Where will you spend eternity? - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ps 13-15
WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY? Saturday, September 18, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Heb 9:27) READ: John 17:24-26 Apart from choosing whom to serve and your ideal prayer partner or prayer couple, you would need to also choose your spiritual helpers. In your pastoral work, you will need to choose ministers to support you. In Exodus 17:9, Moses asked Joshua to choose those that would accompany him to fight the enemies. This is very important. Because some pastors never give serious thought and prayer to this, they end up choosing or ordaining those that would later fight against them. The truth is, you do not engage everybody to fight against all battles that confront you. There are some battles you can fight mobilizing the whole congregation. Some battles will be limited to all the ministers. Yet, there are battles you may fight with a selected few ministers. There are also battles the pastor will fight with the support of his wife, unknown to any minister.  And there are battles that the pastor would have to fight alone. You need wisdom and divine guidance in determining what approach would be needed for each battle. The Lord will guide you in Jesus’ Name. Another choice you should make is whom to marry.  This is so crucial that it could affect earlier choices.  For instance, Solomon had chosen to follow his father David to serve the Almighty God.  But after marrying several strange women, he changed his earlier decision and began to serve the idols they served (1 Kings 11:1, 3-4). Your hope of entering  Heaven can be lost to a wrong choice in marriage. The choice of a spouse will either cause your relationship with God to blossom or to deteriorate. Moreover, another crucial choice which unfortunately many fail to take cognizance of is where you will spend eternity.  The one you serve will determine this to a large extent, yet, there must be a conscious effort in taking this decision. Eternity is most crucial yet, men are so earthly focused to the extent of not even giving it a thought. Hebrews 9:27 says you can only take this decision before death but immediately after, you will go and face judgment.  How many times do you ponder on where you will spend your endless years after death? Are you prepared for eternity? Are you born again and living right before God? Have you settled all your debts both to God and man? Have you made all your restitutions? Is anyone grudging you? Or are you holding a grudge against someone? Where will you spend eternity? ACTION POINT:  If the rapture takes place now or you suddenly drop dead, where will you spend eternity?

Limitations of Old Wine - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

Today's teaching is a lesson in humility, despite great victories, be prepared for another round of attack. You will overcome in Jesus name. BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ps 10 -12
LIMITATIONS OF OLD WINE Friday, September 17, 2010
MEMORIZE: “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail” (1 Sam. 2:9) READ: Judges 9:12-13 In John 2:1-11, two types of wine were mentioned worth noting.  They are old wine and new wine. The old wine represents the possibilities of a man through his limited abilities. This includes one’s efforts, wisdom, achievements, etc.  An attribute of the old wine is that it can cheer a man’s heart, bringing him temporary happiness.  Psalm 104:15 says, “And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart”. The day you graduate from the university with a good degree is a day of happiness. In the same way, you will be glad when you receive a raise in your income, or you are promoted or purchase a car of your desire. God wants you to be a person of great achievements as these can be useful tools in His hands. But on the other hand, old wine comes with its problems: It opens you to attacks. When you achieve so much in material things, you become susceptible to your enemy’s attacks. In 2 Samuel 13:28, while planning to avenge his sister’s defilement on Ammon, Absalom instructed the assassins to hit him when his heart is merry with wine. A child of destiny must handle moments of great achievements with humility, sobriety, watchfulness and care because that could be Satan’s time to attack.  Similarly, after a great victory over Goliath, David was full of joy. As he returned with the emblems of his opponent’s defeat - head and sword, Satan organized a group of women to sing him into unrest. From that moment, sleep and peace took their leave from him. May you not become a prey in the teeth of insecure leaders! In your moments of celebrations, be very prayerful and watchful. If you become a casualty of Satan’s attacks in your supposed moment of joy, that will be double jeopardy. Another problem of old wine is that it runs out when you need it the most. This is what happens to you when you depend on your achievements, connections and strength, hence, 1 Samuel 2:9 says complete victory cannot come through a man’s physical strength. Put your trust in God! Every thing that is a strength to you has its limitations. Going beyond the strength of what you have is an abuse. Make God your stay today! ACTION POINT: More church leaders in search of anointing from the wrong quarters are becoming victims of satanic ‘miracle’ oil, soap, garments and deceiving many.  Such places are flowing with crowds. Don’t be fooled! Try every spirit!

