Topic: Limitless God [Teens Open Heaven 16 September 2018]

Memorise: Behold, God is great, and we know Him not, neither can the number of His years be searched out. Job 36:26

Read: Job 36:25-33 (KJV)

Bible In One Year: Proverbs 30-31, 2 Corinthians 8

Also Read: Open Heavens 16 September 2018 – Knowledge of Good or Evil?

MESSAGE:

Every man has limits. If you think you can achieve anything without God, you will be over stretching your limits. When you decide to take a car beyond its limits, something dangerous is likely to happen. On the other hand, God has no limits and can never be limited by whatever limits a man.

The good news is that when you make the Almighty God your God and trust Him absolutely, your capacity is absolutely extended. What cannot limit God will no longer limit you. This is because, as a child of God in true partnership with Him, you will operate from His unlimited level of total dominion

Key Point: How deep and strong is your connection to God?

Also Read: Teen Open Heaven Daily Devotional by Pastor Adeboye

Teens Open Heaven 16 September 2018 Hymn 8

1. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

2. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

3. To all life thou givest to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish-but nought changeth Thee.

4. Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render; o help us to see;
‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth Thee.

5. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

Daily Devotional for Teen’s guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.

Topic: God’s Vision for You [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Sunday September 16, 2018]

Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, and it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]. — Proverbs 19:11 (AMP)

God’s plan for the people of the nation of Israel was only for their good. Yet they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years on what was actually an 11-day journey. Why? Was it their enemies, their circumstances, the trials along the way, or something entirely different that prevented them from arriving at their destination in a timely manner?

God called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to go to the land He had promised to give them as a perpetual inheritance—a land that flowed with milk and honey and every good thing they could imagine—a land in which there would be no shortage of anything they needed—a land of prosperity in every realm of their existence.

But the Israelites had no positive vision for their lives—no dreams. They knew where they came from, but they did not know where they were going. Everything was based on what they had seen in the past or what they could presently see. They did not know how to see with “the eye of faith.”

We really shouldn’t view the Israelites with astonishment because most of us do the same thing they did. We keep dealing with the same problems over and over again. The disappointing result is that it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.

I come from a background of abuse. My childhood was filled with fear and torment, and my personality was a mess! I built up walls of protection to keep people from hurting me, not realizing that while I was locking others out, I was also locking myself in. I was filled with fear and believed that the only way I could face life was to be in control so no one could hurt me.

As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I knew where I had come from, but I did not know where I was going. I felt that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, How could anyone with a past like mine ever be all right? It’s impossible!

But Jesus had a different plan. He said, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me . . . to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity] (Luke 4:18 AMPC).

Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free—and that included me. However, I did not make any progress until I started to believe that I really could be set free. I had to get rid of my negative thinking and replace it with a positive vision for my life. I had to believe that neither my past nor my present could determine my future. Only then could Jesus free me from the bondage of my past—and free me, He did. What a marvelous miracle!

You may have had a miserable past; you may even be in current circumstances that are very negative and depressing. You may be facing situations that are so bad it seems you have no real reason to hope. But I say to you boldly: Your future is not determined by your past or your present!

Most of the generation the Lord called out of Egypt never entered into the Promised Land. Instead, they died in the wilderness. To me, this is one of the saddest things that can happen to a child of God—to have so much available and yet never be able to enjoy any of it.

Start believing that God’s Word is true. Mark 9:23 assures you that with God all things are possible. Because you serve a God who created everything you see out of the unseen realm (see Hebrews 11:3), you can give Him your nothingness and watch Him go to work on your behalf. All you have to do is have faith in Him and believe His Word—He will do the rest!

Prayer Starter: Dear Father, I thank You for loving me and having a vision—a good plan—for my life. I pray that You will help me overcome any negative thoughts of problems, past or present, that come against my mind, and make my life what You want it to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

Unveiling Success Keys! By David Oyedepo

Topic: Unveiling Success Keys!

Welcome to another exciting week. I hope you were blessed by the teaching of last week. Today, we shall focus on: Unveiling Success Keys!

It is important to recognise that we are the offspring of God and the epitome of success. This is because at redemption, we were ordained men and women of outstanding and unusual feats. Thus, as no failure son is a pride to the father, we can never be a source of pride to God in our failure state. God rejoices over only His outstanding children like a natural father will do. He is the Most High; so, we cannot be the lowest and say we are His children? However, it is important to understand that the Kingdom of God operates on keys; without which we may not attain the height God has destined for us. Thus, we must discover these keys and use them.

What then, are Success Keys?

