Open Heaven 13 November 2023 – Becoming Intimate With God 2
Open Heaven 13 November 2023 Monday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Becoming Intimate With God 2
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Open Heaven 13 November 2023 TOPIC: Becoming Intimate With God 2
MEMORISE: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23 (KJV)
READ: Psalm 26:1-8 (KJV)
1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:
7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 6-7
Open Heaven 13 November 2023 MESSAGE
Those who want to be intimate with God must love what He loves and hate what He hates. If you want to get close to God, you must know the things that He hates and stay far away from them (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Anywhere you see something that looks like sin, flee! Whenever I hear people trying to justify something sinful, I get irritated because clearly, this is something to stay away from. Apostle Paul said:
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. – 1 Corinthians 6:12
Also Read: Open Heaven 12 November 2023 – Becoming Intimate With God 1
If you really want to be intimate with God, you will stay away from even things that, though lawful, would have a negative impact on your relationship with Him. In Daniel 1:3-8, Daniel decided not to eat the king’s meat. It was lawful, but he knew that it would defile him, so he refused. It is lawful to be intimate with your legally married spouse or eat three times a day. There is no sin in that at all, but those who want to be intimate with God know that they must fast often. They know that there is a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing so that they can give themselves wholly to God (Ecclesiastes 3:5, 1 Corinthians 7:4-5)). Apostle Paul – a man who desperately wanted to be intimate with God, refused to marry so that there would be absolutely nothing to distract him in his journey of intimacy with God.
The question to you now is: do you really want to be intimate with God? If you do, then there are some things you have to stay away from because they are impediments to the flow of the Spirit of God in a person’s life. You know them yourself; they make you feel filthy and draw you far from the Lord. Stay away from them. In turn, spend your time basking in the presence of God and just fellowshipping with true brethren. As you do this and get closer to God, you would begin to realise that you are becoming more and more like Him, and you will even begin to carry His power to work miracles.
Open Heaven 13 November 2023 KEY POINT:
Even some lawful things may have to be avoided in order to get closer to God.
Open Heaven 13 November 2023 HYMN 4 – Be Glad In The Lord And Rejoice
1 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
All ye that are upright in heart;
And ye that have made Him your choice,
Bid sadness and sorrow depart.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice!
2 Be joyful, for He is the Lord,
On earth and in heaven supreme;
He fashions and rules by His word;
The Mighty and strong to redeem.
3 What though in the conflict for right,
Your enemies almost prevail,
God’s armies, just hid from your sight,
Are more than the foes which assail.
4 Though darkness surround you by day,
Your sky by the night be o’ercast,
Let nothing your spirit dismay,
But trust till the danger is past.
5 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
His praises proclaiming in song;
With harp and with organ and voice,
The loud hallelujahs prolong!
Open Heavens 2023 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven for Today 2023
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
