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

YOUR KEY TO FREEDOM – Monday March 28th 2016
SIN AGAINST THE BODY – Sunday March 27th 2016
BEWARE OF THE TRIPARTITE SINS – Saturday March 26th 2016
THE ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER – Friday March 25th 2016
THE PURE IN HEART – Thursday March 24th 2016
LIVING IN THE SPIRIT – Wednesday March 23rd 2016
GROWING IN GRACE – Tuesday March 22nd 2016

YOUR KEY TO FREEDOM – Monday March 28th 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:14 PM PDT

YOUR KEY TO FREEDOM

Memorise: And Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Read: John 3:16-18, ¹⁵Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

¹⁶What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

¹⁷But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

¹⁸Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

¹⁹What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

²⁰For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Bible in year: Judges 20-21, Proverbs 1:20-33

The Old Testament law was not sufficient to make people flawless before God. So since no man could be
adequately justified by the provision of the law, Jesus had to intervene through His blood to set man free from the law of sin and death. This is why as true disciples; obedience to the truth of God is the only way to liberty. The truth of God's Word sets one free without any form of condemnation. No legal system or religious doctrine can ever bring true and complete freedom to people. Freedom comes only through the truth and grace in God's Word. Freedom comes to those who are able to see the truth in God's Word. You can't come into the revelation of God's Word and remain the same. The moment you have access to the Truth, bondage is automatically a stranger to your life. There are many people going to Church, but are still in bondage because they have not got access to the Truth. Lack of access to the Truth puts you in the same level with those who do not know God.

When things were no longer going on well for the prodigal son after wasting all the opportunities he had been given, the scriptures says "….he came to himself" (Luke 15:17). He had to come to knowledge of the Truth by saying "enough is enough; I should not continue to be foolish by allowing rebellion to destroy my life further". He realised that it is foolishness to continue in self-government. Have things been so bad that you have been moving in a circle? Maybe you need to take a break and ask "why am I going through this?" don't be deceived into believing that God is the cause of your predicament. I have noticed this insincerity on the part of many believers. The prodigal son was sincere. He sat himself down and reasoned. He compared where he was when he had a relationship with his father to where he was when he had a relationship with his father to where he had reached after he attained a pre-mature independence. Even servants in his father's house were living like kings. I sometimes wonder when people who come to our programmes for the first time, return with multiple blessings from the Almighty God and some of those who are regular attendees have no testimonies.

"I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth."

Ecclesiastes 10:7

It is important to tell yourself the truth and refuse to believe the lies of the enemy. It is time to put an end to a life of falsehood. You cannot serve God in spirit and in truth and still live in stagnation. Do not believe the lies of the devils that says without cheating you cannot be successful. Don't believe that without engaging in fraud, you cannot be wealthy. Don't believe that without pulling down others you cannot rise. Don't believe that without sleeping around you cannot win the contract. Don't believe that without examination malpractices you cannot gain admission. You need to ask for the grace to be true to yourself. It is the truth you know that will set you free. Jesus is the Truth. Do you know Jesus or you only claim to know Him?

Prayer Point

Father, deliver me from the spirit of insincerity

SIN AGAINST THE BODY – Sunday March 27th 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:13 PM PDT

SIN AGAINST THE BODY

Memorise: Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he

that committeth Fornication sinneth against his own body. 1^stCorinthians 6:18

Read: 1^st Corinthians 6:15-20, ¹⁵Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

¹⁶What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

¹⁷But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

¹⁸Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

¹⁹What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

²⁰For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Bible in one year: Judges 18-19, Proverbs 1:1-19

The scripture tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Almighty God. This is to let us know how important our body is to the Almighty God. He dwells in it. Can you imagine that divinity lives inside of you? As Christians, our bodies are the extension of Christ in this world. This is why we are being admonished not to conform to this world. The moment a person begins to sin against his body through fornication, that person is already doomed for destruction because you are taking the body of Christ and laying it with a harlot. All sins are against the Almighty God. Some sins are against those around us when we engage in certain acts, but the sin of fornication is destruction against one's own body.

Your body is a tool entrusted into your hands by the Almighty God and everyone will give account of what they do with their body. You will be answerable to all the damages against your body because the body does not belong to you; it was only entrusted to your care by God. The moment a person gives his life to Christ, Jesus Christ becomes the owner and Lord of your life. Every part of your body becomes a tool in His hand. Your eyes, hands, legs, tongue, nose and every organ of your body becomes His. You can no longer sin with your body; you can no longer walk in the company of the ungodly. You can no longer taste alcohol, Indian hemp, smoke cigarettes, cocaine etc. Your hands become clean and for His glory alone. You are no longer the owner of your body. You are only the owner of something that you created. You did not create your body.

"And the lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man become a living souls."

Genesis 2:7

Fornication is a very terrible sin because it is a total abuse of the temple of the Almighty God. Anyone that destroys the temple of the Almighty God will see the wrath of God! The consequence is always disastrous on the part of the person abusing the temple of God.

There are different kinds of teachers today who trivialise some things that God has a great disgust for. You cannot play with fire and not have your fingers burnt. Are you the leader of a group and you are abusing the bodies of those God has put in your care? Are you an executive in the fellowship and you are sleeping around with the sisters in the name of 'brotherly love'? Are you single but becoming so impatient that you have started doing what exclusively reserved for married people? You are looking for the 'consuming fire' side of God and you can be sure you will not be able to withstand the consequences. I want you to make up your mind this moment that enough is enough on every unholy relationship and affair. If you don't want your destiny to be truncated by sin, you must FLEE from every appearance of evil.

Prayer Point

Father, please help me to honour You daily with my body.

BEWARE OF THE TRIPARTITE SINS – Saturday March 26th 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:12 PM PDT

BEWARE OF THE TRIPARTITE SINS

Memorise: Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is

finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:15

Read: 1^st John 2:15-17, ¹⁵Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

¹⁷And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Bible in one year; Judges 15:17, Job 42:10-17

Christians are not to attach themselves to this world. When you get consumed with the affairs of this life you are distracted from keeping your mind on the things of God.

"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"

Romans 12:2

Satan and his agents are trying to deceive people, to see the things of this world as desirable. We must not give room for the evil values and morals that have been embraced by those who have given their hearts to the devil. The devil always wants to prove a point against God. He is always devising ways by which men will focus on themselves and the material possessions of this world. Is your mind occupied with the material things of this world? Are you a victim of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life? These three are tripartite sins which we must not give in to. All that the world system contains is built around these three categories of sin.

The lust of the flesh refers to those things we crave for with the intent of satisfying our fleshy desires. They could be the pursuit of food and other things that give the flesh a good feeling. We must not forget the encounter Jesus had with the devil after fasting for 40 days. The first test is the test of food. There are many people who are serving God today only because of their stomachs. Are you one of them?

The lust of the eyes refers to those activities that make men follow after things that look appealing to the eyes. The experience of David with Bathsheba is a good example of the lust of the eyes. The moment he set his eyes on her, he could not resist the temptation, until he fell for it and lost his kingdom. Today there are many things people do because they want to satisfy the lust of the eyes. The moment they see that someone's house or car is better than theirs, they do all manner of things to get it. They are never grateful for what they have, but rather they chase after flashy things. Are you in this category? I pray he will not succeed over you in Jesus' name.

The pride of life refers to those things you do in order to make a point about how important you are in the society. It is the accumulation of things not just because you need them, but to engage in a show of self-worth and superiority. This has become the norm today even among believers. They boast about their names, degrees and background. A son of mine once said that if you remove God from his life, all that will be left will be carcass. I replied him by saying, "you even still have carcass left, if you remove God from Adeboye, there will be nothing left". This is why I cannot allow anything people call achievement to enter into my head, because I know that He is the one behind all. This is why the youths in RCCG have developed a chant: WHO DID IT? And the congregation responds by saying; JESUS! OH MY GOD, WOW!

Prayer Point

Father, please help me not to be a victim of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life.

THE ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER – Friday March 25th 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:10 PM PDT

THE ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER

Memorise: My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not, And if any

man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1^st John 2:1

Read: Hebrew 12:22-26, ³Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

Bible in one year: Judges 12-14, Job 42:1-9

At the point of the counsel in our memory verse for today, John had gained enough experience as an elder and a counsellor, that he could counsel new converts that one sin does not have to lead to another, and a feeling of guilt should actually birth the fruit of repentance rather than a surrender to a life of sin and perpetual guilt. There are many people who in times of trials and weaknesses commit sin against God, like the wife of job who advise her husband to curse God. The words of John warn all Christians against the possibility of allowing sin become habitual in our relationship with God.

