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

THE BLAMELESS VESSEL – Wednesday July 6th 2016

Posted: 03 Jul 2016 03:12 AM PDT

THE BLAMELESS VESSEL

Memorise: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. Isaiah 52:11

Read: 1^st Timothy 3:1-7, (KJV) 1 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

²A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

³Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

⁴One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

⁵(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

⁶Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

⁷Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Bible in one year: Acts 27:28, Song of Solomon 8:8-14

MESSAGE

One thing that anyone who wants to be used by God should bear in mind is the need to be blameless. This is the prerequisite for a child of God who wants to serve God at any level. The Bible says in 1^st Timothy 3:1-2a:

"This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A Bishop then must be blameless…."

Being blameless has two advantages: Firstly, it saves the vessel the calamity of being destroyed by the User, the Almighty God. When a person volunteers to serve the Lord, it is dangerous for the fellow to be unclean, because the holiness of God destroys unclean vessels, just like electric current without insulation. There is a measure of holiness that God Himself bestowed upon man through obedience to His Word, which qualifies man to serve Him. The Bible says concerning Isaiah, how he admitted his sinful state, then God purified and cleansed him of his iniquity to qualify as a true prophet (Isaiah 6:5). Then, the angel of the Lord came and touched him with fire from Heaven and he was purged of his iniquity. Here, we see the mercy of God upon the vessel that He decided to use for His glory. There is a lesson we must learn from this scripture: the prophet admitted his sinful state and God came to his aid for cleansing. How wonderful would it be if those who profess to be children and ministers of God will be homely with the verdict of God concerning the Adamic nature of man and surrender to His holiness for mercy?

The second advantage of a blameless vessel is that his life glorifies the Almighty God. God is honoured in his life and He shows-off the fellow, then ultimately prospers and protects him eternally.

"And the Lord said unto Satan, has thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"

Job 1:8

Through Job suffered many trials, but just as the Bible says, his end was better than his beginning;

"So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning…."

Action Point

Father, I want to be blameless, please help me to live a life of obedience to Your Word and let Your Name be glorified in my life.

Open Heavens Daily, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye

POWER IN THE HOLY GHOST – Tuesday July 5th 2016

Posted: 03 Jul 2016 03:07 AM PDT

POWER IN THE HOLY GHOST

Memorise: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

Read: Acts 4:31-33, (KJV) ³¹And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

Bible in one year: Acts 24:22-26:32, Song of Solomon 7:11-8:7

MESSAGE

The only genuine source of power for children of God is the Holy Ghost. Any other means is not only a counterfeit but also counterproductive. When Jesus Christ was going to be with His Father, He told His disciples that they should stay back in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father came, only then would they have the power to go out and do the assignment that He had earlier given to them. It is unfortunate that many so-called children of God are gambling with their lives by engaging in the work of the ministry without adequate spiritual preparation.

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."

Acts 4:31, 33

There are lots of blessings which accrue from receiving the power of the Holy Ghost. For example, the Bible says we do not know how to pray but the Holy Spirit helps our inadequacy and with great groaning, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26). In other words, when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, prayer will not be a difficult task for us. When we are endued with the power of the Holy Ghost, we become unstoppable by our detractors and their threats will not have any effect on our lives. The disciples of old, after they had been threatened by the Jewish leaders in Acts chapter 4, prayed in the Holy Ghost and became so bold that they preached the Word of God in the streets without fear.

Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."
Ephesians 1:13

To be endued in the Holy Spirit, however, your salvation must be genuine. Without genuine salvation, you are prone to have a counterfeit Holy Spirit baptism and in turn, counterfeit power which will lead to a vexation of your spirit. This will not be your portion in Jesus' name. Then, you must live holy and make up your mind to become obedient to the Word of God. You must abstain from whatever will grieve the Holy Spirit.

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

Ephesians 4:30

You grieve the Holy Spirit when you blaspheme Him or touch unclean things. You must be separated unto God (2^nd Corinthians 6:14-18). I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon a reader of this devotional today in Jesus' name.

Action Point

Father, send your promise of the Holy Spirit to me afresh today and don't let me grieve Him as He comes upon me in Jesus' Name.

Open Heavens Daily, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye