Posted: 28 Mar 2017 01:47 PM PDT

SEASON OF DOMINION – Thursday March 30^th 2017

Memorise: He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:8

Read: Psalm 72:4-9 (King James Version)

⁴He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

⁵They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

⁶He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

⁷In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

⁸He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

⁹They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

Bible in one year: 37-38, Jeremiah 4:19-31, Hymn: Sing hymn 4

MESSAGE:

Beyond fruitfulness, part of the first mandates of God to mankind is to subdue and have dominion over all creatures He has made. Genesis 1:28 says,

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

To dominate is to be in charge or to take control. If God did not want you to take charge, He would not have mandated you to dominate. By the time God stepped into the appalling slavery situation of the Israelites, Pharaoh, who was once in control, became the one begging for help (Exodus 12:30-32). He even asked Moses to pray for him. In that situation where you have been the underdog, God is turning things around and putting you in charge in Jesus' Name. It is now time for you to suppress your oppressors and tormentors, and to subdue under your feet those who had earlier taken you captive. I command the tables to turn for your good today in Jesus' Name!

Meanwhile, it is good to know that since God has once turned around the situation of the oppressed, He can do it again. Even if nobody has ever had dominion before in your family, it will start with you. Fear not! In Joshua 10:12-14, while fighting the Amorites, the sun was about to set when Joshua interrupted it. The problem is that most of us from the enemy rather than confront him. David did not run away from the lion, the bear or even Goliath. Rather, he confronted and fought against them all. In January of a particular year, I went to preach in Denver, Colorado. At that time it was very cold, and I don't like it cold. Maybe that is partly why God made me a Nigerian. I prefer the Nigerian weather. On receiving the invitation, I asked my Daddy if I should go, and He said yes. I asked Him, "What are we going to do about the cold?" God then assured me that He would go with me. From the first day I arrived until the day I left, people were wearing T-shirt because summer replaced winter. To know that this was not just a coincidence, within two hours after my plane took off at 5pm, more than 10cm of snow fell. You too can tap into God's mandate to dominate situations and circumstances around you from today. You will dominate sin, your passions, your body and your finances from today in Jesus' Name.

Prayer Point

Father, because it is my season of dominion, please arise and subdue all contrary forces working against me.

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.
iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Click HERE to DOWNLOAD Daily Open Heaven Devotional from January to December 2017

THE MIX – Wednesday March 29th 2017

Posted: 28 Mar 2017 01:27 PM PDT

THE MIX – Wednesday March 29^th 2017

Memorise: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:27

Read: Matthew 25:31-46(King James Version)

³¹When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

³²And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

⁴⁶And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Bible in one year: Exodus 35-36, Jeremiah 4:3-18, Hymn: Sing hymn 6

MESSAGE:

"But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Matthew 10:6

The Lord deliberately refers to His own as "sheep". He affectionately calls them "My sheep". From the about scripture, we can see that even when He is referring to sinners or those yet to be saved, He calls them the "lost sheep". The Lord's parable in Luke 15:3-7 makes it clear that His sheep can get lost. It also illustrates that the shepherd goes looking for the lost sheep until they are found. This means it is possible for sheep to go astray, but when the shepherd goes searching for them, he finds them and brings them back to the fold. In John 21:15-17, in His post-resurrection appearance to Peter, Jesus repeatedly asked to him to feed His sheep and His lambs. A lamb is a baby sheep. Jesus does not pastor goats but sheep. He never said, "Feed my goats." Never! This is why I tell my children not to call themselves "Pastor's kids", because kids are offspring of goats and rams. God has no place for goats.

However, in our Bible reading today, you will observe that the sheep and the goats got mixed up together. This is so because wherever the sheep gather, goats would subtly infiltrate their fold (Matthew 13:24-30). This is why some people are heading for Heaven while some others are heading for Hell in the Church. The final separation will take place on the last day. God allows the goats to coexist with the sheep, but on the last day, He will separate them: the sheep will be on His right hand, while the goats will be on the left. He will address them separately and send them to their separate eternal destinations. This is very serious! Furthermore, this co-existence of sheep and goats gives room for pretence. That means the fellow sitting next to you might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. You also might be a goat pretending to be a sheep. This calls for self examination. Jesus gave the criteria for discerning a goat from a sheep in John 10:27. He said:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

Do you pass the test of hearing His voice and following in His footsteps? Does He know you? I was telling one of my sons recently how my father in the Lord use to ask me to pray for patience. In those days, when I saw someone not fully complying with what we were taught, I would go to Papa, compelling him to do something about it. He would just ask me to pray for more patience. Today, I understand better. God allows goats and sheep to coexist. Are you a goat or a sheep?

