Open Heavens for Today: Monday September 21st 2015

Topic: ENDURING HARDSHIP 

 

Verse To Memorise: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11

Read: Matthew 5:10-12,

¹⁰ Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

 Bible in one year: Leviticus 6:8-7:38, 1^st Corinthians 5:1-6:11

MESSAGE:-

The devil knows the glorious tomorrow that awaits every believer in Christ when they cross the finish line of the Christian race. This is why he fights tooth and nail to derail us from reaching our goal. He was a part of the heavenly bliss that will be our reward, but he lost his place due to evil thoughts (Isaiah 14:12-15). He does not want us to taste what he lost; hence he works through wiles to bring us down (Ephesians 6:11). One of the wiles that Satan uses in making believers in Christ abandon the Christian race is hardship. Some people have pulled out of heaven’s marathon before getting to the finish line, due to their inability to endure hardship. Our Lord Jesus Christ described such people in Mark 4:17

“And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”

The expectations you had when you entered the Christian faith matter a lot. The Christian faith is not a bed of roses. The way of the cross that leads to Heaven is not a path laden with gold and easy to take. If anyone tells you that once you believe in Jesus, all your problems will disappear and everything will always go well, you are being deceived. The day you signed up as a believer in Christ, the die was cast and the battle line was drawn between you and the kingdom of darkness. From that day, you become a sworn enemy of the forces of darkness. They will surely attack you and try to make you feel miserable.

You are expected to endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ (2^nd Timothy 2:3). The inability to endure difficult and trying times makes one a bad soldier of the cross. Even when God blesses you, He still leaves room for you to be persecuted, tried and ridiculed. Your faith in Christ may be tested through lack, hunger, unanswered prayers, false accusations, ill health, and so on. Jesus in our Bible reading taught that if you can take persecution, being reviled by men and false accusation in good faith, you are blessed and on the path to Heaven. On the other hand, if you easily get offended by these, if nothing is done to correct your attitude, you may become derailed from the faith. Are you offended in Christ? Towards the end of his stay on earth, John the Baptist began to doubt if the same Person he had declared to be the Son of God was the true Messiah (Matthew 11:2-6). In His reply to John’s questions, the Lord told him not to be offended in Him. It is a good thing to suffer persecution for your faith in Christ. Never get to the point of being offended in Him.

Prayer Point : Father, let patience have its perfect work in my life, so that I will be wanting in nothing.

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Open Heavens for Today: Sunday September 20th 2015

Topic: THE BEGINNING OF BEGINNINGS 

Verse to Memorise: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8

Bible reading: John 1:1-3,

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 Bible in one year: Leviticus 4:13-6:7, 1^st Corinthians 4

MESSAGE:-

The Almighty God is so great, mighty, powerful, glorious and all-knowing that He is unlimited, unlike mortal men. He has access to the past, present and future of every event. Jesus in Revelation 1:8 decleared:

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

The word “Alpha” in this declaration refers to the beginning of beginnings. When everything began, it was in His presence. John 1:2 says the Word was in the beginning with God. He was there when everything was formed, and as a result, He can trace the historical links of everything to where it all started. He is still in control of the past, so He can interfere with it in order to give you a better tomorrow. He knows exactly how things will turn out; hence it is best to always stick with His decisions. Before He gives counsel on any matter, He looks at the situation from the angles of the past, present and future, within the context of His purpose of your life. This is why those who factor His decisions into their lives are wise (Proverbs 3:5-7). Even if something goes wrong with such a decision down the line, because He is involved, and all the power and resources available in the universe belong to Him, He will tinker with things and get them to work in your favour (Romans 8:28). How often do you let Him into your decisions?

In the sphere of human existence, today is a product of yesterday. If you are a professional today, it is because you spent time being trained in school yesterday. If you have graduated from the university with a first-class honours degree, it is because you invested quality time into studying. If you are doing mental jobs as a cleaner or messenger, it is most likely because of your lack of access to an education or because you did not invest enough time in schooling. If you are suffering today, it is most likely as a result of what you did or did not do in the past. This is why you should be very careful with what you do today. Also, have tomorrow in view before taking that decision today. Thirdly, get connected with the only One who can go into your past to help your present. Do you know the Alpha and Omega? Are you connected with the Beginning of beginnings?

