12-30-2020, 08:02 AM
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
DATE: WEDNESDAY 30TH DECEMBER, 2020.
THEME: OVERCOME YOUR BODY.
MEMORISE:
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
1 Corinthians 9:27
READ: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (KJV)
24. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air;
27. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
MESSAGE:
Anyone who is going to excel according to our Bible reading for today, must be self-disciplined.
Such a person must keep his/her body under. Do not be deceived – greatness is readily available. There is plenty of room at the top; the question is: are you willing to do the work that will qualify you to get there?
Anyone who wants to be prominent, to mount with wings like an eagle cannot be lazy.
Isaiah 40:31 says it is they that wait upon the Lord whose strength will be renewed; they are the ones who will mount with wings as eagles.
Many people are too lazy to pray and they want miracles. When I pray at night, I don’t stay in one place because I know that after a busy day, I would sleep off.
If I am in a place where I cannot go out in the night, I walk up and down the stairs so that I won’t sleep while praying. Many people can’t even fast for three days, yet want to cast out demons.
Jesus said:
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:21
When I got born again, we resumed in church on Sunday morning before the break of day and were there until the evening.
These days, if the service goes beyond 11 a.m., people would already be dreaming of the meals they want to eat after the service. How can the Church take its rightful place if everyone is this lazy?
It takes discipline to excel; even the devil knows it, that is why he keeps bringing several distractions our way and sadly, many of us allow him. If you cannot stay for one hour without peering into your phone, you need to check to be sure that you are not already a victim of the devil.
If a provocatively dressed lady cannot walk past without you turning to get another angle, that is the devil getting you there. If you cannot do without having sex with your spouse in a week, then how can you take out time to consecrate yourself to God? You need self-discipline, if not, you could become an easy target for the enemy.
KEY POINT:
Comparing how often you eat and sleep with how often you pray, how disciplined would you say you are?
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 19-20
HYMN 23: ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!
1. Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before;
Christ, the Royal Master,
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See His banners go.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
2. At the name of Jesus
Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers
On to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
At the shout of praise:
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthem raise.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
3. Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God:
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod.
We are not divided,
All one body we
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
4. Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdom’s rise and wane;
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain:
Gates of hell can never
‘Gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise
And that cannot fail.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
5. Onward then, ye people,
Join our happy throng;
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song:
“Glory, praise and honour,
Unto Christ the King”,
This, through countless ages,
Men and angels sing.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
DATE: WEDNESDAY 30TH DECEMBER, 2020.
THEME: OVERCOME YOUR BODY.
MEMORISE:
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
1 Corinthians 9:27
READ: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (KJV)
24. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air;
27. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
MESSAGE:
Anyone who is going to excel according to our Bible reading for today, must be self-disciplined.
Such a person must keep his/her body under. Do not be deceived – greatness is readily available. There is plenty of room at the top; the question is: are you willing to do the work that will qualify you to get there?
Anyone who wants to be prominent, to mount with wings like an eagle cannot be lazy.
Isaiah 40:31 says it is they that wait upon the Lord whose strength will be renewed; they are the ones who will mount with wings as eagles.
Many people are too lazy to pray and they want miracles. When I pray at night, I don’t stay in one place because I know that after a busy day, I would sleep off.
If I am in a place where I cannot go out in the night, I walk up and down the stairs so that I won’t sleep while praying. Many people can’t even fast for three days, yet want to cast out demons.
Jesus said:
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:21
When I got born again, we resumed in church on Sunday morning before the break of day and were there until the evening.
These days, if the service goes beyond 11 a.m., people would already be dreaming of the meals they want to eat after the service. How can the Church take its rightful place if everyone is this lazy?
It takes discipline to excel; even the devil knows it, that is why he keeps bringing several distractions our way and sadly, many of us allow him. If you cannot stay for one hour without peering into your phone, you need to check to be sure that you are not already a victim of the devil.
If a provocatively dressed lady cannot walk past without you turning to get another angle, that is the devil getting you there. If you cannot do without having sex with your spouse in a week, then how can you take out time to consecrate yourself to God? You need self-discipline, if not, you could become an easy target for the enemy.
KEY POINT:
Comparing how often you eat and sleep with how often you pray, how disciplined would you say you are?
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 19-20
HYMN 23: ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!
1. Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before;
Christ, the Royal Master,
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See His banners go.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
2. At the name of Jesus
Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers
On to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
At the shout of praise:
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthem raise.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
3. Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God:
Brothers, we are treading
Where the saints have trod.
We are not divided,
All one body we
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
4. Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdom’s rise and wane;
But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain:
Gates of hell can never
‘Gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise
And that cannot fail.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.
5. Onward then, ye people,
Join our happy throng;
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song:
“Glory, praise and honour,
Unto Christ the King”,
This, through countless ages,
Men and angels sing.
CHORUS:
Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
Looking unto Jesus,
Who is gone before.