Releasing pending benefits- Open heavens daily devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Amos 7-9
RELEASING PENDING BENEFITS Friday, June 25, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36) READ: Exodus 12:35:36 The Holy Communion can bring healing to your sick body.  Besides physical sickness and pains, man also faces material challenges. Proverbs 10:15 says poverty destroys. This means that the poor is already being destroyed. This is why God did not allow the children of Israel to leave Egypt empty handed; freedom without wealth is meaningless. The rich will always rule over the poor.  No matter how many times the poor proclaims his freedom, he remains a slave of the rich. Proverbs 13:22 says the wealth of sinners are reserved for the righteous. In Exodus 12:35-36, the Bible records that the spoilers became the spoiled. After taking that uncommon meal, the wealth of the Egyptians was forcefully transferred to the Israelites and wages of 430 years were paid. Are you being owed some money? Did you execute a contract and up till now you have not been paid? Do you know that taking the Holy Communion could compel your debtors to pay you? As you go for the next Communion, key into this and ask that all your pending salary arrears, contract payments, and benefits be released to you immediately. Have you retired and the government has not paid you your entitlement? Do not fight them physically; take it to the Lord’s table and release your faith during this Supper and all your entitlement will be forcefully released to you. Whoever is owing you will lose sleep, peace, rest or even good health after that meal until full payment is made to you. The Lord is about to give a user of this Devotional a testimony in this direction this season.  Moreover, the areas of challenges for the soul are fear, worry, anxiety, sorrow, etc. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. When you take the Communion wine which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of power comes into you and boldness, courage and strength are stirred up in you. This way, through the Communion, the Holy Spirit gets rid of the spirit of fear in you. Have you been under the torment of fear? Are you so worried or anxious about life or your family? As you go to the next Communion, key by faith into receiving your deliverance from fear.  Every hold of fear over your life is broken now in Jesus’ Name. ACTION POINT: Father, as I partake of the next Holy Communion, let all my pending benefits be released to me in haste.

Combining faith with seed- Open heavens daily devotional with Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Amos 4 -6
COMBINING FAITH WITH SEED Thursday, June 24, 2010
MEMORIZE: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20)      READ: Romans 8:27-28   A brother had some dollars which he had purposed to use for something. He kept the money in the inner pocket of one of his jackets. Later, while going for a special church service, he ‘mistakenly’ put on the jacket he had planned not to use. During offering time, a call was made for a special offering. Everyone was asked to give their best. As he dipped his hand into his inner pocket, he brought out the dollars. He almost screamed as he realized his ‘mistake’. While attempting to return the money from where he took it, the Lord asked him to give it as offering.   That was a hard buy! After moments of struggling, he finally dropped all the dollars into the offering while inwardly blaming himself for making a foolish mistake in wearing that jacket. A few days later, he got a financial breakthrough that exceeded his expectations. He immediately traced the harvest by the witness of the Holy Spirit to that offering. Then he thanked God for his ‘mistake’. The mistake that will compel you to enter into your harvest, the Lord will cause you to make it this season in Jesus’ Name.   If you sow in tears, you will reap in joy (Psalm 126:5). If you combine your seed with your faith, you will achieve a good outcome. Sometime ago, I went to visit our missionary in Ghana. After the visit, they accompanied me to the airport. Since my driver will be waiting for me at the airport at Ikeja, Lagos, I decided to give all I had to the missionary. Then they left. Moments later, it was announced that the airbus that should take us to Nigeria will first stop over in Sierra Leone.   Then I was hit by hunger pangs. I was not fasting and now I had no money to buy some food. At some point it occurred to me to make a decree. So I decreed that the officers of Ghana Airways will not rest until I left Ghana. Five minutes later, all the officers rushed to us upstairs and asked if those of us going to Nigeria were hungry. They served us cake and soft drinks and gave me double portion. Before I was through with the meal, it was announced that the airbus taking us would now first stop over in Nigeria before heading for Sierra Leone. While about to board the plane, I reversed my earlier decree and said the airline officials can now have their peace. If your sacrificial seed is backed by faith, it can work wonders for you.   ACTION POINT: Faith without a seed delivers scanty or empty harvest but faith backed by a sacrificial seed yields great results.

