DATE: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25TH 2017
THEME: DESCENT IS OFTEN UNNOTICED
Memorise:
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11
Read: Luke 22:1-6
22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.
22:2 And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.
22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
22:4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.
22:5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
22:6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.
Message:
To successfully run the Christian race, certain assignments cannot be delegated or carried out without your involvement. In Joshua chapter 7, Joshua delegated the assignment of fighting Ai to some of his men, and at the end of the day, they suffered defeat. Nothing kills like overconfidence! Have you ever wondered if Judas Iscariot was originally a thief? In Luke 6:12-13, the Lord prayed all night before selecting 12 apostles. It is therefore most likely that he did not start out as a thief. However, even if he was originally a thief, nobody gets to the zenith of an evil deed suddenly. It is usually a gradual process. Backsliding is a process and not a sudden event. If you see a brother backslidden to the point of shamelessly going about with wolves, on closer examination, you will discover that he must have been secretly frolicking with sin for a while. He must have tried a sinful act the first time and “gotten away with it”. This would have encouraged him to try a second, third and fourth time. Since he was not caught, he would gradually continue to practice such acts of sin more frequently, until his final descent becomes glaring for all to see.
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11
The devil does not usually come with a frontal attack against a child of God. He uses subtle, little issues that one will consider as nothing. Those things the devil says do not matter really matter a lot. When you do not see anything wrong in intimately hugging the opposite sex or touching their bodies at will, know that you have started backsliding. If you take a little money from the church purse in your care unnoticed, you have also started backsliding. If you do not cry to the Lord and ask for His help there and then, and you allow your descent to linger, before long, you will be openly fornicating or even selling Jesus for peanuts without feeling remorse. Examine yourself; how is it with your faith today? Have you backslidden in any way? If you have, run to the cross of Calvary for God to restore you before you get to a point of no return! God still loves you. Respond to His love now!
Key Point:
The reason why you don’t often get caught immediately you engage in an evil act is not because you are smart, but because God wants you to speedily retrace your steps and repent.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Psalm 50-55
Micah 2
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 9: ON THE HILL FAR AWAY
1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
Refrain:
3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
Refrain:
4. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
Refrain:
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Saturday, November 25th, 2017) - DESCENT IS OFTEN UNNOTICED
1.Thank you, Father, for the abundance of your grace upon us, mortals; because, if your are to mark sin, no man shall stand.
2. Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus name.
3.Father, deliver me from secret and presumptuous sins, before I am publicly humiliated and disgraced, by them, in Jesus name.
4.Let every loophole, that I have created for Satan to come into my life, be blocked, today, by the blood of Jesus.
5.Father, whenever, temptation to commit evil, comes into my heart, quickly, make a way of escape for me, as you have promised, in Jesus name.
6.Father, renew my heart and spirit; please, give me a new heart that thinks no evil and does no evil, in Jesus name.
7.Father, do not let me become too familiar with you, to the point of taking you for granted, or abusing your grace, over my life, in Jesus name.
8.Father, let every conspiracy to betray, harm or kill me, be scattered and frustrated, by the hosts of heaven, in Jesus name.
9.Father, heal every inch of backsliding in me, before I get to the point of no return, in Jesus name.
10.Father, shut the mouth of every roaring, worldly, lion, seeking to devour me; and destroy all the traps and baits, set to catch me, in Jesus name.
11.Father, bless, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the author of the open heavens daily devotional and general overseer of RCCG; empower him to be faithful, loyal and committed, unto you, till the end, in Jesus name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
Psalm 50: 1. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. 3. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 4. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. 7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. 8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. 9. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. 10. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 16. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? 17. Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. 18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. 19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. 20. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. 21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. 23. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
Psalm 51: 1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. -
Psalm 52: 1. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 2. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully. 3. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. 4. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. 6. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: 7. Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. 8. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
Psalm 53: 1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. 2. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. 3. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God. 5. There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them. 6. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Psalm 54: 1. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. 2. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. 4. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. 5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth. 6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good. 7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
Psalm 55: 1. Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 4. My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. 8. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. 9. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11. Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12. For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. 16. As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. 18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. 19. God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. 20. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. 21. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. 22. Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 23. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
Micah 2: 1. Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. 3. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil. 4. In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields. 5. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the LORD. 6. Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame. 7. O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? 8. Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. 9. The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever. 10. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. 11. If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. 12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13. The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
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