Action Point:

Use the criteria set by Jesus in John 10:27 to judge yourself to whether you are His sheep. If you have strayed from the fold, return to His loving arms and surrender your life to Him.

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

INFLUENCING CITIES – Tuesday March 28th 2017

Posted: 27 Mar 2017 02:42 PM PDT

INFLUENCING CITIES – Tuesday March 28^th 2017

Memorise: Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. Acts 8:5

Read: John 4:5-39(King James Version)

⁵Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

⁶Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

⁷There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

⁸(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

⁹Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

¹¹The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

¹²Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

¹³Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

¹⁴But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

¹⁵The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

¹⁷The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

¹⁸For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

¹⁹The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

²⁰Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

²¹Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

²²Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

²⁵The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

²⁶Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

²⁷And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

²⁸The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

²⁹Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

³⁰Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

³¹In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

³²But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.

³³Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?

³⁴Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

³⁵Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

³⁶And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

³⁷And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

³⁸I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

³⁹And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

Bible in one year: Exodus 33-34, Jeremiah 3:11-4:2, Hymn: Sing hymn 13

MESSAGE:

Jesus is the greatest change agent that ever lived. A genuine encounter with Him always brings about positive change in the life a person. Not only does this encounter bring about change, it also transforms the changed individual into a change agent. In other words, after changing you, the Lord Jesus Christ can use you to change your city. In our Bible reading, we see a woman who had been married and divorced five times, who was then living with a sixth man. At that point, she did not even bother with marriage. After she encountered Jesus, He changed the course of her life, and He used her to change her city. This is quite remarkable! How can you claim to have been born again 10 years or more, and you have not introduced any level of change into your town or village? No matter how tiny the light may be, it will shine in the midst of darkness and overcome it. What impact have you made on your village, community, town or city? How many of your folks know you to be a Christian? A pastor died some time ago, and when his extended family members gathered to plan his burial, some of them thought of burying him the traditional way. His close relatives protested this and had to inform the other family members that he was a pastor. In your village, do people know you to be a born-again Christian? How many of them can say their lives have changed for the better since they encountered Jesus through you?

Moreover, if your encounter with Jesus is taken seriously, He can even use you to change your nation. Never underestimate the power of transformation that starts from just one fellow. Most of us are not pulling our weight spiritually in our nations. If you look at the Acts of the Apostles, you will find some change agents that God used to win whole cities and to turn around nations for Christ. Acts 13:43-44 says,

"Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God."

However, the extent to which God can use you will be determined by the degree of change you have allowed Him to perform in you. It will also depend on your mindset, love for God, level of alignment of God's desire with yours, and the level of sacrifice you are ready to make. While some people are only leading a few souls to Christ, some others are leading whole cities or nations to Him. How impactful do you want to be?

Key Point

Your heavenly rewards will be determined by you here on earth.

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

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

DIVINE ACCEPTANCE – Monday March 27th 2017

Posted: 25 Mar 2017 09:12 AM PDT

DIVINE ACCEPTANCE – Monday March 27^th 2017

Memorise: And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24

Read: Acts 10:30-44 (King James Version)

³⁰And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

³¹And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

³²Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.

³³Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God

³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

³⁵But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

³⁶The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

³⁷That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

³⁸How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

³⁹And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

⁴⁰Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

⁴¹Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴²And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

⁴³To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

⁴⁴While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Bible in one year: Exodus 31-32, Jeremiah 2:33-3:10, Hymn: Sing hymn 15

MESSAGE:

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

Isaiah 65:24

The above scripture contains a very profound promise from God to His people. The Lord manifested His commitment to fulfilling this promise in today's Bible reading. Acts 10:44 says,

"While Peter yet spake those words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word."

