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

BELATED OFFERING? – Monday April 25th 2016
IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS? - Sunday April 24th 2016
UNGODLY SORROW – Saturday April 23rd 2016
GODLY SORROW? – Friday April 22nd 2016
DENYING JESUS? – Thursday April 21st 2016
A BETRAYER? – Wednesday April 20th 2016
IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME – Tuesday April 19th 2016

BELATED OFFERING? – Monday April 25th 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:18 AM PDT

BELATED OFFERING?

Memorise: Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came

unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. Luke 24:1

Read: Luke 24:1-8, 24 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

²And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

³And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

⁴And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

⁵And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

⁶He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

⁷Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

⁸And they remembered his words,

Bible in one year: 1^st Kings 2:13-3:28, Proverbs 15:11-24

MESSAGE

Some offerings are acceptable while some are not; some offerings are given at the right time while some are belatedly offered. On the morning of the resurrection, some people brought spices to the sepulchre of Jesus, meanwhile, a few days to His crucifixion, a woman anointed Jesus Christ's feet with expensive ointment. This woman's kind gesture was just in time.

"When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but we ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial."

Matthew 26:10-12

Incidentally, when Jesus Christ died, no one was there to perform the customary anointing before burial for Him. It was in lieu of this that certain disciples came to the resurrection morning that they may anoint Jesus in arrears. However, He had resurrected!

Beloved, there are many lessons to be learnt from this resurrection story; whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something, no matter how illogical it may sound, do it immediately. The reason is that if you do it later, it will be a belated offering or service. The disciples who came to anoint Jesus went back with their perfume because the Master was no longer in the grave. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ wrote:

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be nakedm and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit."

James 2:14-16

If I may answer the apostle; there can be no profit whatsoever. There could, however, be a loss of that person in need, and it may be a physical or spiritual loss as the fellow may die of hunger or backslide. In this same vein, whenever the Holy Spirit asks you to do something and doing that thing attracts criticisms from men, be undeterred, go ahead and do exactly as you were told. Your critics will soon realise that they were wrong to have criticised you. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us, and may we continue to obey Him as we journey from the world to our eternal home above.

Action Point

Listen to the Holy Spirit and do all that He asks you to do immediately.

IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS? - Sunday April 24th 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:15 AM PDT

IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS?

Memorise: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the

fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Philippians 3:10

Read: John 19:38-42; ³⁸And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

³⁹And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.

⁴⁰Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

⁴¹Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.

⁴²There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.

Bible in one year; 1^st Kings 1:1-2:12, Proverbs 4:32-15:10

MESSAGE

From the beginning of the New Testament Church, identifying with Jesus takes dogged determination. Jesus Himself said it in Mark 8:34;

"And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

In the above passage, Jesus Christ demands total commitment from His followers. Whoever will not totally put himself under the Lordship of Christ does not belong to him. John 8:31-32 says:

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if ye continued in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Identifying with Jesus is identifying with the Word from above. In the Bible reading for today, we read about two secret disciples, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus who came forward to claim the body of Jesus for burial. This is noteworthy, because it must have taken very important personalities to go to the governor to demand the body of a 'condemned criminal'. On the other hand, it must have taken someone who did not only love the so-called criminal but also believed in his innocence, to go through the trouble of asking for Christ's body and burying it.

Identifying with Jesus has to do with believing and living by His ideals. Many so-called born-again Christians have become so nominal that the Word of God is of no effect to their lives any more. Some pastors have tuned the Christian faith to a mere vocation. One wonders whether they mean to go to the same heaven that apostles like Paul worked hard for. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples:

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."

John 15:18-19

Therefore beloved, let us take the yoke of Jesus Christ upon ourselves with all seriousness and steadfastness. We will all make it to heaven in Jesus' name.

Action Point

Decide to follow Jesus all the way in spite of the hospitality of the World around you.

UNGODLY SORROW – Saturday April 23rd 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:13 AM PDT

UNGODLY SORROW

Memorise: And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and

went and hanged himself. Luke 27:5

Read: Matthew 27:3-8, ³Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

⁴Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

⁵And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

⁶And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

⁷And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

⁸Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 23-24, Proverbs 14:18-31

MESSAGE

The type of sorrow that Judas Iscariot experienced is undesirable. I pray that you will not experience such a sorrow in your life in Jesus' name. We need to know why the sorrow that Peter experienced is seen as godly and why that of Judas Iscariot perceived as ungodly.

When a man thinks he can outsmart his creator, the results is usually ghastly, and it is only when that person has godly sorrow for his acts that he can be saved. Greed and materialistic tendencies can make a man think he can outsmart God. It is unfortunate that some so-called Christians are not spared for his monster called greed (or the love of material things.) The Bible says:

"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^stTimothy 6:6-8

Judas Iscariot thought he could swindle the Jewish leaders by betraying Jesus, he thought Jesus could not be arrested because he had, before then, witnessed Him escaping from the hands of the Jews. However, he didn't know that Christ escaped then because His time was not yet up.

"And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city as built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way."

Luke 4:28-30

With the background knowledge of what Christ could do, he felt that once he had collected the money and showed them who He is, Christ would disappear and life would continue as usual. To his surprise, Christ surrendered Himself. The type of sorrow he had does not lead to repentance; rather, it leads to despair, frustration, and eventually suicide as seen in today's memory verse.

Beloved, let us fear the Lord and abstain from all forms of greed and the love of money. These things drown men in destruction and perdition.

Prayer Point

Father, please don't let the love of money drown me in Jesus name.

GODLY SORROW? – Friday April 22nd 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:10 AM PDT

GODLY SORROW?

Memorise: For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of:

but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2^nd Corinthians 7:10

Read: Luke 22:60-62, ⁶⁰And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

⁶¹And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

⁶²And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 21-22, Proverbs 14:4-17

MESSAGE

When Peter realized that he did not fulfil his promise to not deny Jesus Christ, the Bible says: "…he went out, and wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:75). This is what we call godly sorrow and it has its blessings.

When an individual is confronted with the reality of his sinful life and the certainty of hell, if he is not a reprobate, he will mourn of his woes. The best way to mourn for one's sin is to confess and forsake them.

"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have merchy. Happy is the man that feareth always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."

Proverbs 28:13-14

In our Bible reading for today, the Pharisee went to the temple, only to begin to eulogise himself about all his good deeds. The Publican, on the other hand, smote his heart and mourned for his sins. Some of us have been so self-conceited for too long a time that we have piled-up sins that are now standing in our ways to spiritual revival.

The Bible says:

"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven but smote upon his breast, saying God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exaleteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Luke 18:14-14

Beloved of the Lord, let us examine ourselves and see where we are falling short of God's grace for living holy. Let us repent genuinely, and come back to our first love. I pray that the Lord will revive you today in Jesus' name.

Prayer Point

Father, I need a revival of holiness, please revive me again.

DENYING JESUS? – Thursday April 21st 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:08 AM PDT

DENYING JESUS?

Memorise: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor

standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalms 1:1

Read: Luke 22:54-60, ⁵⁴Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.

⁵⁵And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.

⁵⁶But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

⁵⁷And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.

⁵⁸And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.

⁵⁹And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.

⁶⁰And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 19:16-20:26, Proverbs 13:15-14:3

MESSAGE

The company you keep determines who you are, what you do, and how you respond to situations in life. The story was told of a sparrow that got trapped together with ravens that were caught devouring a grain farmland. He pleaded with the farmer who owned the trap to release him. "Why should I release you", the farmer asked. "Because I am not a raven but a sparrow that cannot devour your farm" the sparrow replied. "How come you were caught with the ravens?", "I was only trying to enjoy their company" the raven replied. "So, you are being judged because of the company you were in" the farmer concluded.

The story in our Bible reading of today is pathetic. Many things could have been responsible for Peter's denial of Jesus, however, let us look at some probable factors. Firstly; the Bible says when they brought Jesus into the high priest's house; Peter followed Him, but afar off. It is dangerous to follow Jesus afar off. Moreover, because it was cold, Peter moved into the hall and sat down with those that were enjoying the warmth of the fire that was set. It is unfortunate today that some so-called believers are enjoying the fire or the warmth of sin in the bosom of strange men and women.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful"

Psalms 1:1

Peter, forgetting that he had the identity of a Galilean, sat in the midst of the residents of Jerusalem and his identity was found out. Many pretend as if they are not Christians, they easily conform to the comfort zones of this world. Whereas, the Bible says:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God."

