Open Heaven For Teens Tuesday 18 January 2022 Daily Devotional was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye
TOPIC: God Can’t Be Bribed
MEMORISE: The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Proverbs 15:8
READ: Matthew 13:33-58
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
MESSAGE
I am sure by now you know the benefits of giving your time, talents, tithes and treasures to the Lord cheerfully. However, not many preachers talk about the condition of the giver. God is more interested in the motive of the giver than what he/she is giving.
If a fellow gives his/her time, money or services to God for the wrong reasons, He will not accept it, let alone reward such giving. Like I always say, no matter how large an offering that comes from sin or ill-gotten wealth is. God won’t accept it He hates sin and anything given by a sinner.
Beloved, are you serving in your Church because you truly love God or want to socialize with people? Are you giving fat offering to make up for one sin or another? Are you giving to show off? Whenever you’re about to give to the Lord, ask yourself: “will my offering or sacrifice today be acceptable in God’s sight? If the answer is Yes”, then go ahead and give cheerfully but if the answer is “No”, repent and make the necessary restitution before offering that gift or service to God.
REFLECTION:
To get the blessing attached to giving, do the right things before God.
HYMN 9: O WORSHIP THE KING ALL GLORIOUS ABOVE
O worship the King
All-glorious above,
O gratefully sing
His power and His love:
Our shield and defender,
The Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor
And girded with praise.
O tell of His might
O sing of His grace,
whose robe is the light,
Whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath
The deep thunder-clouds form,
And dark is His path
On the wings of the storm.
Thy bountiful care,
What tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
It shines in the light;
It streams from the hills,
It descends to the plain,
And sweetly distils
In the dew and the rain.
Frail children of dust,
And feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
Nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies, how tender,
How firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend!
O measureless Might,
ineffable Love!
While angels delight
To hymn Thee above,
The humbler creation,
Though feeble their lays,
With true adoration
Shall lisp to Thy praise.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 13:33-58; Genesis 42-43
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