RCCG Updates

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3:13 READ: 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 D eath seals the fate of an individual. The Holy Ghost, writing through Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 makes clear the fate of faithful believers: finding themselves immediately with Jesus once they are absent from the body; while Jesus in Luke 16:22-23 makes clear the fate of those that live outside of God’s percepts: being welcome to hell as they close their eyes in death. There is no middle place. There is no purgatory as taught by some religions or Christian denominations. It is either Heaven or Hell. Wherever you land at death is where you will live forever. It is either death or Jesus comes to take you home at the rapture. These are the only two exit points from this world into eternity. Where wi...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise:    Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.  1Timothy 4:16 Read: 1Timothy 4:12-16 I f you will be relevant in God’s plan for the last days, you must totally discard this end time instant gratification bug. Today, many students are after instant education. Obtain your degree now! This is why education standards are falling in Nigeria universities and tertiary institutions. We have to return to core values in our educational system. Too much emphasis is being place on certificates. It is not all about certificate. Anybody can buy one from the shelf of fraudsters and call himself or herself a graduate. The certified must prove by their performance and character that they earned the paper they carry. If they cannot prove this, it is most likely that certificate was stolen. Let us return to the era of merit. Let...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: My little children, these things write l unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1 John 2:1 Read: Revelation 12:10-11 W hen you have a case in court, who do you call to speak for you? Your lawyer or defence attorney of course. Just as we have cases in courts in the physical realm, so also do we have cases in the spiritual realm. Believe it or not, verdicts from the spiritual courts supersede that of the physical realm. Many times, people only act out in the physical what has been decided in spiritual courts. Witches, wizards and evil people gather in the dead of the night to lay certain accusations against people and to pass judgment on them. You do not need to attend their meetings even though sometimes God can take you there to see what they are doing. A minister of God once saw himself on an elevator descending into the earth. As it...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21. Read: 2 Samuel 6:9-12 A re you doubting whether God can intervene in your life? Irrespective of your doubts, because our God reigns, laughter will come into your family this season in Jesus name. Our God cannot co-reign with poverty because He is the Jehovah El-Shaddai- the All Sufficient God, the inexhaustible God (Genesis 17:1). In Samuel 6:9-12, the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the house of Obededom and poverty and lack immediately gave way. He became so prosperous that he was the talk of the town just within three months! Is Jesus in your life? If He is, l command lack and poverty to disappear from your life today! Several ramifications can be deduced from the fact our God reigns. Since our God now reigns, the rule of sickness, demons, sorrow, darkness...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as l had pity on thee? Matthew 18:33 Read: Matthew 18:21-35 M ost things on earth respond to the principle of sowing and reaping, and mercy is not an exception. If you want to continually enjoy God’s mercy, sow mercy into the lives of those who offend or owe you. In Matthew 18:21-35, we learn that the reason a heavily-indebted servant whose debt was forgiven had to be locked up until he paid up, was because he could not forgive his fellow servant as he was forgiven. As a result, the forgiveness he had received was neutralized by his unforgiving stance and he ended up a debtor. You asked for, and received forgiveness as a sinner and you became born again. Even after your salvation, you keep asking for the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from sin no matter how weighty they are. Yet you refuse to forgive the brother who misunderstood or misint...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21 Read: Psalms 34:11-13 M any things seen in the spirit realm never materialize because those who saw them failed to cry out. Your mouth is a very powerful weapon that could determine whether you live or die. It is relatively preferable to be able to speak than to see. When they brought a blind and dumb man to the Lord in Matthew 12:22, He healed him and the man both “spake and saw”. Take note of the order. There is something called the law of priority. If you can speak, even if you were blind as a bat, with your voice you can call out for help like erstwhile blind Bartimaeus. Proverbs 18:21 says the power of death and life are in the tongue. Some parents use their tongue to kill, limit, enslave or destroy themselves or members of their families. When something unpleasant happens, watch what you s...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your heart, ye double minded. James 4:8 Read: Philippians 3:7-11 J ust like The Door-Jesus, can open all doors, so also can your faith, if only you are linked with The Door and you believe in Him. Apart from The Door and your faith, another key that can open the door to power is the key of consecration. James 4:8 says: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your heart, ye double minded. You will notice from this verse that having a close walk with God is reciprocal. God has already taken the first step by sending His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for us when we did not know Him. Now He says take a step towards me and l will take step towards you. Man’s stride is short compared to God’s stride. At the end of the day, He is still the One to take the g...