Message:-
The Bible documents several declarations of God’s covenant promised and blessings to Abraham, which are intended to overflow to his children (Genesis 17:2, Genesis 12:2-3, Genesis 22:16-18). Although God spoke these words to Abraham several thousands of years ago, generations from that period till now have continued to see His pronouncements manifest in very dramatic fashion. Let us consider two of God’s pronouncements on Abraham. In Genesis 12:2-3, He said:

“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Also, in Genesis 22:17-18, God said:

“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall posses the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed…”

The fulfilment of these words in the lives of Abraham’s direct descendants (the Jews) and in the lives of Christians, who are partakers of these promises by adoption, has resulted in a situation where people from all nations of the world seek to be numbered among Abraham’s children.

However, claiming to be one of Abraham’s children does not confer this status on anyone; only fulfilling the necessary requirements does. Romans 9:6-7 explains that in the sight of God, not even all of those who descended from Abraham biologically are children of Abraham for the purpose of receiving God’s covenant blessings. Being a child of Abraham does not come through genetic connections. Galatians 3:7 tells us what confers this status on a person:

“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

PRAYER POINTS

1. I pull down the stronghold of confusion in my life in the name of Jesus.

2. Every seat of confusion in my life, be broken down in the name of Jesus.

3. Let the storm of confusion within my mind be still in the name of Jesus.

4. Every cloud of confusion that has enveloped my mind, fade away now in the name of Jesus.

5. I reject every storm of confusion, and claim a sound mind in the name of Jesus.

6. Every power that wants to destroy my life, I command you to be destroyed in Jesus' name.

7. Every faulty foundation in my life, receive the fire of God in the name of Jesus.

8. I fire back every arrow of mind destruction fired into my life back to the sender in the name of Jesus.

9. My mind, receive divine touch of God and be relieved in the name of Jesus.

10. Lord strengthen me in my inner mind with Your fire and Your power in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINTS

1. I pull down the stronghold of confusion in my life in the name of Jesus.

2. Every seat of confusion in my life, be broken down in the name of Jesus.

3. Let the storm of confusion within my mind be still in the name of Jesus.

4. Every cloud of confusion that has enveloped my mind, fade away now in the name of Jesus.

5. I reject every storm of confusion, and claim a sound mind in the name of Jesus.

6. Every power that wants to destroy my life, I command you to be destroyed in Jesus' name.

7. Every faulty foundation in my life, receive the fire of God in the name of Jesus.

8. I fire back every arrow of mind destruction fired into my life back to the sender in the name of Jesus.

9. My mind, receive divine touch of God and be relieved in the name of Jesus.

10. Lord strengthen me in my inner mind with Your fire and Your power in the name of Jesus.

Message:-
The Holy Spirit often uses the imagery of running a race or participating in a sporting activity to portray the Christian life. He does this to help us have a better understanding of the nature of the Christian life we are called to live, and to help us develop the right attitude required to be successful in it. 1st Corinthians 9:24-25 He says:

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we are incorruptible.”

Three important points are in focus in this passage. First, there are many participants in a sporting event but only the winner receives the prize. We are therefore encouraged to run the Christian race with a mind-set of striving hard to obtain the reward and not just for the mere purpose of participating, secondly, as athletes struggles to reduce unforced errors in order to achieve expertise in their chosen sports, we are also advised to strive for mastery. Thirdly, just as professional athletes must be disciplined in all things before they can achieve the level of skill required to become champions, so also must we be calm, moderate, self-controlled and disciplined in all things. Christianity is very much like boxing or running a marathon: if your attitude towards training and preparation is lackadaisical, relaxed and carefree, then you must be prepared for a painful defect or even a knockout on the big stage. I pray that you will never suffer defeat in the hands of your enemies in Jesus’ Name.

Message:-
Hospitability is the act of generosity and friendship shown towards strangers, and it includes the responsibility of protecting the interests of those received as guest. God admonishes His children to be hospitable as part of our duty to others and in gratitude for the salvation, favour and mercy we have received from Him (Exodus 22:21). Several passages of Scripture emphasise hospitality as a godly virtue (Romans 12:13, 1st Peter 4:9). Hebrews 13:2 says,

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Furthermore, the Bible mentions hospitality as one of the preconditions for becoming a leader in the Church (1st Timothy 3:2). Hospitality has played a very important role in the Redeemed Christian Church of God right from its very beginning. It forms part of our core beliefs and practices. We teach that you don’t have to be rich to look after visitors. You can entertain four people with a single orange by slicing it into four parts and presenting it nicely on a decent plate with glasses of water. May you receive the true spirit of hospitality today in Jesus’ Name.

The Bible admonishes that since we naturally desire to receive hospitality from others, we should show it to others as well. The Lord in Matthew 7:12 says,

“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”

Even when describing the type of fast that God find acceptable, the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 58:7a said:

“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?”
Deuteronomy 26:12 also speaks about feeding the strangers, the fatherless and the widow. All these verse of Scripture show that we are duty-bound as children of God to provide for the needs of these classes of people regularly. More importantly, Jesus clearly teaches that hospitality is going to be a major criterion that will be used to separate the sheep from the goats on the last day (Matthew 25:33-35). This means that it will be practically impossible for anyone to enter heaven without being hospitable. Jesus expects every Christian to love their neighbour as themselves. He expects us to use hospitability as a tool to spread the love of God and the good news of the gospel all over the world. I pray that you will yield yourself as an instrument of spreading God’s love everywhere through hospitality in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINTS

1. I pull down the stronghold of confusion in my life in the name of Jesus.

2. Every seat of confusion in my life, be broken down in the name of Jesus.

3. Let the storm of confusion within my mind be still in the name of Jesus.

4. Every cloud of confusion that has enveloped my mind, fade away now in the name of Jesus.

5. I reject every storm of confusion, and claim a sound mind in the name of Jesus.

6. Every power that wants to destroy my life, I command you to be destroyed in Jesus' name.

7. Every faulty foundation in my life, receive the fire of God in the name of Jesus.

8. I fire back every arrow of mind destruction fired into my life back to the sender in the name of Jesus.

9. My mind, receive divine touch of God and be relieved in the name of Jesus.

10. Lord strengthen me in my inner mind with Your fire and Your power in the name of Jesus.

11. I pull down every stronghold of uncontrollable thought in my life in the name of Jesus.

12. I cast down every evil imagination in my heart in the name of Jesus.

13. I bring into captivity every area of my thought life to the obedient of Christ in the name of Jesus.

14. I break the power of evil remote control over my thought in the name of Jesus.

15. I seal off every doorway of evil uncontrollable thought in my life with the blood of Jesus in Jesus' name.

Sing hymn 12
TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET
IT BE
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.


Take my hands, and let them
move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.


Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.


Take my sliver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose
Every power as Thou shalt choose.


Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.


Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for thee

Read: Genesis 24:12-26 (KJV)
12 And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

Message:-
Divine connection simply means the connection of an individual to sources that would help to fast-track the fulfilment of his or her destiny. In Psalm 37:23, the Holy Spirit teaches:

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.”

This was the testimony of Abraham’s servant in today’s Bible text. He was amazed at the way the God of his master answered his simple childlike prayer of faith. Beyond his wildest imagination, things worked out in his favour because God had already sent His angels ahead of him to work everything out. When you are divinely connected, people will think that you are wise or brilliant. Some may even mistake you for a genius! I pray for you today that God will give you divine connections that will confound everyone who hears about it in Jesus’ Name.

When we draw close to God and do His bidding, we earn ourselves divine connections (James 4:. Hebrews 6:10 says,

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

Some people complain about following Jesus without anything to show for it. Some people may be in their season of sowing, or they might not have been following Him according to the pattern He has laid down. The Lord is a faithful covenant-keeper who cannot lie. In Matthew 19:29 He said:

“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

If you have been walking with God with nothing to show for it spiritually and materially, take time to carefully evaluate your walk.

If you need divine connection, you must be faithful to the profession of faith you made when you gave your life to Christ. Our calling, like that of Abraham the father of faith, is call unto holiness (Genesis 17:1, 1st Thessalonians 4:7). Abraham did not

Sing hymn 9
THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
On a hill far away stood an old
rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and
Shame;
And I love that old cross where
the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was
Slain.


Chorus:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last l lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.


O that old rugged cross, so
despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For dear Lamb of God left his
Glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.


In that old rugged cross, stained
with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus
suffered and died
To pardon and sanctify me.


To that old rugged cross I will ever
be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly
bear;
Then he’ll call me some day to my
home far away,
Where his glory forever I’ll share.

Open Heaven 14 May 2018: [Monday] Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye
When God Remembers You
WHEN GOD REMEMBERS YOU – Monday May 14th 2018
Memorise: And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. Genesis 30:22
Read: Genesis 8:1-5 (KJV)
1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
Bible in one year: 2nd Samuel 3-4, 1st Peter 1:13-2:12, Hymnal: Sing hymn 6
Message:-
Remembrance is the process of recalling the past or being able to bring to the fore of one’s mind an awareness of someone or something. Although it is not in the nature or character of God to forget anything like we humans do (because He is the All-knowing God), the word “remember” is used in relation to God in several passage of the Bible to connote the reception of special attention from Him. When God remembers a person for good, that person’s situation is transformed immediately. This is the reason why several people in the Bible cried to God to remember them. The Lord will hear your cry for remembrance today in Jesus’ Name.

In Judges 16:28, Samson cried “Lord God, remember me”, and the Lord answered him immediately. In Nehemiah 13:14, Nehemiah also cried, “Remember me, O God”. When King Hezekiah was faced with death, He cried to God, “Remember how I walked before you in truth and with loyal heart” (Isaiah 38:3). Furthermore, Jeremiah cried unto God to remember His covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 14:21). In all these cases of people calling unto God for remembrance, He responded favourably and intervened in their situations. I pray that God will remember you for good and intervene in your situation today in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINTS

1. I pull down the stronghold of confusion in my life in the name of Jesus.

2. Every seat of confusion in my life, be broken down in the name of Jesus.

3. Let the storm of confusion within my mind be still in the name of Jesus.

4. Every cloud of confusion that has enveloped my mind, fade away now in the name of Jesus.

5. I reject every storm of confusion, and claim a sound mind in the name of Jesus.

6. Every power that wants to destroy my life, I command you to be destroyed in Jesus' name.

7. Every faulty foundation in my life, receive the fire of God in the name of Jesus.

8. I fire back every arrow of mind destruction fired into my life back to the sender in the name of Jesus.

9. My mind, receive divine touch of God and be relieved in the name of Jesus.

10. Lord strengthen me in my inner mind with Your fire and Your power in the name of Jesus.

11. I pull down every stronghold of uncontrollable thought in my life in the name of Jesus.

12. I cast down every evil imagination in my heart in the name of Jesus.

13. I bring into captivity every area of my thought life to the obedient of Christ in the name of Jesus.

14. I break the power of evil remote control over my thought in the name of Jesus.

15. I seal off every doorway of evil uncontrollable thought in my life with the blood of Jesus in Jesus' name.

16. I scatter into pieces every evil imagination against me in the name of Jesus.

17. I command all imaginations contrary to my prayer life to be defeated in the name of Jesus.

18. I cast down and bring to naught every demonic imagination against me and my family in Jesus' name.

19. I immune my spirit, soul and body against every vain imagination in the name of Jesus.

20. I cast out, plunder and frustrate every satanic imagination against my life in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINTS

1. I pull down the stronghold of confusion in my life in the name of Jesus.

2. Every seat of confusion in my life, be broken down in the name of Jesus.

3. Let the storm of confusion within my mind be still in the name of Jesus.

4. Every cloud of confusion that has enveloped my mind, fade away now in the name of Jesus.

5. I reject every storm of confusion, and claim a sound mind in the name of Jesus.

Bible in one year: 1 Samuel 17, Hebrews 12:3-29, Hymnal: Sing hymn 9
Message:-
In the past two days, we have examined what causes the need for revival and the divine template God has established for obtaining revival from heaven. The question we will be considering today is this: Does the Church of the 21st century need revival? I strongly believe the answer to this question is yes. You may wonder why I believe so. When you critically look around you with the eyes of the spirit, you will observe several things that have resulted in the Church falling short of the glory of God in this modern generation. You will also observe that it is increasingly becoming difficult to uphold biblical principles in the public arena in many nations of the world, especially in the western world. The mention of the Bible, reading of any portion of Scripture, and the observance of devotional prayers are outlawed in academic institutions at all levels, in offices, and in other public places in some nations that were previously proud to be identified as Christian nations just few years ago. The Church has consequently toned down the commandments of God and stepped down Bible doctrines in many places whenever it is opposed by the acceptable culture and popular opinion of the people. The church, including some very big denominations, has clearly departed from biblical doctrine on issues relating to salvation, mercy-killing, marriage, divorce, remarriage, abortion, homosexuality and many more issues.

Prayer Point

71. O Lord, help me to locate any spiritual disease in my mind. I release myself from the grip of the spirit of

- Pride - Carnal Imaginations - Vanity - Deception - Greed

- Fear - Wicked Imaginations - Ignorance - Violence - Bitterness

- Arrogance - Mind Blankness - Envy - Forgetfulness - Laziness

- Depression - Mind Darkness - Confusion - Mind Dullness - Turmoil

- Self-importance - Condemnation - Incoherence

72. Father in the name of Jesus, I invite the ministry of deliverance into my mind. I locate every evil tree in my mind with the fire of God in the name of Jesus.

73. You powers of darkness, loose your control over my mind in the name of Jesus.

74. Let my carnal mind which is at war with God be conquered and be at peace with God in the name of Jesus.

75. I cast down every vain imagination working against my mind in the name of Jesus.

76. Let every wild, untamed and restless thoughts be captured and brought into submission under the feet of Christ.