RCCG Updates

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Rom. 8:26). READ: Romans 8:26-27 “A nd God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Exo. 2:24). Before God sent the children of Israel a deliverer, even though He had promised over 400 years earlier that He would deliver them from slavery, they had to cry and groan. Before God delivers you, He wants to be sure He is not just over zealous. He wants to be convinced you are in agreement with Him. Deliverance is effective only when the desire of the Deliverer and the delivered blend. Does God’s will align with yours? God hears the groaning of His children. To groan is to cry in pain or agony. Isaiah 63:9 says, “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his prese...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7). READ: Matthew 3:1-6 I n your preparation for ministry, God can use human elements to impact into you what He had already deposited in them. This is the first phase of your training. On the other hand, God can also be the one to do the training. This takes place under the second phase of your training. During this latter phase, the trainee is separated to God. When alone with God, the trainee is exposed to deeper truths, Kingdom secrets, as well as deeper experiences with God. Before embarking on their public ministry, both John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ had to undergo a wilderness experience where they were alone with God. The Bible is silent about the early years of Elijah. However, it is most likely he too, like others, succeeded in ministry because he was trained by God. Looking at the life of Elijah, we learn that Go...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:28). Read: Genesis 1:26-28 T o make success in life, you must know your identity. Going by John’s experience, every child of God is a voice. May you be heard in Jesus name. To have a clear definition of who you are, you must be able to know who you are not. An understanding of this helps to clear misconceptions and wrong notions you have held about yourself. The source of knowing who you are and who you are not is the Bible—the love book of the Almighty God and Father. First, you are not an animal. God created you in His own image. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. Science hardly see...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God” (1 Sam 17:36). READ: 1 Samuel 17: 1-11 W hen an ex-champion regains his crown, the experience goes beyond joy; it is glory! Can you imagine how young David felt after bringing down Goliath who terrorized the nation of Israel for 40 days? It was glory! Just as God used David to bring down Goliath, so also will the Lord use you to bring down every cause of shame and reproach in your life, family, community, church and nation. If you can cooperate with the Lord of hosts, there is no giant you cannot floor. Now, if you were an ex-champion, how can you recover your lost crown? And after recovering it, what can you do to retain it? There are three things you must do. First, stop tolerating mockers. Anything that is asking you, ‘Where is your God?’ is a mocker. Sickness, po...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Rom. 7:18) READ: Matthew 16:24-26 J ohn 15:5 and Philippians 4:13 agree on one thing: that believers in Christ are powered by Christ. If without Him we cannot achieve anything and through Him we can achieve just anything, then if there is one need in the life of every Christian, it is to have more of Jesus in our lives. John the Baptist understood this principle so well hence, his desire that Christ might increase (John 3:30). The more of Christ you have, the more like Him you will become, and the greater will be your achievements. If He keeps increasing in you, you will perform spiritual tasks without stress. However, before Christ can increase in you, something in you must give way. Before there is an increase, there must also be a decrease. John the Baptist says ‘I ...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25). READ: Psalm 37:23-26 I t is not strange for people to use as many people as they can to meet a need and thereafter discard them. This is one reason to never put your trust in man. However, there is an exception to this rule—the man Christ Jesus. When He makes a promise, it is not to impress like many humans do; He throws His weight behind it. Psalm 119:89 says His words are eternal and settled in the realm of eternity. Anyone contesting God’s Word is making a big mistake. Such a man will be contesting against what had been settled before the earth began. Do you know that when God makes a fresh promise to you today, it takes the form of His eternally settled Word? No difference. God is as committed to fulfilling His written Word as He is in fulfilling His Spoken Word. Has the Lord made you a promise? Y...

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye MEMORIZE: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). READ: John 1:4-5 “W hen they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy” (Matt. 2:10). At what time do you see stars? They are hardly seen during the day, except at night. It is when darkness covers the earth that stars are revealed. In the other words, daylight may be so bright to the extent of covering the stars in the skyline. So it takes darkness to expose them. If you recognize that you are a star, you need not fear darkness as that is what will expose your shine. It takes a time of trouble to reveal true stars. That means, as darkness covers the earth and problems multiply, it is your time to shine. When darkness covered the land of Egypt and the Egyptians were about to lose their firstborns, the children of Israel were getting ready to shine forth in joy. In the midst of your darkness, you shall shine. In the midst of po...