Abiding TV

Tʜᴇ Lᴀᴡ Oꜰ Sᴇʟꜰ Dɪsᴄɪᴘʟɪɴᴇ by Bɪsʜᴏᴘ David Oʏᴇᴅᴇᴘᴏ

Tʜᴇ Lᴀᴡ Oꜰ Sᴇʟꜰ Dɪsᴄɪᴘʟɪɴᴇ by Bɪsʜᴏᴘ David Oʏᴇᴅᴇᴘᴏ

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace . . . 
—Ephesians 2:13,14

Meaningless mouthings about peace will not bring it to the world. In Glasgow, Scotland, we watched the Communists march around St. George’s Square carrying their banners with the words, “Our motto is PEACE!” My thoughts raced back to Korea, where I had seen the havoc and suffering caused by these people who now use “peace” as their motto. Peace is more than five little white letters painted on a piece of red cloth, carried by a goose-stepping zealot in a Red parade. It is not a mere cessation of hostilities, a momentary halt in a hot or cold war. Rather, it is something positive. It is a specific relationship with God into which a person is brought. It is a spiritual reality in a human heart which has come into vital contact with the infinite God.

Listen to Billy Graham’s short message on peace.



Prayer for the day
Your everlasting peace transcends the promises of mankind, Lord Jesus.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The word “behold” in our opening verse is very significant because it indicates your first responsibility as a new creature in Christ Jesus: you must see all things as new! If you don’t “see” that all things have become new, you’d continue with the old mentality of failure, sickness, poverty and defeat.

Perhaps you were diagnosed with an incurable ailment before you were born again; that sickness or disease has ceased to be; it has passed away with the old life. The new you—the recreated or born again you—has the life and nature of God which is superior to Satan, sickness, disease and death. But until and unless the eyes of your spirit are enlightened to see this current reality, you may find yourself still struggling with sickness

Perhaps you failed in everything prior to giving your heart to the Lord; all that is passed now. Refuse to go on with the same mentality of defeat and failure. Psalm 1:3 describes who you are now that you’re born again: “…a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” You must “see” this as the present truth, the present reality about your life. You’re born a success, to be ever fruitful and productive in all that you do. Have this consciousness.

God created you for the good life, and for His glory. Ephesians 2:10 (AMPC) says, “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” Hallelujah! See that you have a glorious life in Christ, and say, “Never again to the wrong life; never again to the negative life; never again to failure and backwardness!” See only progress and success. Hallelujah!

PRAYER
Dear Father, thank you for the Spirit of wisdom and understanding that’s at work in me. I see what you want me to see, and I create what I want to see in my life and environment through the power of your Spirit who lives in me. My life is full of glory, beauty and excellence. In my path is progress and success only, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:
2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
John 1:19-51 & 2 Samuel 18-19

2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Mark 7:24-37 & Numbers 7

Saturday May 4th 2019
Memorise: Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Hebrews 12:16

Read: 1st John 3:1-3 (KJV)
1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Bible in one year: 
Genesis 48-50,
Jeremiah 30:10-24,

Hymnal: 
Sing hymn 10

Message:
When the Apostle John caught the revelation of who we are in Christ, he was so excited about. You can feel his excitement in these words he panned in 1st John 3:1:

 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

We learn from these words that the children of this world will never understand our ways. They cannot understand us, no matter how hard they try, until they come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Therefore, trying to make the children of this world appreciate or accept our lifestyle is an exercise in futility. Some Christians have compromised their faith in an attempt to achieve this impossible feat, because they want to impress the world. In spite of the miracles the Master performed – healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers and other signs and wonders – the children of this world still cried “Crucify Him!” They even preferred the notorious robber, Barabbas, to the Author of life (John 18:39-40). Since they rejected our Master, don’t be shocked that they will also reject our way of life.

