RCCG Living Stone Assembly

*THE PROPHETIC BLESSING* Daniel 2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. *Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.*

_HALLELUJAH, THE SIEGE IS OVER! GOOD MORNING, HAVE AND ENJOY A PEACEFUL FRIDAY!_

*THIS WEEKEND, YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES WILL BLESS THE NAME OF THE LORD BECAUSE OF NUMEROUS MIRACLE THAT WILL HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE, IN JESUS NAME.*
_SHALOM!_

**HALLELUYAH! IT'S OUR SEASON OF JUBILEE💃🏾*
*

*THE PROPHETIC BLESSING* Daniel 3:17 ...and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

_HALLELUJAH, THE SIEGE IS OVER! GOOD MORNING, HAVE AND ENJOY A BLESSED WEDNESDAY!_

*OUR LIVES AND LAND (NIGERIA) ARE COMPLETELY DELIVERED FROM THE HAND OF EVIL KINGS OR RULERS IN JESUS NAME.* _SHALOM!_

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, 9th August 2022

LETTER TO THE EPHESUS CHURCH II

MEMORISE:😇
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." – (Matthew 15:8)

READ: 📖Revelation 2:4-7
4. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

MESSAGE:📖🎙️

You wonder how Jesus would say that the Ephesus Church had forgotten their first love after saying that He had seen their works, labour and patience (Revelation 2:4). This tells us clearly that all the labour that people were putting into the work of God was not from the heart. It had all become routine and there was no longer a deep fellowship between them and the Holy Spirit.

Many Christians today fall into this trap of the devil. When they are in a prayer meeting, they can pray for 2 hours, but they can hardly pray for 5 minutes in their closets. When the Church evangelism team is going out to evangelize, they are the first to arrive, but they have never opened their mouth to preach the gospel to their neighbor who is an unbeliever. Oh! Gone are those days when you would arrive in Church only to be told by the Pastor that you would be the one to preach that morning, days when every Christian was a soldier, ever ready for the use of his Master. These days, the Pastor has to pray hard and give enough notice before he can ask a member to lend the Church their car for an assignment. Sadly, the love of many has waxed cold. Is it your love for God that pushes you to do the things you do for Him or do you do them just as a normal duty you have in Church? Are you still bubbling with that first love you had when you gave your life to Christ or is your Christianity now a bunch of activities?

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. – (Revelation 2:5)

At the beginning of the letter, Jesus said He had seen their works. In verse 5 above, He says that they should return to their first works.

There is the work you do mechanically, without being driven by love for God and there is the work you do as a result of your love for Him. Jesus is telling you today to return to your first love, to do the first works that were driven by that love. It could be the same activity, but the works must now be backed by love.

REFLECTION:😴
Ask yourself, "What drives me to do the work of God?"

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:📚
Isaiah 6 - 9

🎼 DEEPER, DEEPER IN THE LOVE OF JESUS
1. Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.

CHORUS:
O deeper yet I pray,
And higher ev'ry day,
And wiser, blessed, Lord,
In Thy precious, holy word.

2. Deeper, deeper! blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus
And His perfect will.

3. Deeper, deeper! tho' it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.

4. Deeper, higher ev'ry day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu'ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Saturday, 6th August 2022

SET IN YOUR WAYS?

MEMORISE:😇
“For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare l unto you.” – (Acts 17:23)

READ: 📖Acts 10:9-20
9. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour;
10. And he became very hungry, and would have eaten; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth;
12. Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16. This was done thrice; and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
17. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,
18. And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
19. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.

MESSAGE:📖🎙️

God can move in different ways so we cannot put Him in a box. He can also change His mind once in a while when certain conditions are met. In Matthew 15:22-28, a gentile woman came to meet Him asking for healing for her daughter and He ignored her because she was not a Jew. This woman persisted and met the condition of faith. Jesus changed His mind and healed her daughter, by virtue of her faith.

In John 4:7-30, the Lord Jesus met a Samaritan woman and decided to talk to her about salvation. In those days the Jews considered Samaritans unclean and had no dealings with them, but here was Jesus Christ Himself preaching to a Samaritan woman. The Samaritan woman became an evangelist, bringing people to meet with Jesus Christ.

God could change the way He does things while leaving the end goal constant. It is however, surprising that many Christians are set in their ways. When you are set in your ways, you limit how much God can use you.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God is where it is today because we refused to be set in our ways. When I decided to introduce musical instruments in the early days of the Church, some of the elders were opposed to it, but I showed them Psalm 150:3-5, where musical instruments were used to praise God in the Scriptures, and they yielded. Later on, we decided to start model parishes where people who want more comfortable Church environments can worship. In every country of the world that we get to, we don't insist on doing things the same way we do in Nigeria. For example, the Holy Ghost Service is called the Festival of Life in many other countries because they are afraid of the word 'Ghost’. Thus we have been able to reach millions more people for Christ.

Once the goal is carefully spelt out, don't be rigid in the way it is achieved as long as you are not going against the will of God. Paul saw the people worshipping an unknown God; he did not say "Throw this god away and I will introduce you to another"; rather, he said "I want to help you to know this unknown God". It was the same goal of winning souls, but different methods.

KEY POINT:🔑
When you are set in your ways, you limit how much God can use you.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:📚
Ecclesiastes 9 - Song 2

🎼 I'M PRESSING ON THE UPWARD WAY
1. I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

CHORUS:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven's tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2. My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise, and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

3. Beyond the mist I fain would rise,
To rest beneath unclouded skies,
Above earth's turmoil peace is found
By those who dwell on higher ground.

4. I long to scale the utmost height,
Though rough the way, and hard the fight,
My song, while climbing, shall resound
Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

5. Lord, lead me up the mountain side
I dare not climb without my Guide;
And, heaven gained, I'll gaze around,
With grateful heart from higher ground.

*THE PROPHETIC BLESSING* Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

_HALLELUJAH, THE SIEGE IS OVER! GOOD MORNING, HAVE AND ENJOY A PEACEFUL FRIDAY!_

*YOU AND I WILL NEVER BE IN THE DARK CONCERNING OUR FUTURE; WE SHALL ALWAYS HAVE AND ENJOY DIVINE REVELATION IN JESUS NAME.* _SHALOM!_