Prayer Point

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 2:6

Read: Ephesians 2:1-6

1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Pastor E A Adeboye, Daddy G O

The Bible reveals that Christians who are genuine children of God are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ through divine adoption (Romans 8:16-17). This is an amazing truth. It implies that we have access to the same resources of heaven which backed up the work of Jesus while He was here on earth. Why then is it that lots of Christians are not operating at the level which he operated while He was here on earth? The problem lies in the fact that, although they bear the Name of Jesus, such people are not ready to pay the price that being a child of God demands of them. Jesus summarised the price we need to pay to operate as children of God in Matthew 11:29a:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;”

His yoke has to do with His passion to please His Father. John 4:34 thus says:

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ, while on earth, was passionate about doing His Father’s will. This is the reason why the Father always heard Him when He prayed. He proudly declared this fact at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:42:

“And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

To establish His claim, He commanded the dead Lazarus, who was already decaying, to come out alive, and Lazarus became a living soul again (John 11:43-44).

The proof of our adoption as children of God is manifested in freedom from the sins which we hitherto lived under before our glorious encounter with Jesus Christ. This is the crux of the message in our Bible reading. As children of God, we must therefore live a life void of sin to the glory of God (1 John 3:9-10). We should also recognise that while we are on earth, we occupy the same position Jesus Christ did while He was on earth; therefore, we can do all that He did and enjoy every privilege He enjoyed (1 John 4:17). Our position in Christ therefore, is to share with Him the same miracle-working experience He had, and give Him the glory. However, we must be children of God indeed. If you have not given your life to Christ, you have no position to share with Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation for you.

Father, grant me grace not to lose my position in Christ to the flesh, sin or this present age.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Essence Of Forgiveness. Sermon By Pastor E A Adeboye.

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Prayer

Luke_6-37: Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

Read: Mark 11:25-26

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

1-John_1-9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

The enmity between God and man, created by sin, can only be reversed through the forgiveness of God. Going by the righteous requirement of God’s law, no man can pay the high price demanded by God for the atonement of sins, but the divine mercy of God brought us forgiveness through the Blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7). Without the power of forgiveness, there can be no atonement, no reconciliation and no salvation.

Just as God has extended His unconditional forgiveness to us, He expects us to extend the same to our neighbours. This is an area where the people of God have problems. We like to enjoy God’s benevolence, but we find it difficult to extend the same to others. The gravity of this negative attitude is found in the parable of Jesus about the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35). Although the king forgave this servant a debt he could not afford to pay, when his fellow servant who also owed him begged him to be patient with him, he refused. Rather, he cast this fellow servant into prison. This attitude made the king so angry that he handed him over to the tormentors and charged them to torment him until he was able to pay his debt. Of course he would not be able to pay; so he was effectively banished to a lifetime of torment. The key thing to note from this parable is what Jesus said in Matthew 18:35:

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

The virtue of forgiveness proceeds from the offended, and it is carried out by the offended also. There is nothing anyone can do to convince the offended to forgive, if he or she does not look beyond the offending party and choose to unconditionally forgive. There is every reason to be vengeful when you are offended, but when you cast your mind back to remember how you have been forgiven yourself; you will have no choice as a child of God but to forgive. Those who easily forgive others who offend them are likely to be favourites of God because they share the nature of God in the area of forgiveness. Their prayers are also more likely to be speedily answered than the prayers of those who are vengeful.

Action Point:

Look out for those who have offended you, declare and demonstrate to them that you have forgiven them.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Blessed Are They That Mourn. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Prayer

Matthew_10-39: He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it

Memorise:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2 Corinthians 7:10

Read: Matthew 5:4

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

The word of God is full of mysteries. Our Bible reading today reveals one of such mysteries. How can mourning, which is an expression of deep sorrow, become a blessing? The answer lies in our memory verse which reveals two types of sorrow: godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world. There are lots of blessings associated with godly sorrow. One of these is that it produces repentance which brings about salvation. Godly sorrow can be experienced as a result of the conviction of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:24-25) or through the Father’s chastening. The godly sorrow that results from the Father’s chastening, blesses its recipient with the fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11 says:

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

There are examples in the Bible of those who mourned for their sins, and for this, received pardon and justification. The city of Nineveh is an example of this (Jonah 3). After Jonah preached the message of doom to the inhabitants of Nineveh, the Bible reports that the king of that city abandoned his throne, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. He then commanded that everybody, including animals, should embark on a fast. The result of their mourning is evident in Jonah 3:10:

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

The publican in the parable of Jesus in Luke 18:9-14 is another example. This man mourned by bowing his head down like a bulrush, beating on his breast and asking for God’s mercy. The result of his mourning can be seen in Luke 18:14a:

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other:”

I prophesy to you that in the Name of Jesus Christ, your days of mourning are over. It shall be well with you because the Bible in Psalm 30:5 says:

“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Father, I confess my sins to You; have mercy on me and let my morning of joy come now

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Producing Children Of God. Sermon By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Prayer

Romans_10-17: So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

Memorise:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

Read: 1 John 3:1-3

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

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Children of God are produced by the power in the Word of God. The reason why it seems genuine children of God are scarce nowadays despite the increase in the number of churches and increase in church attendance is because the Church is suffering from a famine of the genuine Word of God. It is by faith that we become genuine children of God. However, this faith does not come by the wisdom of man; neither does it come by the philosophical sayings of the learned or the motivational words of orators. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 says:

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The world, especially devotees of certain religions, still wonder up till now how it is possible for a human being to claim that he or she is a child of God. Such people look at divine paternity with the mind of the flesh, and so they cannot understand or accept the mystery of adoption which empowers us to become sons of God through Christ Jesus. Even to us who have been conferred this prestigious status of being children of God, it is still a mystery. John the beloved expressed this mystery with awe in 1 John 3:1:

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

The Word of God came to Mary and produced the Son of God, when she had not known any man (Luke 1:30-35). This is a template for us. The mystery of divine adoption lies in the Word of God. For us to produce children of God from children of disobedience, we need to expose them to the undiluted Word of God that will produce the required faith for their adoption. Romans 10:17 says:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

We should therefore follow the pattern of the early apostles, who produced children of God through the Word of God. We see this manifested in Acts 4:4:

“Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.”

Key Point:

There is power in numbers. For the kingdom of God to be firmly established on earth, there must be a tremendous increase in the number of God’s children.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Christian Home

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Prayer

Ephesians_5-25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it

Titus 2:7a

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Pastor E A Adeboye Birthday

INTRODUCTION:

The Christian family is an institution where parents are bound together by Christian love, where children are happy and instructed with the scriptures, where the Lord Jesus is the Head and where parents and children gather daily for worship. A Christian family is one that radiates Christ, welcomes strangers and dispenses hospitality.

WHAT IS THE DUTY OF THE FATHER?

God has placed the husband as the head of the home. –

Ephesians_5-25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it

Ephesians 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

The Christian husband must always put God first in his life.

Luke 14:26

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

He must love his wife, children and must love Christ more.

He is the priest of the family and responsible to establish a family altar for daily worship.

WHAT IS THE DUTY OF THE MOTHER?

One or two loving women have made many men great, a godly mother or a devoted wife is a tremendous asset. She is to serve Jesus Christ, show love, obey her husband.

Ephesians 5:22

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord

The woman is not to be adorned with ornaments only, instead, wives are to be adorned with good works, a meek and quiet spirit.

1 Peter 3:4-5

Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands

Must be trustworthy.

WHAT IS THE DUTY OF THE CHILDREN?