The fact that you sinned yesterday does not mean that you have been completely rejected by God. In fact, that you are still alive means that Jesus is currently pleading your case with God, to give you a chance to change your ways as He sets you up with messages that will speak to your conscience and save you from imminent destruction. I pray that you will change your ways immediately, because you never can tell when God will run out of patience waiting for you to change (1^stSamuel 16:1)

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to inspire us into all truth. Jesus is our Advocate who stands between us and the Father, and speaks in our favour in the heavenly realm, so that we can receive help with our problems of sin. He is the One who pleads our case every night and day, and blots out the handwritings of the devil our lives. He works in close communion with the Father so that there is no barrier when we want to access the throne of grace. Jesus, as the Advocate, is the One who atones for our sins and reconciles us back to the Father through His precious blood that was shed on the Cross of Calvary. Through the role of Jesus as our advocate, we can come back to the Father and experience the peace we lost through sin.

The reassurance of our salvation comes from knowing that we have an Advocate in Heaven, no by affirming that we have no sin. Our relationship with God is assured as we keep His commandments daily and remain friends with Jesus our Advocate. The truth is that our righteousness is as a filthy rag to the Father. Our perfection is of Jesus, there is therefore the need to rely meekly upon His grace to make us perfect by His love. The self-made religious traditions of men and our works alone cannot guarantee our perfection. You are a child of God basically because you believe in your heart that Jesus died for you and you have given your life in obedience to the instructions of God and not the self-imposed dictates of man.

Prayer point

Father, please let me be justified through Your grace.

THE PURE IN HEART – Thursday March 24th 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:09 PM PDT

THE PURE IN HEART

Memorise: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Read: Psalm 24:3-6, ³Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

⁵He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

Bible in one year: Judges 10-11, Job 41:18-34

There are certain encounters in the journey of an individual which birth a lifestyle of holiness in the individual. This is why we should always pray to God to encounter a touch of His glory. When Jesus was addressing His followers on the mountain, He taught them among other things the necessity of having a pure heart. Purity of the heart, as far as God is concerned, is a basic requirement in achieving and maintaining an uninterrupted fellowship with God. This is because the heart of man is the engine of his life. The heart, according to the Bible, should be guided diligently, because out of it are the issues of life.

The pure in heart refers to a heart that contains no other thing apart from God and His counsel. According to Philippians 4:8

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lonely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise think on these things."

The intents and contents of the human life go on in the heart so God is interested in the purity of our hearts. If the heart is pure, it will be reflected in the actions of a man. God wants our heart to be yielded to Him and not to the world or the pleasures in it. When the heart is pure, it will produce transparency in our dealings with other people. When our heart is pure, the motive behind our actions will not be evil spoken of and when they are misconstrued for something else; we will always have a good conscience towards God. A pure heart produces holy living.

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for tree is known by his fruit."

Matthew 12:33

I want you to examine your heart, is it pure? Are your motives correct? Are you speaking the truth in that report? If your heart is revealed by the Almighty God towards your boss, will he find love there or hatred? Do you really know God or are you playing along because of the crowd?

There are lots of blessings attached to having a pure heart. When your heart is holy and pure, there will be no iota of fear and condemnation in you. You will have unlimited access to your Maker because there is no hindrance in you. Purity of heart will make your never lack the help of the Almighty God because He is interested in the cases of those whose hearts are pure and humble, He is committed to helping them Psalms 73:1, 2^nd Chronicles 16:9). You need to nail all your affections to the cross and sin, both within and without. Let God rule over the affairs of your life so that there will be communion and unbroken fellowship with His presence.

Key Point

If God looks into your heart, what will He find?