Purpose: Purpose is one of the four dimensional powers for outstanding success. Everyone born into this world is separated for something. Everyone is separated to a well defined purpose. As it is written: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). God is a God of purpose. Purpose is a secret for success. Purpose is power! It is the key to realisation. Life without purpose equals pressures without reason. When life lacks purpose, it loses colour. Martin Luther King (Jnr.) is quoted as saying, ‘If a man has no purpose for living, he’s not fit to live.’ Nothing distinguishes as purpose. Thus, there are ways by which we can locate where we belong here on earth.

Locate the gift of God for our lives (Romans 11:29; Proverbs 18:16).

Have one goal (1 John 3:8; Matthew 6:22; Philippians 3:14).

Also Read: Unveiling the Prophetic Place of Success! By David Oyedepo

Pursuit: Purpose is of no value without pursuit. Pursuit is what gives purpose value. It is the relevant force that transforms our purpose into reality. In science, they say every object assumes a state of rest or uniform motion until a force is applied to it. Nothing works by itself; every working thing is made to work by some man. Likewise, when we don’t pursue our purpose, we cannot possess it. The Bible says: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (Habakkuk 2:1-3). This implies that the colour of every purpose is determined by the tenacity of the pursuit involved. Furthermore, only runners obtain the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24).

Persistence: The act of tireless pursuit is what I call persistence. It is keeping at the pursuit of our purpose with patience. Isaiah 66:7 says: Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child (Isaiah 66:7). But the very next verse asks: Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children (Isaiah 66:8). Hit and run people never make the race; it is the hit and stick that makes it. There is one major way to be persistent.

Run with patience (Hebrews 12:1-3, 10:35; Habakkuk 2:3).

Possession: Many are struggling and sweating in their pursuit but it is God’s hand on a thing that makes stars in the Kingdom. I have seen many workaholics, who are failures because of this missing key. What does it really take to take delivery of outstanding success? Having identified our purpose, pursued it persistently, how then can we take delivery of success? There are two major ways we can possess our possession.

Carry His presence (Psalm 127:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:6).

We need joy (James 5:13; Habakkuk 3:17-19).

In conclusion, outstanding success is the heritage of thankful, praiseful and joyful saints because they are the ones who can provoke the hand of God to produce results. Just like a man cannot survive in the water, the same way it is choking for God to stay where there is no joy, praise and thanksgiving. Also, as long as our lifestyle is choking to God, we cannot carry His presence. Therefore, you must be born again before you can utilize the success keys.

Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: Ruling your World, Exploring the Secrets of Success, Success Strategies and Success Systems. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: [email protected]; Face book: www.facebook.com/davidoyedepoministries/; Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin

Please click to read other inspiring MESSAGES by Bishop David Oyedepo

David O. Oyedepo is a Nigerian Christian author, architect, preacher, and the founder and presiding bishop of the mega church, Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel

The Effectual Fervent Prayer By David Ibiyeomie

Topic: The Effectual Fervent Prayer

Not every prayer produces result; many people pray but few obtain answers. There are factors that can help you to pray in a way that it can produce the intended result. When you pray, you are giving earthly approval for heavenly involvement.

Matt.18:18 -Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Prayer is communicating with God on the basis of His word and our relationship with Him. There are certain ingredients that can produce result when applied during prayer. Effectiveness in prayer is not measured by your acrobatic display or by the extent of noise you make while praying. Effective prayer is not measured by the volume of tears you shed; it is not also measured by your complaints.

Also Read: Result-Oriented Prayer By David Ibiyeomie

Heb.4:12 – For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God’s word reveals His will, His ways and His promises to you. God’s word is a very vital instrument during prayer because it communicates God’s desires and His ways to us. When you know His words, you know what He actually wants and expects from you. Knowledge of God’s word will also help you to know the capacity of what He can do. A good knowledge of God’s ways will grant quick answers to prayer.

Dan.11:32b – … but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

God’s word reveals His person, His abilities and capabilities; thus, if you know God, it then means that you know God. You cannot do exploit without the knowledge of God’s word.

James 4:3 – Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Knowledge of God’s word will also enable you not to ask amiss. It is not every request made in prayer is granted because some people ask amiss in prayer. When you know God’s word, you will ask in line with His word and not deviate.

To win a case in court, a lawyer must cite relevant laws and references applicable to that situation. With that, the judgement will be delivered on his behalf. So also, when you appear before the supreme court of the entire universe, you ought to refer to the constitution which is the word of God and cite scriptures relevant to your request. God is always looking for opportunities to honour His word.

