OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

DATE: TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2017.

THEME: FIRST DEAL WITH SIN

Memorise:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Mark 2:5

Read: Mark 2:1-12

2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

2:6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

MESSAGE:

In Romans 6:23, the Bible establishes that there is a relationship between sin and death. From observation, we know that sickness is an agent of death. For the discerning mind, it follows that there is also a relationship between sin and sickness. In 1 Kings 17:17-18, when the son of the widow of Zarephath died, she cried out to God's servant saying,
"What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?" 1 Kings 17:18b

What was she really saying? She had the understanding that death could come as a result of sin, and that sickness is agent or forerunner of death. If you want to enjoy the long life that God has promised His children, you must therefore keep a safe distance from sin. If you are still living in sin after confessing Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and at same time you expect God to keep death far away from you, you must be joking. Every act of sin you willfully engage in exposes you to the agents of death. You shall not destroy yourself before your God-ordained appointment with death in Jesus' Name!

Similarly, In Mark 2:1-12, when a man who was paralysed from neck down was brought to Jesus, as bad as his condition was, the Lord simply ignored what every other person cared about and forgave him his sins first. Nobody thought this was relevant. The Lord did this because He could see that this man's spiritual condition was far worse than his physical state of health. For this reason, I often marvel when some ministers focus on healing the sick before preaching salvation to them. Several prayers for the sick are unanswered because of the presence of sin in their lives. It is wisdom to deal with the sin in the life of the sinner before asking God to heal the fellow. If the sick sinner is healed before being asked to surrender to Jesus, he may refuse to surrender at all after receiving the healing. He may think his healing is by chance and not from your prayer, and if returns to his sin, the sickness may come back. If he then dies in his sin, his soul will go to hell. But if the fellow is first made to receive Jesus Christ before being healed, there is a greater chance of him following the Lord. Even if the healing is not manifested, if he dies, his soul is saved from eternal hell. Always deal with sin first!

Key Point:

When confronted with the problems of sin and sickness, it is wisdom to deal first with sin because it could be the root cause of the sickness.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Mark 5-6
Isaiah 13:17-14:11

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE.

HYMN 5: THE GREAT PHYSICIAN

1. The Great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus.

Refrain:
Sweetest note in seraph song,
sweetest name on mortal tongue;
sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus.

2. Your many sins are all forgiven,
Oh! hear the voice of Jesus;
Go on your way in peace to heaven,
and wear a crown with Jesus.
[Refrain]

3. All glory to the risen Lamb!
I now believe in Jesus;
I love the blessed Savior’s name,
I love the name of Jesus.

[Refrain]

4. His name dispels my guilt and fear,
No other name but Jesus;
Oh! how my soul delights to hear
The charming name of Jesus.

[Refrain]

Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens, ( Tuesday, January 17th, 2017) - FIRST DEAL WITH SIN
1.Thank you Jesus, for shedding your blood at Calvary, to take away my sins and the sins of the world.
2.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, have mercy and forgive me.
3.Father, let every sin that l have committed, from the day of my birth, till now, be blotted out, by the blood of Jesus.
4.Father, in any area of my life and lineage, that the accuser of brethren, the devil, may be accusing me and my ancestors, let your mercy prevail, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, let every sin that has brought evil consequences of, sickness, poverty, failure, shame, reproach, accident, spiritual death, etc, upon my life, be forgiven and blotted out, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, because, you have forgiven me, let every evil manifestation and consequence of sin in my life, be terminated, forthwith, in Jesus' name.
7.Father, give me the power to recognise and run away from sin, no matter how, cunningly, disguised, packaged or rebranded, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, let the power to live above sin and the flesh, be released upon my life, in Jesus' name.
9.Father, set me free today, from every entanglement of sin, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, let every guilt and burden of sin in my life, be removed, by your mercy, in Jesus' name.
11.I declare and decree that, l shall not die before my appointed time, but live, to declare the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal Petitions. (Phil 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.(John 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thes 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation

DAY 7
Intense praise and worship
Father give us the grace to please you in all that we do in this year 2017
Father give us the grace to wake up and win souls, attend House Fellowships, Digging deep , Sunday Services and other church programs regularly in this year, 2017
Father, help us to be faithful in honouring you with our first fruit, giving our tithes and offering regularly throughout this New Year 2017
Father arise, and show yourself mighty on our behalf and on the behalf of our , parishes and family members
Father arise and help me to stir up the giant in me
Father help me to recover all the lost grounds in this New Year 2017
Father help me to forever be relevant and never become a man of yesterday. 1Sam 16:1
Father have mercy on me and reverse every irreversible in my life this year. Ezek. 37:1-12
Father, you are the help of the helpless, help us to be united and help RCCG to forever be relevant
Arise oh Lord, stop and caged any wolf in the coat of sheep that is making progress to get to the top in other to lead this New Army of vibrant youths in RCCG .
Jehovah God expose and frustrate out every wolf in the coat of sheep that is already positioned for battle against the progress of this New Army of vibrant youths in RCCG
Arise oh Lord, expose and expel disgracefully every Doeg in RCCG that can frustrate the battle strategies in the camp of the New Army of vibrant youths in RCCG . I Sam. 21:1-17, 22:23
Lord Jesus, arise and open the Gate of fruitfulness for your church. 1Sam 1:12-17, 23
Jehovah God, arise and open the Gates of wealth for your Church as you opened it unto Jabez in 2017
O God of Elijah, arise and open the Gates of Heaven for the rain of blessings to fall. 1Kings 18:1-end in 2017
O God of Favour, have mercy and open the doors of Favour for Daddy G.O and RCCG all over the world in 2017. Eccl. 9:11, Ps. 102:13, Rom. 9:15-16 in this New year 2017
Let us ask for Bumper harvest of Souls for RCCG and other true Churches of Christ all over the world.
Let us ask God to strengthen Daddy G.O in every Department of his life.
Let us plead the Blood of Jesus to frustrate every plan of the enemy all over the world in Jesus name.