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT – Wednesday March 23rd 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:07 PM PDT

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

Memorise: if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

Read; Galatians 5:22-26, ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

²⁴And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

²⁶Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Bible in one year: Judges 8:29-9:57, Job 41:5-17

When you are not living in the Spirit, you will suffer spiritual famine. You will become a victim of the works of the flesh such as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, heresies, envying etc. But when you allow your life to be directed by the Spirit, you will be able to express the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, meekness, patience, faith etc. Those who walk in the Spirit cannot make wrong decisions and even when they have decided to make a move, their moves will always lead to the right destinations, because they are guided by God. This is why it is important to allow God to speak to you so that you can hear His voice and find rest for your soul. When you live in the spirit, you will not grope around as someone in darkness. There are many people who have lost the energy required for the Christian race because they have allowed their hearts to be taken over by the mundane things of this world. Don't be a carnal Christian. A carnal Christian enjoys what the world can offer as long as it satisfies his ego. A carnal Christian is always a victim of sin because the body has not been trained to be disciplined. If you live in the Spirit, you will no longer complete with the world in fashion. If you are walking in the Spirit you will not be comfortable exposing your body to cause others to fall into lust. You must up your mind to break away from every act of carnality, so that the peace of God can rest on you.

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be"

Romans 8:7

Do not be consumed any longer with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of this life. Make up your mind to be ruled and governed by the spirit of God. Our hearts, deeds and the fruits we bear must be patterned to please God. One of the ways to ensure we live in the Spirit is to continue to fellowship with Him. Those who find it difficult to come to the presence of God and fellowship cannot experience the power of the Spirit. You are supposed to value the presence of God more than any other thing in life. You may be denied of every other thing but not the presence of God. Also, to grow in the Spirit we must create time for the study of the Word of God. Make the study of the Word of God important in your agenda. The moment you begin to have excuses for not attending fellowship and not studying God's Word, you can be sure that the devil is already causing you to experience spiritual famine, and at the end, there will be a manifestation of the flesh. Some who are no longer walking in the Spirit have given themselves over to the false doctrines blowing across the world. If you are in this category, you have to cry to God to help you so that you will not be a victim of heresy. The flesh is programmed to always yield to sin. Ask God to deliver you from the desires of your flesh so that you will no longer gratify its dictates.

Prayer Point

Father, let not my flesh have dominion over me.

GROWING IN GRACE – Tuesday March 22nd 2016

Posted: 21 Mar 2016 02:06 PM PDT

GROWING IN GRACE

Memorise: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ. To him be glory both now and forever: Amen 2^ndPeter 3:18

Read: Titus 2:15, ¹⁵These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Bible in one year: Judges 6:36-8:28, Job 40:15-41:4

It is the responsibility of every Christian to grow spiritually. It is not enough for us to allow our spiritual growth to be at the expense of the pastors, or the number of church programmes we attend. There is a need to be personally committed to your growth. The
capacity for growth is within the grace and knowledge which has been given to us by Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus became a sacrifice for us is enough to motivate us to grow daily. The excruciating pain He went through on the cross for our salvation is an expression of the height of love which the Father has for us. Each time we put this in remembrance, it should condition us to do only those things which are pleasing and acceptable to God. Many people today have abused the grace of God; they have become so familiar with the ways and acts of God. The fact that we do not see fire fall like the days of old, or the fact that we do not see the manifestation of instant judgement like when the ground opened and swallowed those leaving in rebellion to God's authority, does not mean God has gone on vocation. It only means that many people have frustrated the grace of God in their lives and have totally stopped growing spiritually.

Believers must collectively ask for the spirit of prompt obedience to the instructions and commandments of God. There is great grace in the covenant and if you don't take the grace of God for granted, you will enjoy every provision accessible in it. The moment the grace of God leaves a person, it is disgrace that takes over. This we can confirm through the experience of King Saul and David.

Believers should not toy with sin because the devil is out searching for that one moment of carelessness. We need to always be on guard and use the grace of God to dislodge the devil and his agents. It is the grace of God that helps us to justify our calling as children of God. There is nothing unique about us, it only pleased the Almighty God to count us worthy to be vessels in His hands and this is what the devil is sad about. If not for the grace of God, many of us are not qualified to be saved by account of our past deeds, yet He chose to use us and bless us with great talents and abilities. May the grace of God over your life continue to abound in Jesus' name.

Let us always remember that we were not chosen because we were better, we were chosen because of the grace of God. You are a product of divine grace, therefore hold unto whatever He has promised you. You may be forgotten, but God in preparing

Prayer Point

Father, let Your grace be sufficient for me in Jesus' name.