Isaiah 43:26 -Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

God’s word guides us to the use of scriptural language in prayer. When you speak scriptural language in prayer, God’s response will be favourable because you are speaking His language. Therefore, speedy delivery of answers to your prayer is tied to your correct use of scriptural language because God cannot break His word or that which has come out of His lips.

You can obtain wisdom on how to approach prayer in various dimensions from God’s word. There is a dimension of talking with God and another dimension of addressing the devil.

Learn to adequately prepare before praying. Prayer is dynamic; so, at every situation, you should go and strategize. Locate appropriate scripture applicable to the area of need, meditate on them and war with the word accordingly. Have faith that your prayer is answered and continuously thank God for the answered prayer and the answers will manifest speedily in the name of Jesus! Your desires will surely be granted and victory will be guaranteed in the name of Jesus the Christ –Amen!!!

God bless you

Also Read: Other Inspiring Messages by Pastor David Ibiyeomie

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

Dwelling In Understanding By Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: Dwelling In Understanding (Part 1)

Dear Reader,

It is the beginning of another month and once again, we have the opportunity of exploring another topic on family matters. This month, I shall teach on: Dwelling in Understanding. As it is often the case with most marriages, couples come into it not knowing what it entails. It is simply assumed that at a certain age, one should get married and whatever you find in there and experience will be left for fate to decide. This ought not to be so. The place of knowledge and understanding can never be over-emphasised and that is my focus this month.

Men enter into marriage expecting their mate’s to be playmates and share their recreational interests. That explains why most men expect everyone around them to appreciate the game of football or boxing for instance. Women on the other hand, expect to find a loyal and faithful companion. That is, in spite of a man’s tight office schedule and other concerns that preoccupy his mind, when he returns home, his wife expects him to sit with her enjoying companionship as she bores him with all her unending stories. Men need recreation to relax while women need loyalty to feel secure. Both need their own interests; but they also need overlapping interests. That is, they both need their spaces and privacy, but they also need to come together and support each other. They need playtime together.

Also Read Keys To Family Increase (Part 4) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

A marriage relationship, therefore, must meet the needs of both the man and the woman. As male and female partners in marriage, you must understand and appreciate the peculiarities which make up your personalities. Men are men and women are women. for instance, understanding the uniqueness of the male gender will help the woman appreciate why her man acts the way he does, thus eliminating problems from the home.

God designed the man to be the head of the union. He is the aggressor and provider. He is designed to take the lead, while the woman is the follower. When anyone tries to change this order, problems arise sooner or later. The relationship between some couples today can be safely likened to that between a cat and a dog because of lack of understanding.

What is understanding? To understand someone simply means to know that person’s character. It can also be defined as the power of clear thought or being able to tolerate others feelings and views. It also implies having knowledge of the meaning and importance of something or somebody.

Understanding is the major foundation that every couple must consciously lay in order to establish a good foundation, which in turn results in the building of a good home. Without understanding, there is no relationship and without relationship, there is no togetherness and without togetherness, the house cannot stand. The Bible says, Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches (Proverbs 24:3-4).

If you want your relationship to be filled with pleasantness and riches, then understanding is a must. There are major keys you need to have a proper understanding of your spouse. One of such keys is Effective Communication. Communication is the bedrock of every thriving and successful relationship.

The basis for a fruitful and lasting relationship in the family is effective communication. Many families are going through untold tension today because of lack of effective communication. Communication, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary means, to feel close to somebody especially by talking about personal things. This is, to have a good relationship because of shared feelings and understanding. It can be said to be the mortar that cements the marital relationship together. Communication is the key to success in marriage. A wise man said, “If you talk together, you stay together” – and I believe it very strongly.

One of the major problems in the first family that God instituted, which culminated in its fall was lack of effective communication. Communication is not just talking but talking effectively to, with and about each other. Sharing each other’s feelings and thoughts together, creating time together to observe each other’s likes and dislikes, etc.

Communication is a two-way thing. It is sending and receiving messages. Talk, but listen too. Listening is often a little more difficult. The message sent isn’t necessary until it is received. Therefore, learn the art of listening to your spouse, else, he or she will feel neglected. In communication, understand that women are more at the feeling level while men are at the information level.

Always make sure you clarify your understanding of verbal communication. Try to restate what you have heard, to see if what you heard is what was intended. This takes some effort and courage, but it is worth the while to foster a meaningful conversation. If what is heard is what was intended, build upon it.

Effective communication with your spouse begins with your ability to effectively communicate with God. You cannot communicate with God except you are first His child. If you would want to receive Him and become a child of God, please pray this prayer with me: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).

“Please click HERE to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo”

Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.