End Time Deceivers - DCLM Daily Manna 23 September, 2017 by Pastor Kumuyi

Text: Mark 13:1-13

Key Verse: "And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you" (Mark 13:5).

On November 18, 1978, in what became known as the "Jonestown Massacre," more than 900 members of an American cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder, under the direction of their leader Jim Jones (1931-78). In the 1970s, following negative media attention, the preacher moved with some 1,000 of his followers to the Guyanese jungle, where he promised they would establish a utopian community. On November 18, 1978, while armed guards stood by, Jones ordered his followers to ingest poison-laced punch.

Christ was asked questions in our text concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the signs of His Second Coming and of the end of the age. In reply, He warned about false prophets coming in His name to deceive many as a sign of His second advent. Wars and rumors of wars will characterize the period with earthquakes happening in quick successions in divers places.

The persecution and killings of believers will then increase as the world demonstrates more hatred towards Christ’s followers just before He returns. He spoke about the gospel message reaching all nations before the end of the age comes.

False prophets have been existing right from Bible days. They teach destructive heresies. Scripture tells us that false teachers introduce or bring in damnable heresies deceptively, quietly and secretly. False teachers are very active in every part of the world today and have penetrated the Christendom. These are the very last days indeed. And the signs are pointing to the imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Believers must rise to preach the pure gospel truth to counter the error being peddled by false prophets.

Thought for the day: False teaching is the poison of the soul.

Bible Reading in one Year: Hebrews 1-4

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Rekindle the Fire - Kenneth Copeland’s Daily September 23, 2017 Devotional:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you... - James 4:8

Remember when you first got into the Word and were so excited about the things of God? Remember when you could hardly wait to read the next chapter in the Bible or listen to the latest teaching tape? There was only one word to describe you—hot! Your reborn spirit was on fire for God.

When Ken and I first heard the message of faith, we were like that. We were so on fire that nothing else in the world interested us. We had learned that we could trust God’s Word just like we could trust the word of a close friend, and we were hungry to find out everything He had promised us in His Word.

Back then, it seemed all I did was read God’s Word. I read faith books. I listened to tapes. I was dedicated. My total interest was the Word of God.

But slowly that changed. At first I didn’t even realize it was happening. Then the Holy Spirit went to work on me and showed me that I had grown lukewarm. I had let the fire die down. I still read the Word, but I had lost my enthusiasm.

Maybe you’ve had this same experience. If so, I want to tell you how to get the fire back. It worked for me and it will work for you.

God’s Word says to draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. In order to do that you will have to first drop the things that are stealing your time from reading the Word. Delight yourself in His Word. Become diligent again. If you will give your attention to the things of God, soon your desire for God will increase. Your desire will follow your attention. The more you attend to something, the more your desire is drawn to give attention to that thing.

I can show you that this is a natural principle. If you play golf, you’ll go for months at a time without even thinking about it. Then one day you’ll make time in your schedule to go to the course and play a round or two. The next day you may want to play again. Your desire gets stronger and stronger the more you play.

This same thing will happen in the spirit realm. Your soul’s desire will follow whatever you spend your time doing. Start building yourself up by praying in the spirit. Believe and act on everything God says to you. Before long that flicker that’s been wavering in your spirit will grow again into an all-consuming fire!

Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:13-22

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith - prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

What Simon Said - Our Daily Bread 23 September 2017 Devotional

Read: Luke 5:1–11, Bible in a Year: Song of Solomon 1–3; Galatians 2

Simon answered, . . . “But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Luke 5:5

A man named Refuge Rabindranath has been a youth worker in Sri Lanka for more than ten years. He often interacts with the youth late into the night—playing with them, listening to them, counseling and teaching them. He enjoys working with the young people, but it can be disheartening when promising students sometimes walk away from the faith. Some days he feels a bit like Simon Peter in Luke 5.

Simon had been working hard all night but caught no fish (v. 5). He felt discouraged and tired. Yet when Jesus told him to “put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4), Simon replied, “Because you say so, I will let down the nets” (v. 5).

Simon’s obedience is remarkable. As a seasoned fisherman, he knew that fish move to the bottom of the lake when the sun is up, and the dragnets they used could not go deep enough to catch those fish.

His willingness to trust Jesus was rewarded. Not only did Simon catch a large number of fish, he gained a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. He moved from calling Jesus “Master” (v. 5) to calling Him “Lord” (v. 8). Indeed, “listening” often allows us to see the works of God firsthand and draw closer to Him.

Perhaps God is calling you to “let down your nets again.” May we reply to the Lord as Simon did: “Because You say so, I will.”

Prayer: Father, it is our great privilege to call You “Lord.” Help us to obey and trust You, and to learn more of what it means to walk closely with You.

Our obedience to God will guide us through the unknown and draw us closer to Him.

Insight:

Can you relate to Peter when his first impulse was to question Jesus’s knowledge of fishing? (Luke 5:5). Peter may have wondered, Jesus is a remarkable rabbi, but can He show someone who knows the waters of Galilee how to fish them? What followed became a reason for Peter and friends to follow Jesus. By obeying the Teacher’s words, a bad night of fishing turned into one of the biggest catches of their lives.

Can you recall a time when trusting God with the impossible resulted in something amazing? Mart DeHaan

This message was written By Poh Fang Chia [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Resisting God? - Open Heavens Daily Devotional 23 September 2017

Memorise: Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? – 1 Corinthians 10:22

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:21-23 (KJV)

21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Bible in One Year: Nehemiah 7-8, Ezekiel 45:10-25, Hymn: Sing hymn 6 – Deeper, Deeper

MESSAGE:

Colossians 1:16 tells us that all visible and invisible things were created by God and for God. You were created to make God happy by following His will, plan and purpose for your life. However, when you take the path of self-government and go contrary to the purpose for which you were created, that is rebellion. Lucifer and several angels decided to walk out of God’s original plan, and they became who we now refer to as Satan and demons (Isaiah 14:12-16, Revelation 12:7-9). Anyone who follows self-government today will also end up where the devil and his demons are. The truth is, if you fail God, you fail yourself. Therefore, pleasing God is the real path to true self-fulfilment, lasting peace and joy. I tell you the truth, living on earth without conforming to God’s original blueprint for your life makes you waste that life. Without God, life is not worth living.

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” - 2 Timothy 2:4

Coming up next: Open Heavens 24 September 2017: Sunday daily devotional by Pastor Adeboye – The Important Factor

We are not here on earth by our power or design. We were created and placed here to satisfy God’s eternal plan and purpose for our lives. Even when Jesus was here, in all that He did, He did not try to please Himself but His father (John 8:29, John 5:30). Now that He has chosen us to be His soldiers, we cannot afford to please ourselves. When He gives us an assignment, we must do it exactly as He wants it done, or risk going against Him. In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was given an assignment by God to go and utterly wipe out the Amalekites. He went out to fulfil it but made slight changes to the instructions. In the end, he failed God and failed himself. He lost his kingdom because he could not totally comply with God’s will. Today, for this same reason, many people are close to completely losing their place in God’s divine plan. A king who resisted God had to go on a seven-year trip into insanity, and he lost his throne for that period (Daniel 4). Similarly, another king who said that God’s word should not be heard was eaten alive by worms (Acts 12:1-24). If these great kings could not resist or withstand God, do you think you can? If you are wise, you will totally submit to His will today. God has a problem with the so-called obedience of a good number of His children. Although He is speaking to them, they are not listening to Him, rather they are more interested in hearing themselves. Hence, He has almost grounded them in all areas. Thinking it’s the devil at fault, such people are wrongly praying against agents of darkness. It is time to do nothing short of God’s total will in all your ways!

Key Point: Those who resist God are fighting a battle they can never win.

Open Heavens 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.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.