Open Heavens 22nd February 2018 by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

Memorise: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” – 1 Timothy 2:5

Read: Exodus 20:1-6 (KJV)

1 And God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Bible in One Year: Leviticus 21-22; 1 Corinthians 9:8-23

MESSAGE

The God whom I serve is not only the beginning, He is also the ending (Revelations 1:8). This is why he can give a lost soul a new beginning and also bring those without hope to an expected end (Exodus 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 29:11). This simply means that the Almighty God that I serve is the All in all who fills everywhere (Psalm 139:7-13, Ephesians 4:9-10). The supremacy and pre-eminence of the Almighty God of heaven and earth was not bestowed on Him by any man or creature; they are inherent in Him (1 Timothy 6:16). His supremacy and pre-eminence must be acknowledged by all His creation (Psalm 103:19-22). In today’s Bible text, God demands exclusive worship from those He calls His own. He clearly spelt out this demand because He knows that there is a tendency for mankind to worship the contraptions of his heart. Who is the God that you serve; the self-existing God or a contraption borne out of the imagination of men’s heart? A lot of people today have idolized other men to the point of worship. They follow what such people say and believe whatever they spew out of their mouths, even when such things are contrary to what the Creator has said in His word. Some people worship whatever the imaginations of their heart brings to them by believing that they are what their thoughts say they are, contrary to what God created them to be. To such people, their imagination is their god and they bend in whatever direction it leads them. This is why some people subject themselves to gender reassignments surgery, based on what their imagination dictates. As a human being, whether you like it or not, there will always be something you worship, even though you don’t realize it. It is a dangerous thing to make anything aside from God of heaven the object of your worship, because this elicits a curse from heaven. Jeremiah 17:5 says,

“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”

Moreover, the Lord commanded that we should not bow to anything or anyone but Himself. This was the position Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego took when they were faced with option of bowing or burning (Daniel 3). They chose to burn rather than bow to the image of King Nebuchadnezzar. Today, for fear of death, many are bowing to the image of witchcraft, sorcery and various occult groups, Jesus came to deliver such people, if they will accept Him (Hebrew 2:14-15). Don’t let anyone deceive you, there is no other god besides the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the only way to Him ( Timothy 2:5). Accept Jesus today and put your absolute trust in Him alone.

Action Point: Is there anything or anyone playing God in your life? Renounce the dominion of such persons or things over your life and begin to worship the one true God.

Hymn 13: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

1. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

2. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

3. To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

4. Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render; oh, help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.

5. Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.