OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 5/12/2013 - UNCOVERING EVIL BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

UNCOVERING EVIL

MEMORY VERSE

For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Acts 8:23

READ

Acts 5:1-11

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

MESSAGE

The presence of the supernatural power of God in a church can take that church beyond limits. It can also uproot the presence of evil in the midst of God's children. In Acts 5, a couple were uprooted through this. If we are going to sanitise the church, we need the Holy Spirit. Just as we need Him to heal, save and deliver, so also do we need Him to kill. Sometime ago, a man from Cameroon who claimed to be a missionary came visiting our churches. One day, the Lord told me he was a spy and not a missionary. When he later came to me to say they were planning to do certain things, I reminded him of how the couple in Acts 5 had lied to Peter and were buried the same day. I told him he was busy lying to me, eating my food and receiving my hospitality. I gave him an opportunity to either apologise or die. He was covered in sweat. I just wanted him to say sorry because I did not want to be involved in his burial. But a week later, his evil caught up with him.

We need the supernatural to demonstrate to people that our God is who He says He is. Many people do not believe our testimonies because they think they are arranged. But when they see the raw power of God, you will not beg them to surrender to Jesus. A man came to the Holy Ghost service one day. His son had been telling him to yield to God but he refused, saying that he was stronger than his son's pastor. On this particular day, he decided to pay a surprise visit to the camp without informing his son. As soon as he came in, the Lord told me that there was a man coming for the first time who came late because he was feeding his snake. And that before he gets home his snake will be dead, and that if he loves himself, he should surrender to the Lord or else he will die after his snake. The man ran out and surrendered to Christ, and today, he is a committed member of our church. Is the supernatural in operation in your life? If it is not, cry out to God today!

ACTION POINT

Ask that in the body of Christ worldwide, the supernatural will become common place and through this, God will expose satanic agents.