Open Heavens for Today: Thursday September 17th 2015

Topic: RECEIVED DIVINE INSTRUCTIONS 

Verse to Memorise: Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. Job 22:22

Bible Reading: Job 22:21-24,

 ²¹ Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
²² Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
²³ If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
²⁴ Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

 Bible in one year: Exodus 37:38, 1^st Corinthians 1

MESSAGE:-

Due to the advent of sin and the activities of our adversary, we are faced with different challenges of life from day to day. The loss of assets and of persons dear to us is one of those challenges which our adversary, the devil, throws at us to destabilise us and ultimately make us lose our faith. But thank God that provision has been made in the package of salvation for the recovery of those things which we may have lost. Do you desire to recover what you have lost? Stop crying about it and encourage yourself in the Lord. A time of loss is a time to seek the face of God in prayer. After David and his men suffered a major loss, he wept, but he didn’t stop there. He encouraged himself in the Lord and sought God’s face in prayer (1^st Samuel 29:3-8). Although God is a very present help in the time of trouble, it is only those who seek Him that will find Him (Proverbs 8:17). Based on his life experiences, the Psalmist confirms this in Psalm 34:10:

“The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.”

Have you lost any good things? Seek God’s face from today. Separate yourself to spend time with God alone. For the duration of that period, let God be your only focus. Pour out your heart to Him and meditate on His word. Praise and worship Him in spirit and in truth. Be quiet in His presence to hear what He has to say to you. Have you been seeking God’s face after suffering a loss?

It is important to receive instructions from God after suffering a loss. He alone can fully tell how a loss occurred. Where what we lost can be found and how best to recover it. Unfortunately, people seldom fellow God’s instructions. May people adhere to traffic rules, especially in developed countries, because they do not want sanctions. Similarly, most people fellow the instructions in the user’s manual of their gadgets; but when it comes to God’s instructions, people take what appeals to them and discard the rest. Beloved, receive all of God’s instructions because they will lead you to the path of success, victory and joy. Instructions from God can come to you through a variety of ways. God can instruct you by directly speaking to you. He can also do so through His servants, especially through the word of knowledge in programmes such as our monthly Holy Ghost Service. God can send you instructions while you fellowship with other brethren in church. It could be during praise and worship, the choir ministration, prayer time or through the sermon. This is why it is important not to neglect fellowshipping with the brethren. How attentive are you to receive instructions from God while in His presence?

Prayer Point :Father, my heart is open to receive Your instructions that will turn my life around for good.

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Open Heavens for today : Wednesday September 16th 2015

Topic :THE REAL FIX YOU NEED! 

Key verse to Memorise: Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22

Bible text: Isaiah 45:20-25:

 ²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

²¹ Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

²³ I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

²⁴ Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.

²⁵ In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Bible in one year: Exodus 35-36, Romans 16

In an attempt to fill the void created by the absence of God in some people’s lives, they find themselves using mind-bending substances. This is very rampant in societies that have replaced God with government. In admission of their failure to achieve this folly in the lives of men, some of them now allow the free use of these substances. What they fail to realise is that without Jesus Christ, you can never be complete (Colossians 2:10). Nothing else can take His place. The effects of mind-bending drugs such as marijuana or cocaine can never fill His space in the heart. If you take any of these, it will only take you “high” into a world of hallucination: an unreal world that Satan creates for you while the effects of these drugs last, but afterwards, he drops you far below where he took you from, leaving you feeling deeply depressed, dissatisfied, empty and naked.

Any person who uses mind-bending substances will always want to experience the “high” feeling again and again in a vicious cycle. It is ironic that there is never a feeling of satisfaction derived from the use of these substances. Rather, one wrap becomes too small and the fellow moves on to two, three, four or even five in order to experience the effect that used to be derived from just a single wrap or shot. It gets to a stage where they now live for hard drugs. At this point, nothing else matters to them but another wrap or shot All along, each use of those substances lead the user into madness.

No hard drug satisfies, but Jesus Christ does. He is the “hard drug” that can fix your life once and for all. Take one shot of Jesus Christ and He will take you truly high and keep you there. One wrap of Jesus will give you a bit of the heavenly experience that will increase every passing day as you fellowship with Him. Have you received Jesus into your life? Are you a drug addict? Do you need a fix every now and then? All you need is Jesus! He satisfies. He will quench your thirst for inordinate things. Receive Him into your heart and it shall be well with you. Your life will receive the transformation you need. Are you addicted to drugs and other mind-bending substances? Have you made effort to stop their use but could not stop? In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you are set free today! That habit holding you bound is broken now! I command every demon of addiction to release you now! You are liberated from their grip in Jesus’ Name. Submit yourself to the environment of accountability in a church to strengthen your resolve never to go back.

