04/29/2018
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: SUNDAY 29TH APRIL 2018
THEME: IT CAME TO PASS.
MEMORISE:
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22
READ: 1 Peter 1:1-9
1.Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2. Elect according to The Foreknowledge of God The Father, through Sanctification of The Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of The Blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3. Blessed be The God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His Abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you,
5. Who are kept by The Power of God through Faith unto Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto Praise and Honour and Glory at The Appearing of Jesus Christ:
8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9. Receiving the end of your faith, even The Salvation of your souls.
MESSAGE:
A. There is a phrase commonly used throughout the whole Bible which should serve as comfort to all Christian pilgrims, particularly when they are passing through situations that are not so pleasant.
1. That phrase is the title of today’s devotional – “It came to pass”.
2. To someone using this devotional today, all your challenges shall pass in Jesus’ Name. Amen!
3. The Lord Jesus Christ did not promise us that the Christian walk would be a walk in the park.
4. He actually promised us persecutions and trials as part of the Christian experience.
5. John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
6. Mark 10:30 “who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, Eternal life.”
7. He even said in Matthew 10:22 that a time will come when we will be hated by all men.
8. Be aware that this time is fast approaching.
9. What is expected of us is endurance and longsuffering.
10. As God would have it, longsuffering is part of the fruit of the Spirit, which is made manifest in our lives as we daily walk in the Spirit.
11. Galatians 5:22 “But The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
B. Know for sure that from the inception of the Christian faith, believers in Christ have always faced trials of cruel mocking, scourging, imprisonment and even death.
1. Nevertheless, be encouraged by the words of Apostle Peter to some brethren who were also going through trials and persecution:
2. “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” 1 Peter 1:6-7
3. Just as the trying periods of the heroes of faith who have gone ahead of you “came to pass”, yours also will come to pass. Amen!
4. Let your gaze be set on the reward that is ahead of you, which The Holy Spirit spoke of in James 1:12, saying: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive The Crown of life, which The Lord hath promised to them that love him.”
5. In Revelation 22:12-14, the Lord also spoke of The Reward we will receive, having endured unpleasant situations in this world.
6. Revelation 22:12-14: Jesus Testifies to the Churches: “And behold, I Am coming quickly, and My Reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I Am The Alpha and The Omega, The Beginning and The End, The First and The Last.” Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.”
7. Beloved, The Lover of your soul, Jesus, will soon appear; be of good cheer therefore because all your trials of faith will soon be over.
8. Just make sure you do not deny The Faith.
9. Don’t be like Demas who loved this present and forsook the Lord.
10. 2 Timothy 4:10 “for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
11. My the Lord keep you Holy till His Appearing in Jesus’ Name. Amen!
PRAYER POINT:
Father, Please let me not lose sight of the rewards that awaits me at Your Appearing. Please grant unto me The Grace to endure to the very end in The Name of Jesús. Amen!
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 3-5; Hebrews 7
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN: IN THE HOUR OF TRIAL!
1.In the hour of trial, Jesus, plead for me,
Lest by base denial I depart from Thee.
When Thou seest me waver, with a look recall,
Nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall.
2.With forbidden pleasures would this vain world charm,
Or its sordid treasures spread to work me harm,
Bring to my remembrance sad Gethsemane,
Or, in darker semblance, cross-crowned Calvary.
3.Should Thy mercy send me sorrow, toil and woe,
Or should pain attend me on my path below,
Grant that I may never fail Thy hand to see;
Grant that I may ever cast my care on Thee.
4.When my last hour cometh, fraught with strife and pain,
When my dust returneth to the dust again,
On Thy truth relying, through that mortal strife,
Jesus, take me, dying, to eternal life.
EMMANUEL=GOD WITH US!