As sons of God, we have a birthright which our adoption accords us. Although our minds cannot fully comprehend presently the scope of what this birthright gives, we have the assurance that when we see the Lord in glory, we will understand it all, because we will be exactly like Him (1st Corinthians 2:9, 1st Corinthians 13:12, 1st John 3:2). Why is the Lord giving us this assurance? The reason is that He knows we will face challenges in life which can make us doubt the reality of our heritage as peculiar people chosen by God as our Father. Our Lord also faced this challenge in the wilderness of temptation and on the cross of Calvary (Luke 4:3-12, Mark 15:34).

In the wilderness, the devil tried to make Him doubt His status as the Son of the Living God. The devil knew that God would not answer prayers inspired by satanic suggestions or borne out of the desire to satisfy a lust (James 4:3). He also knew that God would not grant a request against His perfect will (Matthew 6:10, Luke 22:42). He was therefore setting Jesus up to have His prayers unanswered when he asked Him to turn a stone into bread to prove His birthright. If Jesus’ prayer were unanswered, the devil would have succeeded in making Him doubt His identity. Beloved, beware of doing things that would amount to selling your birth-right as a child of God. The best way to avoid this is to consciously keep yourself away from worldly corruption and anything that defiles. Never live your life to impress anybody but your Father who is in heaven. 

Prayer Point
Father, grant me grace not to sell my eternal birthright for temporary gain in this world.

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.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2-10

God is not full of surprises. He’s not an unpredictable being who likes to keep you guessing. Countless believers, however, have the idea He is.

“You just never know what God is going to do,” they say. They base that idea on 1 Corinthians 2:9 which says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” They interpret that scripture to mean that God is keeping secrets from His people.

But, praise God, He isn’t!

In fact, verse 10 says He’s given us His Spirit to reveal those secrets to us! He desires for us to know everything that’s on His heart.

If you’re in the dark about God’s will for you, you don’t have to stay that way. He wants you to know about His plans and provisions for your life. He’ll show them to you if you’ll let Him.

So, don’t depend on guesswork. Determine today that you’re going to start receiving that revelation from the Holy Spirit. As you read the Word, pray in the spirit and ask Him to reveal to you the reality of the Scriptures. Ask Him to shed His light on them and show you exactly how they apply to you.

Remember: God isn’t in the business of keeping secrets from you. He’s in the business of revealing them. Take time to listen to Him and you’ll never have to settle for a life of uncertainty again.

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 2:1-16

You are watching RCCG MAY 2019 HOLYGHOST SERVICE - SWIMMING IN GLORY 5 #SwimminginGlory5 Live from the Redemption Camp.

“How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey” (Psalm 119:103 NLT).

After my wife Kay and I got engaged, we did something unusual: We moved to opposite sides of the world. She moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to work in an inner-city church, and I moved to Nagasaki, Japan, to plant a church. We were separated most of our engagement.

In those days, we didn’t have cell phones. It cost $15 a minute to call Japan, and we were dirt poor. So we only had one alternative: writing letters. We each wrote a letter every day, and receiving hers was the highlight of my day during that time. The moment a love letter arrived, I would tear it open and read it. Then I would reread it and try to read between the lines. I’d underline and memorize portions of it. I was trying to gather every drop of love this woman had for me.

What if we read the Bible—God’s love letter to us—that same way?

If you’re not poring over the Bible, trying to glean every bit of wisdom from it, then you are not fully tasting the banquet that God has prepared for you. Psalm 119:103 says, “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey” (NLT).

This Bible is full of nourishment—spiritual food that will keep you healthy, and even lots of desserts.

Are you fasting or are you feasting on the Word of God? Keep in mind that going to church once a week and hearing a sermon is not a feast. If you only ate one meal a week, then you wouldn’t grow or be healthy.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 ESV).

You can only truly taste the sweetness of God’s Word when you are feeding on it every day and letting it saturate your heart and mind.

Talk It Over

Choose one of the verses from today’s devotional, and read its entire chapter. Savor God’s words. What goodness and nourishment does God have for you from this passage?
What’s one change you can make to your morning or evening routine that will create time to read and meditate on God’s Word?
How does your desire to read God’s Word change when you think of the Bible as God’s love letter to you?

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10, NIV

TODAY'S WORD:

It’s easy to go through life thinking that we’re average; we’re ordinary. “There’s nothing special about me. I’m just one of the six billion people on earth.” No, when God created you, He put a part of Himself in you. You could say that you have the DNA of Almighty God. You are destined to do great things, destined to leave your mark on this generation. The truth is, there is nothing average about you; but too many times we don’t realize who we are. We focus on our weaknesses or what we don’t have. We focus on the mistakes we’ve made or the family from which we’ve come. We end up settling for mediocrity when we were created for greatness!

If you’re going to break out of average, you need to remind yourself every day, “I have the DNA of the Most High God. Greatness is in my genes. I come from a bloodline of champions.” If you’ll have the attitude of a champion, you’ll live the life of a champion and boldly embrace the blessings He has in store for you!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, thank You for preparing me to do the good works You have prepared. I am not average. I am not ordinary. I am created for greatness, and I belong to Almighty God. Thank You for Your faithfulness in Jesus’ name! Amen.

And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately He spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid!” Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water.”

— Matthew 14:25-28 (AMP)

Let’s focus for a moment on this part of a well-known New Testament story. The disciples were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee at night when they looked up and saw Jesus walking on the water. That is amazing, but as the story continues, Matthew wrote of the boisterous winds, yet Jesus kept walking on top of the waves.

The disciples were afraid—and that makes sense. Who would expect to see anyone walking on top of the water, even under the best of conditions?

Then Jesus cried out and told them, “Take courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!” (Matthew 14:27 AMP). This is the powerful moment in the story. What will happen now? Do they move over and give Jesus a place to sit in their boat? Should they get out and join Him on the waves? Do they huddle in fear, reminding themselves that human beings can’t walk on top of water?

Peter was the only one who responded in true faith. And let’s make no mistake here. For Peter to say, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28 AMP) was a tremendous act of faith. You’ll notice that he was the only one who spoke that way.

That was a powerful moment of faith. It was a defining moment that pointed out Peter’s great faith and belief in Jesus, the Anointed One of God. He was so convinced that Jesus truly was the Son of God that he was ready to get out of the boat and walk on top of the water with Him.

How many of you would get out of the boat? I emphasize this because it would be easy enough to say, “Lord, I see You walking on the water, and I believe I could walk on the water alongside You.” But would you? Do you have the kind of faith that would enable you to step out of the boat? Of the 12 disciples, Peter was the only one who took that step of faith.

I’m not citing this example of faith to discourage you or to make you feel that your faith is somehow lacking. I’m simply pointing out the great triumph of a man who dared to believe! Peter believed so strongly that he took a step of faith over the side of the boat and started walking toward Jesus.

Most of us know the rest of the story. Some might even smirk, saying, “Big deal! He got out of the boat, started walking on the water, got scared, and began to sink. And he also received a rebuke from Jesus: ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31 AMP).

But think about it—Jesus didn’t say those words to the other disciples. He directed the words “you of little faith” to Peter. The implication is the others had no faith at that moment.

Think of these words not just as words of rebuke, but also as words of encouragement to Peter, the one who had enough faith to step out of the boat and begin walking on the water.

But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30 AMP).

What if you saw this as Jesus’ great encouragement, not just to Peter, but also to you? What if you looked at this event as Jesus saying to you, “You started so well. You believed Me, and got out of the boat. You did it! You walked on water just as I did. But then you allowed doubt to enter, and when that happened, you began to sink.”

This powerful story is a wonderful reminder that Jesus is always with you, and He will suspend natural laws to reach out to you and care for you.

Prayer Starter: Lord Jesus, please forgive my lack of faith. Increase my faith in Your Word, and help me to trust You enough to follow Your leading. When the circumstances around me threaten to pull me into deep waters of doubt, help me to focus on You. I ask these things in Your holy name. Amen.

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses

One of the greatest barriers to receiving the healing of God in our lives is to harbor unforgiveness. The individual who holds an offense against another builds a barricade between himself and God.

The disciple, Peter, asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who had wronged him. Seven seemed a generous number! Jesus corrected him and upped the ante to seventy times seven. Essentially, Jesus said to forgive so often that it becomes a lifestyle. Forgive so many times that the practice becomes an ingrained habit.