Romans 12:3

Peter did not notice that his location was not good enough for him to maintain his obligation of discipleship to Jesus Christ. And when he was confronted about being a disciple of Jesus, he denied it to the point of swearing.

Beloved, let us learn from Peter's mistakes, following Jesus from afar off is very dangerous to our spiritual life. We must not patronise spiritual unhealthy zones, no matter how attractive the place may be. We will be judged by the company we keep.

Prayer Point

Father, please help me never to deny you however tough the trial may be.

A BETRAYER? – Wednesday April 20th 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:06 AM PDT

A BETRAYER?

Memorise: But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

Luke 22:21

Read: Luke 22:19-23, ¹⁹And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

²⁰Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

²¹But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

²²And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

²³And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

Bible in one year; 2^nd Samuel 18:1-19:15, Proverbs 13:1-14

MESSAGE

A betrayer is a covenant breaker and there is danger in being a covenant breaker (Romans 1:31). A betrayer is someone who knows the secret of the strong and / or the weak point of an individual through an intimate relationship and leaks example of a betrayer is Judas Iscariot. Reading the story of the betrayal of Jesus Christ will teach us many lessons. Firstly, the fact that someone is close to you does not mean he or she cannot betray you. As a matter of fact, it is the causal acquaintance be guilty of betrayal because there is hardly any secret to divulge. Secondly, a betrayal is a killer, betrayal is murderous.

"Yet stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers."

Acts 7:51-52

The Bible describes a betrayer as someone who reveals secrets (Proverbs 11:13). Proverbs 26:22 says

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost part of the belly."

Betrayal is not a Christian virtue. Before the Almighty God, it attracts a "capital punishment" as it is written:

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!"

Matthew 18:6-7

Beloved of God, let us not be caught-up with the spirit of the end-time as predicted by apostle Paul in his writings about the characteristics of the perilous times, when there will be blasphemers, boasters, trucebreakers, false accusers, despisers of godliness, traitors, and lovers of pleasures than lovers of God. I pray that as many as have been caught in these deadly habits shall be delivered today in Jesus' name.

Prayer Point

Father, deliver me from the spirit of betrayal; don't let me end up like Judas Iscariot in Jesus' name.

IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME – Tuesday April 19th 2016

Posted: 17 Apr 2016 08:03 AM PDT

IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME

Memorise: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my

body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1^st Corinthians 11:24

Read: 1^st Corinthians 11:23-29, ²³For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

²⁴And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

²⁵After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

²⁶For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

²⁷Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

²⁹For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Bible in one year: 2^nd Samuel 16:17, Proverbs 12:15-28

MESSAGE

There is one significant and fundamental reason (among other important reasons) why the Holy Communion (The Lord's Supper) was inaugurated by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us, shedding His blood to atone for our sins because it is written, "…and without shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22). Consequently, when Jesus Christ said we should observe the Holy Communion often in remembrance of Him, but it takes a deep level of wisdom to understand and remember what He went through for our redemption. One important thing to note here is that Jesus Christ knew what He would go through to die for His friends. Having died for us, He surely doesn't want His gesture of love to be forgotten by the people He did it for. We unfortunately often forget the passion of our Lord, which led to His ignoble death. This is why we do things that, by implication, necessitate our Lord's going back to the cross frequently.

"If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

Hebrews 6:6

Most people backslide because of their loss of memory about the agony of the death that the Saviour suffered in order to procure salvation for us. The Bible says:

"If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained."

1^st Timothy 4:6

What should we put ourselves in remembrance of? Paul, the apostle wrote.

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the death according to my gospel: it is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us."#

2^nd Timothy 2:8. 11-12

In an ideal situation, communion should be taken as frequently as possible in order to enable us remember the death of our Lord and the reason for it. The Bible says we should not be forgetful hearers but doers of the Word (James 1:25). When we gather for Holy Communion, everyone is compelled to carry out a self-examination so that he or she does not eat to damnation according to our Bible text for today. May the passion, suffering and death of Jesus Christ avail for us through eternity in Jesus name.

Action Point

Do you remember what Christ went through for you often enough?