Open Heavens Daily Devotional Messages, By Pastor E.A Adeboye.

ATTRACTING GREATER LOVE – Saturday December 26th 2015
HE CAME TO SEEK THE LOST – Friday December 25th 2015
DEBTORS OF GRATITUDE – Thursday December 24th 2015
CHECK YOUR DESIRES – Wednesday December 23rd 2015
WHOSE VOICE? – Tuesday December 22nd 2015
NOT ORDINARY HANDS – Monday December 21st 2015

ATTRACTING GREATER LOVE – Saturday December 26th 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:58 PM PST

ATTRACTING GREATER LOVE

Memorise: For it became him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10

Read: Genesis 22:15-18, ¹⁵And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 27:23-31:31, 1^st John 2:28-3:24

Your love for God is something you must prove to be genuine. God is not satisfied with verbal affirmations only. He is not satisfied with promises to love surrounded by procrastination. He wants to see your love for real; hence, 1^st John 3:18 says:

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

Have you been able to prove your love for God beyond words? One beautiful truth here is that whenever you demonstrate your love for God, it will attract greater love from Him. This principle can also be seen in the natural world. If I smile at you, unless you are angry with me, you will return the smile. Every time you prove to God that you love Him, He will reciprocate by showing you greater love. In Acts 20:35, Apostle Paul echoed the words of our Lord Jesus Christ that is better to give than to receive. Many people find it hard to understand this. Simply put, it is better to give because when you give, you automatically open the door to receive more than what you gave.

The act of giving is subject to the law of harvest; therefore, everyone who gives receives something much more than what was given, because the harvest is usually greater than the seed sown. Harvest 2:9-10 tells us that when God gave His only begotten Son, He brought many more sons into glory. God gave one Son and now has millions of sons and daughters from different parts of the world. There are some desires that you may not receive until you give. There are certain great requests that may appear illusive until you requests, you must first be prepared to pay any price by giving anything God wants you to. What you are prepared to give determines the extent to which God is compelled to give to you in return. Are you ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice? Sacrificial giving never goes unrewarded. After Jesus laid down His life for the sins of the world, He was rewarded with the Name above every other name (Philippians 2:8-11). Similarly, after Abraham demonstrated his love for God, the Lord swore to bless Abraham and his children beyond measure, promising to multiply his generations like the sand on the seashore. What are you doing to prove your love for God today?

Key Point

Every act of love towards God is a seed sown on the best soil, which will definitely generate a great harvest of love.

HE CAME TO SEEK THE LOST – Friday December 25th 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:56 PM PST

HE CAME TO SEEK THE LOST

Memorise: For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:10

Read: Luke 19:1-10, 19 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

²And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

³And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

⁴And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

⁵And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

⁶And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

⁷And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

⁸And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

⁹And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 24:23-27:22, 1^st John 2:7-27

While on earth, Jesus demonstrated the nature and character of God to man (John 14:8-11). There was no one who came in contact with Him that did not testify on His goodness. Why was this always the case? It is because Jesus knew the purpose of His coming to earth. When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. Because Jesus knew why He was here, He never wasted any opportunity. He was so committed to the business of seeking the lost that He even became the guest of sinners. There is so mach potential being wasted today, because very few people are committed to the business of winning souls; whereas this is the global mandate given to every believer by the Lord. There is no one in Jesus' cabinet that is useless. Before He came into their lives, they might have been ordinary men, but after they became citizens of His kingdom, they became valuable instruments in the hands of God.

Anyone could be lost, irrespective of their position, titles or academic achievement. Even if you are a renowned professor, as long as you do not have Jesus in your heart, you are lost. There is no one who Jesus cannot receive. He is waiting earnestly for everyone to come to Him. In our Bible reading today, a chief sinner came to Jesus, and he got his salvation. This is the beauty of salvation: all you need to do is come to Jesus and receive Him as your Lord and Saviour. Salvation is for all. No matter how terrible you have been, just try Jesus, and He will make sense out of your life. He will not only receive you to Himself, He will polish away your rough ends to the point where you become a testimony to the entire world. All you need to do is make straight your crooked ways. Even if you have backslidden, He is waiting to accept you back by His love. To be lost in sin is a terrible thing. Sin has wages, and the wages of sin is death. It is sin that produces sickness, affliction, bondage and distress; but the moment you are found by the Lord through salvation, you begin to enjoy good health, abundant life and the peace of God, and live a holy life that counts to His glory. When you allow yourself to be found by the Lord, you can be assured that in your salvation lies your breakthroughs and victory. I was formally lost, but when Jesus came into my life, everything changed. This can be your testimony too. Your past will no longer matter to God; He will only use it as a testimony of His faithfulness

Prayer Point

Father, please save all those who are lost in my family.

