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

RULED BY MAMMON? – Monday April 17th 2017

Posted: 16 Apr 2017 01:15 PM PDT

RULED BY MAMMON? – Monday April 17^th 2017

Memorise: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1^st Timothy 6:10

Read: 1^st Timothy 6:6-11 (KJV)

⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

⁹But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Bible in one year: Numbers 4, Jeremiah 15:1-9, Hymn: Sing hymn 9

MESSAGE:

A crafty and complex form of idolatry in our world today, which has been around for a long while, and yet seems to go unnoticed by most people, is the reverence and premium place given to the god of money (Mammon) in the hearts of mankind. Our Lord Jesus was very clear when He started what the first and greatest commandment was in Matthew 22:36:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."

When our love, which should be given to God exclusively, is diverted to money, we err from the faith and expose ourselves to dissatisfaction and many sorrows. The Bible in Ecclesiastes 5:10 say,

"He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with sliver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity."

I am sometimes puzzled as to why people run after vanity. In some countries of the world, government officials embezzle billions from their sovereign wealth and cart their loot away to foreign lands. Some of these officials have become even "richer" than their country by this act. One wonders what they would do with all this stolen money.

17 April 2017 ruled by mammon? Open heavens daily. Nothing reasonable for sure! For such people, money has become their god, and so they worship it to the extent that the more they acquire, the more difficult it becomes for them to spend. Find out from some so-called rich people, they find it difficult to spend their millions. They eat like paupers because money is their god. In today's Bible reading, the Holy Spirit offers us a way out of Mammon's bondage. He said:

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

1^st Timothy 6:6-8

Beloved and fellow pilgrims, our stay here on earth is too short for us to run after Mammon. Let us follow the Master intimately, because He is the only One that would always stand by us, even after we close our eyes in death. If you worship Mammon, once you breathe your last breath, Mammon would immediately change servants. Let us be wise and fellow after godliness.

Prayer Point

Father, please fill my heart with godliness and contentment. Grant me the grace to love You more than anything else in this world.

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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GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT – Sunday April 16th 2017

Posted: 15 Apr 2017 01:54 PM PDT

GRIEVE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT – Sunday April 16^th 2017

Memorise: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

Read: Acts 5:1-6 (KJV)

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

²And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

³But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

⁴Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

⁵And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

⁶And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

Bible in one year; Numbers 3, Jeremiah 14:13-22

MESSAGE:

One of the attributes of the Holy Spirit that confirms to us that He is a person is that He can be grieved. Indeed, the Holy Spirit can be abused to the point of being grieved. At this point, He can decide to show His Almightiness like the other two personalities of the Godhead. This is the reason why Apostle Paul admonished us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30)

There are many reasons why it is dangerous to grieve the Holy Spirit. One of such reasons is located in today's memory verse. We are sealed unto the day of redemption by the precious Holy Spirit in our lives. This seal serves as a covering that shields us from the activities of Satan and his cohorts. If you make your Covering annoyed to the extent that He deserts you, in that case you will be left without a shield protecting you against evil spirits. This is very dangerous because we cannot pass through this world of evil as pilgrims without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Another reason why it is dangerous to grieve the Holy Spirit is that His wrath could be very devastating. The story in today's Bible text confirms that no man can withstand His wrath. Ananias and Sapphira his wife grieved the Holy Spirit and they were punished by death. What did they do to grieve the Holy Spirit? They lied to Him. Many so-called believers would regard this as a "simple lie", but it was enough to grieve the Holy Spirit, and He struck them dead. Cooperating with a liar can also grieve the Holy Spirit as in the case of Sapphira, Ananias' wife. It is dangerous to keep company with liars because the same punishment meted out to the original liar would be received by the accomplice. In times past, Christians used to be persecuted in various establishments because they would not cooperate with liars who would get to work at 10 a.m. but register 7 a.m. as their resumption time. Today, some Christians are doing worse, even in Church offices.

Rebelling against the Lordship of the Holy Spirit over your life is another way through which He can be grieved. When you get to a point where you refuse to take instructions from the voice of the Holy Spirit within you, then you have rebelled against His Lordship. 16 April 2017 grieve not the Holy Spirit Open heavens daily devotional. The Bible in Isaiah 63:10 says,

"But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them."

Beloved, let us heed the admonition of Paul and desist from grieving the Holy Spirit by all means.

Prayer point

Father, please pardon me in anyway I have grieved Your Holy Spirit, and give me the grace never to do so again until I see you in glory.

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