Children are to honour their parents

Exodus 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Obey them

Luke 2:51

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

And pray for them

They must also return their parent’s love. Children of today shall be the parents of tomorrow.-

Galatians 6:7

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

CONCLUSION:

The secret of a successful Christian home is in the family altar where Christ is the crowned as Head of the home. Love is the second secret. Fathers and mothers should always remember that we are all children with a loving Father above, who constantly demonstrates His love. –

Hebrews. 12:6

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Growing In God’s Grace

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Prayer

Ephesians_2-8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Texts:

John 1:14-18:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

2-Corinthians_12-9: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me

2 Peter 3:14-18:

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

2-Timothy_2-1-1: Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

Titus 2:5-14:

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. 9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

INTRODUCTION:

In the sight of a natural man, grace is his power, skill and strength. God bestows His grace onus because He is rich in mercy and great love through Christ Jesus. Grace, by Christian definition, is an unmerited favour of God which He showed to mankind

Titus 2:11:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men

Ephesians 2:8-9:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

May the expectation of God be fulfilled on the grace He has given to you.

STEPS TO GROWING IN GRACE

There is need to adhere ourselves to the underlisted order to grow in grace and become a living sanctuary of God.

EXAMINE YOURSELF DAILY.

2 Corinthians 13:5:

5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

MAINTAIN AN INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.

Roman 12:12:

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

UTILISE THE GIFT OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE.

Romans 12:6-8:

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Matthew 25:15-30

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

1 Timothy. 4:14:

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Endure hardship for righteousness sake.

Matthew 5:10-1 2:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

2 Timothy. 2:3-5:

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

Expect the blessed hope at Christ’s coming.

Titus 2-13.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

CONCLUSION:

You do not work for grace; it is the gift of God, called the unmerited favour. Release yourselfto the power ofthe Holy Spirit and you shall grow in Him.

PRAYER POINTS:

Thank God for His grace upon your life.
Thank God for the salvation of your soul.
Ask God for grace to utilise the gift of God in your life.
Pray personal rapid growth spiritually and materially.
Pray for rapid growth of the church spiritually, materially and numerically.
Prayer for Daddy G.O and his family.
Personal prayer request.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

First Commandment With Promise. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

Exodus_20-12: King James Bible Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Exodus 20:12

Ephesians_6-1: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right

Read: Ephesians 6:1-3

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

Our God is a God of reward and an excellent motivator. He gives a law, and specifies the reward that will follow if we keep it (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). In like manner, He also indicates the punishment attached to breaking any of his laws (Genesis 2:16-17). In our Bible reading, we read about the first commandment with a promise. Apostle Paul got the inspiration on this truth from Exodus 20:12. It is unfortunate that this law of life is not being heeded by the young folks of today. This is the reason why life expectancy is reducing. The story was told of a young boy in a very remote part of Africa, who respected and honoured his parents to the extent that their wish was law in his life. One of the rules his parents gave him was that he should not eat anything that did not come from them. “What if I was given something to eat outside, what should I do with it?” he asked his parents.

They said, “Bring it home before you eat it.” One day, this boy went out with his friends to a neighbouring village where they were given food packages. They had scarcely stepped out of this village when all the other boys started eating their food, which unknown to them had been poisoned. Only this boy remembered the instructions of his parents and refused to even open his pack. All the other boys died as soon as they got back to their village, and he alone survived the attack. To a young man or woman reading this devotional, I advise that you take this commandment which has longevity as its reward very seriously.

Besides, there are two categories of parents: biological and spiritual. Parents of both categories should be honoured (Malachi 1:6). A believer must exhibit this trait so that unbelieving parents will know that the best life to live is the Christian life. God watches over His words to honour them. If you honour God by obeying this injunction, He will keep you from evil. The problem with present day youths is that they think they know more than older people do; hence, they disregard their instructions, particularly those of their parents, to their own peril. Such youths can’t seem to learn from the story of the rebellious Absalom, who met a premature death at the prime of his life (2 Samuel 18:9-15). He was so unruly that he temporarily deposed his own father. Many youths in Church today scheme to get their pastor out of the way so that they can be in charge. May God salvage this generation from the spirit of rebellion in Jesus’ Name.