DEBTORS OF GRATITUDE – Thursday December 24th 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:54 PM PST

DEBTORS OF GRATITUDE

Memorise: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Psalm 103:2

Read: Psalm 103:1-14, 103 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

²Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

³Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

¹⁰He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 21:2-24:22, 1^st John 1:1-2:6

Everyone on earth is indebted to the Almighty God. Irrespective of your many needs that are yet to be met, you must still remember that the breath of life you have is not a function of your power. If you can think deeply within you, and look at all that is happening around you, you will give ceaseless praise to God. The reason why some people do not think they should thank God is because they are looking at those things they do not yet have, but they forget to look at those things they have right now. Some would even say they have noting. Such people are unmindful of the fact that it is with life that things are produced, and when you have life you have all things. The Scripture in Psalm 68:19 says:

"Blessed be the Lord, and daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."

The implication of this is that there is nothing we need that the Lord has not provided for. What to eat, what to drink, where to live, the car to drive, the person to marry are all examples of His benefits.

When the Psalmist followed the multitude into God's house, he went with joy without being forced (Psalm 42:4). Why then do we wait for people to motivate us to praise God? Why do we behave as if there is nothing in our life to thank God for? The mercy of the Lord towards us is everlasting (Psalm 100:5). With the assurance, we should be singing and praising His name. You are to bless the Lord for all He had done in the past, all He is doing in the present and all He is yet to do. As you do this, He is committed to doing more. One of the greatest lessons on gratitude I learnt was from my mother. Any time my mother wanted to collect my school fees from my father, she would draw up a strategy of praising and eulogizing my father. She would call him great names he did not bear. She would mention great feats and achievements far above his profile and credit him with them. Even before she was done, he would give her what she wanted. This strategy worked every time. If this can work for a mortal man full of limitations, how much more the immortal God who has no limitations? For all the blessings and protection of the Almighty God, you can never praise Him enough. When you praise God adequately and magnify His various Names, He is moved, and once God moves on your behalf, you can expect the miraculous. You can also expect Him to ambush your enemies and open doors in all aspects of your life.

Action point

Praise the Lord that you are alive.

CHECK YOUR DESIRES – Wednesday December 23rd 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:52 PM PST

CHECK YOUR DESIRES

Memorise: And he gave them their requests; but sent leannest into their soul. Psalm 106:15

Read: Psalm 106:13-18, ¹³They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.

¹⁵And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 17:19-21:1, 2^nd Peter 3

In the plan of God for you as a child of destiny, both those who love you and those who hate you have a part to play in bringing about the fulfilment of your destiny. For example, in the case of Joseph, his father loved him but his brothers hated him. Ideally, Joseph would have preferred that his brothers love him like his father did. But if that had happened, how would he ever have arrived at the place of his destiny? His brothers, provoked by envy, provided the free transportation that took him to his place of destiny. If they had known that their evil intentions towards their younger brother would fast-track his dreams coming true, would they have sold him into slavery? I doubt it. This simply tells us that the enemy does not see the bigger picture. God only allows the enemy to see how they can hinder you, while He hides from them how their actions will benefit you. Believe it or not, as long as you are in God's will, every negative move your enemy makes will work towards your good. May the Lord open your eyes to see the good in the bad actions of your enemies in Jesus' Name.

Moreover, there is a difference between desire and God's purpose. It is possible for you to have a desire which tallies with God's plan and purpose for your life. In this scenario, your desire and God's purpose will harmonize to move you into your destiny. However, it is also possible to desire what contradicts God's purpose for your life. In such a scenario, if your desire is granted, it could delay, distort, modify or even cancel God's plan for your life. For example, God may want you to live and serve Him in a particular country – say your homeland, whereas you may desire to go to a more developed country for greener pastures. If God loves you, He will not grant you desire, so that you can remain in His plan for your life. Although Jesus in Mark 11:24 promised to deliver to you your requests made in faith, yet, as a child of destiny, you must be careful what you ask for, lest you ask outside of God's will, and He sends leanness into your soul (Psalm 106:15). Every time you desire what God does not want for you, it amounts to working against your God-given destiny. Stop working against God's plan for your life. From today, harmonize your plan with God's purpose for you. Any personal plan that does not blend with God's plan must be discarded.

Prayer Point

Father, cause the activities of all those who are deliberately working against me to work for my good.

WHOSE VOICE? – Tuesday December 22nd 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:50 PM PST

WHOSE VOICE?

Memorise: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

Read: Ezekiel 14:1-5, 14 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.

