Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye,… 6th, December 2015, Undefeated
Sanctification remains the key to usefulness in this kingdom.
God requires and demands man’s sanctification to guarantee His usefulness. Jeremiah 15:19
“…and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth…”
Sanctification makes you as one with God. It alligns you with God.
Isaiah 6:5-8; 52:11; Zechariah 3:1-8, Psalm 15:1-5; 24:3,4 ; 4:3, Ecclesiastes 9:8, II Timothy 2:19-22, Proverbs 25:4
Keep your vessel constantly clean to keep God constantly at work.
God detest unclean environment.
What God is looking for first is how we live, not what we do.
It is our cleanliness before our activities.
God has no problem working the moment he can find clean vessels to work through, nothing less than pure vessels is acceptable to him.
Clean up and God will show up. Exodus 19:11
Daily cleansing is the guarantee for daily usefulness.
06
Dec
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In this verse, “all things” is literally all things—the good, the bad and the ugly! Now, it does not mean that all things are from God. Some things, such as accidents, sicknesses, broken relationships and divorces are not from Him. They are from the devil or just part of the fallen world that we live in. But what this verse does tell us is that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. That is our inheritance as God’s beloved children.
Do the people of the world have this inheritance? No. When bad things happen to them, they are what they are—bad things. But when bad things happen to the children of God, it does not end there. God can make those bad things work together for good. In other words, the devil may throw lemons at you, but God can take those lemons and make refreshing lemonade for you!
For example, if you have been retrenched, believe that God, who makes all things work together for good, has a better job for you. Indeed, we have received testimonies from church members who have ended up with better jobs and higher salaries after they were retrenched.
It is important you remember that God is not behind anything bad or ugly. But when those things happen, know that He can make all things work together for good. And don’t let anyone tell you that all things will work together for good only if you love God and are called according to His purpose. These two things are not conditions but descriptions of believers. Believers are those who love God because they know that God first loved them. (1 John 4:19) And they are called according to His purpose for they have been born again and belong to Him.
My friend, because you have been born again, all things in your life will work together for good. This is your inheritance as a beloved child of God!
God is not behind anything bad or ugly. When those things happen, know that He can make all things work together for good.
Life without a cause will end under a cloud.
Living without a cause is like living under a curse.
Cause is the cure to fainting. With a cause you cannot faint. II Cor.4:16,17
Strong people are those motivated by their cause.
It is the greatest motivation to life. It makes one tireless and ever “drivy”.
A man with a cause is usually self encouraging.
Keeping in view what awaits you is what gives you strength to waiting.
If you know what awaits you, you will never be tired of waiting.
If you see the gains you will never feel the pains.
Pains don’t last, it is gains that endure.
Pain will soon fade out, gains will make you fat and make you shine.
Your cause will put you on the run, make you boisterous; keeps you motivated.
It is your cause that keeps you inspired.
When you have no more cause, you expire – II KI.4:7,8
It is your cause that advances you
02
Dec
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As much as I love my wife and daughter, I have never bothered to count the number of hairs on their heads. I don’t have the time to do so and I doubt I will ever want to.
Every day, your hair drops. Yet, God knows how many hairs are left on your head. And He also knows how many are growing back! He knows because He bothers to count them again. When it comes to you, He always has time for every little thing about you.
So when Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very interested in you and has intimate knowledge about you—your body, family, finances, relationships…everything in your life!
He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial worry which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your nasty boss is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart. He hears your heart’s cry for a miracle baby.
Your heavenly Father wants you to know that as long as something concerns you, He does not overlook it, even if it is about your pet, as a church member found out. She panicked when she first discovered that her pet terrapin had gone blind. Then, remembering my messages on confessing healing for our bodies, she did the same for her pet! Three months later, the terrapin’s eyes were wide open and able to see!
God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem you are worried about and every single burden you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!
God knows every single care you have and He has all the time for you as if no one else exists.
A man’s wisdom gives him patience.
—Proverbs 19:11 NIV
People often ask me, “How can I learn contentment and stability?” One way, straight out of the Bible, is patience.
God wants us to use wisdom, and wisdom encourages patience. Wisdom silently tells us to wait a little while, until the emotions settle down, before you do or say something. Then check to see if you really believe it’s the right thing to do. Emotions urge us toward haste, telling us we must do something and do it right now! But godly wisdom tells us to be patient and wait until we have a clear picture of what we are to do and when we are to do it. I like to say it like this: Let emotions subside and then decide. We need to be able to step back from our situations and see them from God’s perspective. Then we need to make decisions based on what we know rather than what we feel.
Power Thought: I have the wisdom to develop patience and emotional stability.
01
Dec
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Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers.
God is not like that. He wants you to know beyond any doubt that you can always come to His throne of grace with boldness and have every confidence that you will receive His mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16) You see, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. You don’t need to do anything to make yourself more right with God.
In fact, by faith in Jesus, you have received the righteousness of God Himself! (2 Corinthians 5:21) And no matter how many mistakes you make, you will never lose that righteousness because in the first place, God gave it to you apart from your works. (Romans 4:5–6) In other words, God did not impute righteousness to you because you were good, but because you believed in Jesus.
Because of what Jesus has done for you at the cross, all your sins—past, present and future—are forgiven. God will by no means ever remember your sins or count them against you! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)
My friend, because Jesus has been punished for your sins, today, God is not counting your sins against you. This means that your sins won’t stop Him from hearing and responding to your prayers. So you can always run into His presence knowing that you can boldly stand in and enjoy His presence and His love.
When you know this truth, it is going to set you free in your relationship with God. You can talk to Him without fear or any sense of condemnation. You can practice His presence and trust that He always hears you. Should something happen at home or at work, you don’t always have to call for your church leaders—you pray and God hears you!
Beloved, you are righteous in Christ and God hears your prayers—all because of Jesus!
Because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. So when you pray, God hears you!
In our leadership endeavours we are expected to keep climbing to new levels. But this is practically impossible without facing new challenges.
On the way to any new level are new devils.
On the way to your future is an Esau.
Before Jesus could assume the level of global fame he was led by the spirit to the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil alongside with wild beasts therein. Mk.1
His initial level of publicity was at His baptism in Jordan.
He was immediately led into the wilderness to be approved for the new level.
Temptation is not abandonment but a stretch to spread.
Temptation advances destiny.
When you’re stretched you don’t return to previous state. Lk4:1-14, Mk1:9-13,