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 Read: Luke 16:19-26 I t is good to be talented and divinely gifted but the talents, gifts, abilities and anointing that go with you to the grave without being utilised could stand against you as exhibits of disobedience. Are you using your resources effectively? Colossians 4:5 says the time is short so try and redeem it. One reason people dread death is because after death one’s fate is sealed. The story of the rich man and Lazarus illustrates this (Luke 16:19-26). Immediately Lazarus died, his soul was transported by angels to paradise whereas his body was buried without any ceremony. In fact, to many, including the rich man, it was good riddance to bad rubbish. His fate was immediately sealed. He was forever to be in Heaven. No more begging, no more sickness, no more ridicule, no more dogs to lick his wounds. ...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 Read: Romans 15:4-5 I f you will become someone great, you must maximise the use of your time resource which is one of the greatest assets available to you. May you not fall victim to opportunities lost in time like the children of Israel! A philosophy I imbibed from my teacher in my primary school days was: “Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today”. Many people sit down and say they are killing time; No, they are killing themselves because time does not die. How effectively are you using your time? Are you fond of procrastinating? This is the time to dust yourself up and begin to run. Another major challenge we have to be mindful of which can affect our success is the modern day instant gratification culture and tendency to be multitaski...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:17 Read: Ephesians 3:17-20 W hen God decides to bless an individual, it will affect him all round. God can go as far as using the person’s enemy to bless him. We have an example of this in Numbers 23:16-24. Here Balaam was hired to curse. He opened his mouth to curse the children of Israel but blessings came out instead. This is one of God’s benefits to the ones that He loves. He can turn a curse into a blessing depending on who is involved. Every curse against you and your family shall become blessings in Jesus name. Once God blesses you, nobody can reverse it except you. The moment God says you are blessed; things will begin to happen in quick succession. If your work was not prospering, it will begin to prosper, but if you stray from Him, what was easy will become hard. If what you used to do effortlessly is no...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Isaiah 54:1 Read: Isaiah 54:1-4 W hen God reigns, He reigns alone. He never shares His throne with sickness, Satan or demons. God is light and it is not possible for darkness to rule where the Light is reigning, hence John 1:5 says: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. All his life, Bartimaeus was in darkness as a blind man, but the day he came across our God, his darkness gave way to light (Mark 10:46-52). Are you in a state of darkness? Is darkness thriving in your situation as a child of God? In the name of Jesus l command that darkness to give way to the full glow of the light of Jesus in your situation. Likewise, it is not possible for God to re...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboy e Memorise: The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. Proverbs 11:17 Read: Psalms 103:11-13 G od is abundant in love and his love is wonderful. There is a generic love of God and the special love of God. John 3:16 speaks of the generic love of God for mankind. Every man born into this world is a recipient of this love, whether this love is accepted and appreciated is a personal matter for individuals. It is this generic love that makes Him send his sun and rain on all men- good and evil. Our Lord Jesus spoke about this love in Matthew 5:43-45. This love is not dependent on the action of the other party neither does it demand reciprocity. Beyond the generic love however is the special love of God. To partake of His special love, you must first acknowledge His generic love and accept its gift as outlined in John 3:16. This love can only be ac...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. Psalms 145:18 Read: Psalms 145:17-19 I n 2 Kings 2:12-14, we read that Elisha “saw”. Earlier, Elijah had told him that if he could see him when he is being taken up to Heaven, only then will his hard request be granted (2 kings 2:9). Vision plays an important role in the life of anyone who wants to achieve in life. Proverbs 29:18 says those who lack it cannot avoid destruction. Today, so many people go to Israel on pilgrimage without seeing anything. Some go for sight-seeing and not for spiritual experiences. Proverbs 20:12 says it is God who made the seeing eyes because not everyone who has eyes can see. Ten people can look at a particular object and be seeing different things depending on their point of focus. May you see what God wants you to see in every situation in Jesus name. Through...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: And l will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19 Read: Matthew 16:18-19 J esus is the Door and as such He can compel all other doors to open willy-nilly. There is a door of breakthrough which comes through Jesus. A man who had been sick for 38 years encountered this Door one day. He had been trying but could not breakthrough into healing. One day, the Door paid him a visit and his breakthrough came. There is also a door of fruitfulness. Genesis 29:31 says Leah was hated by her husband so God opened her womb. On the other hand, the beloved wife Rachel was barren. But later in Genesis 30:22, God remembered Rachael and opened the door to her. Are you barren? The Lord will open the door of fruitfulness to you today...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye Memorise: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor advice, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:10 Read: Ecclesiastes 9:4-10 Y our focus in life will affect you in time and in eternity. The one who focuses on material things will someday be separated from them when death comes, leaving the fellow with nothing on earth and nothing in the world to come. But the one who focuses on the things from above- a thriving relationship with God, the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, winning several souls to Christ, advancing the work of God’s kingdom etc., will have the rewards awaiting him or her in eternity (Colossians 3:1-3). What are you giving most of your time, intellect and money? Remember you time will be up someday. Some have even lost their salvation to the pursuit of material things which sooner o...