Open Heaven For Today 2023 Sunday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Becoming Intimate With God 1
Click HERE for the Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: Becoming Intimate With God 1
MEMORISE: "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth." – Psalm 26:8 (KJV)
READ: Psalm 119:97-112 (KJV)
97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all day.
98 Thou hast made me wiser than my enemies through thy commandments: for they are ever with me.
99, I understand more than all my teachers; their testimonies are my meditation.
100. I understand more than the ancients because I keep their precepts.
101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey in my mouth!
104 Through their precepts, I understand; therefore, I hate every false way.
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn and will perform it to keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever: for they rejoiced my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 4-5
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
To become intimate with God, the primary thing you will need to sacrifice is time. The more time you spend with someone, you will become like that fellow. God loves it when we spend quality time with Him, so much so that He prefers that you spend more time with Him than you do for Him. The difference between spending your time for Him and with Him is in Luke 10:38-42. Martha was spending her time serving Jesus, which is good, but He said Mary had chosen what was necessary by sitting at His feet to hear His word. The time you spend doing the work of God is good, but what is more needful is the time you spend at His feet, hearing His word.
Many Church workers and pastors only read and study their Bibles, pray, or hear the word of God when they come to Church. You cannot become intimate with God that way. God wants people who love spending quality time with Him, whether in Church or alone, just because they love Him. As dutiful as David was, he just loved to spend time in the presence of God (Psalm 26:8). That is why God said in (1 Samuel 13:14) that David was a man after His heart.
To become intimate with God, you must never be satisfied with your closeness to Him. You must constantly remain hungry for His word and His presence. Those who will be intimate with God will never be satisfied with how much of Him they know; they will keep studying more, praying more, and fasting more, all in a bid to know Him more. Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:10, "That I may know Him…". You begin to wonder, with all the revelations and encounters that Apostle Paul had gotten, he still said he wanted to know God. Believe me, the day you feel as if you already know enough of God is the day you begin to draw further from Him. You will no longer know the things you thought you knew before. If you stop growing, you start dying. If you decide not to get closer to God, you will start getting closer to the devil. You are on this racetrack, not a highway with bus stops. Once you stop moving, you are taken off the racetrack.
KEY POINT
How much time you are willing to spend in fellowship with Christ will determine how intimate you will be with Him.
HYMN 22 – Sweet Hour Of Prayer! Sweet Hour Of Prayer!
1 Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known;
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter's snare,
By the return, sweet hour of prayer.
2 Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
The joy I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place,
Where God, my Savior, shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.
3 Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear,
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless;
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His word and trust His grace,
I'll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.
Also Read: RCCG Sunday School Teacher Manual 12 November 2023: The "World System"
Open Heavens 2023 Enjoy Daily fellowship with the Open Heaven 2023 Devotional. Open heaven is the Daily Devotional for our time. With the daily events we witness on earth, every Christian needs to stand their ground less they fall. The daily guide is written by Pastor E. Adeboye. It is indeed a guide in resolving everyday Christian issues and lifestyles. Open Heavens is also available on the Play Store; download it Here.
Ambydennis Notice Board: We trust you have been blessed by the devotional. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and personal savior is one of the best decisions one can take, especially you; imagine having Christ in your life; what a fantastic experience it will be. It starts here as you proclaim: Dear Father, I humbly come to you in sincere repentance, claiming you as my Lord and personal Saviour. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness, be the center of my life, and let my life revolve around you as I partake in the eternal life you gave us in Jesus' Name. Congratulations, you are now Born again. God bless you.
No comments: