom. He said.

‘’I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’’

What did Jesus mean when he called Himself the Way? After Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, there was a break in the connection that existed between God and man.

From that moment, mankind has continually made efforts to find God because of the emptiness that exits in us without God. Revealing this emptiness and the resulting search for God, In Acts 17:26-27, the Holy Spirit said:

26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

The drive to fill this void is seen in the abundance of different religions in the world today, with each one recommending its own way to God.

Having seen the end from the beginning, Jesus knew that this time would come, and so he said very clearly to all who will listen, ‘I Am the Way.’’ He is the only way to God, and there is no other way to get to God except through Him.

Because of diverse doctrines around, you need to be careful and ensure that you have found the true God. You need to be sure that you are not just deluded into thinking you have obtained salvation and that you are on your way to heaven.

Open Heaven 19 October 2018

Any other way of God that is not through the Lord Jesus Christ is counterfeit. Are you in any religion that doesn’t recognize Jesus Christ as the way to God? Are you in any church that glorifies her General Overseer or leader and rather than the Lord Jesus Christ?

Does your church propagate its own doctrine rather than the word of God as written in the Bible? It is time to come out of such an assembly and seek the one true God through Jesus Christ.

Another thing Jesus meant when He said He is the Way is that He is the perfect example to follow if you want to please God. Don’t make any man your standard because man will disappoint you. Our standard is Jesus Christ and Him alone.

It is possible to attain Christ’s level of perfection here on earth, and this is why He gave us the Holy Spirit when He was leaving the earth. Are you going to Heaven through the Way, and are you walking in His footsteps?

Open Heaven 19 October 2018 Key points: There is only one way to God; if you are not going through that way, then you cannot reign with Christ in paradise.

Open Heaven 19 October 2018 Sing Hymn 5

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

I have decide to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross
Before me;
The world behind me, the cross
before me;
The world behind me, the cross
Before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Through none go with me, still I
Will follow;
Through none go with me, still I
Will follow;
Through none go with me, still I
Will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

My cross 1’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross 1’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross 1’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide now to follow
Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow
Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow
Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.

Open Heaven 20 October 2018 Memories: And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15

Open Heaven 20 October 2018 Bible Reading:- Mathew 4:1-11 (KJV)

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Open Heaven 20 October 2018 Bible in one year Jeremiah 9:-10 Luke 8:40-9:6, Hymnal: Sing Hymn 18

The term ‘overcomer’ is use in Christian parlance to describe a champion, victor or conqueror. It describes a person who has run the Christian race and finished it triumphantly.

In his letters to his seven churches of Asia, the Lord revealed seven different rewards He would give to those who fit description (Revelation 2-3).

Beyond these seven rewards, in Revelation 21:7, the Father Himself promised one final reward for overcomers, saying:

‘’He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son”

How amazing if I were you, I would strive very hard to partake of these rewards. To qualify as an overcomer, I recommend that you first take a look at the life of those that ran the Christian race before you and overcame.

This will help you understand how the secrets of how they succeeded, and then you can apply principles in your own heavenly race. Let’s take a look at the greatest of these overcomers, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:21). Of all the battles He won, he triumphed over the devil in two spectacular ways that are worthy of mention.

First, in our Bible text, He was engage by the devil in a crucial contest knocked the devil out through the power of God’s word. Secondly, although the devil masterminded His arrest, trial and execution, the Lord still triumphantly worked out the miracle of His resurrection from the dead. Colossians 2:15 says,

‘’And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Through his death, the Lord defeated the devil in hell and paraded him and his cohorts in an open show of shame, confirming His supremacy over the kingdom of darkness. I pray that you will comprehend and begin to work in the victory of Jesus from today in Jesus‘ Name.

Open Heaven 20 October 2018

While He was in the world, what was the main weapon used by the Lord in overcoming? It is God’s word. Several times’ He quoted the Scriptures as a weapon against the devil. God gave us his word as a tool of developing strong faith and confidence in Him. Click here to read – Open Heaven 21 October 2018

We are nurtured in faith and brought to spiritual maturity through his word. Remembering God’s great deeds in the past build up our hope in Him (Romans 15:4). Besides giving us hope, God’s word is also potent weapon of warfare against the kingdom of darkness (2nd Corinthians 10:4).

It is powerful to pull down the strongholds of sin, sickness, generational curses and death. It also has the power to break the yokes of failure, barrenness and poverty I therefore degree that the power in the word of God will completely destroy every yoke in your life today in Jesus ‘Name.

Open Heaven 20 October 2018 Prayer point: Father, please grant me grace to finish the race as an overcomer in Jesus’ name.