Action point: Reach out to drug addicts for Christ or lend a helping hand to ministers dedicated to their salvation and rehabilitation.

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Open Heavens for today : Tuesday September 15th 2015

Topic:AFRAID OF YOUR MIRROW IMAGE? 

Key verse to Memorise: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a door, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: James 1:23

Bible Text: James 1:22-25,

 ²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Bible in one year: Exodus 33:34, Romans 15:14-33

The word of God is very central to our life as believers. In the very last admonition of Moses to the children of Israel, He said the word of God is their very life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47). For believers in Christ today, the word of God is also our life, because it is through it that we are born-again, as revealed in 1^st Peter 1:23:

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

After we are born-again, the word of God performs several functions in our life. One aspect of these functions which is rather interesting is that it works as our mirror. A mirror shows the reflection of the one using it. A man may hold an opinion of himself for a long period, but when he has the opportunity to look in a mirror, he will see himself as he is. In this age of flattery and political correctness, you may be shocked by the time you compare what you see in a mirror before you, to people’s assessment for your person. Why is this so? We live in a time when it has become very difficult for people to call a shade a shade. They prefer to tell you what you want to hear. They are prepared to flatter you and say those things that can keep them in your good books, particularly if they hope to curry your favour. If the friends you surround yourself with cannot point out your faults when you go wrong, change them. If you don’t, they will lead you astray.

Unlike men who will flatter you, the word of God tells you who or what you are without fear or favour. When you stand before the perfect law of liberty, you will see yourself exactly how God sees you. The word of God will reveal the stains in your garment of salvation and show you the wrinkles on your robe of righteousness. One reason why people avoid hearing, reading or studying the Bible is because they are afraid of seeing their true picture. They want to continue to live under self-deception. Some other people look at the mirror of God’s word, see their stains, dents and imperfections, and yet they refuse to do anything about it. This is the height of foolishness! If God’s word cannot correct you, what else can? The Bible in James 1:21 says:

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Receive God’s verdict about you in His word today, and stop trying to justify yourself. 

Action Point: Every time you look into the Bible and you see something amiss in your robe of righteousness, immediately correct it.

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Open Heavens for today: Monday September 14th 2015

Topic:THE RIGHT ROOT 

Key verse to Memorise: 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. Mark 4:17

Bible text: Mark 4:16-17:

 ¹⁶ And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

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.

Bible in one year: Exodus 30:22-32:35, Romans 14:13-15:13

In a marathon, not everyone who starts the race reaches the finish line. Several people drop out of the race due to one reason or the other. In the same way, several people are dropping out of the race to meet Christ the Redeemer on the last day. The parable of the sower reveals some of the reasons why people will not get to the finish line of the Christian race. One of such reasons is not being rooted and grounded in the word of God. Jesus gives further insight into this 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 root of a tree is very important to its survival. If you cut down every part of most trees and leave the roots, the tree will spring up again. All the nourishment that sustains the fruits, leaves and branches of a tree are received through its roots. Also, it is the roots that hold the tree when the wind comes against it. If the roots are few or tiny, the tree will also be limited in its ability to feed and stay fixed; but if the roots are many, big and strong, the tree will feed well and endue. Note that every tree has roots whose size is directly proportional to the size of the tree. It is therefore the size of your root in Christ that will determine how big you will grow in His kingdom. A heavy wind blew one rainy day and it caused a big tree located by the roadside to fall. People marvelled that such a huge tree could be brought down by the wind, but after they looked closely, they discovered that the roots of this tree did not go deep enough into the ground, and so the bottom of the tree appeared flat. No wonder it fell!

In the Christian faith, the root refers to the foundation on which one’s faith in Jesus is established. If the foundation is bad, it will definitely affect the growth and stability of the tree. Any fruit produced will have problems if the root is not the right size or does not go deep enough. Many believers who bungled their trip to Heaven had a bad foundation in Christ. Either their roots were developed wrongly, or their roots did not go deep enough. This is why care should be taken to groom young converts very well through the teaching of the word. They should be exposed to the sincere, undiluted milk of the word (1^st Peter 2:2). What is the state of your foundation in Christ? Do you have big, Strong roots that can give you stability until the race ends?    

Prayer Point :Father, give me the right roots that will make me grow into a gigantic tree in your kingdom.

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