Bishop David Abioye at CHoP
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” – Psalm 100:1
*Noise is a sign of possession.
*With noisemaking the atmosphere just changes.
- Noise making in praise and thanksgiving suffocates the devil and glorifies God
- We make noise everywhere
- That is how the Church grows and that is how your life will grow.
If you are not the Doer of these wonderful testimonies, Give God a bigger hand and a bigger shout if you can. Let us truly lift up our hands and glorify Jesus again this morning, the Doer in our midst, the Lord our God who is mighty. Is somebody really thanking Him, let Him hear your voice. If you can, let Him see your hands, wave towards Heaven. We bless your name Lord. In Jesus glorious name we have given thanks.
Heavenly Father, we thank You this morning, these are indeed your doings in our midst and they are marvellous in our eyes. Receive our thanks in the name of Jesus. Having prayed to You this morning, in our various intercessions and supplication and thanksgiving, we pray that Your Word will be sent to us right now. Give us this day our daily bread. Satisfy in your presence and with your presence. Thank You mighty Father and all the saints of God in the house, say a loud Amen!
Bringing us a Word of exhortation at the Covenant Hour of Prayer this morning is my privilege and I believe that as we receive this exhortation, our destinies shall enjoy exaltation.
Opening up this week is our exhortation line captioned:
THANKSGIVING IS A MUST TO KEEP THE CHURCH GROWING.
If growing the Church is our desire, then thanksgiving is the demand. To every desire, there is an accompanied demand. Every time you have a desire for something to be done, quickly check what is the demand? That’s what the Word of the Lord is about:
Promises and Conditions.
You want the promises fulfilled then respond to the demands.
Whenever the Church stops giving thanks, the Church stops growing. Growth is equated to thanksgiving, clearly stated in Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 19:
“Out of them shall proceed…”- something must proceed from you and that is thanksgiving and as it proceeds from us, something descends from Him.
“I will multiply them” – they won’t need to beg for it. What proceeds from us is what determines what descends from Him.
When our thanksgiving goes up, His growth descends. It’s a process. Don’t beg for growth, don’t beg for multiplication, let something go up from you and that is thanksgiving; growth will come down from Him. We saw in the opening yesterday how our God is a God of addition; what more, this morning, our God is a God of increase.
Somebody say with me, “God is a God of increase.” If you believe it, say it stronger.
1 Corinthians 3:6
No matter the planting we do, no matter the watering, it is God who gave the increase. There is what we can do and there is what we cannot do. We cannot bring increase, we can only plant. The best planter amongst us with the best waterer does not equal the God of increase. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, (no matter the preaching, we can preach, only God can prick. We can invite, only God can invite), except the Father which has sent me draws him” (John 6:44)
God is the Drawer, He is the Bringer, He is the Drafter, He is the One who drafts people in. He is the One who brings people in. He is the One who calls them in. He is the One who compels them. We are preachers, but He is the Pricker and the Bringer and the ‘Compeller’. He is a God of increase, so if the Church is increasing, let us not forget that God is behind it.
We see from scriptures also how God brings increases. Yesterday we were introduced to the Holy Ghost. This Morning, we are looking at the place of the angels of God in bringing people to Church. God, the God of increase, is God the Owner of angels. Angels are our companions in reaping the harvest.
Matthew 13:39 – very clear scriptures.
The reapers are the angels. They are our co invisible labourers.
Revelation 14:14-16
We see how quickly they reap the harvest. They hasten our speed in increasing the Church.
‘Sharp sickle’: instrument of harvest
We see the collaboration and the cooperation: we preach, angels go to reap them. That’s why we’ve had series of testimonies, angels of God appearing to people in the night, telling them, “go to that Church. Go to Faith Tabernacle.” They have never been here before, He gives them the picture of how the place is and they quickly come. He shows them the servant of God preaching with specific colour of dress, they see it and see they come. But they don’t only show pictures, they compel people to come.
Why? They excel in strength according to scriptures (Psalm 103:20). Angels are God’s properties, they are His agents, His messengers.
What about them? They excel in strength, when they put their hand on you, you can’t say No. When they say Go, you don’t go, they give you headache. When they say Go: you don’t move, they kick your leg. They take sleep away from you. One Sunday, a woman said, she was going to one Church, well dressed and passing through the front of the Church, the angel said, “stop here.”
Response: But I am going to that Church.
Angel: No, this is where I said you should stop. Compelled!
They excel in strength, nobody can argue with them. The greatest ‘argumentator’ cannot say No to an angel.
They excel in strength: That’s why we don’t rely on them, but we engage them. We engage them in thanksgiving.
Jesus said, “I can call my Father to send 12 legions of angels to come now and they will not hesitate.”
So we engage angels, they are reapers. That’s why when they come down, all invisible barriers, walls of barriers against the growth of the Church are levelled.
What about the angels? They enjoy it when we are praising God, they like it because that’s their mission. We are co-‘praisers’ of God with angels. So when they find us praising God, they join us in praising God. Automatically thanking God and praising God invites angels to come down. When they come, they come on duty. When they come, they come to work. Church Gist. Angels don’t come to play, angels come to work. Among their work is to pull down barriers. They don’t only compel sinners to come and our invitees, they pull down barriers. They pull down barriers
2 Chronicles 20:22
We saw when they began to praise God, angels came down as God sent them, they set up ambushments against the Ammon and they destroyed themselves, they were smitten. Angels guide God’s children but confuse God’s enemies. They show us what to do but confuse the enemies. They left home greeting themselves, they got to war front, they started fighting themselves.
Barriers are pulled down.
-Therefore as we continue to praise God this morning and thank Him, barriers to Church growth are pulled down.
That’s why we cannot afford to thank God and praise God silently. He said, “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”; in the process of doing that, He said, “the Lord is gone up with a shout “ (Psalm 100:1; 47:1). God and angels enjoy our shouting; when we shout, when we praise Him, when we make noise, they come down. They made noise around the walls of Jericho, the walls of Jericho couldn’t withstand them. God came down, God descended. When our shouting goes up, God’s power descends to destroy all of our opposition. Therefore, it is only a noise making Church that ends as news making Church. Noise making! Any Church that does not make noise is not a potential Church for growth. No. We make noise everywhere, noise is a sign of possession.
Therefore, there is no gentle thanksgiving, there is no gentle praise. Every praise is loaded with noise, every thanksgiving is loaded with noise. The one leper came and fell before His face; with a loud voice, he glorified God (Luke 17:15). Thank You Jesus.
Noise making in praise and thanksgiving suffocates the devil and glorifies God and amplifies the power of God.
Well, this morning, we are doing it again: I want you to get ready. No devil shall be a barrier to the growth of this Church. Amen. It is well with you.
In the same way in your life, everywhere you go, making noise, barriers are broken before you.
Thanksgiving Prayer: With a loud noise, with a loud voice, let’s give glory to God. Thank Him and Thank Him. Somebody glorify Him, somebody thank Him. Are you sure that noise is enough to bring down barriers, to bring down oppositions? Make some noise some more!! Thank You Lord in Jesus precious name.
With noisemaking the atmosphere just changes. Everything changes: from coldness to hotness. Satan operates in coldness, God operates in hotness. That is how the Church grows and that is how your life will grow.
One more time if you can, raise those hands, make more noise to the Lord.
#BishopDavidAbioye
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CHoP is an acronym for Covenant Hour of Prayer