Before Peter finished his sermon, he had not even made any altar call or said any prayer when God poured out His Spirit, and the fire fell on all those hearing his voice. The answer to Cornelius' prayer came while Peter was still speaking, in consonance with the promise of God in Isaiah 65:24. Do you know that the devil still delays prayers? This is why it is very important for us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit; this helps to expedite answers to our prayers (Romans 8:26). When you pray with your understanding or in a language the devil understands, he can take steps to hinder the answer to that prayer. In Daniel 10:1-14, when Daniel decided to set himself apart to seek God's face in fasting and prayer, God immediately dispatched an angel to bring him the answer to his request that very day. However, the devil equally sent a principality to block the way of this angel for 21 days, until reinforcement was sent to help him. If you pray in the Spirit, the devil will be thrown into confusion, and he won't know when the answer to prayer is coming; neither will he know the angel brining it. In that way, the answer to your prayer is not hindered.

In addition to answering the prayer of Cornelius, God also accepted his offerings. There is nothing as painful as offering something to God and He refuses to accept it. When Cain's offering was rejected, he was so devastated that he murdered his younger brother (Genesis 4:3-5). On the other hand, when Solomon's offering was accepted, he received a divine visitation (2^nd Chronicles 1:6-12). Let me share what I normally do during offering time with you. When the minister says we should lift up our offering to God and pray, l asks God to send down His fire and take up the offering to Himself. So before I drop the offering in the basket, it is already gone. The cheque may be in the basket, but the actual offering has been taken by fire to Heaven. I pray that from today, God will accept all your offerings and sacrifices to Him!

Prayer Point

Father, I offer myself as a living sacrifice to You. Accept me and release Your holy fire on me. Fulfil Your promise by expediting the answer to my prayers and cause my joy to be full.

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

LADEN WITH CAREER BURDENS? – Sunday March 26th 2017

Posted: 25 Mar 2017 08:56 AM PDT

LADEN WITH CAREER BURDENS? – Sunday March 26^th 2017

Memorise: For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Psalm 107:16

Read: Luke 5:1-11 (King James Version)

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

²And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

³And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

⁴Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

⁵And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

⁶And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

⁷And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

⁸When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

⁹For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

¹⁰And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

¹¹And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Bible in one year: Exodus 29-30, Jeremiah 2:20-32, Hymn: Sing hymn 4

MESSAGE:

One of the methods devised by the devil to impede our forward march on the straight and narrow way is to steal our joy and happiness. To achieve this, our enemy may make use of career burdens. The presence of a career burden might be the reason why you see some persons who were not as intelligent as you were during your school days, or even those who graduated several years after you did, now far ahead of you career-wise. A fellow under this yoke will want to hide his face when he or she comes face to face with an erstwhile junior, who is now better placed. Many years ago, while still lecturing at the University of Lagos, a professor applied for an advertised job and was invited for an interview. When he got to the boardroom where the interview panel was sitting, he soon discovered that the chairman of the panel was one of his students who had recently graduated. He therefore said to the panel, "I am sorry, it seems I came to the wrong room." "You are not in the wrong room sir", replied the ex-student. But he insisted and left.

You need to periodically take stock of your career to ensure you are where you ought to be. If you are deeply unhappy at your job because you are positioned at the level where you ought to be, the devil might be playing his dirty tricks on you. Are you in a situation where some people you interviewed for employment are now your superiors in the same office? Have you been denied your promotion for several years in spite of your hard work, and as a result, not only are your mates now your superiors, even your juniors have become your superiors? If you are experiencing any of these, you might be operating under a career burden from the pit of hell. The aim of this burden is to make you frustrated and disillusioned. Similarly, when your efforts are not receiving a commensurate reward like Peter in our Bible reading today, you might be carrying a career burden. Peter toiled all night long but caught nothing. I can relate with his experience because I love to fish. When I want to relax sometimes, I go fishing with my hook. From experience, within five minutes of casting the hook, a fish is taken; but occasionally, I spend hours without catching a single fish. Not too long ago, after spending some considerable time, I eventually caught a fish, but while pulling it out, it jumped back into the river, and there was nothing I could do about it. You might have failed in your career or business, not because you wanted to fail or because you were lazy: the presence of a career burden might be the cause. In the Name of Jesus, in any way you have been a victim of this wickedness of Satan, you are delivered today! That burden is destroyed and taken away from you! All you have lost over the years is restored to you this season!

Prayer Point:

I command that every career burden in my life and family be lifted now in Jesus' Name.

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

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