OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SUNDAY 15TH MAY 2016

THEME: WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES 1

MEMORISE: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: John 16:8

READ: John 8:8-14
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

MESSAGE:
In the story of creation, the Bible talked about the earth being without form and void, and darkness being upon the face of the deep. In the midst of darkness and apparent confusion, the Spirit of God stepped into the scene, then God said, let there be light and there was light. We can then safely say that when the Holy Spirit comes into any situation, He brings light. If you ignite a fire, no matter how little is, there will be light around the fire. In the midst of the darkness, emptiness and chaos, the Holy Spirit stepped in and light had to be created immediately. In other words, it was His coming that brought about light at the very beginning. The beauty of this is that the light of the Spirit exposes the hidden contents of darkness.

This is confirmed by your Lord Jesus Christ when He said in John 3:20:
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
In Acts 28:3-6, when Paul gathered some firewood and lit it up, a serpent that was hiding in the wood suddenly reared up its ugly head, but Paul threw it back into the fire. If the fire of God is really burning in your ministry, it will exposed every evil person in the church, and deal with them. When under the strong influence of the Holy Spirit, your personal problems will exposed to you. Your greatest enemy is not the witch or wizard around, but yourself. Not many of us think we are part of our problems. If you ask student to mark his examination sheet, he will most probably award himself the highest grades. If you know that what is hindering your progress is in you, it is then important to deal with it. The fire in Acts 28:5 not only exposed the serpent, it also killed it. Every serpent that is hiding in any corner of your life shall be exposed and destroyed today in Jesus name. Moreover, if you walk in the light of the Spirit, people will hate you. Don't be surprised that compromising brethren and church leaders would not only hate and persecute you; they may also want to get rid of you. If your presence does not allow them to steal, they will hate your guts. The more you allow the light of the Spirit to shine in and around you, the more difficult it is for your enemies to cover up their evil intents. This season, the Lord will expose all the hidden agenda of your enemies by the light of the Spirit.

It is obvious that without an encounter with the Power of the Spirit, many will remain trapped and live far below their expected potentials. To fulfil your destiny, you must partner with the Holy Spirit. Another character who realized his potential was Peter. If you compare Peter before the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost with the Peter after Pentecost, you will notice some sharp differences. Before Pentecost, Peter was full of fear. He found it difficult to stand on his convictions. Even a maid could make him deny the Lord, but after Pentecost, he became so bold that not even the council's threat stopped him. Before Pentecost, Peter relaized his leadership potential but lacked the fire, zeal, direction and divine backing of the Holy Spirit to fulfil it. As a result of this, he went back for fishing after Christ's death (John 21:1-3). But after Pentecost, he was able to perform according to Heaven's expectations.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, Ignite the Holy Ghost fire in me that I may reach my full potential in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 2 Kings 17:24-19:7 and Proverbs 24:8-20

AUTHOR : Pst E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 5: OH SPREAD THE TIDING ROUND

Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found,
Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound: The Comforter has come!

Chorus:
The Comforter has come,
The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav’n,
The Lord’s dear promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round,
Wherever man is found,
The Comforter has come!

2. The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last;
And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
As o’er the golden hills the day advances fast!
The Comforter has come!

Chorus:

3. Lo, the great King of kings, with healing in His wings,
To every captive soul a full deliv’rance brings;
And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings:
The Comforter has come!

Chorus: