ARE YOU IN THE NUMBER: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 2ND AUGUST 2018

MEMORISE:
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

READ: Revelation 19:5-9
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

MESSAGE:
Based on the erroneous understanding of the scripture in Revelation 7:4, a certain religious group claims that only one hundred and forty-four thousand people will qualify to be in heaven. This cannot be further from the truth because the Bible says in verse nine of the same chapter:

“After this I beheld, and, love, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"

Further, debunking this wrong teaching, Apostle John in today's Bible reading heard the voice of a great multitude shouting Alleluia in worship of the Omnipotent God. They were rejoicing because they were numbered among the participants at the marriage super of the Lamb. The question for our consideration today is what qualified them to be numbered among these very important guests at the marriage super of the Lamb? The answer to this question is found in Revelation 7:13-14:

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ came to shed His blood for the remission of our sins, so that we can qualify as citizens of heaven and be numbered among the saints. What is required of us is to accept the offer of his atonement and live by the articles of the new covenant, which He sealed with His Blood. Doing this will surely attract persecution and tribulation in this world. The challenge with some contemporary Christians is that they don’t want to experience persecution or undergo tribulation for the sake of their faith in Christ. They want the world to accept them, and so they adjust their message to what the world likes. We often forget these words of Jesus in John 15:20c:

“If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

In other words, just as the world did not like the teaching of the Master, they will also not like ours. However, when we introduce gimmicks not found in the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ and His Apostles into our message, the message loses its power. How shall we be numbered among the guest at the marriage super of the Lamb? The answer lies in these words from Acts 14:22: “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” There is no other way.

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please grant unto me the grace to endure tribulations.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Esther 8-10 Matthew 12:33-50

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 5: I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

1. I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

2. The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

3. Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though- none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

4. My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

5. Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.