Open Heavens 9 December 2017: Saturday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – STOP THE PRETENCE

STOP THE PRETENCE - Saturday December 9^th 2017

Memorise: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:” 1st Timothy 1:5

Read: 1^st Timothy 1:5-9 (KJV)

⁵ Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

⁶ From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

⁷ Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

⁸ But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

⁹ Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Bible in one year: Psalm 120-134, Zephaniah 2:13-3:8, Sing Hymn 6

MESSAGE:

Salvation through Christ is such a great experience, but the devil in his characteristic manner has introduced counterfeits into people lives. The consequence of possessing a counterfeit salvation experience is a life of pretence. To guard against this wile of the devil, the Holy Spirit in 1^st Timothy 1:5, admonishes us thus:

‘’Now the end of the commandement is charity out of a pure heart, and of good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.’’

While God wants us to show love to all, he equally cares about the source of this love. The source of a thing goes a long way in determining its quality and value. You cannot bring something good out of an evil heart. If you do, that good thing is already tainted. For instance, even though you see lots of food in dunghill, you will not go to eat from there. God is therefore saying that should do away with pretence and hypocrisy, because they taint whatever good works you are doing. He is saying that if you will show Him love, make sacrifices for His sake, or give to His cause, such actions must come out of a pure heart, with a good conscience and done with sincerity; otherwise, the doer of these works may not get any reward.

Are you saved? Is your salvation genuine or false? 2^nd Corinthians 5:17 says if you are saved, old things are passed away. This means that if you were stealing before, after experiencing salvation, you will stop stealing. You cannot continue stealing and still lay claim to salvation. While my father-in-the-Lord was alive, if you claim to be saved, he would ask you these questions. What were you saved from? ‘’What were you doing before that you longer do now?’’ Today, people claim they are saved, and yet they still steal, lie or fornicate. What kind of salvation is that? In one of my missionary trips outside Nigeria, a man came to me and said, ‘’ Sir, I heard that you are a prophet of God and that your prophecies are deadly accurate.’’ ‘’ is that so?’’ I replied and further added, ‘’I am not a prophet but Pastor, but I do hear from God once a while.’’ He then asked me to tell him his future. I asked him if he was born again and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and His response was ‘’No’’. So I said to him, ‘’future will be terrible’. Alarmed, he said, ‘’How how do you know? You don’t even know my name, and you have not even prayed!’’ I told him there was no need for that because Isaiah 3:11 says ‘’ Woe to the wicked!’’ On the other hand, if are saved, your tomorrow will be alright. Are you saved? Did you genuinely give your life to Jesus Christ on particular day? If not, do it today!

Action Point:

The afterlife has no room for pretence. It’s all about reality and truth.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons 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.

Hymn 6

HYMN 6: DEEPER, DEEPER

1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus

Daily let me go;

Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,

More of grace to know.

Chorus:

O deeper yet, I pray,

And higher every day,

And wiser, blessed Lord,

In Thy precious, holy Word.

2. Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,

Take me deeper still,

Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,

And His perfect will.

Chorus:

3. Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,

Deeper let me go!

Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,

Let me fruitful grow.

Chorus:

4. Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,

Till all conflict past,

Finds me conqu'ror, and in His own image

Perfected at last.

Chorus:

5. Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,

Holy faith and true;

In His pow'r and soul exulting wisdom

Let me peace pursue.

Chorus.