Open Heaven… 25th, November 2015.
REJECTING EVIL WRITINGS
REJECTING EVIL WRITINGS
TOTAL COMMITMENT: A MUST
Memorise: Simon Peter saith unto them,
I go fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. John 21:3
ENTERING HIS PRESENCE
HOW PROPHETIC ARE YOUR NAMES?
Memorise: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21
Read: Exodus 2:5-10, 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.
9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
Bible in one year: Job 40:3-42:17, 2nd Timothy 1:1-2:13
MESSAGE!
The name you bear is very important because it serves as your identity, and your future may be connected to it. The name a person bears is sometimes indicative of the experiences he or she will encounter in life. Take for instance Moses: this name means “drawn out of water” (Exodus 2:10). No wonder water was a recurring decimal in his life. He turned water into blood (Exodus 7:19-20); he parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22); he turned bitter water into sweet water (Exodus 15:24-25); he brought water out of the rock (Exodus 17:5-6); and the issue that denied him entrance into the Promised Land was about water (Numbers 20:8-20). Knowing how significant the name of an individual is to his destiny, God had to change the names of several people in the Bible (Genesis 17:5, Genesis 32:28, Mark 3:16, Acts 4:36). My mother told me that after my birth, she intended to name me Elisha, but on her way to see the priest of my baptismal name, she forgot, so she named me Enoch. I told her I like the two names: Elisha, the man with the double portion anointing, and Enoch, the man who walked with God, so I took the two names is being fulfilled in my life today. Examine your names: if there is any evil name among them, reject it, and if there is a good names you desire, add it to what you have, and the Lord will back it up.
A good name should glorify God; for this reason, any name attached to an idol, local deity or unclean spirit must be discarded. A good name should also be prophetic. A name such as Christopher means “the bearer of Christ”. It is a prophecy that the child so named will bear the person of Jesus Christ any where he goes. A name such as Gabriel means “ablel-bodied one of God” or “strong man of God”. That is very prophetic! A good name should give the bearer something positive to work towards: it should be a challenge, a promise or a goal he or she should strive to realise. How prophetic is your name? On the other hand, many people are yet to see the fulfilment of the promise in their names. For instance, someone who is named after wealth may still be living in squalor, and someone named after glory may still be living in shame. If you find yourself in this type of situation, pray hard that God will cause the good promise and prophecy in your name to be fulfilled, and also work towards its realisation.
Prayer Point
Father, speedily bring into manifestation, every prophecy or promise inherent in my name, in Jesus’ Name.
LOOK UPWARDS!
Memorise: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. Psalm 121:1
Read: Psalm 121:1-2, 121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Bible in one year: Job 36:1-40:2, 1st Timothy 6:3-21
MESSAGE!
In the course of our walk with God, we encounter challenges of life that test the level and quality of our faith; but praise God that we have the assurance of the Lord that there is no mountain our faith cannot surmount (Matthew 17:20). For those who are in Christ, problems arise in order to generate testimonies. The size of the problem you encounter will determine the size of your testimony. If you ask God for a big testimony, then you must be ready to face a big challenge. What made the testimony of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego most outstanding was not just the fact that they went through the fiery furnace, but the fact that the furnace, heated to its most intense level, could not harm them (Daniel 3:19-24). Are you going through fire at the moment? Fear not! Look up to God and He will see through.
Are you confronted with any issue of life? In what direction are you looking for solution? If looking forward, backward and sideways has not helped you, then it is time to look up. Looking ahead, behind or sideways simply suggest dependence on self or on people. Depending on a fellow man operating at the same level as you is a foolish thing to do; you cannot access true help that way. Jeremiah 17:5 says:
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”
Furthermore, looking down implies looking at the devil and his forces of darkness, because they are under your feet. Of course you can’t go to the architect of a problem for its solution. You need to know that until you look upwards for God’s intervention, you may never get your blessing.
There was a particular nice woman who had an epileptic son. Whenever he had a seizure, it was so bad. Whatever she rented an apartment, people loved her for her good nature, but after they realise her son was epileptic, they would show her the exit door with some apology. This made her move houses so often. Then one day, while going with the boy to the market, at the very heart of town, the boy experienced a seizure and everyone fled. She grabbed the boy, stood him on his feet, lifted her eyes to God and said, “O God, I am here without anyone to help me, but I know you are there, please help me.” From that day, her son was healed of that condition. Has
an unpleasant situation brought you to a most disgraceful place? Look up to God today, hold unto Him and He will make a way for you. The Lord will terminate your shame and turn it into honour.
Prayer Point
Father, give me the grace to always focus my gaze on You.
FRAUD IN RELATIONSHIP
Memorise: Thou art snared with the words of thy month, thou are taken with the words of thy mouth. Proverbs 6:2
Read: Exodus 22:16-17, 16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
Bible in one year: Job 29-31, 1st Timothy 3:14-5:8
MESSAGE!
In different areas of human relationship, offences arises in the course of interacting with one another. These offences can sometimes bring physical and emotional injury to people, especially in relationships between the opposite sex. One offence that is pronounced in relationships today, which was foretold by the apostles of old, is covenant breaking. Apostle Paul lists this among the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men in Romans 1:31:
“Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:”
it is also listed as treachery in 2nd Timothy 3:4. In relationships between the opposite sex, covenant breaking is a situation where one party makes a promise to the other party concerning a future commitment, but later fails to keep his or her promise. As a Christian, God expects you to restitute such acts. In our Bible reading, God said if a man deceived a lady by promising to marry her, as a result had sex with her, he had to marry her, unless her parents refused to give her to him. In such a case, the man would be required to pay her bride price, even though he may not be given the bride. These principles still apply today. Today, there are instances where a lady agrees to marry a man, and as a result, he invests a lot on her education, sets he up in business or helps her get a good job; but by the time he expects her to become his wife, he receives the shock of his life when she elopes with another man. He will then realise that all along she was not really in love with him. This is fraudulent! Such a man would never have made those sacrifices if he knew she would not eventually become his wife. If you find yourself in such a situation, go and restitute. What you received was by fraud and must be returned. If you are not prepared to be bound by written agreement, why feign consent? Today’s memory verse warns against this. There are cases where a lady would ask a man to send her abroad to school or to work, and in some cases, the man may even acquire a property abroad in her name as proof of his love and commitment to her, all with the understanding that there will be marriage down the line; only for her to dump him after getting abroad. That is a terrible seed that will deliver the fraudster an evil harvest. If you are in that situation, immediately go and restitute your ways. These scenarios cold also happen the other way round. These are men, who with the promise of marriage were sponsored by some women to become somebody, only for them to dump these women for some other ladies. Go and restitute! Everything obtained by fraud must be returned.
Key Point
Any good thing that is built on lies and deceit will definitely crash at an unexpected moment.
ETERNAL LIFE STARTS HERE
Memorise: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:13
Read: John 17:1-3, 17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Bible in one year: Job 23-28, 1st Timothy 2:1-3-13
MESSAGE!
In order to enjoy the things that God has provided for us through Jesus Christ, we need to have an in-depth understanding of what these things are; one of which is everlasting life. Out of God’s love for us, we have the privilege of partaking in this everlasting life (John 3:16); but what is everlasting life? This is life that never ends. It is the type of life that even death cannot terminate. It means, living with God inside of you on this earth, and continuing with this life after going through the gates of death. Eternity does not start after death, it starts now. Jesus declared thus in John 17:3:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
If you want to have eternal life, it starts with receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, but it does not end there. It continues with having an intimate knowledge of God. It requires knowing His word. Every bit of God’s word that is revealed to you adds virtue to the life of God operating within you. Although some people are saved, they have little or no evidence of the presence of the divine life in them, because they do not know whom they have believed. How much do you know of Him who gave His life for you?
Apostle Paul in 2nd Timothy 1:12 declared that:
“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
The knowledge of the Holy Trinity is the source of eternal life. The more you know Jesus, the more impossible it is for you to be made ashamed. The knowledge of Jesus drives away spiritual and physical shame. If you know Jesus, you will not be ashamed or shy of being identified with Him, or to suffer for Him. Knowing Him helps you to trust Him. The level of trust or confidence you place in God is a function of what you know about Him. Are you born-again? Congratulations! The eternal life of God is present inside you; but this has to be jealously guarded and sustained by building a more intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, and by increasing in the knowledge of God.
Prayer Point
Father, let the presence of Your divine life be increasingly made manifest in me every day, in Jesus’ Name.
THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE
Memorise: And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgement, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. Ecclesiastes 3:16
Read: Genesis 25:19-23
, 19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Bible in one year: Job 16:19, 2nd Thessalonians 2:13-3:18
MESSAGE!
Looking at the life of Esau, one cannot but learn a few lessons from him. Esau was the firstborn of Isaac. He was a twin. Being the first of the twins, he was supposed to inherit the double portion blessing meant for firstborns. But he had a major challenge: before his birth, a prophecy that would rob him of his rightful place had already gone forth. His problem started while he was still in the womb of his mother! Esau’s mother, Rebekah, has a lot of discomfort during her pregnancy, and so she went to ask the Lord what the matter was.
“And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger that the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23
The forces that would truncate Esau’s destiny were already in place before his birth. Therefore, from the very day he was born, he was born into trouble. Do you know that like Esau, many people are born into trouble? Before Moses was born, the decree that made it illegal for him to live had already been passed. He was born to die prematurely, but God stepped into the scene and preserved his life (Exodus 1:15-2:9). Similarly, after Jesus was born, a decree was passed to kill Him (Matthew 2:13-19). King Herod and his army were on the lookout for Him. They searched so thoroughly that for the child Jesus to be safe, God had to instruct Joseph to escape with Him to another country, Egypt. The Lord who delivered Moses and Jesus will also deliver you! Have some people seen your destiny while you were in your mother’s womb, and declared war against you? The Lord will arise for you and put them to shame in Jesus’ Name.
We should learn from the circumstances surrounding Esau’s life that you cannot correctly compare one person with another, because their foundations are not the same. One of them might make easy progress in life with no trouble at all, because he or she was born into peace, while the other fellow may have been battling to survive even from the mother’s womb. Every battle that pre-dates your birth is terminated today! The Lord will put to flight all unknown enemies working against your destiny!
Prayer Point
I paralyse every destiny manipulator or destroyer, sent on a mission against me, my family and members of my church, in Jesus’ Name.
Be part of the Holy Ghost Congress this year 2015, THE FLOOD GATES OF HEAVEN”
I have never seen this kind God before ooo…. Wonder wonder wonder wonder….
If I had watched it in a movie, I would say “na film tricks”…. That a ruptured belly was covered with a prayer handkerchief and there was no traces of any wound overnight? …. That an iron used to replace a leg bone was removed over the night and the man woke up with the iron lying beside him on the bed and the leg perfectly okay? …. That an evacuated womb gave birth without any further sexual relationship? …. That a flush away pregnancy later brought forth a baby boy and after 15 days came forth another baby boy? Only Jesus could have done this.. All these God did through his servant Pastor E. A Adeboye. Expecting your own miracle? Then meet with God for another extraordinary experience at the Holy Ghost Congress this December 7-13. Theme: THE FLOOD GATE OF HEAVEN… Venue: The Redemption camp, km 47, Lagos-Ibadan express way. Your life will never remain the same again.