THE ENEMY'S STRONGHOLD: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 3RD JUNE 2018

MEMORISE:
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

READ:John 8:42-47

42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

MESSAGE

Many people cannot identify the enemy's stronghold, and that is why they remain under his bondage perpetually. It is unfortunate to observe that even many so-called "deliverance ministers" are victims of this ignorance too! This has rendered their efforts and zeal ineffective and has even made them victims of the enemy they claim to deliver people from.

What is the enemy's stronghold? The answer is found in John 8:44:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

The story of how man fell in Genesis chapter 3 corroborates the reality that deception is the strongest chain with which the devil has held men down over the ages. Many times I wonder why those who are seemingly educated or enlightened are caught in the trap of the devil, but then I quickly remember my own days of ignorance.

I remember an occasion where despite all the logic I had learnt from mathematics, I still went to a witchdoctor for protection, and he gave me a charm which eventually turned out to be a lie of the devil. I had two road accidents in one day with this charm hanging in a hidden part of the driver's seat of my car. Thank God for saving me!

In Genesis 3:2-3, Eve told the old serpent, which is the devil, what God had said about the forbidden fruit in the middle of the garden, but the father of all lies said to her:

"Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 3:4b-5

This was the epitome of all lies, and the devil is still using this strategy to destroy people's lives and send them to an eternity in hell. Beloved, which of the devil's lies have you believed? Is it the lie that some books of the Bible, especially the espistles of Paul, were not originally written for you and so are not applicable to you?

Is it the lie that tithes and first fruits are Old Testament ordinances and so should be ignored by New Testament worshippers? I pray for you, just as Jesus did, that you will embrace the truth in the infallible word of God today, and this will set you free (John 17:17). The great truth you need to embrace today is found in the words of 2 Timothy 3:16:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please give me divine wisdom to always detect the lies of the devil so as to always escape his snares in Jesus' Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 14-15, Acts 5:1-21

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 9: THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Chorus:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

4.To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.