²And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

³Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

⁴Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lordwill answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

⁵That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 14:26-17:18, 2^nd Peter 2

Children of God who are not sensitive in these last days will have themselves to blame. You have to be prayerful, careful and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, particularly because there are mixed multitudes all around the Church today. There are even churches that belong to Satan but have the appearance of belonging to Jesus Christ. There are also demonic agents prowling around and deceiving people. If you are not very watchful, you will become one of their victims. That will not be your portion in Jesus' Name. Although God wants His children to hear from Him and get His best, one factor inhibiting this is the fact that they have idols in their hearts which prevent them from hearing from Him clearly. You can be seeking God's face for direction but also be hoarding idols in your heart. If you really want the Almighty God to guide you, you have to eradicate all forms of idols from your life. There are many single in the Body of Christ today who are not yet married even though they are of age. Some of them have allowed idols in their hearts for so long a time that they have not been able to look in the direction God is leading them to. For a user of this devotional trusting God for a marriage partner, the Lord will direct your steps in Jesus' Name. You can never get anything better than what God has in store for you. You will observe that after the Lord made Eve out of Adam, Adam had no difficulty recognising his wife (Genesis 2:22-23). Once your spirit man is highly sensitive, you will always receive God's signals on the right thing to do each time. (Isaiah 42:16)

There are many homes experiencing frustration today. It is because they have not allowed the voice of God to speak to them. God has spoken, but they have all along been listening to the idols in their heart. Not all that glitters is gold. Not all open doors are opened by God. If you really want the blessings of God in your life and home, you have to eradicate the voice of all the idols in your heart. Even if you are totally blind, as long as you depend on God for direction, His promises for your life will lead you to where you will find rest for your soul. I prophesy into your life that you will not miss your way in Jesus' Name. Wherever God is taking you, you can rest assured that you are heading for a glorious destiny. He will lead you so clearly that you will be so sure of where you are going. He will lead you so convincingly that you can guarantee the outcome of your choice even before you embark on it. There is nothing as safe as allowing God to direct you in every sphere of life. If you hear well from Him, you will end well.

Action Point

Measure the expectations of your heart against the standard of God's word. Discard all expectations that don't align with God's word.

NOT ORDINARY HANDS – Monday December 21st 2015

Posted: 16 Dec 2015 12:34 PM PST

NOT ORDINARY HANDS

Memorise: I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1^st Timothy 2:8

Read: Exodus 17:8-13, ⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

⁹And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

¹²But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

¹³And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Bible in one year: Proverbs 11:16-14:25, 2^nd Peter 1

Several people at one point or the other have drawn God's attention to themselves by lifting up their hands to Heaven. This is a symbolic way of saying, "Lord I trust you totally with my life." You are telling God that unless He helps you, there is nothing you can do about your situation. One person who did this several times was Moses. At the Red Sea, God commanded him to lift his hands, and you know the end of the story. There is something highly significant about the hands of Moses; they were very special. Even in the battle between the children of Israel and the Amalekites, the war was won simply by Moses raising his hands up to heaven. Anytime you lift up your hands to God, you are showing your reliance and total dependence on Him. There are people struggling through life. They wake up very early and return home very late, and yet there is nothing significant to show for all their efforts. It requires more than human effort to succeed in life. You need the divine support of the Almighty God. Never trust in your position, because position is never permanent. Never trust in your intellect, because no matter how much you know, your intellect is too small to comprehend the ways of God. Never trust in your money, because money can develop wings and fly away. Put your total and absolute trust in God.

The more you look up to God, the more victories He will deliver into your hands on a platter. If anyone who is of God raises his hands to bless you, you can rest assured that you are blessed. You need to also pray to God that through your hands, there will be manifestation of signs and wonders. Apostle Paul so many exploits with his hands. Your hands are very significant to the fulfilment of your destiny. This is why you cannot afford to toy with sin. You must be willing to engage your hands in doing things that are pleasing to God. When you serve a man of God with your hands, you are automatically transferring grace to yourself. Don't allow your hands to be lazy. Engage your hands in soul-winning and setting the captives free. Anytime you need empowerment from God, go to His presence as an empty vessel that is waiting to be filled and empowered. Lift up your hands to him so that He will know you have come to exchange your weakness for His strength. Never go before the Almighty God with the notion that you have it all. Expose all your frailties, weaknesses and failings to Him and you can be sure that before you leave His presence, you would have been filled, and whatever you lay your hands upon will begin to prosper. May that be your portion in Jesus' Name.

Prayer Point

Father, as I present my hands to You, let every dead thing my hands touch begin to receive life.