IT IS WAR- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Amos 1-3
IT IS WAR
MEMORIZE: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom. 7:23) READ: Romans 7:15-25 Life is full of battles. What determines whether you would be a victim or victor in the battles of life is who you choose as your ally. May the Prince of Peace be your ally. Take sickness as an example: In Mark 5:25-34, we read about a woman with the issue of blood. She went through a lot in her battle with that sickness. If sickness is fun to you, just ask for stomach pain for just one hour then you will know it is war. Every agent of sickness fighting against your health shall be destroyed. Poverty is also war. Proverbs 10:15 says, “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty”. This means that poverty destroys. The poor is a victim or captive of the spirit of poverty. The poor who refuses to fight the spirit of poverty will die poor. Besides, poverty makes your relations to hate or look down on you (Pro. 14:20). That means if you refuse to fight against poverty, those who should have become your friends will turn enemies. If you do not want to lose your loved ones, you must win the battle against poverty. Poverty shuts you up. It robs you of your right to freedom of speech. The foolish ideas and opinions of the rich are heard at the roof tops while the most brilliant ideas of the poor are unheard. In anyway poverty had shut you up, the Lord will help you silence that spirit, and open your mouth wide. Your voice shall be heard. Barreness is also war. When Hannah was still childless, she was put in perpetual sorrow. She lost her right to joy. Is barrenness denying you of the joy of the Lord? The Lord will intervene and deliver it into your hands this season in Jesus’ Name. Another thing to fight is bondage. The man in Mark 5:1-15 was in bondage. He lost the right to do what he wanted. When Paul saw himself doing what he hated, but could not do what he really liked, he knew he was in the same bondage as the mad man of Gadara (Rom. 7:15-25). Yet, in both cases, God gave victory. Paul did not mince words; he called it war. Are you struggling with sin? That is a fight against bondage. The Lord who rescued Paul and the Gadarene demoniac will give you victory over sin and your flesh today in Jesus’ Name. ACTION POINT: Father, take over the war against my life and deliver victory to me today.

KEEP YOURSELF PURE- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Joel 1-3
ERODING YOUR VALUE?
MEMORIZE: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s ” (1 Cor. 6:20) READ: 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 Marrying an unbeliever is no option for anyone who has truly believed in Jesus Christ. Do not choose a baby Christian and if your partner is already making life unbearable during your courtship, go back and pray before it is too late. In addition, do not agree to choose somebody just because he says he has been born again for three or more years. Check out the fruit! Why? Many people give being born again different meanings. This is why I employ you to choose believers within the Body of Christ so that you can speak the same spiritual language. Today, there are some armed robbers who claim to be born again but still engage in their nefarious activities. There are fraudsters who make a lot of money through internet scams yet claim to be born again. It is possible that because of their financial backing, their pastors have refused to investigate their sources of income but rather placed them in positions of leadership. Beware! Some years ago, in one of the universities where I taught and fellowshipped, we declared a fast. During this spiritual exercise, one of the lecturers who claimed to be born again came out to testify. He said he used to smoke 17 sticks of cigarettes per day but now smokes only 15. Reduction in sinful indulgence is not the same as salvation. It is a complete overhaul and recreation of your spirit man. In Genesis 24:1-4, Abraham warned his servant not to choose a wife for Isaac from among the Canaanites but from his people. Avoid the Canaanites even in your church! Another issue of note is that during the courtship, you must keep yourself holy. Never yield to any request for sex. After marriage, there will be plenty of time for this. A lady must not sell herself cheap. No man regards a lady who easily yields to his sexual advances. They may not tell you but to them, there is no difference between such a lady and women of easy virtues (prostitutes). Of course they may promise you marriage as basis for requesting for premarital sex, but the fact that you yielded could eventually become the reason for cancelling their marriage plan; they will say you are far too cheap! Even if they go ahead to marry you, you will never be treasured. You will be like another piece of furniture! Sister, uphold the value God has placed on you. Falling into fornication makes you to lose it. No man should touch or sleep with you until the right man says ‘I do’. You are expensive to God. Don’t become cheap to men! ACTION POINT: It is better men are afraid to approach you for marriage because you are highly priced than because you are cheap. Keep yourself pure!

