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

IT MAY NOT MAKE SENSE – Tuesday March 21st 2017

Posted: 19 Mar 2017 03:07 PM PDT

IT MAY NOT MAKE SENSE – Tuesday March 21^st 2017

Memorise: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways my ways, saith the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

Read: 2^nd Kings 4:1-7 (King James Version)

1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

²And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

³Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

⁴And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

⁵So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

⁶And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

⁷Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

Bible in one year: Exodus 20-21, Isaiah 65:13-25, Hymn: Sing hymn 7

MESSAGE:

Total obedience remains a major key to unlocking the doors of signs and wonders. In our Bible reading, when the man of God gave some instructions to the widow whose sons were about to be taken into slavery, she had every right to call them stupid instructions. He told her to go and borrow empty vessels from her neighbours. With the human understanding, one cannot see the relationship between borrowing empty containers and the money she needed. Also, she was asked to pour the oil in her little bottle into large containers. How can a small bottle of oil fill up one large container, not to mention several containers? That is exactly the point. Blessed are those who will not argue with God. If you ask about my greatest secret, it is simply that I do not argue with God. He has asked me to do many things that the rational mind with call "foolish", and yet I never argue. Why? I discovered a long time ago that my brain is too little to understand this great God. The Bible in 1^st Corinthians 1:27 says,

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;"

Many years ago, when God asked me to go to the current site of the Redemption Camp, which was still a dense bush then, I did not argue. I could have advanced several reasons for not going. I could have said it was the operational base of armed robbers, or that it was very far from Lagos, or that there was no electricity or water supply there. Back then, we needed a place where a lot of people could converge for our convention. By the grace of God, I did not argue. Today, the result is there for all to see. If you can be "foolish" enough to obey God completely, you will definitely become a candidate for signs and wonders. Many of the divine instructions that produce outstanding results do not make sense. It did make sense when an axe-head fell into the river and the servant of God sank a piece of wood into the river to make the axe-head float (2^nd Kings 6:1-7). It did not make sense when a single march of four helpless and hopeless lepers towards the enemy's camp became the thunderous hustling of thousands of chariots and horses, thereby chasing away the forces that had besieged Samaria (2^nd Kings 7:1-7). It does not make sense when you are in need and God instructs you to give Him or His servant the last you have on you (1^st Kings 17:10-14). It may not make sense to you, but it does to Him. The sooner you accept His "foolish" instructions the better for you. If you have to wait until it makes sense, then the miracle might be delayed indefinitely.

Key Point

God's mode of operation may sound foolish, but it always gets the desired results.

Open Heaven Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye,

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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ANY PRICKS? 20 march 2017 rccg devotional message

Posted: 19 Mar 2017 02:35 PM PDT

ANY PRICKS? – Monday March 20^th 2017

Memorise: Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 1^st Timothy 4:2

Read: Romans 9:1, 1^st Timothy 1:16-20 (KJV)

9 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost

1^st Timothy 1:16-20

¹⁶Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

¹⁷Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁸This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

¹⁹Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

²⁰Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Bible in one year: Exodus 17-19, Isaiah 65:1-12, Hymn: Sing hymn 7

MESSAGE:

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Acts 2:38

For anyone who wants to partake of salvation from sins, Satan and the world, God requires genuine, heartfelt repentance. In Acts 2:37, after preaching to multitudes, they asked Peter, "What shall we do?" He simply replied, "Repent and be water-baptized, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." From this response, we understand that the Spirit of life Himself is a gift, and that if you will have Him, you must start from place of repentance. If you want to experience the move of the Spirit in your life, begin with repentance. Repentance is the foundation stone on which faith in Christ is built. Anyone who claims to be a servant of God but who did not start from the place of repentance is only engaging in self deception. Examine yourself today. Are you saved? Have you truly repented?

After you have successful laid the foundation of repentance, your conscience will be purged by the Blood of Jesus and made to come alive through the prompting of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9:14, Romans 9:1); to the extent that if you as much as tell a lie, you won't get away with it. You will remain troubled until you confess and restitute the lie. If you are never under the pressure of the Holy Spirit to make right your wrong deeds, you can be sure that something is wrong with your foundation. Many years ago, while travelling to Lagos from Ilasha (South-West, Nigeria), I forgot to buy a gift for my father in the Lord. By the time I got to Surulere, Lagos, I realised this oversight and so I bought some oranges to give to him from there. As Papa peeled and sucked the oranges, he said, "These oranges are sweet. You must have bought them on the way." "Yes sir", I replied. The Holy Spirit said to me, "You just lied." My response to this was "How did I lie? Roadside is roadside, whether at Surulere or between Ilesha and Lagos." The Spirit then said, "You know his question meant whether you bought them on your way from Ilesha to Lagos." I replied, "Does it matter? Does this affect the sweetness of the oranges?" The Spirit insisted, "You have lied." So I turned to my father in the Lord and told him I bought the oranges at Surulere, Lagos and not on my way from Ilesha, and Papa exclaimed, "Holy Spirit!" He knew the Spirit was dealing with me. Does this same Holy Spirit deal with you when you lie or sin? If your conscience is not responding to the pricks of the Holy Spirit, it means you have strayed from Him.

Prayer Point

Father, quicken every part of my conscience that has been seared by persistent disobedience.

Open Heaven Daily Devotional, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye,