Open Heavens: January 9th, 2017

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY
DEVOTIONAL.
MONDAY JANUARY 9 2017.
THEME : TAKE THIS RIDE !
MEMORISE : The liberal soul shall
be made fat: and he that
watereth shall be watered also
himself. PROVERBS 11 : 25.
READ : PROVERBS 11 : 24 - 26 :
24 There is that scattereth, and
yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet,
but it tendeth to poverty.
25 The liberal soul shall be made
fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself.
26 He that withholdeth corn, the
people shall curse him: but
blessing shall be upon the head
of him that selleth it. Proverbs
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : MATTHEW 18
- 19 AND ISAIAH 7 : 10 - 25.
MESSAGE :
For all those who have received
the gift of righteousness through
the finished work of Calvary, the
design of God for our lives is that
we live by His favour. The
psalmist spoke prophetically
about this in Psalm 5 : 12 :
"For thou, LORD, wilt bless the
righteous; with favour wilt thou
compass him as with a shield."
The reality of this was
manifested in the life of our Lord
Jesus Christ ( Luke 2 : 52 ), and
the early church also experienced
the same ( Acts 2 : 47 ). However,
there are some keys that unlock
the door to experiencing God's
favour. One of these keys is
found in today's Bible reading,
which says :
"The liberal soul shall be made
fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself" Proverbs
11 : 25.
Before you can access the
fatness and abundance you
desire from heaven, you must
first learn to give to the Lord
what you treasure : your best
and your all. This is what brings
about the difference in results
experienced by a person living by
God's favour and a person living
by labour; one is definitely easier
to achieve than the other.
Towards the end of a particular
year, one of my sons preached
on the difference between
labour and favour. He cited two
examples: Jacob and Isaac.
According to him, when Jacob
wanted a wife he laboured for
14 years before he could get his
heartthrob, but when Isaac
wanted to marry, he just went on
a stroll. One laboured but the
other was favoured. I have
decided to enjoy divine favour. I
am tired of labouring. I want to
continually live in the realm of
divine favour, and to do so, I will
sow as I have never done before,
because favour responds to the
law of harvest.
Are you not tired of increase
dependent on labour? Why exert
everything you have for several
years to get a particular blessing,
when you can pay a little price
through sowing and still get
great results in a shorter time,
without much stress? One
effective way of redeeming the
time, as admonished in
Ephesians 5 : 16, is to dump less
effective methods for better,
faster and less stressful ways of
doing things. You are not
redeeming the time when
increase only through labour.
This implies that so many things
will have to wait until you have
the strength to work for them.
Why go by labour when you can
rise on the wings of divine
favour? Choose the vehicle to
your place of destiny today!
ACTION POINT : The price you pay
to ride a flight by favour, through
sowing seeds, is far cheaper
than what you have to pay
through labour.
AUTHOR : PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE.
HYMN 8 : GREAT IS THY
FAITHFULNESS :
1. "Great is Thy faithfulness,"
O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning
with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be.
Chorus:
"Great is Thy faithfulness!"
"Great is Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new
mercies I see;
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided,
"Great is Thy faithfulness,"
Lord, unto me!
2. Summer and winter, and
springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their
courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold
witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy
and love.
3. Pardon for sin and a peace
that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer
and to guide;
Strength for today and bright
hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten
thousand beside!