SPENDING LAST GRACE?- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 27-28
SPENDING LAST GRACE?
MEMORIZE: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ” (Romans 6:1) READ: Romans 6:1-2 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). There is a pit of error many are falling into without realizing it. When you claim to be a child of God and commit sin but do not get disciplined, and you think that at last God is overlooking your sin, you are in error! You have descended from sonship into bastardhood. Samson fell into that pit. In Judges 16:1-3, Samson went to commit fornication with an harlot, yet on rising, the anointing was still there to uproot the enemy’s gate and carry it to a hill. Some people are doing all sorts of abominable things today and it seems they are getting away with it. Some are stealing and cheating and still performing miracles. In fact, some have turned the vestry into a brothel. They don’t need to go out;  they turn some female counsellees into prostitutes and from there mount the podium to preach. Yet, it appears the anointing is still flowing. And like Samson, they continue in their descent into the pit of sin until they exhaust all possible grace they had access to. If you continue in sin and you are not being disciplined, you are facing the most dangerous scenario of your life. There are some men who will divorce their wives and remarry someone else, yet things appear better for them. An usher of several years standing had a running battle with his wife. The situation became complicated because he could not realize certain expectations from the marriage, including having a child. Besides, he kept listening to the advice of bad friends who were either fellow believers or family members and he finally divorced her.  Later, he remarried and appeared to have the peace he never had with his original wife. He appeared prospered. To avoid correction, he moved church. Anyone who wanted to tell him of his error became an enemy.  His heart was set on destruction. Any appearance of peace, happiness or progress you obtain from sin is eohemeral and will ultimately culminate in a fall that the fellow may not recover from. Grace ends for the one who continuous in sin. Some people are spending the last remnants of grace before they go beyond redemption. If you are in such a situation, immediately return to God in humility, fasting and prayer.  Break off from that  sin. Make necessary restitution and face Heaven. ACTION POINT: When a working electric fan is turned off, it appears to still be working.  However, because of power disconnect, its speed will gradually reduce until it finally stops. Don’t be that fan!

SPENDING LAST GRACE?- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 27-28
SPENDING LAST GRACE?
MEMORIZE: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ” (Romans 6:1) READ: Romans 6:1-2 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). There is a pit of error many are falling into without realizing it. When you claim to be a child of God and commit sin but do not get disciplined, and you think that at last God is overlooking your sin, you are in error! You have descended from sonship into bastardhood. Samson fell into that pit. In Judges 16:1-3, Samson went to commit fornication with an harlot, yet on rising, the anointing was still there to uproot the enemy’s gate and carry it to a hill. Some people are doing all sorts of abominable things today and it seems they are getting away with it. Some are stealing and cheating and still performing miracles. In fact, some have turned the vestry into a brothel. They don’t need to go out;  they turn some female counsellees into prostitutes and from there mount the podium to preach. Yet, it appears the anointing is still flowing. And like Samson, they continue in their descent into the pit of sin until they exhaust all possible grace they had access to. If you continue in sin and you are not being disciplined, you are facing the most dangerous scenario of your life. There are some men who will divorce their wives and remarry someone else, yet things appear better for them. An usher of several years standing had a running battle with his wife. The situation became complicated because he could not realize certain expectations from the marriage, including having a child. Besides, he kept listening to the advice of bad friends who were either fellow believers or family members and he finally divorced her.  Later, he remarried and appeared to have the peace he never had with his original wife. He appeared prospered. To avoid correction, he moved church. Anyone who wanted to tell him of his error became an enemy.  His heart was set on destruction. Any appearance of peace, happiness or progress you obtain from sin is eohemeral and will ultimately culminate in a fall that the fellow may not recover from. Grace ends for the one who continuous in sin. Some people are spending the last remnants of grace before they go beyond redemption. If you are in such a situation, immediately return to God in humility, fasting and prayer.  Break off from that  sin. Make necessary restitution and face Heaven. ACTION POINT: When a working electric fan is turned off, it appears to still be working.  However, because of power disconnect, its speed will gradually reduce until it finally stops. Don’t be that fan!

GLORY ABSORBS REPROACH- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 24-26
GLORY ABSORBS REPROACH
MEMORIZE: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5) READ: 2 Kings 5:1-14 Glory is the opposite of shame, failure, and defeat. Glory is also the opposite of reproach. Reproach is a ‘but’ in the life of someone. It is something that causes grief whenever you remember it. Reproach is something that causes people to hang their heads in shame even when every other thing appears to go well. It is that thing that rubbishes every good thing you have. In 2 Kings 5:1-14, we read about Naaman with such outstanding credentials but he had the most notorious disease in their day leprosy. A reproach is that thing that makes you to wonder if your God is alive (Psalm 115:1-3). The Lord is bringing an end to that ‘but’ in your life this season. For a user of this Devotional, the Lord is bringing an end to the pain and sorrow caused to your family by that impossible child. The Lord is turning your reproach around in Jesus’ Name. Other things that are opposites of glory are loneliness, curse, fear, barrenness, poverty, etc. In whatever way these have manifested in your life, an end has come to them today. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). God’s glory is like light that repels darkness on arrival. No matter how strong the ‘but’ in your life may be, when the glory of God comes down, all darkness in form of reproach will disappear. The issue is how to bring down the glory. You can do this through praise. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people. Some people say I am different from other pastors because they do not see me bind demons before starting a program like others. I told them I do not see the need to do so because if you bound demons yesterday, they may be lose over the night; what is the guarantee that they will not be loose before the end of a program if bound? What I know for sure is that if you praise God, His enemies cannot stand by. Some 30 years ago, we went to Oturkpo for a program with some students. I planned to talk on divine healing. Then we began to praise God so intensely that the glory of God descended and I forgot every other scripture I had written but Luke 1:37. Suddenly, there were clusters of students kneeling and praying in tongues when they had not heard of the Holy Ghost baptism before. Others joined them praying in tongues and at the end of the day I could not preach. When the glory of God comes down, God takes over the ministry from you. Why not bring down the glory today to absorb all reproach? ACTION POINT: True ministry is allowing God to have His way. Pray that God’s glory will absorb every reproach in your life.

FAVOURED- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 21-23
FAVOURED
MEMORIZE: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8) READ: Genesis 6:5-8 My first trip from Nigeria to Canada was on board a Nigeria Airways airbus.  It was billed to take me to London and from there, I would connect a flight through British Airways. By the time the Nigeria Airways airbus arrived London, the British Airways had left. We were late.  Being my first trip outside Nigeria, I was at a loss of what to do. However, the lady at the British Airways counter dismissed my fears, noted a few things, booked me into a hotel, gave me a meal ticket and led me to where to catch the bus to my hotel. I thanked her and while collecting the materials she handed to me, she placed a call to Nigeria Airways informing them of the hotel reservation she had made for me. An argument ensued between her and the fellow she was speaking with so I quickly took my leave. The following morning, on return to the airport, I got to know that everyone who missed the British Airways plane like myself slept at the airport. God simply singled me out for favor. We arrived in Canada at night.  It was very cold, and there was a long queue where we were to register.  I was in Canada to attend the World Conference of Applied Mathematicians. A female officer at a table walked up to me, asked for my name and where I came from. After informing her, she left and later returned with a big cup of tea and sandwiches just for me. Everyone else watched speechlessly.  As I sipped the last drop of tea, she returned after completing my registration and got someone to lead me to where I would stay.  After the conference, we were conveyed to a government owned farm to see the big cows. We were served food.  The grass was green but the ground was very cold. Although I desired to sit on the grass, I could not for the cold. Just then, a white man who stood beside got to know that I could not sit on the ground because of the cold, so he spread his jacket on the grass and I sat down and we began to talk about Mathematics. If God is going to choose one boat, it would be yours. This season, the Lord will see the crowd but locate only you. He may see your entire family but He will pick on you. When you are favored, you will pay less to get things done. What some pay for will come as free. Everything works in favor of the favored. Like Noah, you will find grace before God and be spared of every destruction awaiting you this year. ACTION POINT: Ask God for uncommon favor upon your life and family this year.