Father, grant me grace to keep the first commandment with promise, even when it’s not convenient to do so, in Jesus’ Name.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Report, Do not Murmur. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

Psalm 35:1

Read: Luke 18:1-8

1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Pastor E A Adeboye, Daddy G O, RCCG

One of the sins that God hates so much is the sin of murmuring. During the mass exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the reason why God destroyed some of them was due to their incessant murmuring. They kept on murmuring instead of discussing their problems with the One who had severally demonstrated the capacity to solve them. A reoccurring scene in their journey is described in Numbers 14:1-2. The consequence of this demonstration of faithlessness in God was that He denied them the joy of making it to the Promised Land. They all died in the wilderness, according to what they had said against themselves while murmuring. We must be careful of what we use our mouth to say in times of challenges (Numbers 14:28).

When confronted with the challenges of life, we should learn from our Bible reading and our memory verse what our attitude should be. In our memory verse, the Psalmist asked God to come to his aid against enemies that fought against him. He chose the correct Ally for the battle of life he was confronted with – the One whose Name is the Lord of hosts. He would rather report his enemies to the Captain of his battle rather than murmur about them. When you consider the end of David and the posthumous glory accorded him till date, you will see a man whose Ally was the Almighty God. Also, the widow in the parable of Jesus did not go to the house of the judge to murmur.

She knew what she wanted: that the judge should fight her cause and grant her justice. Nobody knows what her adversary did to her; probably the adversary killed her husband and took their properties away. We are not even told for how many days, weeks, months or years she had been going to the judge for justice. But one thing we know is that, she kept on saying to him: “avenge me of my adversary” (Luke 18:3). The judge had no choice but to avenge her. Hear the Lord’s conclusion from this parable in Luke 18:7-8a:

“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.”

This is so comforting and reassuring. I therefore urge you to cultivate the habit of reporting your adversaries to your sure Ally: the All-powerful God. Don’t engage in murmuring while you think you are praying. My prayer for you is that the Great God of heaven will avenge you of your adversaries this season, and you will know peace in Jesus’ Name.

Father, You are the All-powerful One, arise and avenge me of all my adversaries in Jesus Name.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Other Side Of Prosperity. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

Proverbs 30:8

Read: 2 Chronicles 18:1-3

1 Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

2 And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead.

3 And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.

Pastor E A Adeboye. Daddy G O

Prosperity is good, and it is far better than poverty. As a matter of fact, God wants His children to prosper (3 John 2). However, we cannot wave off the words of Agur’s prophesy in today’s memory verse. One may wonder why he would make this strange utterance. The answer lies in Proverbs 30:9:

“Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”

The first part of his reason for this statement is what I consider to be the other side of prosperity. When you become so prosperous that you forget the God who prospered you in the first place, you are in very serious trouble. My prayer for you is that the prosperity that will make you forsake God will not come your way in Jesus’ Name.

In our Bible reading, we see how God prospered King Jehoshaphat with abundant riches; but after he experienced prosperity, he made a military alliance with the wicked King Ahab. He would have lost his life through this evil association with Ahab, but for the mercy of God (2 Chronicles 18:31). You must be very careful of the people you associate with as you climb the ladder of prosperity (Proverbs 19:4). Some people suddenly become clubbers after they start commanding wealth. They now enjoy the world of vanities, and no longer value time for fellowship with the brethren. The story of King David in 2 Samuel 11:1-4 is an example of what prosperity can do to a one-time valiant warrior. David had no time for extra-marital affairs when he was running for his dear life from cave to cave. But after the crown came, at a time he was supposed to lead Israel to battle as he used to do, he was busy enjoying a sinful holiday.

Should we then conclude that prosperity is evil? Not at all; all we need to do is to follow the pattern of prosperity management used by the fathers of faith like Abraham. No matter how wealthy you become, keep standing out as a lover of God who trembles at His commandments. Your wealth has a purpose, which is to serve the interest of God and His kingdom through the machinery of the Church. You cannot imagine that God will bless someone with a car, when the motive is to use it for seducing innocent girls to defile them. This is the reason why some children of God are yet to receive their promised prosperity: God knows they cannot handle it yet.

Father, grant me the wisdom and the spiritual maturity to handle wealth.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

Get Rid Of The Amalekites. Sermon By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 5:29

Read: 1 Samuel 15:1-3

1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.

