OPEN HEAVEN 30 AUGUST 2018 – RAISE THAT WEAK PERSON

Memorise: Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feebie knees. Isaiah 35:3

Open Heaven 30 August 2018 Read: Matthew 25:34-46 (KJV)

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Open Heaven 30 August 2018 Bible in one year: Psalm 88-91, Matthew 27:15-44, Hymnal: Sing hymn 15

Weakness can be such a terrible thing. A person who is weak is helpless and sometimes even hopeless. People can be weak in several ways; some are weak financially, emotionally, spiritually, academically and so on.

People who are weak are not in a state where they can protect or defend themselves. This is why anyone who oppresses the weak is a coward and a bully. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, who Himself was a help to the helpless, if a person is financially weak, you should not use that opportunity to cheat him or her. Click Here To Read – Open Heaven 28 August 2018

It is disheartening that some employers look for desperate people to employ so that they can pay them far less than the regular applicable wages. Some people constantly search for people in financial crises so that they can buy off their properties very cheaply.

Are you playing with the emotions of the opposite sex because they are emotionally weak? Do you condemn people because they are not as strong as you are spiritually? You need to have a change of heart today. Click To Read – Open Heaven 29 August 2018

Believe me honestly, there is no seed sown that will not be reaped. There was a man who was very good at treating people who had broken bones. Whenever someone with a broken bone was rushed to him, because of their desperation, he would charge their family members an extremely high price that would be very difficult to pay.

If they complained about the cost, he would get a cutlass and suggest to them that if they couldn’t afford his charges, he could amputate the victim’s broken limb at a cheaper price. Not desiring the amputation of a member of their family, they would agree to his exorbitant price and pay.

Open Heaven 30 August 2018

Through these means, this man eventually became very rich and had many houses. Down the line, he fell sick and had to spend so much money diagnosing the cause of his aliment. Before long he started selling his houses in order to afford his medical bills, bit the doctors’ still could not tell what was wrong with him.

After he sold his last house, it was discovered that he had cancer, but by this time, it was already too late for him.  He died a poor man. Beloved, don’t be deceived into thinking that you can get away with wicked acts. Whatever a man sows, he shall also reap (Galatians 6:7).

No real Christian should ever turn his back on someone who needs help. That is not the nature of our Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ went about doing good, and He was always full of compassion (Acts 10:38). When He met a widow on her way to bury her son, without being asked, He wiped away her tears (Luke 7:12-15).

If you claim to be Christ-like, you must also be full of compassion for the weak around you. As seen in our Bible text, helping the weak is synonymous with helping God, because He feels their pains. So ask yourself are you helping to reduce Jesus’ pain, or are you ignoring Him?

Open Heaven 30 August 2018 Action Point

Make a list of weak people around you and reach out to them today.

Open Heaven 30 August 2018 Sing 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

OPEN HEAVEN 29 AUGUST 2018 – ARGUING WITH THE OMEGA?

Open Heaven 29 August 2018 Memorise: Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. 1st King 20:11b

Open Heaven 29 August 2018 Read: Matthew 26:30-35 (KJV)

30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

Open Heaven 29 August 2018 Bible in one year: Psalm 81-87, Matthew 26:69-27:14, Hymnal: Sing hymn 4

In today’s Bible reading, we see an overconfident Peter arguing with the One whose Name is Omega. Perhaps Peter forgot that as the Omega, God knows the end from the beginning. You need to recognise that overconfidence is not synonymous with faith.

While overconfidence ignores that which is ordained as if it were not, faith calls these things that be not as though they were. When God’s ordained word says “Abstain from all appearance of evil and flee fornication”, it is overconfidence and not faith that makes a brother linger in a place where female nudity is on display.

Your faith cannot annul God’s word.
Some people believe that as new creatures in Christ, they are now super beings, no longer susceptible to weaknesses or temptations. Driven by overconfidence and not faith, such people throw wise checks and balances established in God’s word out of the window. No wonder they end up in the same pitiable state Peter found himself in after denying Christ thrice. Click Here To Read – Open Heaven 28 August 2018

After Jesus told Peter what would happen to him shortly, instead of praying for grace to stand firm or praying for a reversal of his impending denial, he was busy making “confessions of overconfidence” and not “confessions of faith” as he supposed. Hear his confessions in Mathew 26:35a:

“…Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.”

Unfortunately, the same mouth Peter used in making these confessions also denied Christ. Your confessions must be based on the totality of God’s word, if you don’t want to engage in a futile exercise. There is a place for making confessions and affirmations, but basing them on an isolated portion of God’s word cannot override the generality of God’s principles.

Open Heaven 28 August 2018

Apostle Paul got it right when he longed to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. In Philippians 3:12, Paul revealed his mindset with these words:

Unlike Paul, some people behave as if they have arrived. Some of such people even try to persuade me to slow down and rest upon what God has done for me over the years in the ministry. They forget that only those who endure to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22).

Beloved,continually search the scriptures, and make God’s word your compass in life. Pray earnestly also that the grace of Jesus Christ will be more than enough for you to finish well and strong.

Open Heaven 29 August 2018 – Prayer Point

Father, I have no power of my own; please help me to finish well and strong in Jesus’ Name.

Author: Pastor E. A Adeboye

Open Heaven 29 August 2018: Sing hymn 4

TRUST AND OBEY

We sincerely hope you’ve been blessed by today’s devotional message. Click the WhatsApp or Facebook button below the Hymn to share with your friends, families and colleagues. Please, drop a comment if you’ve truly been blessed by Pastor E A Adeboye’s message. God bless you! 

When we walk with the Lord in
the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our
way!
While we do His good will, He
abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and
obey.

Chorus

Trust and obey, for there’s no other
Way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust
and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a
cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it
away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh
or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and
obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a
sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly
repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown
or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and
obey.

But we never can prove the
delights of His love.
Until all on the alter we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the
Joy He bestows,
Are from them who will trust and
obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we
will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the
way;
What He says we will do, where
He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.