Open Heavens: A Godly Father by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Saturday September 8th 2018
Memorise: A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Proverb 13:22

Read: Genesis 12:6-8 (KJV)
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.

Read: Isaiah 51:1-2 (KJV)
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

Bible in one year:
Psalm 139:143,
Mark 4:21-41,

Hymnal:
Sing hymn 6

Message:
It is clear from 3rd John 1:2 that God’s plan is for you to prosper. Also, in John 10:10, Jesus Christ promised abundant life to all His followers.

Having prospered you, part of God’s expectations is that your children will be even more prosperous than you are. It is indeed a great blessing from the Lord when our children live better lives than ours. This what God did in Abraham’s life. God said to him in Genesis 22:16-17:

“By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”

In this proclamation, God did not only promise to bless Abraham, He also swore to multiply his seed. How marvellous! In Genesis 24:34-35, we begin to see the manifestation of God’s blessing in Abraham’s life as a person. In Genesis 26:12-14, we also see the fulfilment of God’s blessing of multiplication upon Abraham’s son, Isaac. However, God did not stop there. Abraham’s grandchildren waxed even stronger in wealth than Isaac. Even Esau, who was denied his father’s blessing of the firstborn, was so rich that he had 400 bodyguards in his service (Genesis 32:6). As for Jacob, Genesis 30:43 says:

“And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.”

When it came to the turn of Abraham’s ever increasing multi-generational blessing lies in the fact that he laid a good foundation for it. For example, Abraham always built altars to the Lord, meaning he was a true worshipper of God (Genesis 12:6-8, Genesis 13:18). He was also a payer of tithes, even before the Law of Moses institutionalized it (Genesis 14:18-20).

Furthermore, Abraham paid first fruits in Isaac, whom he loved so much (Genesis 22:1-18), and in addition, he was a godly father, of whom God testified that He knew he would train his children in the fear and worship of the Lord (Genesis 18:17-19). Beloved, for the sake of your descendants, I encourage you to be a godly parent. I assure you that our God is a covenant keeping God. For your sake, generations of children coming after you shall be mighty favoured, if you lay the foundation of godliness and the fear of the Lord in your family today.

Prayer point
Father, through the help of Your Holy Spirit, make me a godly parent in Jesus’ Name.

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 Churches in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.