2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Pastor E A Adeboye. RCCG. Daddy G O

Who or what is an Amalekite? An Amalekite is a symbolic representation of whosoever or whatsoever stands as an enemy of God or His plan. In our Bible reading, God opened the book of remembrance to the page where the wickedness of the Amalekites against His chosen people was recorded. 1 Samuel 15:2 says:

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.”

This should serve as a warning to whoever takes pleasure in doing wickedness to desist from it, because every deed has its divine recompense. Also, it should serve as a pointer to all children of God that they have a responsibility to identify and get rid of anyone or anything that provokes their Heavenly Father to wrath.

The Lord commanded King Saul to go and get rid of the wicked Amalekites, who opposed His goodwill to Israel, and that he should spare nothing and no one. Unfortunately, the calamity of disobedience struck, and God got rid of King Saul for failing to get rid of His enemies. In like manner, the Almighty had earlier commanded Pharaoh to let His people go so that they may serve Him, but after Pharaoh refused, God got rid of him. I pray for you today, that those who are opposed to the good plans of God for your life will be destroyed in Jesus’ Name.

Just as God sent Saul to destroy all the Amalekites, God is telling all His children today to destroy every symbolic Amalekite in their lives. The Bible in Ephesians 5:3-4 says:

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”

As children of God, we must know that there are things that men do which provoke God to anger. A good child of God will not do what annoys the Father. This is why Jesus in today’s memory verse said that if your right eye would make you sin, you should pluck it out. It is that serious. I pray for God’s grace to help you today to get rid of whatever will make the Father reject you like He rejected Saul, in Jesus’ Name.

Action Point:

Carry out an examination today to see if anything the Bible considers an abomination before God is present in your life. If you find any, get rid of them without further delay.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

True Worshippers. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye.

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

Pastor E A Adeboye. Open Heavens. RCCG

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

Read: John 4:21-24

22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Pastor E A Adeboye, Daddy G O, RCCG

It is not all acts of worship that God accepts, because not all worshippers are true worshippers. This truth was revealed by Jesus in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He also revealed some other great truths about worship that we should pay close attention to if we want our worship to be acceptable to God. The first of these is that any “God” that is limited or restricted to a particular place is false and not worthy of worship. Worship directed towards such contraptions of men is counterfeit worship.

The worship of the true God does not involve going to a junction where three roads meet to put food items for God to come and eat. Paul came across worshippers of such gods at Mars’ Hill in Athens (Acts 17:22-31). The true God is described thus by the Psalmist in Psalm 8:1:

“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.”

Another truth about worship which Jesus revealed is that any god that does not have a fatherly relationship with his worshippers is not worthy of our worship. Anyone worshipping such gods is not a true worshipper. This is why Jesus came to make us children of His Father.

Also, when He was teaching His disciples how to pray, He described the true God as “Father” (Luke 11:2). Furthermore, Jesus revealed that our worship of God is not true worship if we do not know the God we are worshipping. This is the reason why Paul tried to introduce the Athenians to the God they were ignorantly worshipping (Acts 17:23). He tried to teach them that they were wrong to think that the Godhead could be represented by gold, silver or stone graven by art and man’s devices (Acts 17:29). No worshipper should ignorantly think that a Holy God will accept worship from a life laden with the sin of falsehood, pretence and all manner of immorality and wickedness.

True worship involves worshipping the true God in spirit and in truth. We must worship God in spirit because God is a Spirit, and only through the spirit can we relate meaningfully with His Spirit. To worship God in Spirit means to do what He bids you to do with a spiritual mind of faith. There are things the Holy Spirit of God would ask us to do that when viewed with a carnal mind, are difficult to understand. For example, when God asked Noah to build a big ship on dry ground, to men of his generation, this was not a sensible thing to do. That a person should stick to one spouse “for better, for worse” may not sound reasonable, but that is what the word of God says. A true worshipper of God will not tell lies even if there is no risk of being found out. To a true worshipper, being truthful is not about man but about God who is all-knowing.

Father, grant me grace to live a life of acceptable worship through Your Spirit in Jesus’ Name.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

We Must All Bear Fruit Of Souls Into God’s Kingdom. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR MOUTH PART 2. Sermon By Pastor E A Adeboye

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

John_15-16: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

John 15:16

Read: Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world Amen.

