Topic: Do Your Best! [Sunday December 24, 2017]

Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men. — Acts 24:16

God is excellent. As His representatives, we should be too. So it’s important that we do our best in everything we put our hands to. We must be motivated to do our very best in whatever we set out to accomplish. Paul urges us to learn to prize what is excellent and of real value (Philippians 1:10 AMP). As we make excellence a way of life, we will have God’s joy and be good examples to the world.

You must sow excellence in order to reap an excellent harvest. We can’t expect excellent results in life when we don’t live a life of excellence. The Bible teaches us to develop diligence, steadfastness and determination—all of which will help us live lives of excellence.

I encourage you to do your best with any project or activity that God places in your path. Be diligent. Don’t leave things undone, but finish what you start to the best of your ability. Set your mind to be steadfast and determined. Commit yourself to excellent results.

God honors an attitude of excellence. Choose to do your best, and He will always empower you in the process.

Prayer Starter: God, I want to live a life of excellence. Strengthen me and help me to do my best in every situation with steadfastness, diligence and determination.

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries

Topic: Benefits of Supreme Love — Sunday 24, December 2017.

Memorise: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. – John 14:21

Read: John 14:20-23 (KJV)

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Bible in One Year: Proverbs 21-23, Zachariah 11:15-12:9, Hymn: Sing Hymn 2: What A Friend We Have In Jesus

MESSAGE:

One of the greatest invitations we have from the Lord Jesus Christ is the call to love Him. In Matthew 10:37 he says,

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

This invitation is not just to love Jesus, but to love Him supremely. It is a call to love Him above everyone who is precious to us: parents, children, family and friends. If you truly love someone, you would be ready to defend your love for that person at any cost. Sometimes, when you love two different people and the two parties are in disagreement over an issue, you will find yourself supporting the person you love more against the one you love less. When the Lord’s instructions are in conflict with the beliefs of loved ones, most people would choose to please their loved ones rather than obey the Lord’s instructions. Do you love Jesus above everyone and everything else? Do you love Him above your career, work, academic pursuit, etc?

There are great benefits for those who love Jesus supremely. First, Jesus says they will be regarded as being worthy of Him. They will be qualified to carry His banner everywhere they go, and they are assured of the backing of the Most High God. Also, according to John 14:21, if you love Jesus supremely, God the Father will make you the target of His love and you will bask in it. In addition, the Lord will manifest Himself to you. Check out all those who experienced a manifestation of the Lord, like Saul of Tarsus; their lives never remained the same (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Furthermore, John 14:23 says,

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

From this scripture, another benefit of you loving Jesus supremely is that both Jesus Christ and God the Father will make your heart their permanent residence. If you experience the reality of this truth, you will enter into the realm of Heaven on earth, where no devil or demon dares to come near you (Deuteronomy 11:21). Are you satisfied with your relationship with the Godhead? Why stay where you are when you can take your love for Christ to the limits and have the Godhead fully living with you?

Key Point: Love is so powerful! You can love God to the extent that He will personally come and introduce Himself to you.

Hymn 2: What A Friend We Have In Jesus

1. What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

2. Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

3. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional 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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic — The Fruit Of The Spirit: Goodness And Faith [Sunday, 24th December 2017]

MEMORY VERSE: “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” – Ephesians 5:9

BIBLE PASSAGE: Romans 15:13-14

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

INTRODUCTION:

Goodness and faith are part of the vital characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Goodness in man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good. Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Philippians 1:27; 2Thessalonians 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. These are the resulting character of someone who is allowing the Holy Spirit to develop his or her life.

LESSON OUTLINES:

1. Goodness

2. Faith (Faithfulness)

GOODNESS

The Greek word translated “goodness”, agathosune, is defined as “uprightness of heart and life”. Agathosune is goodness for the benefit of others, not goodness simply for the sake of being virtuous. Goodness is virtue and holiness in action. It results in a life characterised by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It is a moral characteristic of. Spirit-filled person. Expressions of goodness are as varied as the Spirit is creative. These may include confronting someone about a sin in love and firmness, giving to the poor (James 1:27), providing for one’s children, visiting the sick, etc. Goodness is not a quality we can manufacture on our own. Rather, it is a gift (James 1:17). As believers, we must allow the Holy Spirit to produce in us the fruit of goodness that others will see and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).

FAITH (FAITHFULNESS)

Faith is ‘believing without even seeing’. Hebrews 11:1 says.. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Faithfulness is steadfastness, constancy or allegiance. It is carefulness in keeping what we are entrusted with. It is also the conviction that the Scriptures accurately reflect reality. Biblical faithfulness requires belief in what the Bible says about God – His existence, His works, and His character. Hebrews 11 gives a long list of men and women in the Old Testament who trusted God and were full of faith. These include: Abel (Hebrews 11:4); Enoch (Hebrews 11:5); Noah (Hebrews 11:7); Abraham and Sarah (Hebrews 11:8-11), etc. Believers must learn to trust God even when it seems He is silent (2Corinthians 5:7). Faithfulness must also be seen in our service unto God (Revelations 2:13) and relationship with fellow men (1Peter 5:12).

CONCLUSION:

We do not become a Christian on our own, and we cannot grow on our own (Philippians 2:13). Every good thing we do by faith is the fruit of the Spirit’s work in our lives.

QUESTIONS:

1. Describe goodness as a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit.

2. Mention four heroes of faith.