We sometimes hold onto a long list of grievances against others. We believe that no one understands the harm they have done to us, the pain they have caused, the rejection they have inflicted, the burdens they have heaped upon us. Our Good Shepherd does. And still He urges us to forgive them and cast all of our cares upon Him (I Peter 5:7). He comprehends the weight of carrying around that unforgiveness which is why He wants us to let it go. As long as we hold that list so tightly, He cannot pour healing and blessing into our hands.

Jesus told the story of a servant who owed three times the national debt – about 50 billion dollars in today’s terms – to his master. His master had every right to judge him, to sell him and all his family for recompense. However, when the servant begged the master to have mercy, not only did the master pardon him, but he forgave the debt entirely.

The servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him fifteen dollars. He demanded immediate payment, and when the man could not pay, he had him thrown into debtor’s prison until he could pay back what he owed. When the master heard, he angrily reciprocated and threw the first servant into jail with the same sentence. Instead of two men going free, two people lived in bondage.

The King of Glory has forgiven us the debt of our sin. He paid the price to set us free when we had no ability to do so ourselves. How can we not forgive those who have offended us? Choose to forgive. Release the bitterness and the rage. Tear down the barricade between yourself and God to receive the healing you crave. When you set that person free, you open the door to your prison cell, too.

Blessing:

Heavenly Father, I never want any wall between us to cut off Your healing in my life. I choose to forgive those who have wounded me. In the same way You forgave me, I release them. Wash away the hurt, the anger, and the bitterness in me. Set me free! In Jesus’ name…amen.

Today's Bible Reading:

Old Testament

Judges 17:1-18:31

New Testament

John 3:1-22

Psalms & Proverbs

Psalm 104:1-24

Proverbs 14:20-21

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Why should you read the Bible? To some people, it’s just an archaic book that has little relevance today. But for believers, God’s Word is essential and life-changing. Christians living in countries where Bibles are illegal would love to have the access to Scripture that you and I take for granted.

Consider what the world would be like if God had not given us His Word. Though we would still have the testimony of creation to tell us who He is (Rom. 1:20), our understanding of God and how to follow Him wouldn’t be as clear. The Bible’s pages contain everything we need for life and godliness through the true knowledge of God (2 Peter 1:3).

Reading God’s Word has many benefits. The apostle Paul describes four ways Scripture is profitable for believers (2 Timothy 3:16).

Teaching. The Bible has all the divine truth that God wants us to know. From Scripture, we deepen our relationship with the Lord, see life from His perspective, and understand how He wants us to live.

Reproof. God’s Word is a light that reveals our sins and a sword that pierces and convicts so we can confess and receive forgiveness.

Correction. Scripture restores and points us to godly living and obedience.

Training in righteousness. The Word of God trains us to stay on the path of righteousness and mature spiritually.

The end result of teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness is a life adequately equipped to live as the Lord desires. With so much to gain, why would we ever neglect this most precious gift from God?

Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 7-9

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness (Romans 4:5 NKJV).

Only when you see yourself the way God sees you, can you begin to expect success.

As long as you are depending on your own merits and your own works, you will always experience an element of self-doubt. This doubt will cause you to question whether or not God is going to show His favor in life.

Who you are and what you have done has nothing to do with favor and success. This is good news because without Jesus you are nothing.

God’s favor and honor cannot be earned; they can only be given to you by God. Jesus is the one who earned them for you, but it is your responsibility to walk in God’s favor and success by faith so that they will become reality in your lie.

When you are in Christ, God sees you as righteous, above reproach, and worthy to be blessed with success. He delights to crown you with glory and honor. You are His child; why wouldn’t He give you abundant favor and success in life?

Believe who the Word says you are and do what the Word tells you to do: “You shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV).

In other words … expect success!

Confession: My God is a good God who delights to give me good success, not because of my works, but because I believe Jesus made me righteous and earned it for me. Therefore, I expect success.

Author: Jerry Savelle