LEADERSHIP QUALITIES- 1- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ps 7 -9
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES -1  Thursday, September 16, 2010
MEMORIZE: “ But he that is greatest among  you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11) READ: Matthew 23:11-12 A leader must be persuasive and have vision if he must succeed in his calling. Vision is very central to achievement of goal. If you have vision, you will not only concentrate on the present needs of your church, but also their latent needs. Vision will prompt a pastor to pray for the healing anointing even when his congregation are not sickly, because he knows the sick will soon become part of his congregation. Pastors who lack vision will take to complaints, and the carrying of invisible protest placards when transferred to some other church. But those with vision will celebrate, knowing that God is about to demonstrate His awesomeness like He did to Elijah at the brook Cherith. While visionless leaders see man in any change that takes place, leaders with vision see God all the way. Another tool of a shepherd is leadership. He leads, not compels the sheep beside the still waters. Although you are to dominate situations, circumstances and forces of darkness according to Genesis 1:28, you are however not to be domineering in relation to fellow human beings. Unfortunately, just like in the secular, so also the church is dominated by bosses. The world is in dire need of leaders. The church too. Many who call themselves leaders are wolves in sheep skin. The fact that you occupy a position does not necessarily make you a leader. If you lack the qualities of an ideal leader, you are not one. A true leader has a special heart - a servant-heart. Most of our so -called pastors and leaders operate with the ‘I am the Boss’ mentality. This accounts for why so many things have gone wrong in the Body of Christ today. In today’s reading, the leader of leaders Himself stresses the need for those in authority to posses a servant-heart. For you to become a leader, you must have been under somebody else’s authority. You must emphasize service. A leader serves those under him but many in positions of authority today take advantage of those under them. Authority or respect is not forced but earned. If you adequately show care and concern for members in their time of need, you will earn their respect. If you serve them, they will reciprocate by honoring you. Are you a leader or a boss? How have you been serving those under you? A father who is a leader must serve his wife and children. He will not abandon all the home chores to them. You can become a leader: start from today. ACTION POINT: Ask for the servant-heart of Jesus Christ- the greatest leader who ever stepped the planet earth.

Necessity of patience - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ps 4 -6
NECESSITY OF PATIENCE Wednesday, September 15, 2010
MEMORIZE: “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts:  for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8) READ: James 5:7-11 “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11). If you have chosen to follow the Lord, you must make up your mind to wait on Him to the end. Patience is a great virtue that every believer must have. Unfortunately, many are becoming so much in a hurry that they miss out from the blessings of this priceless virtue. Some people wait for a while but after that, become impatient. When you are impatient, you undo the beautiful foundation you laid during the times of waiting on the Lord. God’s promises will come to manifestation in the lives of the patient, not the impatient ones. Everyone who patiently waits on God has a good ending like Job. Joy will be their portion. Their testimony will prove God to be merciful. Are you patient with God? Impatience, which is a mark of fear and doubt, takes you out of God’s will into self-government like Abraham and Sarah’s connivance over Hagar.  Today, impatience is yet making some couples to enter into what Heaven had never planned for them. Learn to be patient! A man with an amputated leg once attended a seven-day crusade.  As he sat on the front row, the man of God walked up to him and asked him to go and get a new pair of shoes. He corrected the man of God that all he needed was one shoe, not a pair. But when the man of God told him to trust God, he decided to give it a shot. He returned the following day with a pair of shoes but nothing happened. He kept coming daily but nothing happened until the final day.  On arrival on the seventh day, as soon as he got a place to sit, the man of God said, ‘Let somebody shout Halleluyah!’. As the sound of Halleluyah reverberated, the man looked downwards only to find that the amputated leg had grown out to its normal size! Some people’s miracle may wait till the last day.  God may want your obedience to be complete before releasing your blessing. He may want to stretch your faith to the last point of elasticity before that trial of faith may end. Whatever the case, be resolved to hold on until your miracle comes. God has a reward for everyone who patiently waits on Him. You will not lose yours! ACTION POINT: Like Naaman, you may be required to dip for the seventh time before your change comes. Let your effort be  continuous until your change comes.

Challenges of a Passover - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Ps 1 -3
CHALLENGES OF A PASSOVER Tuesday, September 14, 2010
MEMORIZE: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12) READ: Exodus 14:10-18 God is never static: He is always on the move. Like Him, we should also be on the move. But whenever you are about to move over to the other side - especially if it is your next level, certain challenges that were not there before will suddenly spring up. Those who pretended to be your friends before the issue of your promotion surfaced, may no longer hide their hatred for you. Do not be discouraged. Every fresh challenge opposing your crossover to the next level will be reduced to a praise-worthy item for the King of kings (Ex. 14:18). The day the children of Israel decided to move out of slavery of over 430 years, it was like all hell broke loose. They faced certain challenges that we too can face today while taking a similar step. In this way, you can accurately predict the devil’s response to a Passover.  If you can predict your enemy’s action, then you can evolve appropriate measures to contain him. The first thing we learn from the Israelites’ experience is that your quest to go over to your next level provokes your enemy’s renewed determination to return you to status quo. The day you determined to leave poverty for good, demons of poverty and lack operating through human agents of darkness resolved you were going no where. This is why Matthew 11:12 says God’s Kingdom allows force and violence. If you are not forceful and violent against that fellow that continues to lure you into fornication, you cannot be free from it. Have you tried to come out of a negative situation but it seems it is not working out? You need to be more violent, ruthless and forceful. You are coming out of oppression, poverty, depression, fear and Satan’s captivity this season in Jesus’ Name. Similarly, we learn that because of the vast army and seeming strength of the enemy, crossing over to your desired place requires God’s high hand.  The forces we wrestle against most times are more powerful than us hence, we need to depend on God to come out. Have you tried several times without success? Ask God’s right hand of victory to fish you out today.  That hand is so long that it can pick you up from any depth the enemy had kept you. Wherever you have been hid, you are coming out by God’s high hand this season. ACTION POINT: Father, Let my stubborn enemies experience Your power that destroys in Jesus’ Name.

