OPEN HEAVEN [26 MAY 2019] THE WORKS OF THE FLESH

Open Heaven 26 May 2019: [Sunday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – The Works of the Flesh

THE WORKS OF THE FLESH – Sunday May 26^th 2019

OPEN HEAVEN [25 MAY 2019] A SERVING LEADER

Open Heaven 25 May 2019: [Saturday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – A Serving Leader

A SERVING LEADER – Saturday May 25^th 2019

Memorise: If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:14

Read: John 13:12-17 (KJV)

¹² So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

¹³ Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

¹⁶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

¹⁷ If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Bible in one year: Leviticus 4-5, Jeremiah 42:7-22, Hymnal: Sing hymn 5

Message:

Some people don’t know the difference between being a serving-leader and a servant-leader. A great example of a serving leader is our Lord Jesus Christ.

OPEN HEAVEN 25 MAY 2019

He served till the end of His earthly ministry and continues to serve even at the right hand of power in heaven (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25). However, He is not a servant; He actually acknowledged His status as Lord and Master in John 13:13. It is unfortunate therefore that many followers want to make servants out of their God-ordained leaders. Leaders are meant to server but not to be subjected to servitude! This is what I personally describe as the “abuse of a leader”. Some people use their leaders to their own selfish advantage, and when such a leader dies, they jump over to another leader who they will also use to death! King Saul is a good example of a servant-leader. When he was confronted with his disobedience to God, he said in 1^st Samuel 15:24:

“I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”

Open Heaven 25 May 2019: [Saturday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – A Serving Leader 

The people he was supposed to guide were actually the ones controlling him, and by his own admission, he feared them.

When a serving-leader becomes a servant-leader, people begin to wonder, “Who is leading who?” God is not the author of confusion; this is why He always appoints a leader who He relates with and through whom He passes instructions to His people. Our Lord Jesus Christ makes it clear that there is a difference between a servant and a friend (John 15:15). A servant is limited, whereas a friend has a deeper relationship. This distinction is the reason why leaders appointed by God cannot be servants. Followers should be sincere enough not to try to make servants of their God-ordained leaders. Such leadership will not do them any good, and they may not be spared when these servant-leaders, whom they have badly influenced, receive their judgmentfrom God. Some mischief makers who like to manipulate their leaders to do their bidding would always advocate for servant-leadership, because they don’t really want leaders; they would rather have a stooge who they can use for their own selfish interest. 

Open Heaven 25 May 2019 Saturday: Prayer point

This arrangement is common in the political sphere, and cannot serve the interest of the people. If you are in such situation, remember you will give account of your service to God and not to a godfather. May God grant us leaders who will serve His interest in our churches and nations in Jesus’ Name.

Prayer Point

Father, make me a serving-leader and not a servant of individual interests. Also, give us serving-leaders and not servant-leaders who would lead us astray through the fear of men.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

OPEN HEAVEN [24 MAY 2019] PERSECUTION AND NOT PROSECUTION

Open Heaven 24 May 2019: [Friday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Persecution and not Prosecution

PERSECUTION AND NOT PROSECUTION – Friday May 24^th 2019

Memorise: Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11

Read: Daniel 3:16-23 (KJV)

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

¹⁸ But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

¹⁹ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

²⁰ And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²² Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Bible in one year: Leviticus 1-3, Jeremiah 41:9-42:6, Hymnal: Sing hymn 10

Message:-

Persecution is being mistaken for persecution nowadays. There is a whole lot of difference between the persecution of a believer and his or her prosecution for evil deeds.

OPEN HEAVEN 24 MAY 2019 

As defined by the Lord Himself in today’s memory verse, it is persecution when men rise up against a Christian for the reason of his or her faith in Jesus Christ or choice to live by His principles. Standing firm in the face of persecution attracts blessings from the Lord (Matthew 5:12). When a child of God is undergoing a period of persecution, it is not because he or she has done anything wrong to warrant it. In fact, the Holy Spirit says in 1^st Peter 4:15:

“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.”

It is unfortunate that this meaning of persecution is gradually being eroded by those who compromise their faith and get indicted for it, who then whips up religious sentiments in order to garner sympathy and escape punishment. 

Open Heaven 24 May 2019: [Friday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Persecution and not Prosecution

A lot of people who compromise their faith abound in the Body of Christ today. Gone are the days when Christians suffered persecution in their places of work due to their uncompromising stand. Today, Christians connive with unbelievers to swindle their employers, or simply look away from the shady deals being perpetrated under their watch, for fear of persecution. They forget that they are actually the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Their salt is gradually losing its saltiness and their light is growing dimmer by the day. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar, it was as though they were enemies of the state. Some of their brethren who had compromised their faith in that foreign land would have seen them as being proud, showy or acting holier-than-thou. It is very painful when members of a righteous man’s household turn out to be enemies or join forces with enemies to slander and persecute him.

Open Heaven 24 May 2019 Friday: Prayer Point

I encourage you to recognise the difference between being punished for righteousness sake and being punished as an evil doer. Once you know this, and you are sure you are on the same page with God, you will receive an internal boldness and peace that surpasses human understanding whenever persecution arises. This boldness was present in the three Hebrew young men, and it was also manifested by the early apostles (Daniel 3:16-18, Acts 4:19-21). As the light of the world, I admonish you to never do anything that would justify your being prosecuted as a criminal. If you must suffer prosecution for anything, let it be for upholding the cross of Jesus Christ, which you should never be ashamed of. May God continue to help you.

Prayer Point

Father, please help me comport myself in a way that always glorifies You, and let me never have cause to suffer as an evil doer.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.

OPEN HEAVEN [23 MAY 2019] COVENANT PARTNERS

Open Heaven 23 May 2019: [Thursday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E.A Adeboye – Covenant Partners

COVENANT PARTNERS – Thursday May 23^rd 2019