WE HAD THE MOST EXPLOSIVE SERVICE IN MAKURDI
IF YOU LOVE GOD, YOU WILL LOVE HIS HOUSE
THE HOUSE OF GOD IS A PLACE OF UNQUANTIFIABLE SPIRITUAL VALUE AND PROFIT
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO JUST COME TO CHURCH FOR PURELY RELIGIOUS REASONS AND THOSE WHO COME TO FIND A PARTNER
IN AMERICA TODAY MANY HAVE NOT RETURNED BACK TO CHURCH SINCE THE DAYS OF CORO
WHEN WATCHING SERVICES ON TELEVISION REPLACES YOUR PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, SOMETHING HAS BECOME WRONG
WE CONNECT TO AND ACCELERATE IN SPIRITUAL STRENGTH WHEN WE COME TO ZION (CHURCH)
SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS HAPPENS TO MANY WHO ARE TOO BUSY TO BE IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
TO DWELL IN HIS HOUSE IS TO BE SOAKED IN HIS PRESENCE AND TO BE ABSENT IS TO DWELL IN DRYNESS
THE HOUSE OF GOD IS THE PLACE OF DIVINE ENCOUNTER
THERE ARE THINGS YOU’LL NEVER UNDERSTAND UNTIL YOU GO TO THE SANCTUARY
THE SANCTUARY IS A CLIMATE OF UNDERSTANDING AND AN ATMOSPHERE OF REVELATION
IF YOUR PROBLEM DOES NOT STOP YOUR PRAISE, YOUR PRAISE WILL STOP YOUR PROBLEM
THERE ARE PEOPLE, THE DAY THEIR MIRACLE CAME TO CHURCH IS THEY DIDN’T COME TO CHURCH
MAY THE ANGEL NOT ARRIVE WITH YOUR BREAKTHROUGH THE DAY YOU DON’T COME TO CHURCH
WHAT IS YOURS IN GOD IS RECEIVABLE IN THE HOUSE
EVERYTIME YOU COME TO CHURCH AND THE WORD OF GOD IS PREACHED, IT QUICKENS AND AWAKENS YOUR CONSCIENCE
DISTANCE FROM GOD AND MOST TIMES, DISTANCE FROM CHURCH EQUALS NEARNESS TO SIN
THE TENDENCY TO FALL AWAY IS HIGH WHEN YOU BEGIN TO REDUCE YOUR ATTENDANCE TO CHURCH
THE HOUSE OF GOD IS THE PLACE WHERE THE LONELY CAN COME AND GET COMPANIONSHIP
ANYBODY WHO WORKS CONTRARY TO THE BROTHERLINESS AND FELLOWSHIP OF THE BRETHREN IN THE CHURCH IS WORKING AGAINST THE BODY OF CHRIST
THE CHURCH IS NOT A PLACE FOR CLASS DIFFERENTIATION
– Dr. Pastor Paul Enenche on “THE PROFIT OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD” || February 2023 Impartation Service || Glory Dome, Abuja.
I bring you greetings from Makurdi in Benue State, we had the most explosive service there.
Psalm 122:1. I am preaching on the subject, “The Profit of the House of the Lord”. Church Gist. Our objective is to understand the value and benefits of the House of God.
Last week we saw that part of our dedication is our love and affection for God and one of the proofs of love for God is love for the House of God. Church Gist. If I am dedicated to God, I will love God, if I love God, I will love His House. Question is, how profitable is it for me to love the House of God? Many people do not understand and perceive the profit or the value of the House of God, even though the House of God is a place of unquantifiable spiritual value and profit. Church Gist. There are categories of people in their relationship in the House of God;
First category of people are people who just come to Church for purely religious reasons. Church Gist. That is, I mean, “Sunday is a time for everybody to go to Church and if you’re not a pagan, you should go to Church”. So, they come for purely religious reasons, so, if they want to come, they come and if they don’t want to come, they don’t come.
There are others that come to Church for purely social reasons. A place to meet people, maybe find a wife or a husband, business contacts. Church Gist. These people can be easily offended away or discouraged away from Church because they don’t know the full importance of Church.
There’s the third category of people who are easy victims of wrong doctrines that send them away from Church. Church Gist. In our university days, we had some people who claimed that Church was no longer fashionable, all manner of terrible doctrines, “God is not in the Church any more, God is in the wilderness”, all manner of terrible doctrines. Church Gist. Many of them got destroyed, some ran mad, some got children out of wedlock.
Also, there are those who have been sent away from Church by the system of the antichrist, the world system. Church Gist. They’re victims of the systems of the world and the antichrist, for example coro, which was a pure design from hell to destroy the spirituality of people. In America today, thank God a revival is bursting forth, but many have not returned back to Church since the days of coro.
Also, fifthly, there are those who allow technology to take the place of Church in their lives. Church Gist. Not necessarily bad technology but for as long as they can turn on their phones and computers and watch a service, they don’t perceive the need to be there in person. There are those who should be in Church this morning, all around the world, they’re lying on their bed there, on television, watching the service. Yes, there’s a benefit that you could get, but there’s a limit compared to the physical presence in the Church. Most Westerners today, Americans and several of the other people, they’ve had Christian television that was meant to be a blessing, became a curse for some people in some ways because the physical presence in Church, they thought that was the aim of it, no.
There was a time in this country where certain men of God did not preach the gospel on television, they don’t even encourage anybody to watch television at all, they called it the devil’s box because of all the things that go on on television – the alcoholism, the nudity and all the things. Church Gist. But later on, they decided to step on the television, not to reach the saints but to reach the ‘unchurched’ that since that is where the majority of the unbelieving world are hooked, let’s step into the television and reach them there, unfortunately, it’s not only those people now that are hooked but Church people. Church Gist. Many things can be gotten from all those avenues but when it replaces your spiritual life, your physical presence in the House of the Lord, something has become wrong.
Somebody may be asking now, “what is the profit of being in the House physically?” I will enumerate a few of them.
1. The House of God is the place of connection to and acceleration in spiritual strength. Psalm 84:7. Every appearance in Zion is a connection to strength and acceleration in strength. Church Gist. We connect to spiritual strength, we accelerate in spiritual strength when we come to Zion. Absence from Zion is weakness of life. Spiritual weakness happen to many who are too busy to be in the House of the Lord. The reason for the strength of the early Church was because they were in Church everyday, so they were spiritual giants, they had fire, they had power and audacity. Church Gist. Today, somebody is struggling to come to Church on Sunday morning, service is 8am, he cannot come until it’s 11am, coming when it is time to share the grace and doesn’t return again till next Sunday. Church Gist. There are people, the last time they opened their Bible was when they came to Church, next time to open it is next Sunday that they’re in Church. That’s why there’s so much weakness, people are complaining of witchcraft and this and that pursuing them. The Church is the place to connect to and accelerate in Spiritual strength.
2. The House of God is the place of Divine presence and open Heaven. Genesis 28:16-17. The House of God is where the Lord is.
– somebody say a loud Amen.
The House of the Lord is the place to experience an open Heaven, it’s the place to experience tangible Divine presence. To dwell in His House is to be soaked in His presence, to be absent from His House is to dwell in dryness. Church Gist. There are people you come around them, you can’t see any trace of God. How many of you, you have ever felt so dry and one day you came to Church and as you arrive Church, boom, that dryness disappears, all of a sudden, you felt fire again and the presence of God again. Church Gist. That is the assignment, it’s our Divine presence refueling centre, it’s our Divine presence activation centre, you carry some presence but you step in here, it sharpens, it’s activated. Church Gist. The House of God is a place of Divine presence, that is why many of the guys who stop going to Church for a while, after a while, you see them, they’re very dry, everything is dry.
3. The House of God is the place of Divine encounter. Encounter with God, Angels, Ancient mantles encounter. Genesis 28:12-17. Exodus 3:1-2. Isaiah 2:2. The burning bush encounter that Moses had, he had it in the mountain of the Lord. Church Gist. There are so many people in this Church today, healing and deliverance service, worship and wonders night, this kind of service going on, all of a sudden fell into an encounter and saw themselves in their village, saw unclean spirits stepping out, all manner of encounters that happened. Church Gist. They happen in the homes as well, but multiply it by like a thousand times when we come into Church or more, diverse encounters. People who have never seen a vision before, they will see by drastic Divine encounter. Hebrews 12:22-25. The spirit of Just men made perfect is what is called the Ancient mantles, the men and women that have come and gone before us, Jeremiah, the Elijah, the Elisha. Church Gist. You do not know that in the course of service, they step in, encounter people. The spirits of just men made perfect.
I was preaching in a Methodist conference at the Lagos stadium in Surulere sometime back and here was I preaching and ministering with great fire and impart and somebody who was watching the ministration somewhere in the country and suddenly as I was preaching, he saw John Wesley on the altar standing, that is the founder of the Methodist Church. Church Gist. He came to attend the crusade. The spirits of Just men made perfect.
4. The House of God is the place of understanding and revelation. Psalm 73:17. There are things you’ll never understand until you go to the Sanctuary. Church Gist. How many I’d you, you have been in Church before, the Pastor was preaching something and you were seeing something else or the Holy Ghost was telling you something else from that same passage. I’ve had people come to tell me, “you said this and that while you were preaching” and I couldn’t remember saying any of them, but that was what they heard. Psalm 73:17. Church Gist. Don’t let any devil deceive you that you can understand everything on your own or that your own personal Bible study was enough to cause you to understand everything, otherwise, there’ll be no need for the Church. “He gave them Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, teachers for the perfecting of the saints”, to bring us up to a stature of knowledge, the measure of the son of God.
Understanding is waiting for you in the Sanctuary, insight is waiting for you, light is waiting for you, in the Sanctuary. Psalm 77:13. If I want to locate His way, I must locate the Sanctuary. The ways of God is called revelation. No matter how hard you try, there are things you’d never understand on your own. Church Gist. There are lights and insights that you may never understand on your own and I’m not saying that the Pastor necessarily made you to understand it but stepping into the Sanctuary, that climate is a climate of understanding it’s an atmosphere of revelation.
– I prophesy to somebody here today, understanding is coming your way, revelation is coming your way! The things you never knew before, God will cause you to know them!
5. The House of God is the place of Supernatural manifestations, healings, miracles and deliverance. Obadiah 1:17. Matthew 21:14. Luke 13:10-12. Church Gist. There are things you’re trusting God for that are waiting for you in the Sanctuary. You see, that woman, that was probably not her first time in the synagogue, she was bent like that like that woman in Makurdi that was healed and moved like that for 18 years but she kept on coming. Church Gist. She may not have been healed for the first year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year, 5th year, 10th year but she kept on coming and because her affliction could not stop her dedication, her dedication swallowed up her affliction. If your problem does not stop your praise, your praise will stop your problem. If your harassment does not stop your commitment, your commitment will delete your harrassment. Church Gist. But the critical thing is, there’s answer, healing, deliverance and breakthrough waiting in the House. Zechariah was a Priest but his wife was barren but he kept on administering the office of the priesthood, he kept on fulfilling his duty as a Priest. It was his duty to hold other people’s children and dedicate them but he had none of his own but he kept on doing the duty of the Priesthood until one day he stepped into his assignment as the Priest and the Angel of the Lord came to him at the right side of the altar of incense and said, “Zechariah, your prayer is finally answered”. Church Gist. The Angel did not look for him on the street, He waited for him in the temple. There are people, the day their miracle came to Church, they didn’t come to Church. The day the Angel that carries their miracle, healing and deliverance arrived in the temple, that day, the devil ensured that they didn’t come to Church. Church Gist. That was the day they suddenly got discouraged, that was the day the devil suddenly reminded them that ‘all these years, you have been going to Church, what has changed?’ That was the day they allowed flat tyres to make them sit at home but nobody sat at home because of flat tyres from going to the office. ‘Why didn’t you come to the office today?’ ‘I had a flat tyre’. Who would hear that? Who will you tell that there was no fuel, so you couldn’t come to work? Church Gist. But how many people didn’t come to Church because they said there’s no fuel. Because they don’t know the value, other things matter more to them.