In addition to opening our mouth in prayer, opening our mouth as witnesses of Jesus is another obligation we must perform. Evangelistic outreach is for all children of God; not for God’s ministers alone. We must all bear fruit of souls into God’s Kingdom as commanded by our Lord in today’s memory verse. To back us up in this obligation, our Lord Jesus Christ assures us that all power in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. It is therefore a settled matter that no power on earth or in the spiritual world can stop us from carrying out His instructions. We are therefore inexcusable if we fail to win souls. He instructed us to go and teach all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The Great Commission therefore involves teaching. Let us pause and think about what this assignment of teaching means.

To teach is to expound truths that will bring about change in the taught. We are faced with a two-pronged problem in the area of fulfilling this assignment today. One aspect of this problem is that the teacher who is supposed to expound the truth is often afraid of what the reaction of the student would be to a demand for change; hence, he shuts his mouth. But the Bible in 2 Timothy 4:2 says:

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

The other aspect of this problem is that the people to be taught are not comfortable with the cry for “change“. They do not want to be “intimidated” by the “dos and don’ts” of their new found faith in Christ. Such people are deceiving themselves because the Bible does not say we are called into lawlessness. As a matter of fact and whether we believe it or not, a yoke of “learning and change” is attached to our calling into the faith. Jesus in Matthew 11:29a said:

Matthew_11-29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;”

It is our duty as children of God to open our mouths wide to this perverted generation and teach them the counsel of God without fear or favour. I was in a church sometime last year and I heard a sister teaching on tithes. In order to make people accept the doctrine of tithing, she said they could start by giving 5% of their income and gradually increase it! What an erroneous teaching! We must not hold back the truth from those we are sent to. This is the only way our fruit can endure, and then our prayers will be answered.

Action Point:

Determine to properly disciple your converts through sound teaching of the Bible from today.

May The Grace The Lord Jesus Christ, And The Love Of God, And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit Be With You All. Amen!

When You Know The Mind Of God. It Will Build Your Confidence As You Approach Your Heavenly Father In Prayer. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR MOUTH 1. Sermon And Prayer Point By Pastor E A Adeboye.

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Prayer

John_15-7: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

James 4:2

Read: Daniel 9:1-19

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.

19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

Our Bible reading shows Daniel, a great man of prayer, interceding for his nation, Israel. In his prayer, he asked God to remember His promise to restore the nation of Israel. He was determined to seek the face of God for mercy, through prayers and supplications with fasting. He mourned for the despicable condition of the Jews who were scattered all over the world and for the ruins of Jerusalem. There are great lessons of life we can profit from when we ponder on this example of Daniel.

One of these lessons is from this statement: “I Daniel understood by books” (Daniel 9:2). It was Daniel’s discovery and understanding of what the Lord had said through Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:10, concerning the time of His visitation to restore Israel as a nation that motivated him to intercede for his people. Recognise the fact that in this period, there was no Bible collating all the writings of the prophets in one volume. The writings of the prophets were on different scrolls spread across various locations. Therefore, it must have been a lot of hard work for Daniel to search for the relevant scrolls of the prophets, and then read through them to know what God had said about the situation he was bothered about. Reading, studying and meditating on God’s word is hard work, but the extent to which you know the Bible is the extent to which you will know the mind of God concerning you. When you know the mind of God concerning a situation, it will build your confidence as you approach your Heavenly Father in prayer.

Our Lord Jesus Christ assured us of answers to our prayers in Matthew 7:8. He followed up this assurance by asking this question in Matthew 7:9:

“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?”

In answer to our Lord’s question, a father indeed would not do that. How much more our Heavenly Father who is more benevolent than our earthly fathers (Matthew 7:1)? I therefore encourage you to study to know the mind of God, so as to pray aright at all times. This alone can guarantee express answers to your needs. It will not be good for you to engage in an exercise in futility. Pray according to God’s mind in His holy word and you will be happy you did. Do not keep your mouth shut and suffer in silence.