Open Heaven 20 October 2018 Hymn 18

CONQUERORS AND OVERCOMERS NOW ARE WE

Conquerors and overcomers now
are we,
Thro’ the precious blood of Christ
we’ve victory
If the Lord be for us we can never
Fail,
Nothing ‘gainst His mighty powe
Can e’er prevail.

Chorus:
Conquerors are we, thr’o the blood of
Jesus
God will give us victory, thro’ the
blood of Jesus
Through the Lamb for sinners slain,
Yet who lives and reigns again,
More than conquerors are we,
More than conquerors are we.

In the name of Israel’s God we’ ll
Onward press,
Overcoming sin and all
Unrighteousness;
Not to us but unto Him the praise
Shall be,
For salvation and for blood bought
victory.

Unto Him that overcometh shall
be given,
Here to eat of hidden manna sent
from Heaven,
Over yonder He the victors palm
Shall bear,
And a robe of white, and golden
Crown shall wear.

Prayer Points on Today’s Open Heavens: (Wednesday, October 17, 2018) – Ready-made Provision Or Trap?

1.Thank You, Jesus, for your ultimate sacrifice to humanity at the cross of Calvary.

2.Thank You, Jesus, for giving up Your riches in heaven, to become poor for my sake, so that through Your poverty I might be rich.

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

4.Father, by the atoning works of Jesus on the cross, deliver me from every remnant of bondage, in any area of my life, in Jesus’ name. Open Heaven 18 October 2018

5.Father, provide all my needs according to your riches in glory, in Jesus’ name.

6.Father, Give me grace to not only overcome the enemy’s temptations, but to as well to live above greed, in Jesus’ name.

7.Father, please, keep my feet from falling and let all my enemies be silent in darkness, in Jesus’ name.

8.Father, preserve me from ever falling into the trap of false opportunities, in Jesus name. Open Heaven 21 October 2018

9.Father, You honor Your word more than Your. In Hebrew 13:5 and 1st Peter 5:7, You assured me of providing my needs and everything necessary for my existence. I look up to You my Ebenezer.

10.Father, No matter the prevailing conditions in our nation, You will divinely open doors of genuine opportunities to Your children, in Jesus’ name.

11.Father, let Pastor E.A. Adeboye, continue to flourish and be fruitful, even, in his old age, in Jesus’ name.

12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus’ name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Open Heaven 21 October 2018 Memorise: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. Hebrews 6:1

Open Heaven 21 October 2018 Bible Reading: Romans 12: 1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Open Heaven 21 October 2018 Bible In One Year – Jeremiah 11-13 and Luke 9:7-27
Hymnal: Sing Hymn 15

Many Christians believe that it is humanly impossible to be perfect because of the limitations of our flesh, but Jesus said that we should be perfect, just as our Father in Heaven is perfect (Mathew 5:48). For Jesus to have said this, it means that perfection is attainable.

However, the only way to attain the level of perfection that God requires of us is to follow the example which He has set, and that example is the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on earth, He lived a life of perfection. Hebrews 4:15 testifies to this, saying:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Just as Jesus was able to live a spotless life while He was on earth, it is also possible for us to live a life of absolute purity and holiness, which is pleasing to God. Click to read – Open Heaven 19 October 2018

In Luke 9:23, our Lord told us how to follow His example to live a holy life, saying:

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

In other words, you must first deny yourself if you will follow His lead. Denying yourself means, letting go of your old nature. To live holy, you may have to change your friends, some places you go to, the websites you visit and your old habits.

Open Heaven 21 October 2018

You will also need to deny your body some of the pleasures it used to enjoy. No matter how much the flesh craves alcohol, hard drugs, illicit sex, stealing, lying and the like, you must not let it have its way. To successfully live as the new creature you are, your old man must die first. Click to read – Open Heaven 20 October 2018

When you slap a dead man, he does not get up to retaliate because there is no more life in him. In the same way, you must deny yourself to the point where your former cravings become completely dead.

Secondly, you must carry your cross daily. Many Christians make the mistake of planning to live a holy life without consciously taking it a day at a time. The reason you don’t have bad breath is because you brush your teeth daily.

Your body remains clean because you take your bath daily. Similarly, the way to keep your spirit clean is to carry your cross daily. When you wake up every morning, turn to God and tell Him to help you live holy throughout that day; then say yo yourself with determination, “throughout today, I must not commit any sin.” When you make this a habit, you will discover after some time that you have been successfully living a holy life.

Open Heaven 21 October 2018 Key Point: Rather than concluding that it is impossible to live holy, why don’t you take steps towards it with God’s guidance?

Open Heaven 21 October 2018 Hymn 15

NEARER MY GOD TO THEE

Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
E’ en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.

Though, like a wanderer
The sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer to Thee.

There let me see the sight,
An open heaven;
All that thou sendest me,
In mercy given;
Angles to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer, my God, to Thee
Nearer to Thee

Then, with my walking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise,
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee