A New Thing … Reflections in the moment

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Bode Ososami

There I was in the routine and the mundane of life, just getting on with it really. Perhaps in the place where even expectation is diminished, just thankful to God. There has been incredible and timely answers to prayers and there has been many times when the answers did not come or perhaps not in the way or the when…when I expected. But life goes on, the routine, the mundane, the familiar….and then an announcement is made…A NEW THING… ‘what new thing?’ ‘.Oh yes, 2 decades ago…ah ah I remember a NEW thing then’ ‘oh yes I am so happy for others, they are in the NEW thing’ But wait a minute is this announcement for me? Dare I believe, am I hearing right? This is not an announcement but a prophetic proclamation!!!! A proclamation NOW and for ME. I find myself musing, thinking of a family, a particular man, Joseph, Jacob’s son. His father named him Joseph. When it was least expected, Joseph was conceived and born and added on (or shall I say added in, a +)

The name Joseph means add on or increase…as I meditated on his life before becoming Egypt’s Prime Minister, Joseph seemingly was in a place of decrease and decay, he was in a dungeon. It seemed he lived contrary to the prophetic symbolism of His name. However looking at ‘the ways of the Spirit’ constraint and emptying is in line with the process of bringing him to a place of enlargement or fullness . Psalm 105. verses 10-24 remind us of the constraint of the feet of Joseph, until the time of release. Feet released synonymous with agility, movement, relocation.

Similarly the famine constrained the Patriarch Jacob to Canaan. I often wondered how the place of promise and inheritance, called Canaan now ossified into a place of dire famine. Selah! The previous and divine injunction to Jacobs’ Father and Grandfather was ‘not to go to Egypt.’ Egypt in this dispensation has been come a place of providence.

In Egypt Joseph (the DREAM) is alive. When Jacobs’s sons brought back word to Jacob that Joseph was alive, it was subtle but it was A NEW THING! it was clearly recorded in Genesis 45 verse 26b that Jacob’s heart fainted, be believed them NOT. The heart of the man fainted because; his heart had been broken and sorely disappointed, how many nights of agony, or longing for the return of the DREAM…Joseph. Joseph that was a cursor of the future.

In the meantime Joseph had sent wagons and cart loads of provision for the journey of his father and the brothers to Egypt. Goshen was waiting for them…A New place The Bible clearly records that in verse 27 when Jacob saw the carts his heart revived. There is a place for ‘seeing carts!!!’ that is both convincing and reassuring. It encourages faith and its revives the heart. It was an invitation to move out from a place of decrease and decay. Its causes us to do cartwheels, no pun intended!!!!!

So Jacob leaves for Egypt but via Beersheba (Genesis 46 verse 1). Beersheba the place of oath, the place of revelation, and the place where God visits again, and reassures Jacob of the ‘way of the spirit’ is to go to Egypt and the added benediction that Jehovah will make you ‘a great nation there’. A In Egypt God increased his people greatly (Psalm 105 verse24). He added to them, they multiplied; the prophetic name of Joseph was fulfilled in a most unlikely place and a most unlikely time…A New thing

Article contributed by Abby Olufeyimi. Abby is the Parish Pastor of Builder’s House (Redeemed Christian Church of God), U.K

The Redeemed Christian Church of God – Annual Holy Ghost Congress – themed “A New Thing” will hold Dec. 12th- 17^th 2011. Be there. You can also join online to be strengthened in your spirit. See Trailer below for details.

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God Knows your End

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Bode Ososami

Psalm 41 [9] Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. [10] But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. [11] By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.

As good as the beginning of your life, family or project may be, its end is far more important to God. It is good to start the Christian race, but Heaven is more concerned about how that race will end. Acts 15:18Acts 15:18
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18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

WP-Bible plugin says God already knows how you will end your journey right from when you embarked upon it. This is so because God is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending (Rev. 1:8Rev. 1:8
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8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

WP-Bible plugin).

According to Ephesians 1:35Ephesians 1:35
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WP-Bible plugin-, everything concerning you had been settled by God before the creation of the world. Some people think they are where they are today as a result of certain events which took place many years before, or as a result of the meeting of their parents. That’s far from the truth! Even before God created the world, He knew and had planned that you would be born at a particular time to fulfill a definite purpose.

This is why you can never take God by surprise: He already knows what you are capable of doing throughout your life time. While coming to this world, the Lord knew that somebody close to Him would betray Him. “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (Ps. 41:9Ps. 41:9
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9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. mine...: Heb. the man of my peace lifted...: Heb. magnified

WP-Bible plugin). The betrayal of Christ was prophesied in the above scripture.

Satan was free to choose who he wanted to do that assignment. Initially, he fixed his heart on Peter. Peter was Satan’s target to fulfill that scripture but somehow, because he had become too close to Jesus, another meeting was called where the tempter was asked to pick another person for the job. Jesus prayed for Peter but it was not recorded that He prayed for Judas. Every evil plan that has you at the centre shall fail.

Have you slipped from the path of righteousness? Have you betrayed the Lord like Judas? The Lord will have mercy on you and restore you in Jesus name. Have you been a victim of betrayal in the Christian faith? That makes you more like Christ. If your most trusted friend has turned against you, hold fast to the friend that never disappoints -the Lord Jesus. He will see you through to a successful end. You will end well. Hold on to Jesus the Ending, to give you an expected end.

Thank God for sustaining me up till now. Lord, give me more grace to live for you.

Culled from Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

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Kenneth Hagin Jnr. speaks on New Level of Blessing at RCCG 59th Annual Convention

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Bode Ososami

The theme With Wings like an Eagles - Hagin taught a congregation that was in the millions on “Getting ready for God’s promises” that are not with crawlers but with fliers. Using Joshua as text – the forefathers of the children of Israel did not enter the promises but their children were once at a threshold of entry…many are at this threshold.

Joshua 3:4Joshua 3:4
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4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. heretofore: Heb. since yesterday, and the third day

WP-Bible plugin… for ye have not passed this way heretofore. [5] And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

Joshua told the children of Israel of something they had not seen before explaining that the earlier generation knew of great miracles of old, victories over Pharaoh, mistakes and murmurings…but not the land of promise. In the promised land, God’s miraculous power surrounds His own … daily and there are lands to be possessed. They had more than enough in the blessed land. Hagin taught that it is time to move into the promises of God … a new thing. No more wanderings and travelling through an alien land that was not theirs. Today we have a choice…will we realise the value proposition of a new day and hour casting off the darkness and unbelief of the past? Indeed, it is time to wake up and get prepared for the promises of God. A video of the teaching is also featured…

We get ready by believing what the Bible says …It is time to believe and walk in faith… seeing with the eyes of faith. There are divine appointments with God if you are ready, prepared and walking in faith when those appointments come – you can step into the blessing with limitless possibilities in God … this not mere talk but will be seen – Hagin prophesies.

Hagin Jnr. warns that we do not enter into these levels of God by crawling …you need to fly high with God…God is never late…he shows up right on time…It is time to get out of unbelief…it is time to walk in a new faith ..to take new steps of faith with nothing under your feet but the promises. Begin to make arrangements and spiritual preparations by making sure the word of God is in our hearts and coming out of our mouth. “… The Bible says it – I believe it and therefore that settles it.” There is a new blessing waiting you need to get ready to go into it … with new levels of provision. It will happen the way God said it will…Get ready for a new blessing of God like you have never seen before .. a new day…a new hour … a divine flow available for all those who will get ready for it…

Expounding on the theme of the 57^th Convention With Wings Like an Eagle -. Hagin teaches that those who operate at this level of faith will find themselves entering a new level of God’s promises … and will begin to experience the new things reserved and promised for His children.

(See Video teaching below)

Hagin prayed prayers of healing for the millions who attended the main service on Friday night. The special Friday service featured many other ministers preaching and praying for the infirmed – including the main plenary session by the General Overseer Pastor E.A. Adeboye. As the Friday crusade ended with exuberant praise and thanksgiving even as hundreds surrendered their lives to Jesus, a crippled man began to walk again as he joined others to praise God.

You may want to download other messages (especially those you missed) from RCCG Camp meessages on itunes or watch at Convention website.

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Better Than Being Blessed

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Bode Ososami

“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:” (Gen. 12:2Gen. 12:2
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2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

WP-Bible plugin). The state of being truly blessed is when you receive blessings with no curses to negate them.

The presence of a curse in one’s blessing can gradually erode all of one’s gains and put that fellow in the same state with the cursed. That shall not be your portion in Jesus name. When you are blessed, not only will your efforts be crowned with great harvest, but lost opportunities will also be restored (Joel 2:23-27Joel 2:23-27
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23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. the former rain moderately: or, a teacher of righteousness moderately: Heb. according to righteousness ²⁴ And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. ²⁵ And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. ²⁶ And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. ²⁷ And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

WP-Bible plugin). The blessings on the blessed have a way of attracting lost blessings and opportunities. This is why the so-called losses of the blessed are only temporary.

In the process of time, they are recovered. It is my prayer that you will be so blessed to the point of recovering lost opportunities of several years this season. It is so wonderful to be blessed, but being a blessing is far greater. Being blessed is just an addition of blessings to you. On the other hand, being a blessing means you have become the headquarters of blessings—that is, you are so full of it that the blessings you are carrying overflows to others.

In today’s reading, there is a list of seven blessings the Lord gave to Abraham. It is possible that my training as a Mathematician motivated me to scrutinize the arrangement of these blessings. After carefully listing them, I discovered that being a blessing was right at the middle of them all. That is, every other blessing in that passage revolves around it. It is better to be a blessing than being blessed. The one who is a blessing is characterized by an overflow.

If there is no overflow, that person is yet to experience what it means to be a blessing. Let’s take David as an example. In Psalm 23, he listed several blessings of the blessed – no lack, plenty to eat, good sleep, thirst quenched, provision of guidance and direction, restoration of the soul, protection in time of danger, access to provision in the presence of the enemy, being anointed, then cup overflowing.

When your cup overflows, the focus is no longer you but others. If you observe God’s order of blessing His children, you will find out that He first blesses before making the fellow a blessing. The way you handle the blessings is of keen interest to God and it will determine whether you will move to the next level—being a blessing. If you are stingy, tight-fisted or covetous, you may never become a blessing. If money is like god to you, you cannot be a blessing.

Remember… In the life of the blessed, a blessing is a visitor. In the life of the one who is a blessing, a blessing is a permanent resident. Is blessing a visitor or a permanent resident in your life?

From OpenHeavens devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

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The DNA of God’s Spiritual Champions – 5 Important Patterns

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Bode Ososami

As we look at the word of God … we often see a mix of individuals portraying a varied blend of journeys and processes and how these impact the pleasure of God. However we do see some rare individuals that simply stand out as His stars….and can discern some common elements that convince us that perhaps there is a DNA to identify God’s stars.

Genesis 25[30] And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage ; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. [31] And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. [32] And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? [33] And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

The verdict on Jacob is unequivocal as a champion. He is one of the few like David – for which a clear final score is awarded. Romans 9[13] As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

There are perhaps 5 distinct elements observed in divine stars ..

1.They have a completely different sense of values from that which is common and prevalent. You could say they can see great worth in that which seems worthless … or better still they are not men and women of today’s values. They are of the future. They are privileged to enjoy a rare view of crowns and victories many years in the future when others see only today. Whatever already exists now has less attraction or little or no importance to them. They can put the past behind and the present in the right context…knowing the far future is the most important. God has given them dreams that perhaps others will not understand or appreciate.

2. They are sowers who do not consume their seed. They understand that a great future is only great because of a seed rightly sown today. Sowing can be inconvenient and tough and requires forgoing comforts, complements and present gratification. They do not wait to be celebrated by today’s men and women … and even though envied and perhaps appreciated for what they have now…they still see their current realities as seed for a future only they can see.

3.Champions are raised and trained in desert and wilderness conditions….if you want to find a tough athlete that will stand the test of time…find one who has been raised over an extended period in the toughest conditions. These are the people who will not be spoilt by their first victory or be bewitched by early blessings . Jacob released his meal to Esau … not because he was not hungry. Esau felt the pangs of hunger and was ready to sell his future … Jacob in the same situation saw an opportunity to advance his future. What you do in tough times of hunger and famine reveals a lot about your future.

4.God’s stars see present colleagues as temporary company and are prepared for loneliness. This understanding helps them not to be competitive…their goals are completely different and not within the radar of their present company. They are eagles that must fly alone eventually having surpassed others sometimes through conflicts and bitter hatred. Jacob and Esau were twins but could never be friends. … Esau means well but does not possess the vision embedded in the DNA of Jacob. Soon they must part. Likewise champions know they will part soon with many presently around them.

5.They have a rare God-given vision of a destination of supremacy and dominion that is incontestable and indisputable – without losing humility and simplicity. They will move naturally towards this goal without institutional supervision. They know they have not reached their goal when they perceive rivalry and arbitrary battles for what they have found or attained. This helps them to release and move forward…knowing they are yet to arrive at their predestined place.

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC (born 6 April 1926) is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest single grouping in the 2007 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, he was elected First minister of Northern Ireland.He was subsequently ennobled on 18 June 2010 as Baron Bannside, of North Antrim in the County of Antrim.

There are not many who will understand or be interested in these dimensions and as such this post is certainly not for all. But if this is you…you are definitely a rare breed – even though it does not seem so today. Be encouraged in God…soon you may be required to take the stage in government, ministry, commerce or in Industry and shine for your God as His champion. But also many champions will always be in the background but equally recognised as His vital levers in a confused world. See blog on many faceless church members God also considered as divine Champions working in a team for a common goal.

These patterns suggest the stamp of God’s approval and interest. How can we be sure these patterns are of God and not something else? … Again God’s word declares without ambiguity.

Hebrews 12[14] Follow peace with all men , and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Our lives must ultimately give evidence to God’s holiness and purity. There can be challenges as Jacob had … and detours like David experienced…but His champions are always restored back to the path of His holiness and divine standards.

Galatians 6[7] Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

God is never mocked …ultimately the absence of His holiness (especially humility) will only cause Him to say He never really knew us.

May God help us and make all who read this post His champions. Amen

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YOUR APPOINTED TIME by Pastor E.A. Adeboye (Open Heavens Devotional)

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Bode Ososami

Deut. 33[25] Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be”

Habakkuk 2 [2] And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. [3] For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. [4] Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

One reality which many have not come to accept is the fact that good or bad events do not affect every believer at the same time. Ecclesiastes 3:1Ecclesiastes 3:1
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3 ¹ To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

WP-Bible plugin says: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. Each of us has his or her time. There is a time for difficulties and problems. There is a time our expectations appear delayed. But 2 Corinthians 4:172 Corinthians 4:17
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17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

WP-Bible plugin says, light afflictions cannot be a permanent feature in our lives.

They will also pass. Praise God! Are some brethren receiving major breakthroughs now? Rejoice with them. It is their season. Don’t envy them. Yours will come in your season. Your season is God’s appointed time for divine remembrance. Do you know that in your season, your greatness could be far bigger than those you are tempted to envy?

David was in the mountain, watching over sheep. It never dawned on him that he could become the next king. After all, there was no king in his family. He never even desired or prayed for it. But one day, when they were looking for the next king, they came to fetch him from the mountains and anointed him. His day had come. Saul went looking for his father’s missing asses one day – unknown to him, he was to be chosen as king on the same day (1 Sam. 9:1-21 Sam. 9:1-2
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9 ¹ Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. a Benjamite: or, the son of a man of Jemini power: or, substance ² And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

WP-Bible plugin).

Joseph was in prison for an offence he never committed. He was forgotten by Pharaoh’s servant, to whom he had ministered through his ability to interpret dreams. That servant was released. When his day came, without the assistance of anyone, God used the elements of time and chance to move him from prison to the throne.

Your day will come. Your time to eat bread without scarceness will come. Your day of promotion will come. Soon you will carry your baby from your own womb. That day can meet you in church, just as it happened to Zacharias (Luke 1:5-20Luke 1:5-20
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5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. ⁶ And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. ⁷ And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. ⁸ And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, ⁹ According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. ¹⁴ And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵ For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. to the wisdom: or, by the wisdom ¹⁸ And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. ¹⁹ And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. ²⁰ And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

WP-Bible plugin). If he had become discouraged that he was getting old and wondered about the delay, inspite of his faithful service to God, he would have left God’s service and missed his day.

Do not allow anything to discourage you. The blessing may be delayed, yet wait for it, for when the day comes, nobody and nothing can stop that blessing. Stay in God’s will. Continue to serve God faithfully. Keep away from sin. Keep your faith alive. Your day will come sooner than you think.

Thankfully receive the joy coming your way this season. And pray that your joy will not turn into sorrow.

God bless you….as you also enjoy the video below.

Merry Xmas

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8 Million people will gather for 6 days of Intense praise and worship and the true word of God in Nigeria. December 13-18, 2010

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Bode Ososami

“Whatever you may have gone through or be going through right now, things are about to turn out beautifully for you” says Pastor Adeboye, General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God. With the theme “All will be Well” – this congress is a very special one. All you need to do is believe the Lord and trust in His word. He is faithful to perform His word.

Isaiah 3[10] Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him : for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. [11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him : for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

As with past Congresses, It takes off with the evening opening session on Monday and there is a special Holy Ghost Crusade Service on Friday night as sessions and meetings continue till Saturday evening – a special anointing service. There are blessings for you in all the sessions.

Through the love of God, our Savior,
all will be well;
free and changeless is his favor,
all will be well;
precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched out to shield us,
all will be well.

Mary Peters, 1847

You are welcome to please attend, join online or obtain more information on RCCG Congress.

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Leadership and Followers

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Bode Ososami

by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

At what stage will God answer our prayers 100 per cent? Is it when our leaders are 100 per cent righteous or when the whole nation becomes righteous?

I believe that time will come when a certain percentage, not all of us, of the nation will be 100 per cent committed to seeking Him. I will illustrate that one. When God was going to destroy the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, and He visited Abraham, His friend and He told Abraham, this is what I am going to do.

Abraham began to plead for the city because he had relatives there who were precious to him. He started by saying, ‘God, if you can find 50 people in the two cities, will you destroy the 50 with the unrighteous multitude? God said, if I find 50 there, I will spare the city. Abraham kept on pressing until he got to 10 and God said if I can find 10 people in the city doing My will, I will because of them, spare the city.

Unfortunately He couldn’t find 10. In other words, God is not going to wait until the whole nation – leaders and followers – have become committed to Him. He is looking for a percentage. Unfortunately, we don’t know that percentage. He knows that one and that is one of the reasons why everyday, we are struggling to get more and more souls saved. I am convinced beyond all doubt, that while we could apportion some blame to the leadership, a big blame also belongs to the followership. I have always said that in a nation of thieves, the leader will be a thief because a nation will get the leader it deserves. If we are all transparent people, if we are all honest people, if we are all against corruption, we will only vote into office people who are not corrupt. But if during the preparation for election, for example, somebody comes to you and says he wants you to vote for him and you say ‘fine, where is my bread’; and he gives you some money and you pocket it. When he gets to office, he will want to recoup the money that he has spent and when he begins to steal you don’t have any mouth with which to talk.

But if all of us say to someone, we are voting you into office, we are not demanding anything from you now, we don’t want your money; but when you get there, spend our money to take care of us. If he gets there and he begins to enrich himself, then we can rise up as one, and ask him, ‘what money are you stealing and what is the purpose of stealing it? We did not take any money from you’.

But as long as getting to office is going to be dependent on how much money you can spend on us before you get in there, when they get there, they will regard getting there as an investment and they will want returns for their investment.

So, the problem is not just with the leadership, it is also with those of us who vote them into office.

Originally published in RCCG North America site

God bless you as you register to vote. May God be glorified in all your voting decisions.

Amen

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What Songs will be rendered for you? A Solemn Thought.

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Bode Ososami

At the just concluded solemn assembly of worship, prayers and the word of the Redeemed Christian Church of God themed “Let the Fire Fall”, Pastor Enoch Adeboye shared several gems of divine wisdom and insights…but there is one solemn thought that keeps niggling at my soul. It is seen in a story.

Many years ago amongst the people of Ife-Wara in Nigeria ( a small community of humble villagers) was a very peculiar tradition. At the wedding night, it was considered normal that the bride would be found to be a virgin and customary that the family of the groom would return to the bride’s family with special additional generous gifts and singing in confirmation of this - to thank the family for keeping their daughter unspotted. However, if the groom discovered the bride not to be one, then there would also be a visit by the groom’s family with songs of shameful mocking and demeaning presentations. Because of this tradition – the honour of families were guarded and linked to how well they trained and kept their daughters. This “crude” practice provided somewhat effective checks to curb immorality.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye narrated an application of this tradition (many years ago) in the story of his dear sister and her lady friend. The lady friend got married first and there was dismay and an embarrassing alarm as the groom’s family came later in the night after the wedding with mockery to report that she was not what they expected. The turn of his sister came years later and the Adeboye family was of course naturally anxious especially ma Adeboye (young Enoch’s mother) who fretted endlessly at the prospect of shame if her daughter was found defiled. Everyone in the community understood and accepted the tradition and there was no small relief when later in the night, the guests came with joyful singing and beautiful generous gifts indicating all was well. I understand these traditions still exist in some communities. You will tend to find even before the gospel came to these communities that immorality was low as the associated social stigma was greatly feared.

Discussing the “The last fires”, Pastor Adeboye spoke of two final fires. The first fire is the Fire of Hell which is for the damned who rejected the grace of the gospel or backsliders or the carnal who lived in reckless or just careless abandon.

Revelation 20[11] And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. [14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The second is the fire that will try our works and service to God to see the quality and judge for appropriate reward

I Corinthians 3[11] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; [13] Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. [14] If any man’s work abides which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. [15] If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The summary of it all is that in the future are days of discovery for all acts – hidden or known. And also all that was done with questionable motives (i.e. from God’s perspective). God Himself will administer the fire to try all our deeds and just as in the wedding illustration narrated above … it may be a day of ugly revelations and regret or could be a day of joy. The time to reflect on this and adjust is now … do not set yourself for an ugly epilogue.

True ministers will be thanked for preparing people for heaven. False shepherds will be humiliated for teaching an alternative gospel often for influence, money or approval of men. We are in an era that mocks many biblical moral instructions as “legalism” or impossible to practice because of “innate” challenges even when we know many of these disciplines and acts of self control and separation have been embraced before – even amongst rural unbelievers. In Christ Jesus we can climb even higher up the mountain of consecration and like a soaring eagle excel in ethics … in Business, Ministry and personal life…

Do pray for the purifying fire of God to touch your failures, losses and sorrows - your successes, gains and gladness – your projects, health and wisdom – your today, past and future….crying for healing, revival and mercy…and grace to change your ways.

What type of songs will be rendered for you at the final assembly?

I do pray for mercy and that we shall meet in Heaven .. someday.

Bode