Topic: Misdirected Requests [Saturday 22, July 2017]

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

Read: Genesis 30:1-2 (KJV)

1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 19-20; Ezekiel 13:8-19, Hymn: Sing hymn 2

MESSAGE:

In Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord taught His disciples the right way to pray. Prayer is an outcry for assistance. It summons your ally to join forces with you in your fight against your foes in order to be victorious. Usually, when an individual encounters a problem too big to handle, he will call for the help of others. In the midst of a famine, when Elijah went to ask for water and food from the widow of Zarephath, he was simply praying (1 King 17:8-16). Also, when this widow’s son died and she cried to the man of God to restore him back to life, that was a prayer (1 Kings 17:17-23). Furthermore, when Rachel asked Jacob to give her children, she was praying (Genesis 30:1). In 2 Kings 6:25-29, we see a woman praying to the king for help in enforcing her agreement to feed on another woman’s son after her own son had been devoured. From all these cases, it can be established that prayer can be made to individuals, kings, men of God and ultimately, to God Himself. People also pray to the devil and his agents, when they go to them for help. There are some believers who go to their villages to cry to their unsaved parents for help over a nagging issue. Such parents are compelled to consult their oracles and apply charms in resolving these issues. When this occurs, that believer has been brought into covenant with the idols consulted, thereby giving the demonic spirits behind such idols the right to manipulate their lives. Be very careful who you run to for help!

When Rachel asked Jacob to give her children in Genesis 30:1, Jacob got angry. Rachel even threatened to commit suicide if she did not have children. Her husband’s response in Genesis 30:2b says it all:

“Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?”

She was directing her right request to the wrong quarters. What she was asking was beyond his ability. Many times, we pray to the wrong person or send our desires to those who cannot truly help us. The Bible in Psalm 60:11 says,

“Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.”

Are you channelling your request to men instead of God? Stop doing so today! God is the only one with all the resources to meet all your needs; therefore, it is wise to direct your entire requests and cries to Him alone. As you do so, He will hear you.

Prayer Point: Father, visit all the widows in my local church; meet their needs and that of their children. Also, keep them pure and ready for your coming.

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.

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: Doing Good Hurts Sometimes [21/07/2017]

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21. Read: Rom 12:9-20

One faithful morning, as I was preaching in a bus, I preached on “Every act is a seed” which I told the audience that, many people have done good to some people which they are paid back with evil. And they should not allow such payback to turn them to evil. By the time I alighted from the bus, a brother started calling me saying he wanted to pay his offering. I told him that I am not a Church, he should go and pay his offering in his Church. He said to me, everything you said were directed to me. Immediately I perceived he was at the verge of given up on helping people. I encouraged him not to give up and I left.

Yes, doing good is the best, but sometimes it hurts. No matter the disappointment you may have encountered in doing good, don’t give up because everything has a day of reckoning whether good or bad. Don’t allow the evil responses of men to your good deeds turn you to evil, God hates it. Endure till the end and you shall be greatly rewarded. The anchor scripture says, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Ask God for grace for continuity. Remember, if you turn from doing good to doing wickedness, God said, your good deeds shall not be remembered but your current status – evil. Ezek 18. And if you are paying evil for good, you must repent before nemesis catches up on you. The Psalmist said, evil shall not depart from the house of those that pay evil for good.

#BiblePromisesPrayer

* Oh Lord my God, the grace to continue in good works no matter the responses, bestow upon me now in Jesus Mighty Name

Today’s Scripture: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” – (Matthew 6:27, NIV)

Topic: Refuse to Worry [Friday July 21, 2017]

Is there something that you are worrying about today? To worry means to allow something to revolve in your mind over and over again. God doesn’t want you to live worried or anxious about anything. He knows that worry steals your peace and joy. It affects every area of your life. Have you heard the saying “don’t worry yourself sick”? That’s because worrying affects your physical body. It affects your sleep. You won’t ever gain anything by worrying; in fact, you’ll lose precious moments that you can never get back again. The good news is that God has promised that you can have victory over worry. It starts by making the choice to trust in Him. When you cast your cares on Him, He will give you His peace.

Decide today to put an end to worry in your life. Choose to feed your faith and fill your mind with God’s promises. As you focus on God’s Word, you’ll drive out worry and fill your heart with faith and expectancy; and you’ll be empowered to move forward into the life of blessing He has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today: “Heavenly Father, today I choose to put an end to worry in my life. I choose to feed my faith by studying Your promises and declaring Your Word over my life. Help me to totally trust in You today and every day in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

I prophesy: Any power manufacturing long battles through demonic delays, satanic roadblocks, anxiety, depression, etc, is hereby arrested and paralyzed in the name of Jesus Christ!”

Topic: Battle Extenders (ACHAN) Must Catch Fire [Friday 21 July, 2017]

(2 Samuel 3:1; Joshua 11:18-23).

As far as God is concerned, no battle of lifeand destiny is supposed to be forever, except by divine ordination like in this case of Apostle Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Vs 18 and 20 of today’s scripture reveals: “Joshua made war a long time with all those Kings. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts,that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.” Note the words” For it was of the LORD.” AH! SO, JOSHUA FOUGHT A LONG WAR! INDEE, THIS OUR GOD IS MYSTERIOUS! Joshua’s long or extended battle was from God and it ended in his favor and god was glorified.

What you call DELAY, is actually a long / extended battle(s) allowed by God. Any long battle allowed by God in your life will ultimately end up in your victory, promotion and testimony, because if God be for us, nothing can be against you.1 Peter 5:10 is worthy of note: “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that e have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” Note the words “After that e have suffered a while.” A while means a while; not forever! Battle extenders are satanic tools, instruments and agents used by the devil and his agencies to postpone your visitation, testimony, celebration and EVIDENCE.

They incluse sin, compalinig, comparing yourself with others, satanic delays, satanic roadblocks, blackmailing,conspiracy, breakthrough opposers, etc. That’s why you must not give up! Satan wants you to blame God and quit. That was ACHAN’S assignment against Israel. I prophesy: Any power manufacturing long battles through demonic delays, satanic roadblocks, anxiety, depression, etc, is hereby arrested and paralyzed in the name of Jesus Christ!” Don’t quit now! Pray and pray again. Decree: BATTLE EXTENDERS MUST CATCH FIRE and EVERY ACHAN ( DELAY AGENT) must die!

Continue this fast and be at last-day anointing service at Manna Mountain Ogudu-Orioke, Lagos Nigeria TOMORROW Saturday July 22nd. Time: 7am. Come with faith, anointing oil, your written prayer points, any point of contact and expectation! I shall lay hands on everyone present! Don’t quit now!

Today is DAY 13 of the 14-day fasting programme. PRAY THE GENERAL PRAYERS ON PAGE 93 AND PRAYERSON PAGE 80 OF THE “WAR AGAINST HAMAN -12” booklet.

Prayer Point: Take Song 1: Through the love of god…….

1. You powers manufacturing long battles in my life, dry up by fire in Jesus name. Pray today’s prayers as directed above from “War Against Haman -12 booklet”

Use the “FAITH BOOSTERS” today! See page 34 now.

By Bishop (Dr) Chris E. Kwakpovwe (Cek)
Publisher/Writer Of ODM And

Rev (Mrs) Flora E. Kwakpovwe (Fek) 
Co-Publisher/Writer Of ODM.

Topic: For What Cause Are You Living? [Friday July 21, 2017]

Life without a cause will end under a cloud.

Living without a cause is like living  under a curse.

Cause is the cure to fainting. With a cause you cannot faint. II Cor.4:16,17

Strong people are those motivated by their cause.

It is the greatest motivation to life. It makes one tireless and ever “drivy”.

A man with a cause is usually self encouraging.

Keeping in view what awaits you is what gives you strength to waiting.

If you know what awaits you, you will never be tired of waiting.

If you see the gains you will never feel the pains.

Pains don’t last, it is gains that endure.

Pain will soon fade out, gains will make you fat and make you shine.

Your cause will put you on the run, make you boisterous; keeps you motivated.

It is your cause that keeps you inspired.

When you have no more cause, you expire – II KI.4:7,8

It is your cause that advances you.

Topic: Give It Up! [Friday July 21, 2017]

Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life. —  Psalm 25:1

This is a very short but powerful verse. In fact it gives you the answer for your whole life: give it to the Lord.

This doesn’t mean you should bring Him just your worries and problems. It means bringing Him your entire existence and everything it entails. Grasping that truth will set you free from weariness and a feeling of wanting to give up.

I used to get worn out preparing for my meetings. I would get so intense about it and work so hard at making sure everything was right that I worked myself into exhaustion. Then I learned that all I have to do is give Him my life and everything in it. As we yield to Him, His peace fills us.

As you pray tonight, give your entire life to God and experience the freedom of knowing that whatever you face—good or bad—He has it under control.

Topic: Do Afflictions Swallow Your God? [Friday 21, July 2017]

Memorise: For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: – Job 19:25

Read: Job 19:23-27 (KJV)

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!

24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Bible in One Year: 2 Samuel 17-18; Ezekiel 12:21-13:7, Hymn: Sing hymn 1

MESSAGE:

Prophecies are great tools that God uses to intervene in the situations of His people’s lives. Every prophecy has certain conditions attached to it to trigger actualization. Knowing this truth, one particular year, when the Almighty God said that there would be an overflow in that year, I immediately realized that there was some work to be done. When he then asked us to fast for 100 days, I was not surprised. Undertaking such a task was not an easy one, but obedience to it produced a great harvest in joy, overflowing blessings and much more. This is your session of overflow of God’s blessings in Jesus’ Name!

In 1 Kings 17:8-16, when Elijah asked the widow of Zarephath to bring him some food, her response is worthy of note. 1 Kings 17:12a says,

“And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse:”

In other words, she took a good look at Elijah and said, “I know your God”. Daniel 11:32 says if you know the Almighty God, you will be empowered to do exploits. ‘Exploits’ here refers to activities that are way beyond the ordinary. God is in the business of doing exploits. It takes God to turn the hideout of highway robbers into a beautiful godly city. It takes the God of exploit to construct the present auditorium at the Redemption Camp, even with its staggering cost. If you ever want to see exploits, you must know this God personally.

In addition, not only did this widow know Elijah’s God, she also declared Him to be alive. One of the most profound statements in the Bible was made by Job. In Job 19:25, he said:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:”

At the time he said this, he was in a most distressing situation. Things were very bad indeed. He had lost all his wealth, property, children and even health. However, in spite of his ordeal, he still proclaimed that God was alive. Many people tend to believe that God is not alive or that He is not who He says He is, just because of the severe trials of faith they are facing. Problems can never take God away. He doesn’t cease to exist just because He has not answered your prayers. How much faith can you repose in God while going through difficult times? That is a true test of your character.

Action Point: Ask God to open more doors for us to reach the unreached countries with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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: God’s Great Love For Us [Friday July 21, 2017]

John 10:25 “Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.”

JOHN 10:24-25

There were many ways in which Jesus already revealed who He was. His miraculous works certainly revealed who He was. Jesus had also clearly revealed that He was the Christ, both in the synagogue at His hometown of Nazareth, and when speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.

Jesus, in His pre-existent state, was in the form of God. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1).

Jesus was God, manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). However, Jesus did not demand or cling to His rights as God, but laid aside His Divine rights and privileges in order to take the form of a servant and be made in the likeness of men. He further humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the Father, even to the point of death.

This was the supreme sacrifice that identified Jesus totally with humanity and enabled God to redeem mankind. By dying a criminal’s death upon the cross, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy in Deuteronomy 21:23 and bore our curse in His own body. This redeemed us from that curse and opened wide God’s blessing of justification through faith in Christ and the promise of His Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:13-14).

Jesus left His state of being recognized and worshipped by all the hosts of heaven as the Supreme God to become a man who was despised and rejected. The Creator became the creation; the Lord became the servant; the Highest became the lowest. All of this was done because of God’s great love for us.

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net)

Topic: Talk vs. Action [Friday July 21, 2017]

Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 5:20

In a decadent society the will to believe, to resist, to contend, to fight, to struggle, is gone. In place of this will to resist, there is the desire to conform, to drift, to follow, to yield, and to give up. This is what happened in Rome, but it also applies to us. The same conditions that prevailed in Rome prevail in our society. Before Rome fell, her standards were abandoned, the family disintegrated, divorce prevailed, immorality was rampant, and faith was at a low ebb. As Gibbon said, “There was much talk of religion, but few practiced it.”

Prayer for the day: May I be worthy to bear the name Christian, Lord Jesus.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.

Topic: Instructions And Capacity [Friday, 21st July 2017]

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. John 21:6‭, ‬11‬

We’ve always said of how, when God gives you an assignment, you need not use your own strength, as He will make His strength available to you (Romans 12:10). Another issue that comes up is the capacity to hold the blessings He’s given us. We’re all aware that it is one thing to get to the top rank, and another thing to maintain THAT SPOT. God doesn’t just want us to have blessings, He wants us to be able to keep these blessings we have, be it finance, influence or people.

While Christ was praying in John 17:12, He recounted how He kept the souls He received on earth. God wants that to be THE TESTIMONIES OF ALL OF US. Since, however, we are limited in both strength to get, and capacity to hold, how then can we keep what we have received?

The story in John 21 was of how Jesus instructed the disciples to cast their net, which they did, and they caught fish. Now scripture records in verse 11 that they caught a hundred and fifty THREE (153) big fish. It was expected that their net should break from such huge catch (remember Luke 5:6), but it didn’t . What was the difference? John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost”. THEY had received the Holy Spirit, which gave them capacity to hold that which they were blessed with, that their net should not break.

We received the Holy Spirit upon salvation, and it is left to us to tap into the abundant capacity in Him, so we can retain that which the Lord has given to us. God doesn’t give instructions and blessings without making provisions for achievement and sustenance. Understand and accept this gift today, and live in full capacity that the Holy Spirit provides.

Keep winning daily.

Prayer:

Dear Father, thank You for Your thoughtfulness towards me. How you see all and provide all. Help me to yield to Your Holy Spirit, so I can have full capacity to experience Your blessings, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

By Esun Tekeme