Open Heaven For Today 2024 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Good Followership (2)
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TOPIC: Good Followership (2)
MEMORISE: “But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” – Exodus 17:12 ( KJV)
READ: Exodus 17:8-13 (KJV)
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 44-46
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
Yesterday, I said that being submissive to a leader and seeking common interests above personal interests are attributes of a good follower. Today, I will discuss more attributes of a good follower.
Leaders are not omnipotent; they need help sometimes. Good followers recognise that their leader needs help and seek to provide it before the leader asks for it. They watch to see which areas they can support the leader in and provide the support as needed.
In today’s Bible reading, Moses did not ask for Aaron and Hur’s help. He did not even explain why he was stretching his hands towards the battlefront. They both saw him stretching his hands and noticed that they were winning as he did so. They also noticed that his hands were getting tired, so they went to him, gave him a stone to sit on, and held up his hands. That is good followership, the kind that will make a leader surmount any mountain that stands in his or her way.
Sometimes, supporting your leader will not be convenient. When Aaron and Hur helped Moses, they were not sitting down, neither was anyone helping to hold their own hands up. They must have gotten tired too, but they stayed like that until the battle was over. Sometimes, when you step in to help your leader’s weakness, others might laugh at you and even call you names. However, you must not fail your leader; you must take whatever comes with helping out.
It is a terrible thing when followers take advantage of their leader’s weaknesses. Some followers, because their leader doesn’t know how to keep track of money, start stealing from the accounts instead of helping to manage them. Some others tell people about their leaders’ weaknesses to discredit them. If there is someone in the Bible that every follower should study, it is David. Even though he had already been anointed as the next king of Israel in (1 Samuel 16:13) and had done many exploits (1 Samuel 17:48-51), (1 Samuel 18:5-7), even though he had seen Saul’s weaknesses (1 Samuel 16:23), he remained loyal and never discredited the king. While running for his life because Saul was trying to kill him, he got the opportunity to kill Saul but didn’t do it (1 Samuel 24:4-13) – that is a good follower! As a result, he not only fulfilled his destiny, but the King of kings, who is also called the Son of David, came from his lineage (Revelation 22:16).
KEY POINT
Never try to take advantage of your leaders’ weaknesses. Help them instead.
HYMN 4 – To The Work! To The Work! We Are Servants Of God
1 To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Refrain:
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
2 To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the weary be led;
In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!” [Refrain]
3 To the work! to the work! there is labor for all;
For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;
And the name of Jehovah exalted shall be,
In the loud-swelling chorus, “Salvation is free!” [Refrain]
4 To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward;
When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,
And we shout with the ransomed, “Salvation is free!” [Refrain]
Open Heavens 2024 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 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Good Followership (1)
Click HERE for the Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: Good Followership (1)
MEMORISE: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 11:1 ( KJV)
READ: 1 Kings 19:19-21, 2 Kings 3:11 (KJV)
Kings 19:19-21
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
2 Kings 3:11
11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 41-43
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
Many people talk about leadership, but you hardly hear them talk about followership. The truth is, no leader can succeed without good followers. Leaders are raised from amongst the followers, so the better the followers, the better the quality of leaders.
Submission is one of the greatest attributes that a follower can have. It is different from cooperation. You cooperate when you agree with a leader’s instructions, but you are submissive when you obey, whether you agree with the instruction or not. Not being submissive indicates that a follower is acting in his or her own interest rather than the interest of the entire group that the leader represents. Some followers steal because they are ready to sacrifice the interest of the entire group to satisfy their personal interests. If this behaviour continues unchecked and the follower eventually becomes a leader, he or she will only care about himself or herself.
Gehazi showed this in 2 Kings 5:20-27. Elisha had collected nothing from Naaman for curing his leprosy, but Gehazi was after his personal interest as opposed to that of the Lord, which his master represented. He proceeded to collect gifts from Naaman and was immediately struck with leprosy. Judas Iscariot was also recorded to have been stealing from the ministry’s purse (John 12:6). This is why he could not be amongst the apostles to carry the gospel around the world after Jesus left. Such a person will never make a good leader because his or her personal interest will be more important than common interests.
Some people may say, “I don’t steal, I just disobey my leader because I don’t like him.” This is, however, just as bad as stealing. In Matthew 25:24-30, the servant who was given one talent to trade with did not steal the talent, he hid it rather than trade with it as instructed because he did not like his master’s leadership style. The master wasn’t annoyed that he did not trade with it as instructed, but that he could have at least put it in the bank to yield some interest. Putting it in the bank would have shown that even though he did not like his master, he was interested in the company’s prosperity. This made his master call him an unfaithful servant. He was more particular about himself, which is a bad trait for any follower or leader.
Beloved, if you want to be a good leader, you must first be a good follower by obeying your leader and putting common interests above yours.
REFLECTION
Am I a good follower?
HYMN 30 – When We Walk With The Lord
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey. [Refrain]
3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]
4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]
Open Heavens 2024 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 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
Open Heaven For Today 2024 Wednesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Growing In Faith
Click HERE for the Previous Open Heaven Devotional
TOPIC: Growing In Faith
MEMORISE: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6 ( KJV)
READ: Mark 11:12-24 (KJV)
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 38-40
Open Heaven For Today 2024 MESSAGE
Faith comes through God’s word (Romans 10:17). The more you study God’s word, the greater your faith becomes. Also, when God speaks to you directly, your faith increases. For example, when Abraham heard God speak to Him directly about having many children, it stirred up his faith (Genesis 15:5-6). There is great power in studying the word of God and in hearing His voice.
When I asked God for a small apartment in a suburb of Lagos, He told me that He would give me a city instead. This sounded ridiculous, but hearing it from Him directly built up so much faith in me that I started telling people what God told me. For your faith to really grow, don’t just study the word and pray; seek to hear from God concerning your life. Once you hear Him give you a promise, His voice will cause a surge in your faith.
Furthermore, just as you grow your muscles through physical exercise, grow your faith by exercising it as well. If you believe God for something and don’t make any move in line with what you believe, your faith will never grow. When I decided to believe that paying tithes would bring me blessings, I took action to pay my tithes. I discovered that God supernaturally improved my finances after doing that. Immediately, my faith grew. I then knew, without any doubt, that paying tithes attracts God’s blessings, but I didn’t get to that level of faith until I had acted on the little faith I had initially. As you believe God for little things and see them fulfilled, your faith will grow for big things. Act your faith; dare to do things that are greater than your human capacity, knowing that you serve a limitless God. Jump and let Him catch you. The more you do this and succeed, the stronger your faith will be.
Lastly, testimonies will also grow your faith. Hearing someone’s testimony builds faith in you to know that God can also move on your behalf. Many people have testified at our Holy Ghost Services that they got their miracle because they heard someone else’s testimony. I started operating in divine health when I heard the testimony of a man that was bent double whom God healed completely. From that testimony, I knew that God can heal all diseases, so I trusted Him completely with my health. Listen to more testimonies; purposely search for testimonies of people who have gone through what you are going through. As you hear their testimonies, your faith will rise, and you will also get your miracle.
PRAYER POINT
Father, please help me to continually grow my faith in You.
HYMN 16 – ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
1 ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
2 O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
3 Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
4 I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Open Heavens 2024 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 2024
Open Heavens Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:
Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus’ name Amen.
If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234-1-8447340, +234-0-7098213112.
