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

FINDING ALTERNATIVES? - Wednesday May 3rd 2017

Posted: 01 May 2017 11:33 AM PDT

FINDING ALTERNATIVES? - Wednesday May 3^rd 2017

Memorise: Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7

Read: Genesis 16:1-4 (King James Version)

1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

²And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

³And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

⁴And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Bible in one year: Numbers 34-36, Jeremiah 25:1-16, Hymn: Sing hymn 4

MESSAGE:

After several years of waiting for God's promise to be fulfilled, Sarah sat down one day, had a long thinking session, and came up with an alternative plan which she presented to Abraham, and He accepted it. She had been barren for several years and was now obviously tired of being in that state; hence, she decided to give Hagar, one of her salves, to her husband hoping to get a child through this arrangement. How mistaken she was! Sarah's experience has a lot to teach contemporary Christians. When God is leading you in a certain direction, or if He has made a promise to you, any contrary opinion or alternative is borne out of impatience, doubt or unbelief. It's when people can no longer wait for God's plan that they come up with their own alternatives. Open Heavens 2017 Wednesday 3 May 2017:-Finding alternatives. One lesson from this story is that man's alternative charts a new course for you, which can take you completely out of God's original plan.

Just like Abraham and Sarah, many people have come up with alternatives that have landed them at destination they never expected. But for God's patience and mercy, the step Abraham and Sarah took was enough to derail from God's original course. Today's open heavens message. The reason why the Holy Spirit says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that you should subordinate your plans under God's will is so that He can guide you along His original plan for your life. Believe it or not, God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 1:4-5). If you follow this plan, you will definitely obey God's word and remain in His will. God's word never negates His will for your life (James 1:18). The question is, "Are you still in God's plan?"

To keep within God's will, you must be filled with His word and His Spirit, prayerful, watchful, thankful and humble. Why? The natural man within you will always come up with alternatives to God's perfect plan for your life. You need to be watchful because some alternatives may look like the original plan, but in essence, they are miles apart. If you will access God's perfect plan for your life, then you must leave no space for the flesh or the devil to give you an alternative. You must trust, rely on and completely depend upon God. God's choice is always the safe choice. For this reason Proverbs 29:25b says,

"… but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

If you depend on God 99% and leave 1% for an alternative, that is enough to derail you. Never reply on what you think you know or your assessment of the situation. No matter how brilliant your ideas may be, God has something better. Bring your plans before God's searchlight and let Him tell you if it's okay or not.

Action Point

Has impatience made you pursue your own alternatives? Stop and beat a retreat today?

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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GROW IN GIVING – Tuesday May 2nd 2017

Posted: 01 May 2017 10:22 AM PDT

GROW IN GIVING – Tuesday May 2^nd 2017

Memorise: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bossom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Read: Luke 6:36-38 (King James Version)

^6:36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

^6:37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

^6:38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Bible in one year: Numbers 32:33, Jeremiah 24, Hymn: Sing hymn 10

MESSAGE:

God is interested in the prosperity of His children. Although He has made His resources available to us, it will take obedience and compliance with His principles to tap into them. To tap into the financial resources of Heaven, you must pay your tithes, give offerings and fulfil your pledges and vows. You must be ready to give, if you want something in return. A while ago, while preaching at a particular church, as I issued some prophetic decrees over the congregation, I noticed that their response of "Amen" was quite loud. Open Heavens Devotional 2017 Tuesday 2 May 2017:-Grow in giving. Then I jokingly said one of them would buy me a new jet, and the loudness of their response nose-dived. Another time, I was in the same church and repeated what I said before; this time, their response was much louder. So I said to them, "You people are different." I perceived that their faith and understanding of giving had grown.

Proverbs 3:9-1-10 says if you can honour God with your first fruits, you will be dazed and amazed at what He would do in your life. It is one thing to have knowledge, and it is another thing to apply it. I once shared with some pastors that your teacher will never teach you all the knows, otherwise he wouldn't be a teacher; but your father will be willing to teach you all the knows, although he may reserve one or two till moments before his death. In other words, there are certain secrets that a person can only get from his or her father, and I would like to share one of those secrets that God has revealed to me with you. One day, while sitting quietly somewhere, God said to me, "Son, what kind of pastor would you like to be?" I replied, saying "Daddy, I am sorry I don't understand the question." He then further asked, "Do you want to be the best or worst, the greatest or least, the richest or poorest pastor?" I told Him I wanted to be the best, greatest and the richest pastor, and He went silent. At a Church programme not long after, the Lord asked again, "Son, what kind of pastor did you say you want to be?" I quickly replied, "The best, the greatest, and the richest," Then He asked me to give the highest denomination in my pocket. I reluctantly obeyed. Rccg Open Heavens 2017. At another meeting, He again asked me the type of pastor I wanted to be, and I responded as before, and He instructed me to double what I normally give as my offering. I easily complied this time around because things had started changing for me since I began to obey His instructions or giving. When I shared this testimony some years ago, someone told me he moved up to giving N10, 000 for every offering. I congratulated him and told him I was at that stage in 1998 but had since surpassed that. Although my giving was sacrificial initially because things were hard for me, I gave glory to God that things are no longer as hard. If you don't grow up in your giving, you may not be enlarged in your receiving.

Prayer Point:

Father, raise more Christ-like leaders to mentor your people, and make me one of such.

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