HEALING POSSIBLE- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 19-20
HEALING POSSIBLE
MEMORIZE:  “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom 8:11) READ: Exodus 12:30-33 “And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men” (Exodus 12:33). One meal that can force your captors to release you in haste is the Holy Communion meal. It is a victory meal. The night the children of Israel ate it, they became instant winners. The enemies who had enslaved them for 430 years could not even keep them a second afterward. As you take the Holy Communion this period, everything tying you down will forcefully let go of you in Jesus’ Name. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:23, man is a trinity comprising spirit, soul and body. As a result of this, man faces challenges in three realms - spirit, soul and body. In the body, man can have challenges in two aspects - physically and materially. The body could be physically burdened with sickness, pain, etc. Luke 13:11-13 talks of a woman who suffered from a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. The spirit of infirmity is a demon that attacks the body. But through the power of the Holy Communion, that demon can be defeated. “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes” (Psalm 105:37). This scripture tells us that a whole nation ate this uncommon meal and they were all healed in one night. In John 6:57-58, our Lord Jesus Christ assures communicants of life - His flesh and blood releases divine life which far outweighs but also propels physical life. As you drink the wine representing His blood, the Spirit will quicken your body because the wine is equivalent to the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 compares the wine with the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you”. This means that if curses are warring against your body, when you partake of the bread and wine, physical victory will be delivered to your body. Are you sick? Has your body been afflicted with terminal ailments? Seek the face of the Lord concerning that sickness and go in faith for the next Communion and you will be healed. There is a user of this Devotional with a terminal ailment. As you release your faith and partake of the next Holy Communion you will be completely healed. When your healing comes, make it permanent by testifying of it in the congregation of God’s people. ACTION POINT: The Holy Communion is an indispensable avenue to access any type of freedom. Only the wise take advantage of it.

SOWING IN TEARS- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 16-18
SOWING IN TEARS
MEMORIZE: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5) READ: Psalm 126:5-6 Sowing can be a very challenging thing to do. Psalm 126:6 says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him”. One thing you will note from today’s passage is that you may need to sow in tears so as to change your life. The seed that will move you to your next level may bring tears to your eyes. God asks hard and gives without limits. If you keep sowing without parting with your Isaac, you may not receive your desired harvest, or it may take you so long to get there. With most believers, the problem is not in being ignorant of what to give to move them to their desired level but, in being able to make the sacrifice. If God tells you what to give but you refuse, do not expect to leave where you are in a long time. Isaiah 1:19 says you must combine willingness with obedience if you must enter your harvest. Has God showed you what to give in order to relocate to the next level? Does the price appear too costly? Simply obey in tears. Sow in tears and you will reap in joy. A minister who had been anointed and used of God to a level wanted to move to the next level. Then the Lord told him to sow five hours of prayers into every message before going to the pulpit but he considered it too much a price to pay and remained on his former level for long. Many times when I ask God for something big, He would ask me to sow a seed towards it. When the church was not growing the way it should, I sought God in weeping, fasting and prayer, then the Lord asked what I would give to Him. Thoughtfully, I said I would give anything to see the church grow in signs and wonders. At that time I had a Pajero jeep which was my ‘jet’, as we went everywhere together. I loved it so much because all through the four years of its use, it never gave me any problem. The Lord asked for it. It was a hard seed that brought tears to my eyes but because I had promised, I agreed. The Lord asked me to sow it to another ministry and I obeyed. The day the man the Lord asked me to give it to came for its collection, my driver wept. We had grown so fond of the car and were practically in love with it. But that marked a turning point in my ministry! What is that seed that is too costly for you to sow? Are you withholding it because you want to prevent the pains, tears, and denial of losing it? Consider the joy that loss would bring and go ahead and obey God. You can change your level. ACTION POINT: If you are not hard on yourself, Heaven will not be soft towards you. Ask for grace to part with your life-changing seed.