THEME: What Happens When…. ? | Date: Friday, 1st of February, 2002
If you are confident that God is still on your side shout Alleluia! (Alleluia!)
With children like these surely our tomorrow will be all right. I f you believe
that shout Alleluia! (Alleluia!) I want you to shout ‘Alleluia!’ so the devil
will know and leave these children alone Alleluia! I know we have done a lot of
worshipping Him tonight but we can never praise Him enough Like I said to the
Pastors, the events of the past week is evidence to all of us that it is
possible to wake up in the morning and be dead before the day is out… that you
don’t need to be sick to die, you don’t have to have a motor accident to die,
there’s no need for hired killers to die. When God says ‘time up’ it is time up.
So the fact that we are alive today is simply by His grace. We are not better
than any of the people who had died. So more than anything else we need to
praise Him. I want you to humble yourself before the Almighty God the One who
has kept you alive and just praise Him.
You are worthy, you are worthy,
you are worthy to be magnified …. you are worthy Lord…… let’s worship the
Almighty God, let’s magnify His Holy Name, He’s worthy, He’s worthy to be
praised, He’s worthy to be magnified. There’s no one like Him. All power belongs
to Him. Worship Him. Thank Him for life. Magnify His Holy Name for keeping you
alive, for keeping me alive. Thank Him for His grace, His mercy, His support,
His faithfulness – praise Him! He is worthy to be praised! Father we bless Your
Name because You are good, no doubt about it at all. You are wonderful, You are
great, You are powerful, You are loving, You are holy, You are glorious, You are
mighty! Glory be to Your Holy Name! Father Glory be to Your Holy Name! Thank You
for loving us, Thank You for standing by us. Thank You for Your patience, Thank
You for Your patience Father, Thank You for Your patience! Glory be to Your Holy
Name! Lord Tonight Father glorify Your Name. Save souls tonight. Heal tonight.
Deliver tonight. Bless tonight. Perform miracles tonight. Glorify Your Name
tonight. At the end of everything, let us be able to praise You again In Jesus
mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!) Let somebody shout Alleluia! (Alleluia!)
Shake hands with one or two people and tell them tomorrow will be alright. And
then you may be seated.
The Lord told us at the beginning of the year, He
said, concerning Nigeria there are three short
messages so that they’ll be easy to remember. One, those who are committed to
Christ have nothing to fear. Two, Nigeria must be handled with lots and
lots of prayer this year. Three, those who have important relatives should
intensify the evangelism for the salvation of their souls before it is too late.
Once God had spoken we need to take Him seriously. I don’t claim to be a
prophet. I am a Pastor and by special grace I hear form Him once in a while.
Let’s take Him seriously. This can be the best year of our lives if we are
committed to Christ.
2 Kings 2:19-22 – we will have to move very fast
because we have a lot of ground to cover tonight.
19 And the men of the
city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is
pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground
barren.
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they
brought it to him.
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and
cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these
waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
22 So
the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he
spake.
We’ve been discussing what happens when the wind is blowing
because for the world as a whole this is the year of the Wind of Change. For the
Redeemed Christian Church of God as well. It is also our Year of Jubilee.
Now shortly before this passage we have just read, the wind had blown.
Two people on a journey, a father and a son, Elijah and Elisha and the wind
blew, separated the two of them, and took the father to heaven and left the son
behind bit the son was not left behind – he received a double portion of the
spirit of his father and then he crossed over river Jordan to the side of
Jericho and the men of Jericho saw him and ran to him and said, ‘Sir, our city
looks beautiful. On the surface, everything is nice, but sir, we have some
deep-rooted problems – our water is horrible, The land is barren. We are
groaning under a curse pronounced on our city years ago by a very great man of
God. Can you please help us? And Elijah said unto them Bring me a new cruse, put
salt therein.’ They said, “Yes sir, ”They ran brought a new cruse, filled with
very good salt and Elijah said, where is the source of your water and they took
him there. And when he got there he cast the salt in and made a pronouncement.
He said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters.” May all the waters of
you r life be healed tonight. (Amen!) He said, form now on there’ll be no more
death. I don’t know how many of you can say Amen to that? (Amen!) And he said
from now on there’ll be no more barrenness. The Bible said that the waters were
healed from that time till today according to the word of Elisha which he spake.
Now let’s look at this story.I pray that the Almighty God will give us somehow,
an extension of time.
The men of Jericho had been under a curse, pronounced by
Joshua on them several years before. And all along Elijah was with them. The men
of Jericho
didn’t know that they could go to Elijah and ask that the curse be destroyed.
The didn’t appreciate the man of God in their midst. One day they saw Elijah and
his son, Elisha, passing through Jericho again
and they got to River Jordan and they were all watching.
Where are they going? They have no boat. They don’t look like people who can
swim. Then they saw something strange happen. They saw the man of God took his
mantle, rolled it together and smote River Jordan. And
Immediately the water parted. And they were all watching, surprised, as they saw
the father and son crossing the river on dry ground. After they passed the river
came together again. And they were all watching and they saw the two of them
talking, and all of a sudden they saw, the wind blew and they saw the father
disappear to heaven and only the son remained And they were all saying. “Ahh! We
have seen strange things today. So that man was a great man of God! He could
have helped us. Only if we had known!” But then they saw he picked up the mantle
of his father, came back to Jordan, rolled the mantle again,
smote the waters and the waters parted again. And the son passed through on dry
ground. The men of Jericho said, “Thank God. The father is gone
but the son remains.” And they said, this time we won’t waste time, we won’t
miss this opportunity. Somebody is here today – all the opportunities you have
missed will be restored. (Amen!)
So they rushed to Elisha: Sorry sir we
know you are in sorrow. We know you are in sorrow. Your father has just left but
we need help. We can’t wait. We don’t want you to go somewhere and then we’ll
begin to look for you again! Will you please help us? And Elisha helped them.
God will help somebody here tonight. (Amen!)
What happens when the wind
is blowing? We have 21 of them listed. I pray that we will be able to cover all
of them but wherever we stop God will take control.
Number One:
Opportunities will be restored. In Joel 2:25 the Almighty God promised, He said,
I will restore the years that the locust has eaten. And I don’t know who God is
talking to tonight. I don’t want any of you, any of you with any ability to
discern, you will know that tonight is different. If I were you I will be on my
toes tonight. I said God said: I will restore the years that the locust had
eaten. (Amen!) That means all the opportunities that you had lost shall be
restored. How come that opportunities are restored when the wind is blowing? It
is because the wind has a peculiar characteristic. If it likes in the morning it
can blow from east to west and by afternoon it can begin to blow from the west
to the east. By night time it can begin to blow from the north to the south.
Jesus said in John 3:8, He said the wind blows wherever it listeth. Everything
that you had lost the wind of the Holy Spirit will go and pick them up and bring
them back to you. (Amen!)
Number 2 when the wind is blowing, restored
opportunities are seized. You seize them. In other words, somehow, when the wind
is blowing, some people just wake up and say, t his time round we are not going
to miss our opportunities, In fact the Holy Spirit will do it in such a way that
you yourself will see – I have to seize my opportunity now! In 2 Kings 6:1-7 we
find the story of the sons of the prophet who went cutting down wood and the ax
head fell into the river. The power of the Holy Spirit brought the iron back to
the surface. It restored lost opportunity but then it did extra. The iron didn’t
just come to the surface, it began to swim. The Bible said the ax head began to
swim. The iron became like a fish until the one who needed it stretched forth
his hand and picked it up. Wherever you may be today your opportunities will be
restored to you and it will beckon to you and say grab me, grab
me!
Number 3:when the wind is blowing, hidden problems are uncovered so
that they can be solved. The men of the city came and said, Sir we have a
problem and the problems are not on the surface – they are underneath. When the
wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing the reason why you are having a problem will
be brought to the surface. You may suddenly discover that the reasons why your
prayers have not been answered are because of a particular sin in your life. In
Mark 2:1-12 The Bible tells us that they brought a man to Jesus who was
paralytic and when they brought him to Jesus, Jesus addressed the cause of the
problem. He said, Son thy sins be forgiven thee. It is your sins that landed you
where you are but now your sins are forgiven After that he could now say rise
up, take your bed and go home. Whatever that is causing your problem may they be
revealed today in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!)
I’ve told you the story of a young
man who had a problem of body odour. The doctors have tried everything. Instead
of getting better it got worse. He came for prayers. I was going to pray for him
when God said don’t! To cut a long story short we discovered why he was having
the problem – that he ran away with the money of some people. God said, Let him
go and restitute. He went. He restituted. I wanted to pray for him. God said
don’t, Just tell him nor to drink ice water for some time and that was the end
of his problem. God was fighting him with ice-water and doctors were treating
all kinds of things. Until we know what is causing the problem, we can’t solve
the problem. Whatever is causing your problem the Almighty God will reveal to
you today in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!)
Some of us don’t know why we are not
prospering. Millionaires are arising among us every day. We look at our right,
we look at our left and say: Why is my own like this? Some of us have been
praying for the fruit of the womb for years, With all others that were prayed
for at the same time as ourselves. Why is my own like this? Some of us have seen
people that we started with now several grades higher than us. Why is my own
like this? God will answer that question tonight in Jesus’ Name!
(Amen!)
Number 4, When the wind is blowing, the grace to open up to God
in prayer, completely, to tell Him every detail, that grace comes on people.
Many of us go to God with pretentious prayer, we pretend that all is well, we
pray for what is not the real problem. 2 Kings 4:1-7 talks about a widow, she
was in debt, yet whenever they see her – Oh how are you sister? Oh fine
Alleluia! She was suffering and she was smiling until one day that the creditors
came, they said, tomorrow, if you don’t pay our money we are selling your 2
sons. That day when the said Sister how are you? She said: All is not well. I
have a problem. There are many of us who don’t even open up to god. The One who
can help you you are hiding from Him.
I remember years ago. I was asked
to come and pray for a brother. Brother what’s your problem? He said: Stomach
pain. That’s no problem. I said: In the mighty Name of Jesus, stomach hear the
word of God, be quiet! And we left. Ah-ah! Few days later he said. No
improvement. I said it is not possible. I know my God. When I call on Him He
answers. The brother instead of telling us that he has cancer of the testicles,
he said he has stomach pains. The Yorubas have a saying, the one that will bury
you when you die will you hide your nakedness from? Can you hide anything from
God?
I remember one brother who said, Sir I have a problem in my place
of work. What’s your problem? He said, My secretary. What’s wrong with her?
She’s not hardworking? No, no, no, she’s very hard working. She’s rude. No, no,
no most cheerful. What’s the problem? He said: I’m in love with her. Go ahead
and marry her. Oh no sir, I am married. That man knew he had a problem and he
confronted the problem – Sir what should I do. I said, simple. You love her and
yet you don’t want your house destroyed. You will lovingly sack her. – lovingly.
Give her 6 months salary in lieu of notice. Tell her to lovingly go away and
look for somewhere else to work. Whatever is causing your problems will be gone
today in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) If you don’t want to let it go gently my Father
will force it out of your hand in Jesus’ Name!
Number 5. When the wind is
blowing and people come to God and they tell Him the whole truth there will be
swift divine response. The moment these people came to Elisha and said: Sir this
is our problem, he responded immediately. No wait till tomorrow. He answered
them immediately. God is going to answer somebody today. Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the
LORD while he may be found, call on him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake
his way … You have to make up your mind tonight that you will forsake your evil
ways, and then God will have mercy.
James 4:8: If you draw near unto God
then He will draw near unto you. Psalm 50:14 & 15 the Bible says pay your
vows. It may be the cause of your problems. It maybe you made vows to God and
you refuse to pay… it said pay your vows unto God then call on Him in the day of
trouble and He will answer you. God will always respond fast when we call on Him
in the day of trouble particularly when the wind is blowing..
Number 6.
Whenever the wind is blowing God will always speak. Elisha said, and it wasn’t
Elisha speaking it was the God of Elisha that was speaking. Brethren the wind is
blowing, God is speaking. It is now up to you to listen. In Proverbs 4:20-22 God
said: My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings so that it
can become health to your flesh. When God speaks are we listening? Many a times
we hear God speaking but we thought it is a joke. Many of us are waiting for Him
to come down so that we can see Him face to face and then we will hear what He
is saying. If He comes down will you be able to wait? Some of us say: No we want
to hear from Him directly. He’s willing to speak to you directly but many-a-time
when He speaks directly you may think that it is thundering. But even before we
talk of that one what about the Word of God that is already written down? Exodus
15:26 He said, If you will hearken diligently to the voice of the LORD your God,
to observe and to do all that I command you this day He said I will bring none
of the diseases that I have brought upon the Egyptians on you: for I am the LORD
that healeth thee. If you will hearken diligently…. In Deuteronomy 28:1-2 It
said: if you will hearken diligently to the voice of the LORD your God, to
observe and to do all that I command you this day then blessings will come upon
you and goodness will overtake you … Brethren, listen carefully God is speaking,
are you listening? Are you listening? God will speak when the wind is blowing.
You must listen to Him. Not just listen to Him. Not just listen - you must also
obey. It is not enough to listen. You must obey! 1 Samuel 15:22: To obey is
better than sacrifice. Isaiah 1:19 It is not only enough for you to be willing,
you must also be obedient. Then you shall eat the good of the land. So when the
wind is blowing, God will speak, and those who have ears to hear will hear. May
you hear in Jesus’ Name!
Then number 7. When the wind is blowing, the
grace to obey completely will come upon certain people because the people of
Jericho when they heard what Elijah said, they responded completely. When we
talk about obedience, complete obedience, I’m sure you understand that God says
he does not have interest in anything that is half-hearted. Revelation 3:15-16
God said I wish that you are either hot or cold but that you are lukewarm, He
said He will have nothing to do with you.
I am sure you know the story of
Namaan in 2 Kings 5:1-14. When Namaan was told to go and dip himself seven times
in River Jordan, if he had dipped himself six times he would have died a leper.
Dip yourself – how many times? 7 He dipped himself seven times and he was made
whole. 7 times. If he had done it 6 times he would have died a leper. May of us,
the reason we are still suffering is that our obedience is incomplete. We claim
to be children of God and yet we add a little bit to God. Some of us claim that
we are born again and we still have some prophets here and there. It won’t work
that way. If you are surrendering to God you must do it completely.
And
then number 8 what was it that Elijah said? What was it that God said through
Him? What is God likely to say when the wind is blowing? He said: Bring me a new
cruse. What does that one mean? It means number one – be ready for a truly new
life. This year can mark the turning point in your life – a real turning point.
2 Corinthians 5:17 has much more meaning than many of us believe. 2 Corinthians
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature – a new creature –
old things are passed away, behold – how many things become new? I have always
said it, that if you are truly born again, based on this passage alone, there is
no reason why your sickness should not go that same day. There is no reason why
a curse placed on you should remain after that day. Oh no, I know some people
will tell me, when you are born again it is your spirit that is born again … by
the Word of God the Bible tells me old things have passed away, behold all
things, all things have become new! There’s somebody here today, all things will
become new. (Amen!) All things will become new.
Bring me a new cruse is
also a test. It’s asking them to bring to God something new. What does that one
mean? It means from now on you must put God first. The cruse you are going to
bring to God is a cruse nobody has ever used before. Why must we put God first?
Colossians 1:17-18. It says He’s before all things and therefore He must have
pre-eminence. When we say put God first we are only asking you to do what is
reasonable. Before your mountains were brought forth He was God. Before your
great-grandfather was born He was God! How can you then say you want to put the
One who was before the world Second? Everything about God must be first. If you
just study the story of Jesus Christ you find that everything that has to do
with Him was first, first, first. He was the first one to use the womb of Mary.
When He was going to ride an ass He rode a brand new one. When they were going
to bury His body they buried Him in a tomb that was brand new.
This
tells us… it brings something important into the mind – the principle of the
firstfruit. Proverbs 3:9-10 When it says you bring to God your first fruit, you
will just discover that you will have more blessing than there’ll be room for
it. It simply saying – God first. How many of you will put God first from now
on? . . Let me hear you say Amen! (Amen!)
‘Bring me a new cruse’ means
get ready for a new life. Two, put God first. Three, Be ready for a new
beginning. Isaiah 43:18-19 God said Remember not the former things. He said
Behold I will do a new thing. I don’t know who God is talking to today. But
whatever had been happening in your past up to tonight God is saying forget them
because He is going to do a new thing. I know some of you will say, Ahh! No, no,
no, I can’t forget what has been happening…. beautiful things have been
happening I can’t forget them. What you call God is nothing compared to what God
is about to do. I know some of you are already swimming in rivers of blessing
but are you going to compare a river to an ocean? Be ready for a new beginning.
I am confident that beginning from this day somebody will sing a new
song.
