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

Open Heavens 4 June 2017: Sunday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye-Vulnerable?
Open Heavens 3 June 2017: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye-Scatter to increase
Open Heavens Reflections 02 June 2017 - Believe and Doubt Not

Open Heavens 4 June 2017: Sunday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye-Vulnerable?

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 02:03 PM PDT

VULNERABLE? – Sunday June 4^th 2017

Memorise: If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Proverbs 24:10

Read: 2^nd Samuel 17:1-3 (King James Version)

1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:

²And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:

³And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.

Bible in one year: Joshua 1-2, Jeremiah 42:1-17, Hymn: Sing hymn 9

MESSAGE:

"And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:"

2^nd Samuel 17:2

The above scripture reveals one of the strategies that our adversary, the devil, uses to get at us: he seeks to attack and strike us when we are weary and weak. No matter how strong you are spiritually, you are still vulnerable, because every human being is limited and weak. Understanding your vulnerability and mitigating it is one of the keys to living a triumphant Christian life. When you feel weak and vulnerable, that is a good time to fast and pray. The truth is, when you are vulnerable, you are at your moment of least resistance to sin. In such moments, just a little pressure can make you fall in sin. However, being vulnerable reminds us that we were made from dust and reveals to us that we greatly need God's help (2^nd Corinthians 12:9). Indeed, you are most vulnerable when you need help the most and help is nowhere near. It is during such moments that you need to go to God confessing your helplessness and asking for His help lest you fall.

How does one end up in a vulnerable state? Continuous exposure to temptations can gradually weaken your defence. This is why you most avoid every appearance of evil. For example, if alcohol used to be your lord before you were saved, after accepting Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you would be wise to keep away from parties and social outings where alcohol would be served. You would also need to avoid viewing media publications promoting alcohol and serve your links with drinking pals; otherwise, if you continuously frolic around these, you will soon become vulnerable. In addition, repeatedly avoiding or neglecting spiritual tools that can build up your spiritual muscles and defences will definitely make you vulnerable. If you cannot pray, fast, study the Bible, and attend Church services with the brethren on a regular basis, you will soon become vulnerable. Similarly, if you keep bad friends or advisers, or you are a lone ranger who fails to mix, you will definitely become vulnerable. It is difficult to bend and break a broom but very easy to break a single broomstick. Before striking, the devil will usually try to isolate an individual from those who can help him or her resist temptation. This is why you need God to choose true friends for you. Lastly, failure to develop your faith spiritually will leave you vulnerable. Fortify yourself today!

Action Point

An events separating you from fellow believers as you tilt towards loneliness? Watch it! It could be another ploy of the devil to isolate and finish you off.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was 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.

Open Heavens 3 June 2017: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye-Scatter to increase

Posted: 02 Jun 2017 01:30 PM PDT

SCATTER TO INCREASE – Saturday June 3^rd 2017

Memorise: There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Proverbs 11:24

Read: Proverbs 11:23-25 (King James Version)

²³The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Bible in one year: Acts 27-28, Jeremiah 41:4-18, Hymn: Sing hymn 10

MESSAGE:

John 15:16 says have been chosen to bear fruits and to sustain these fruits. To bear fruit, you are required to win souls regularly. Newly saved souls are like new born babies that require a lot of care and nourishment in order to grow into adulthood (1^st Peter 2:2). To sustain such converts therefore, there is a need for us to keep planting churches. No wonder Genesis 1:28 said that if you are fruitful, you must strive to multiply. Plant a parish and continue planting more. Just repeat the right things you are doing that works. Do not wait to start a church of 2000 people. You can start small churches of about 20-50 people and these will grow into churches of 100, 150 and more. The house fellowship unit can be effectively used in doing this. You can start a house fellowship with just a few people and as it grows, you can split it and have another house fellowship centre. In doing this, you are applying the principles of scattering to multiply. As these grow, you will soon have enough people to start a church parish. How effective is your house fellowship centre? Are you even a member of a house fellowship?

Another area where you can apply the principle of scattering to multiply is in the area of giving. Luke 6:38 says if you give, you shall receive in return. Keep giving and God in His own way will give you your reward. Today's Bible reading reveals that it is possible to scatter but yet increase, whereas you can hold back and remain poor. There is a particular man I know; when he goes anywhere and people get to know he is around, they would gather round and he will fling bundles of money at them; every one of them then scramble for their share of this money. Someone once asked me why this man does this, and I told him that the devil knows the principle of scattering to increase. If you go to a witchdoctor for a charm to make you rich, one of the conditions he would likely give you is that you must learn to scatter some of your wealth to the poor. This is a universal principle; so if unbelievers practice it, they will get results. So would believers if they can practice it. Consider the weeds that grow rapidly around us; they multiply so fast because they scatter their seed through the wind, water and by sticking to so many different things. In the past, those of us who were Bible study leaders went all out to meet the needs of the gospel by sacrificing our salaries and the little we had. Today, many years after, I see the same people who once lived in a room and parlour now living in their own mansions. Are you ready to pay the price of multiplication through scattering?

Action Point

When you want to scatter you seeds, start with needy members of your local church.

Open Heavens Reflections 02 June 2017 - Believe and Doubt Not

Posted: 01 Jun 2017 08:24 PM PDT