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Today’s Open Heavens Daily Devotional August 25th
2016 RCCG Adeboye , share and God bless you.
THURSDAY AUGUST 25 2016
THEME : NOTHING GOES FOR NOTHING
MEMORISE : And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and
John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
MATTHEW 17 : 1.
READ : MATTHEWS 17 : 14 – 21 :
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a
certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore
vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure
him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse
generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and
the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could
not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for
verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,
ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and
it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting.
MESSAGE :
In secular environments, it takes diligence to get to the top
and it takes even more diligence to remain there. There are many
people who work really hard to get to the top but upon getting
there, they soon begin to relax. Diligence is even more important
when it comes to spiritual responsibilities. You need to work hard
to have an encounter with God but you need to work twice as hard to
keep your encounter intact. To get the answer to all your requests,
you have to invest a lot of time before God. Many people just get
born again and begin to relax. If you want to command the
miraculous you must be ready to pay the price. You have to keep
running until you get to the finish line. There are people who have
not given God their entire lives, yet they want God to always
respond to all their requests. If you want a spiritual
transformation in your life, you have to give attention and
seriousness to the business of growing daily. Following Jesus
Christ could be very costly, His standards are always high and He
will never compromise His standard for anyone. If you want to
operate in the miraculous, you must be willing to die daily.
Self-denial is a basic qualification for discipleship and there are
many courses you have to register for in the school of exploits.
That includes fasting while others are feasting. It includes
praying while others are sleeping. You have to study the Bible
while others are spending time on things that will not add
significant value to their lives. It involves spiritual discipline
while some people are wasting their time away. Paul testified that
he kept his body under in order to win the prize. Keeping the body
under is self-denial. You are deliberately doing something to
achieve something. Somebody asked me how I am able to fast for many
days and I replied that it is always very easy for me to do so
because each time I want to start a long fast I just go to the
calender and count the number of days I want to go and I tell my
stomach “look at that day very well, that is the time next
time we shall be taking food” it is as simple as that.
To command supernatural situations, nothing goes for nothing.
You have to engage in spiritual exercises ;
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and
fasting.” Matthew 17 : 21.
If Jesus said “men ought to pray and not to faint” (
Luke 18 : 1 ), it is very obvious that prayer covers a wide range
of issues that should keep one very vigilant. It is in the place of
prayer that there is a guarantee of continuous Open Heavens for
every child of God. At the same time, there are many people who
have lost many opportunities because of their understanding of the
significant prayer in commanding the release of their heart
desires. Fasting is not just a religious exercise as some think.
When you engage in fasting, you are equipping yourself with strong
weapons to counter every attack of the wicked ones and take your
victory in every battle of life. When faith is actively coupled
with prayer and fasting, there is nothing that can stop your
prayers from being answered. Every barrier that wants to stand on
your way will always give in like we observed in the case of Daniel
with the prince of Persia.
KEY POINT : Fasting and prayer is a combined spiritual weapon
that commands the miraculous.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: ISAIAH 56 : 9 – 59 : 21 AND PSALMS
41.
AUTHOR : PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE.
HYMN 2: O JESUS, I HAVE PROMISED.
O Jesus, I have promised,
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my Guide.
Oh, let me feel Thee near me;
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
And shield my soul from sin.
Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul.
O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend.
Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
My Savior and my Friend.