And then Elisha said, God said through Elisha: Put salt in it.
Don’t bring me an empty new cruse. Put salt in it. Now we all know what salt is
for. If you ask a little child he will tell you that salt is for sweetening
food. That is why I pray for those of you who don’t eat salt. That curse in your
life will be destroyed today. AMI Put salt in it. Put a sweetener in it. What is
God saying? He’s saying be ready to become a blessing. Not just to be blessed
but to be a blessing. If you are ready to be a blessing then you can be sure
that several things will follow. Proverbs 11: 24-25 Thank You
Father!
Several miracles are happening. We will come to them later on.
There is a particular case I just thought I should mention. There’s a woman who
came here tonight with threatened abortion. You were even bleeding on the way.
You can check, the bleeding has stopped. (Amen!)
Proverbs 11:24-25 the
Bible says there is someone who scattereth and yet increaseth. It went on to say
the liberal souls shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be watered. How
many of you will make up your minds that from tonight on a daily basis I will be
a blessing to at least somebody? Let me see somebody like that. At least on
person a day. I will be blessing to someone today. In that case you better get
ready for blessing because he that waters shall be watered. Isaiah 55:10 says
that God gives seed to the sower. Only those who will sow will receive seed. Let
me tell you a little secret. Wealth is about to change hands. Many people who
hold on to wealth now are going to loose them because you are not using it to
bless anyone and the blessings will come into the hands of those who will use
them to bless others. Into whose hands are those blessings coming? Let me hear
you say Amen then (Amen!)
Put salt in it. What does salt do? Salt arrests
corruption. If you have a meat that is already decayed with all kinds of
maggots. How do you get rid of the maggots? The way they do it in my village is
that they put salt in water and then they out the meat inside. Within five
minutes all the maggots will be dead and by themselves they will swim out of the
meat into the water. The Almighty God is saying to somebody every corruption in
you life will be arrested this day and every corrupter, every thing that is
devouring your life will be dealt with tonight. In Jesus’ Name! (Amen!)
What again do we use salt for? We use salt to preserve whatever is good.
If you catch a fish and you don’t have fridge. What do you do? In my village
they will rub it with salt and once they rub it with salt they know the fish is
preserved. What is God saying when He said Bring me salt? He is saying that
every good thing in your life from now in will be preserved. (Amen!)
How
many people don’t know this but salt is also used as a fertilizer and what does
fertilizer do? It makes sure that the plant will grow fine. For somebody here
tonight your progress is going to be accelerated. (Amen!)
What else do we
do with salt? We use salt to keep flies away. Surround something with salt, you
can be sure flies will stay away. What is that one saying? I believe God is
saying that there is someone here today – demons will leave you alone. Because
flies is another word for demons.
And then number 10, after Elijah spoke
and said bring me a new cruse, put salt therein, the Bible said and they brought
it to him. I believe there’s a big lesson God wants us to learn. Number one is
that nothing goes for nothing. Ohhh! Many of us think that salvation is free. It
is free because somebody paid for it. 1 Peter 1:18-19 the Bible says you are not
redeemed with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Jesus. Oh salvation
is free to you but Jesus paid for your salvation with His blood.
They
brought it to him. They brought the new cruse, they brought the salt. Nothing
goes for nothing. Not only that, blessings don’t come from an empty stomach.
There are many people w ho will say Pastor bless me! What have you done to
deserve blessing? Genesis 27:1-4 Isaac said to Esau go and bring me meat, let me
eat, let me enjoy myself and then I will bless you. ‘Daddy bless me.’ Sure, its
no problem, you want me to bless you but it will be an empty blessing. Why?
Because the Bible says a curse causeless shall not come. Which means a blessing
causeless shall not come. Simple. That’s the way of the Lord. That’s the way of
the Lord. If these people said, we want our curse broken. The man of God said,
Bring a sweetener. It was what they brought to him that he used. It was what
they brought to him. It was the five loaves and two fishes that that boy gave to
Jesus that He multiplied, that He fed five thousand from. It was from that five
loaves and two fishes that the boy got twelve baskets extra to take
home.
We need to note certain things because I know God is really talking
to somebody tonight. I know for somebody this is going to be the beginning of
months. What these people brought to Elisha was acceptable. Why? Bring me a new
cruse. They brought a new cruse. Put salt therein. They brought salt that has
not lost its savour. We need to know brethren not all offerings are acceptable
to God. Genesis 4:3-7 tells us clearly that two brothers brought offerings to
God. He accepted one, He rejected the other. May the Almighty God accept your
offerings in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!)
Deuteronomy 15:21 said that certain
offerings are an insult to God. Some people brought lame animals they want to
offer it to God. Blind animals. Ooh, you say, I will never do that! I’ve seen
that again and again here. Oh.. I have seen people who when they have used their
car and it can no longer move, they say they come and give it to God. I have
seen people give offerings with currency that they know they won’t accept even
in petrol stations. Not all offerings are acceptable to God. Some people insult
God with their offerings. There’s a young man Oh I want to give a special
offering to God. Pastor wait for me I want to go and bring a very special
offering to God. He’s a multi-millionaire and he came with a beautiful envelope
Pastor, Sorry for keeping you waiting. This is my special offering. How much?
1000 naira. Do you think God is hungry? You think He’s a beggar? The Almighty
God knows how much you have. He knows what you are worth. He knows your value so
when you are taking out your offering to give to Him. Many-a-time before you put
it down He has already rejected it because He looks at you and says, Who are you
insulting? What these people brought, what they brought is what turned the tide
of their lives it’s what caused the wind to change direction. Today the wind is
going to change direction for somebody. (Amen!)
The first preacher used
some very big words. I used to speak that kind of language before, when I was
younger but now I know that there are some market women listening to me. The
Almighty God can pick you from the gutter and put you on the mountain top. All
it takes is for the wind to change direction. The Word of God makes it clear
that God can change nobody to somebody. Believe me honestly, He can also change
somebody to nobody, all it takes is for the wind to change direction. You all
know the story of the widow of Zarapheth. The wind blew in her direction. Her
last meal became her first. Death came to her house and death was chased out
because she offered unto God something that was acceptable to him.
Number
11, Elisha acted. He didn’t just talk He also did certain things. May the
Almighty God act on your behalf today. (Amen!) But we need to understand certain
things here. Bring me a new cruse. Fill it with salt. And they brought it and
they handed it over to Elisha. From that moment onwards the ball was in the
court of Elisha. There are certain things that only God can do. He’s the only
One who can answer prayers. Do I hear ‘Amen!’ to that? (Amen!) He’s the only One
who can heal. (Amen!) He’s the only One who can deliver! (Amen!) And believe me
honestly, He’s the Only One who can produce children. (Amen!) But He can use His
anointed.
When you read Exodus 17:8-13 And you read the story of the
Amalekites coming to fight against the children of Israel, and Moses stood on
the mountain top and he lifted up his hands. When he lifted up his hands the
children of Israel would prevail. When his hands went down the Amalekites
prevailed. You know what Aaron and Hur did? Somehow God gave them intelligence.
They could have said to Moses: There are three of us here, You have tried, sit
down, Aaron it’s your turn. Raise your hand. What would have happened? The
battle would have been lost. Or we could say: No. No, Two are better than one.
Sit down! You’ve tried. Aaron, Hur, four hands up! The battle would have been
lost. There are certain hands that the Almighty God has set aside for Himself.
Not because the people with those hands are extra special but God works in
mysterious ways. Anyone who is wise will just find out – where are those hands
so that those hands can wave at me and make the wind to blow in my
direction?
I was telling my children in Akure last Sunday or so. Was it
Saturday or Friday? I was reminding them of an incident that happened some years
ago. There was one witchdoctor they call him Dr. JJ He lived under one Iroko
tree. Soldiers, policemen, big men they go to him for consultation. He kidnapped
children, used them for charms. Nobody could touch him Not only because he was
deep in juju but because he had big men behind him. But unfortunately for him,
one of my children had a factory directly opposite his shrine. So he said: Daddy
please come and help me. This man is my neighbour and from time to time we see
headless children. Is that the shrine? He said Yes. I lifted my hand: Okay bye
bye Dr, JJ in Jesus’ Name! And my son said. Is that all? I said, That’s all.
I can’t remember how many days after. Something happened. I think
thunder fell and then first of all cut down the tree. To cut a long story short
because we don’t have much time – within a few days there was no more Dr. JJ
(Amen!) I want to say tonight, all of you that are true children of the Almighty
God here, even as I wave my hand, every plant that my Father did not plant in
your lives, in your homes, in your churches shall be uprooted in Jesus’ Name!
(Amen!)
They handed the cruse and the salt to Elisha and they left the
rest to him. When it is time to pray tonight and you pray, leave the rest in
God’s hands, Once you cast your burden upon Him. Leave it to Him. I am confident
that God is going to surprise somebody here tonight. If you are the one let me
hear you shout Alleluia! (Alleluia!)
Number 12. Elisha went to the
spring of the water. He located where the problem started. You need to locate
where your problem started. When did quarrel start between your husband and
yourself? The one who used to say: Dahlin, dahlin; honey, honey … when is it
suddenly that you now become bitterleaf? Is there somebody who came to live with
you – a house boy, a house girl? You need to locate where the problem started.
When is it that you who used to pray 6 hours in a stretch, you can no longer
pray 30 minutes? Locate where your problem started because you will need to tell
Jesus tonight. When Jesus came to raise Lazarus from the dead He first asked
them: Where have you laid him? What is the source of your problem?
Number
13. When Elisha got to the source that is where he applied the salt. The Bible
said in Psalm 11:3 If the foundation be destroyed what will the righteous do? Go
to the source! Cry to God tonight! This is where my problem started – put your
salt there. Put your sweetener there!
Number 14: After Elisha acted.
After he applied salt he prophesied. He said, Thus saith the Lord…. Whenever the
wind is blowing, whenever the Holy Spirit is moving like thank God He is doing
tonight, God will always speak and when God speaks immediately something will
happen. Whenever the wind is blowing prophecies are fulfilled – fast. God said:
Let there be light and there was light! God said to Ezekiel: Prophesy to the dry
bones and they shall live. He prophesied and they live! Immediately! Not 6
months later. Don’t toy with the prophecies of this year. Don’t wait till June
before you expect them to be fulfilled! In fact I am expecting that long, long
before March many of us will have testimonies. (Amen!) I am prophesying to you
in the Name of Jesus. This month you will have testimonies. (Amen!) I’ve told my
children that I’ve visited, made some whirlwind tour this year … visited
Calabar, visited Uyo, Umahia, Aba, Enugu, Benin, Owo, Akure, Ibadan and in all
the places I told them, I have not come to preach. I have come to prophesy and I
am prophesying to those of you who are here: This month you will have
testimonies. (Amen!)
1 Samuel 3:19 assures us that God will not allow the
word of his prophets to fall to the ground. What does that mean? It means when
His prophet speaks before the saliva from his mouth can reach the ground what he
had said will come to pass - that is why I know it is going to be well with
somebody here tonight. (Amen!) He prophesied.
Number 15: The first thing
in his prophecy is that “waters you are healed!” What does that one mean? Healed
waters means, healed land. I would love to believe God that God is going to heal
Nigeria this year. (Amen!) Very few of you said Amen to that one! Well if you
can’t say Amen to that… (Amen!) I need to let you know that a healthy Nigeria is
going to be of blessing to all of us. Healed waters means, healed land. Healed
waters means, healed people. I am not a doctor but the little I know is that
more than 50% of your body is water. Oh they may look like flesh and other
things but you yourself know what happens when somebody dies. If you allow him
to rot. What will be remaining? Only the bones. What happens to the flesh? It
becomes water and flows away. He sent His word and healed them. Tonight the Word
of God is going out into all the waters in your body and He is saying waters,
you are healed. (Amen!) Blood you are healed (Amen!) Flesh you are healed
(Amen!) Healed waters mean healed life, healed people, healed economy!
Isaiah 40:4-7 tells you what can happen when the wind of God is blowing.
How wealth will just begin to flow in and He said to somebody: Keep your door
open because the blessings are coming. (Amen!) I can say ‘Amen!’ to that one
because I need that one.
And then another thing He said, which is Number
16 now. He says: No more death. At least in my own family! No more death! No
more death! No more death! ‘No more death!’ what does that mean. At least
anybody can say that means no more sorrow. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar
to know that one. Isaiah 35:10 It says: sorrows and sighs shall flee away.
(Amen!) Isaiah 35:10 It said the ransomed of the Lord shall return and they will
come to Zion with singing. It said sorrows and sighing shall flee away.
Thank You Father! I told you all kinds of miracles are happening but
there are some I think I just need to stop and mention one or two. There’s a man
who has lost his manhood for years now. God said you are now fully restored. And
the Lord also said there’s a woman whose menses has stopped prematurely. The
Lord said He’s bringing it back today too. (Amen!)
No more death means
no more sorrow, and no more sorrow means joy is restored. You know I know for
somebody joy is coming. Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the
morning. I am confident that by the time the sun rises tomorrow somebody will be
shouting for joy. (Amen!) And you know the implications of joy cometh can be
many. Number one it may be that somebody who thought he or she could never marry
may suddenly become married. It could be that somebody who thought that she
could never have a child may suddenly become the mother of twins. (Amen!) It
could be that somebody who thought he was going to die a tenant may suddenly
become a landlord. (Amen!) Somebody is picking it up. I know God knows who He is
talking to. No more death also means no more miscarriages. And when we talk
about miscarriages we are not just talking about the fruit of the womb alone. It
means that no project that somebody will start will be aborted. (Amen!)
Zechariah 4:8 & 9, it said it is the hand that started the foundations that
will finish the house. (Amen!) I’m sure God must be talking to me here. No more
death also means no still birth. And no still birth means there is no more
failure waiting for you at the end of the road. (Amen!) No more death also means
no more infant mortality which means no joy belonging to somebody here will be
truncated. (Amen!) In other words it means that no contract that you are
interested in that will be cancelled. (Amen!) It also means that no examination
results will be cancelled for some..... (Amen!)
Ahh! Thank You Father!
Thank You Father! You know Daddy said that there’s somebody who just said
‘Amen!” (Amen!) That fellow has said it before I started speaking. God said this
particular fellow has a history of academic failures. The Lord asked me to tell
you, whoever you are that you will never fail another exam. (Amen!)
Thank
You Daddy! The Lord says there’s someone here, the hair of your head has been
falling off. Daddy asked me to tell you that just as a matter of grace He has
decided that all that have fallen off will row back again. (Amen!)
Now
the Lord said there’s someone here for example, fairly young fellow, and that
your hair has suddenly gone grey. The Lord said that by tomorrow morning check
from your mirror you‘ll find that everything’s black. (Amen!)
Okay
because … Oh God… I’m out of time… Anyway He said, no more barrenness, no more
death… no more death, no more barrenness. No more barrenness automatically means
that the barren shall be fruitful but it also means that there’ll be no more
fruitless efforts…(Amen!) which brings us to
Number 18. Everything that
Elisha prophesied can be summed up as ‘curse cancelled’. And I believe that the
Almighty God is saying that for somebody here today every curse on you had been
cancelled. (Amen!)
Which brings me to number 19 … I’m hurrying a bit so
that we could… curse cancelled also means blessings commanded. I believe that
the Almighty God is going to command His blessings on somebody here tonight.
(Amen!)
Alleluia! The Lord said there is somebody here, when people hear
about your wedding they are going to sing “How great is our God! How great is
His name! …” That’s all right. Glory be to God!
The Lord said there is
someone here, Thank You Father! your contract had been cancelled, Daddy asked me
to tell you, they will call you back and give you back the contract (Amen!) at a
higher rate (Amen!) and He asked me to tell you that the extra that they are
going to put on this contract is going to be shared between Him and you
50-50.
Ah Thank You Father! The Lord said there’s someone here, the
enemies of your mother took your afterbirth and instead of burying it, they
burnt it. The Lord asked me to tell you that those who did it, they did it so
that you will always have problems. Daddy asked me to tell you, you had suffered
enough, He’s putting an end to your suffering and those who did this to you,
their children will smell pepper! (Amen!)
. That brings us to point
number 20: So the waters were healed. Once God speaks it is settled. Psalm 33:8
& 9 it said, let the whole earth fear before him because he spake and it was
done. Every prophecy of God concerning you will be fulfilled tonight in Jesus’
Name! (Amen!) Because not only will God speak and it is done. He has arranged
that some people will decree a thing and it will be established unto them and I
decree tonight from the lives of every one of you sorrow shall flee away.
(Amen!)
That brings me to point number 21: Unto this day. The waters were
healed unto this day. That means the blessing that Elisha pronounced that day
remained permanent. Isaac said to Esau, I have blessed Jacob and he shall be
blessed. I have blessed you tonight and you shall be blessed. (Amen!) Balaam
said: I have blessed! I can’t reverse it. I have blessed you tonight. I don’t
even want to reverse it. You shall be blessed. (Amen!)
And one thing you
will notice about this whole story. I‘ve not finished but I will just stop for a
while – is that Jericho was never cursed again. As many of you as will make up
your mind tonight that from now on you will put God first, you will listen to
His word, you will obey Him, you will obey Him completely – you will never be
cursed again. (Amen!)
You know there is a statement in Matthew 12:33 it
said, make a tree good and its roots shall be good. I believe that Almighty God
is going to make some tree good here tonight. (Amen!) That is why I want to give
an invitation. If you are here and you are not yet born again. You must do so
tonight. If you are here and you claim that you are already born again but there
was no change in your life and you are not a brand new creature like God
promised you must come forward tonight. When you come forward tonight your cry
to God is Father, make my tree good and I know my fruit will be good. I want to
become absolutely brand new creature. I want to begin to serve you like a true
child of God. I want to say bye-bye to sin. I want to do the will of God from
now on.
If you are one of such people I will count up to ten and I will
count fast because we are running out of time. After that I am going to pray for
the salvation of those who want to come. So if you know you want to come, you
better begin to come now. 1.. 2… 3… 4 … 5 … 6 … 7. Now as you come begin to
pray. Don’t wait for the others. Those of us who are sure of our salvation, let
us intercede for these people – that God will save their souls, that He will
have mercy on them; that He will make their tree good so that the fruit may
become good – let’s pray for them, let’s intercede on their behalf. I want to
thank You for Your word, thank You for the hearts of your people thaw were
prepared, because Your word says that no man can come unto me except my Father
draws him. Thank You for drawing these people. (Amen!) And thank You that they
have not refused Your drawing. Accept our thanks in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) They
have come to You now. Receive them in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) Forgive them in
Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) As You save their souls today writhe their names in the
book of Life in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) Beginning from today, in all their lives,
let old things pass away. (Amen!) Let everything become new. (Amen!) Thank You
my Father! In Jesus mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!) Let somebody shout
Alleluia! (Alleluia!)
I want to rejoice with those of you who have come
forward tonight and I want to make you a promise. From tonight I’ll be praying
fore you, and God normally answers my prayers. So you are going to follow the
Counsellors. All they are going to do is just get your names, your addresses and
your principal prayer requests. They will compile the list and give it to me. I
advise you put the correct address because when I ask God to send your miracles
it will be sent to the address you put there. Congratulations. You’ll see
somebody there to my left. You’ll see another one to my right. Follow either of
them. Some Pastors are waiting for you. Oh there’s another one over there.
Whichever of the three that is closest. We’ll wait for you. You will be back in
about five to ten minutes. You can go rejoicing.
While we wait for our
new brothers and sisters we want to do two things together. Number one those of
you who have testimonies to give you can go to the back of the altar now. You
will meet Pastors there who will listen to your testimonies. Remember when the
wind is blowing some people give testimonies, some people listen to testimonies.
Some people are spectators but some people are the people that the miracles
happen to and they always testify. And when you testify what God has done He has
a way of doing more. A woman touched the hem of His garment and was healed. When
Jesus asked who touched me? And she came forward to testify Jesus said, They
faith has made thee whole. Not that you are just healed now – you are now whole!
He now pronounced her blessing of wholeness. Don’t hide your testimony. You have
a testimony go tot he back f the altar, there are people who will listen to you
there.
Number two while that is going on I want us to pray one very
important prayer. Many of us, almost all of us have lost some very important
opportunities in life. We need to call on God and say, this year of Jubilee,
this Year of restoration, every opportunity I have lost from childhood till now
– restore. Pray quietly so those who are listening to testimony will be able to
hear.. Let’s talk to God now.
The prayers we want to pray tonight. If you
like pray like ladies and gentlemen. If you like pray as if your life depends on
it because I believe it does. I want you to lift your voice to the Almighty God
and say, Father, put your salt into my life! Open your mouth and pray! Father!
Your own salt, my Lord and my Saviour, Your divine salt, please put it into my
life! …
Please open your mouth and pray. say Father! Put a permanent ban
on sorrow in my life! .... Open your mouth!….
Father, put an end to
fruitless efforts in my life! Let’s call on the Almighty
In Jesus’ mighty
Name we pray! (Amen!)
One way or the other there must be somebody close
to you trusting God for the fruit of the womb. Together now we are going to cry
to God and say, Father! (Father!) Put joy into the life of the barren. Let’s
call on the Almighty God!
Similarly you must know somebody precious to
you who is of marriageable age and yet there is nothing like that. We are going
to cry to God tonight. Say, Father! (Father!) This year, let the wedding bells
ring.
You are going to call on the Almighty God for yourself. Say,
Father! (Father!) Every form of deterioration in my life, arrest tonight! Let’s
call on the Almighty God … every form of deterioration in my life Lord God
Almighty arrest tonight!
And now you will call on Him and say, Father!
(Father!) Loud and clear! Father! (Father!) Every plant you did not plant, in my
body, in my life, in my home, in your church, in this nation – uproot! Let’s
call on the Almighty. Every plant you did not plant, Father, in my body souls,
spirit, home, in my family in your church, in this nation – every plant you did
not plant….
One way or the other our families have incurred curses and
that curse has been flowing down like a river affecting all of us. We’ll call on
the Almighty God. Father! (Father!) Heal my family at the source! Let’s call on
the Almighty God
In Jesus mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!)
You
are going to call on the Almighty God and say, Father! (Father!) Make me a
blessing to my generation! … Make me a blessing Lord to my generation In Jesus
mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!)
The next prayer point is pray if you
like. Father! (Father!) Command Your blessings on my life! Let’s call on the
Almighty God! Father! O Father! … Thank You Lord! In Jesus mighty Name we have
prayed! (Amen!)
The next prayer is similar. When Bartemeus heard that
Jesus was passing by and he cried and cried until Jesus sent for him. The first
thing he did was to throw away his garment because he knew that very soon he
would get a new one. I want you to call on the Almighty God. Say, Father!
(Father!) The garment of suffering, remove from me and give me a garment of
praise. Let’s call on the Almighty God!
Without any doubt the presence
of God has been very spectacular here tonight (Amen!) and therefore I want you
to seize this opportunity to pour out your heart to God. All those things you
had always wanted Him to do for you call on Him now … just tell Him, tell Him
what you want, tell Him what you want! In Jesus’ mighty Name we pray!
(Amen!)
We are believing God for fifty million souls this year. Let’s
call on the Almighty. Wherever these souls are He should please bring them in.
Let’s call on Him!
You have prayed for yourself, now pray for your
neighbour, that every miracle the fellow you are holding needs, the Almighty God
will give him or her now. Let’s call on the Almighty! In Jesus mighty Name we
have prayed! (Amen!)
So Father, I just want to thank You because I know
You are always there to answer prayers. We have called on you and we know You
will answer us. Accept our thanks in Jesus’ Name! (Amen!) Father, I have only
one additional request that is that for all these Your children here and the
families they represent, this very month, give them a sign of joy! (Amen!) A
sign of joy! (Amen!) A sign of victory! (Amen!) A sign of triumph! (Amen!) A
sign of success! (Amen!) A sign of promotion! (Amen!) A sign of miracles, signs
and wonders! (Amen!) Give them a sign of joy! (Amen!) Answer all their prayers
Father, (Amen!) let their joy be full. (Amen!) Let sorrow be forgotten in their
lives. (Amen!) Heal their families from source. (Amen!) Every plant You did not
plant in their lives, uproot tonight! (Amen!) Let it be well with them! (Amen!)
Father! Let it be well with them! (Amen!) My Father, let it be well with them!
(Amen!) Let it be well with Nigeria! (Amen!) Let it be well with Your church! In
Jesus mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!)
Do something new in my life,
something new in my life today…..
Now its time for ministration – those
who will want hands laid on them, this is the time it will be done. Brethren it
can begin to affect your life from now. It is this law again called the Law of
Harvest – Elisha threw in salt and sweetness came out. What goes in is what
comes out. That’s the Law of Harvest. What you sow is what you reap. But it is
not just sweetness that came out. Death was banished. Barrenness was forbidden.
Curse was broken. Blessings pronounced. Again this tells you of the Law of
Harvest – that the harvest is always more than the seed sown. According to Hosea
8:7, that if you sow wind, you reap the whirlwind. I’ve been studying this Law
of Harvest more closely now that I discovered how important it is. From the
moment I discovered that this Law is so important even the Almighty God
submitted Himself to it. That He gave His only begotten Son so that He could
have many children. He planted the only begotten Son so that He could become the
first born of many brethren.
I discover more and more that this law
called the Law of Harvest is a law we need to look at more closely and I
discover that you can practically control your future with this law.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 says in essence that what you sow today will be waiting for
you in the future. It said, cast your bread upon the waters and you will find it
after many days. It just occurred to me that I should share this with you
tonight, that if we are really determined, we can become the controller of the
wealth of this nation if we just make up pour mind that we will sow
aggressively, that we will sow consistently, we will sow as if something is
wrong with us.
God reminded me of an instance in my life. We were doing
the first extension to the first auditorium over there and I was in a desperate
need of 17,000 naira when naira was naira. And I had only one thousand.
Convention was near. I must finish the extension. There was no money anywhere
and one of our pastors was building a dormitory for his congregation which will
come to the Convention. He ran out of money he needed one thousand which was a
lot of money at that time so he came to me. Daddy, help me, I need 1,000 naira.
I said if you don’t get out of my sight.. If you don’t get out of my sight…
don’t let me lose my sanctification! I need 17,000 you need only one, you are
coming to trouble me again! Of course he turned and began to run. And I heard
God speak to me: Give him the 1,000. If I didn’t know His voice I would have
said. Get thee behind me Satan. How can I release the only one I have out of the
17 I am looking for? But I knew who was speaking to me so I said: Yes Lord. I
called him back I gave him the one thousand and you could see the way he was
galloping away with joy. I was happy with him but I was trembling inside.
Recently God reminded me of this story that happened in 1985. He said, I asked
you to sow then so that you can reap. Within hours the 17,000 I was looking for
came all the way from Port Harcourt!
I just want you to pray that the
Holy Spirit will explain the Law of Harvest to you. I’m confident that within
the next 2 years poverty can become a total stranger to you. (Amen!)
How
many of you have been blessed tonight? Specially blessed? Let me hear you shout
Alleluia! (Alleluia!) Very soon we will give our thanksgiving offering to the
Lord…. Let’s get ready to give our thanksgiving offering to the Lord. The band
has done very well tonight. Will somebody give them a big round of
applause…?
It is in Your Name that I command Your blessings upon them.
Everyone who had given this morning, I hereby decree that very, very soon
poverty will become a stranger to you, (Amen!) that if you owe anybody that
supernaturally God will pay. (Amen!) If you don’t owe you will never owe.
(Amen!) Beginning from today, in a way even you do not understand all your needs
will be met (Amen!) And you will always have surplus. (Amen!) So shall it be.
(Amen!) In Jesus mighty Name we have prayed! (Amen!) Let somebody shout
Alleluia! (Alleluia!)
Alleluia!
Message by Pastor E. A. Adeboye