Prayer point: Father, go into my past and correct any error working against me today, and make my tomorrow great

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Open Heavens for Today: Saturday September 19th 2015

Topic :DESTINIES CAN CHANGE 

Verse To Memorise: Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Hebrews 4:1 

Bible reading: Hebrews 3:15-19,  

¹⁵ While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

¹⁶ For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.

¹⁷ But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

¹⁸ And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

 Bible in one year: Leviticus 1:1-4:12, 1^st Corinthians 3

MESSAGE:-

One of the privileges that being in Christ grants to you is that your present situation and your past life cannot hinder your God-given destiny. God has decided your destination even before you were born. Because you are a child of destiny, you will get to your destination in Jesus’ Name. Nevertheless, you need to know that your destiny can be changed by God or by your attitude. God had to change His plan for eternal priestly succession, which He has earlier promised Eli and his household. Ponder on what God said to Eli in 1^st Samuel 2:30:

 “Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

May God never change His plan for your life, family and ministry in Jesus’ Name!

Just as God can change His mind concerning a promise He made to an individual or family, He can also change His mind concerning a promise He made to a nation. In Numbers 14:26-32, God changed His mind concerning a generation of the children of Israel. God had brought them to the borders of the Promised Land, in readiness to completely fulfil the promise He had made to their fathers over 400 years before they were born. But amazingly, they refused to enter in. they did not believe that God could complete the process He had started. God therefore changed His mind concerning them because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19). God told them that they would not enter into their destiny; rather, they would die in the wilderness, their children, whom they thought would never enter the Promised Land, were the same ones God now said He would take into the land. May God never change His good plans concerning your nation in Jesus’ Name! Unbelief is a terrible thing! Every time you fail to believe that God can do what He has promised to do, you tie God’s hands and push Him to dump the promise He made to you. Unbelief is a slap on God’s face. It is understandable why they cannot believe God in their current state. However, the moment you receive Jesus, you are supposed to become a believer. God is not happy when believers who have experienced His ability over time, demonstrate unbelief in Him. In any way you are in unbelief, repent fast and pull out of it!

Prayer Point: Father, in any way my deeds have affected Your plan for my life, have mercy on me, and let Your original plan for my life be fulfilled.

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Open Heavens for Today: Friday September 18th 2015

Topic: POPULARITY CAN EBB 

Verse To Memorise: There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD. Proverbs 21:30

Bible Reading: Numbers 16:1-3, 16 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

² And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:

³ And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?

Bible in one year: Exodus 39-40, 1^st Corinthians 2

MESSAGE:-

Every race has its rules. Crossing the finish line without following the rules will bring you no reward. Service to God in His vineyard also fellows this principle. Some leaders who have gone ahead of us in the service of God messed up and ended up where they did not bargain for. This is why to avoid ending up like they did, we must learn from their experience. Korah, Dathan and Abiram were powerful leaders under Pastor Moses in the wilderness, but they erred and met with terrible judgment. That shall not be your portion in Jesus’ Name! From the narrative about them in Numbers 16, we learn that we should focus on the assignment God has given to everyone of us. 1^st Corinthians 7:20 makes it clear that everyone should mind their calling. 

“Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.”

Adding to what God has given you might actually be a distraction to your original calling. If you want God to increase the scope of your assignment, or if you desire to be promoted in the things of the Kingdom, the right approach is to draw closer to the Holy Spirit, tell Him about your godly desires, satisfy God’s laid down conditions for experiencing an uplift and wait to hear from the Lord. Using the methods of the flesh to gain ascendancy can only uplift the flesh. It takes the Spirit to lift you up in spiritual things. It is important to note that not everyone occupying a top ecclesiastical leadership position got there by the Spirit. Allow God to judge and reward them accordingly, but do not repeat their mistakes.

Moreover, another lesson from the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram is that using your growing popularity to work against the will of God can totally erode it. The 250 princes involved in this sad story were very popular in the wilderness, having been selected out of the general populace into the position of leadership. They were honoured and famous for as long as they played their roles within the scope of their divine assignment. But the moment they decided to partner with rebellious folks, honour gave way to shame, and their popularity turned to disfavour. Are you a leader in the church or in any enterprise? Praise God! Are you becoming very popular by virtue of your position and the opportunities you have access to as a leader? Praise God! However, be very careful! Never use your popularity against God’s people or God’s Word. If you do, it will surely backfire and you will not be proud of what you will get in return.  

 

Key Point : The essence and power of any influence, resource, ability or endowment you use against God will be eroded, and such acts will backfire on you.

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