Open Heaven For Today 2023 Friday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye – The City With Streets Of Gold
TOPIC: The City With Streets Of Gold
MEMORISE: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” – John 14:2 (KJV)
READ: Revelation 21:1-27 (KJV)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 1-3
Open Heaven For Today 2023 MESSAGE
There are great and beautiful cities in this world. There are cities where the streets are all clean, there are well kept parks, the taxis are luxurious cars and so on. However, as beautiful, organized and perfect as these cities may appear, there is one that makes them all look greatly underdeveloped in comparison.
In this city, the streets are paved with the purest kind of gold you can imagine (Revelation 21:21). The gold trinkets and accessories that people wear and show off in this world are all of low quality compared to the one we will be walking on in that city. Clearly, this city is one where there will be absolutely no poverty. In this city, all struggles will be over. The government of this city is so efficient that they ensure that nobody lacks anything; in fact, the poorest fellow will be living in a mansion. Our memory verse today makes this abundantly clear. That great city is one of great wealth and privilege, where one would not want for any good thing.
Not only does the government cater to the material needs of every citizen of this city, it also provides for their emotional needs.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. – Revelation 21:4
This is one city I will give anything to relocate to. How can one become a citizen of this city? Revelation 21:27 tells us:
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
To ensure that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, you must surrender all to Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Saviour, then commit to living holy for the rest of your life.
REFLECTION
Is your name written in the Book of life of the Lamb of God?
HYMN 18 – Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, The King Of Creation
1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation;
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation;
Join the great throng,
Psaltery, organ, and song,
Sounding in glad adoration.
2 Praise to the Lord, over all things he gloriously reigneth:
Borne as on eagle-wings, safely his saints he sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen,
How all thou needest hath been,
Granted in what he ordaineth?
3 Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy way and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy shall ever attend thee;
Ponder anew,
What the Almighty can do,
Who with his love doth befriend thee.
4 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath breath join with Abraham’s seed to adore Him!
Let the Amen
Sum all our praises again,
Now as we worship before Him.
Open Heavens 2023 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 2023