Product of wheat technology? - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Thess 4 -5
PRODUCT OF WHEAT TECHNOLOGY? Monday, September 13, 2010
MEMORIZE: “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28) READ: Mark 4:26-29 One quick way to peg your progress is by becoming proud. If you leave the island of humility, the angels of promotion may never cross your path. But one thing about God’s promotion however is that it is systematic: it is executed step by step. Isaiah 28:10 says, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little”. This tells us that God is a meticulous God. He cares for details - even those you may count as insignificant. Also, He lifts people up progressively - step by step, and not over night. If you look around, you will discover that God hardly shoots somebody up to the skyline suddenly. For everyone whose glory is evident through divine lifting, there is a story. “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:28). As God does with wheat so also with men. We can simply call this wheat technology. If God will use you to accomplish something significant in His plan for the last days, He must first apply the wheat technology. This technology demands a step - by- step approach to development. Many people prefer another type of technology - microwave. They want to become rich in 12 hours. They want to become a pastor today.They want to become the G.O in minutes. Applying microwave technology to Kingdom issues could cause great problems. After the great catch of fishes, the Lord told Peter “... Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Making of a disciple, is not automatic: it follows a process. One major challenge we face today is that of microwave believers, ministers and pastors. Dependable disciples and pastors are those who rose through the ranks. After conversion, they went through baptismal or believers class, workers-in-training and were regularly taught in the Sunday School and house fellowships. Little by little, they moved levels. When you go through the ranks, certain things drop off as you pick up virtuous traits. You will learn to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and how to develop your faith. If you skip any stage, it will show. This is why you see those who claim to be as old as Methuselah in the Christian faith still celebrating their weaknesses, such as anger, bitterness, and unforgiving spirit. They are still spiritual babes inspite of years of conversion! What technology are you made of? .ACTION POINT: If your spiritual growth did not skip any stage, there is no extent God cannot use you; but for every stage you skip through your manipulation, the less useful you become in God’s end-time plan

WHAT IS YOUR OFFER?- Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Thess 1 -3




WHAT IS YOUR OFFER?

Sunday, September 12, 2010



MEMORIZE: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)









READ: 2 Kings 5:9-13







You can experience a positive or negative change. Change could also take a downward or upward turn. Irrespective of the direction it follows, change can be quite costly. For instance, to move from being a school certificate holder to a university graduate is a change for the better but it comes at some price. To move from being a spinster into a mother requires some price. To move from being a bench- warming church member into a pastor is also at some cost. In the same vein, to move from being an ordinary minister into an outstanding one operating in the miraculous takes some great price.







If you are not prepared to pay the price attached to a desired change, it will keep eluding you. At best, you can only wish you had that desired end. Building castles in the air without a commensurate step in faith, will not bring your dreams into reality. Some people have been having big dreams from their childhood and because they were not ready to pay the price for their actualization, they remained dreamers and died with their dreams unrealized.







Do you have a dream? If no, then you do not even have a destination or future. Your dream gives you reason to live. If you have no dream, you have no future. If you have a dream for your life, do you know the price you are required to pay? Can you pay it?







Sometimes, you may misconstrue the price tag attached to a desired positive change. For instance, while Naaman was stepping out in his quest for a healing, he came with lots of money (2 Kings 5:9-13). He was prepared to pay money worth millions of our today currency. But God required something else - not money. His change cost him his pride. He was reduced to nothing. He was sent to wash in the dirty waters of river Jordan unaccompanied by the prophet.







What are you prepared to pay for your change? Does it agree with what God wants from you? If it does not tally, then your desired change may never come. Some people are ready to give God money, but God is asking for their time. Some offer God only their intellect whereas, God wants them to give everything - time, money, intellect and even their lives. Are you sure your sacrifice is adequate?







ACTION POINT:


If your offer is not commensurate with Heaven’s demands, your desire from Heaven may not be granted.