When was the last time somebody offended you at the office and you said, “I won’t go to work again”. Somebody said, “somebody offended me in Church, I won’t go again”. Church Gist. Don’t forget this, may the Angel not arrive with your healing, your breakthrough, your deliverance or the mantle you have been praying and then that was the day the devil say, ‘relax today’.
– I announce today, healing is coming for somebody right now! Deliverance is coming for somebody right now!
I went to ABU Zaria, Kongo campus, I was preaching at the fellowship of Christian students and I walked in the midst of the crowd, this should be like 12-15 years ago, and I described a man with an affliction, everything was fully described. Church Gist. You know what happened? People were looking around, they were murmuring and looking around. I said, “what is happening?” They said, “who you are talking about, we know him, he comes to Church all the time” but he wasn’t there.
One day, I was preaching in Umuahia, Dunamis Church and in the midst of the preaching, a woman stood up and was going out and I said, “woman, come back, don’t behave like that. You don’t know whether God has a Word for you”. She said, “I’m sorry Sir”. Church Gist. I said, “there’s somebody here, you saw in the dream the other time and in the physical also they sacrificed a chameleon on your head”. The same woman ran out. The one that when her word, her change was about to come, devil said, “stand up”.
– in the name that is above every other name, Jesus Christ the resurrected Lord, you will not miss your breakthrough! You will not miss your miracle! You will not miss your deliverance! In the name of Jesus.
– look at your neighbour, say, “be faithful, you don’t know when your day shall come”
6. The House of God is a place of Spiritual possession. Obadiah 1:17. What is yours in God is receivable in the House. It was when Moses went to the Mountain of the Lord’s House that he actually realized his full potential. Church Gist. He had the rod in his house but he never knew what the rod was until he was in the mountain or the Lord.
– Somebody here, you must possess your possession in the name of Jesus Christ. What is yours in God, no devil shall tamper with it. Exodus 3:1-12.
7. The House of God is the place of Character transformation and maintenance. Obadiah 1:17. What does that mean? The Church helps you to uphold your convictions. Church Gist. In the Church, you will hear things that will let you know that what you’re doing is right, you’ll also see people, brethren who are upholding their convictions like yours. The Church helps you to maintain a lively conscience, a conscience that is awake. Church Gist. Everytime you come to Church and the Word of God is preached, it quickens and awakens your conscience. The people of the world and the unbelieving world, they live with a dead conscience, they’re doing wrong and they don’t care. It’s a place that helps against compromise. Church Gist. That is what the character maintenance does for you.
One day, my wife and I, we were at the Abuja Sheraton and we saw this young lady that looked like a (commercial sex worker) because she had a disastrous dressing. When I called her to preach to her, my wife had to use a newspaper to block her chest. By the time we finished preaching to her, we said, “come to Church tomorrow”, she said, “I can’t come”. Church Gist. I was so impressed with that girl, the moment we finished preaching to her, she carried her bag and that was her end with the hotel, she was on her way out straight. We said, “come, can you be in Church tomorrow?” She said, “I can’t be in Church”. “Why?” She said, “I don’t have Church dress”. She knew that there are dresses you can’t wear to Church but there are Christians who think there’s no dress you can’t wear to Church but the prostitute on the road knew that there are dresses you couldn’t wear. Church Gist. We did our best to assist her get Church dress, that’s what Church does to you, just awakens your conscience. You just adjust yourself. Hebrews 10:25-26.
Distance from God and most times, distance from Church equals nearness to sin, most times. Church Gist. There are those who are deceiving themselves, “Christianity is in my heart, I’m doing my own at home”, it’s a lie, self deception. It’s as if somebody can say, “I’m studying my own surgery at home”, it’s self-deception. Let me put it like this, the Church assists in the stability of spirituality. Church Gist. The tendency to fall away is high when you begin to reduce your attendance to Church. The Church helps against backsliding.
7. The House of God is the place of love and fellowship. Acts 2:42-46. The House of God is the place where the lonely can come and get companionship. Church Gist. It is the place where the rejected can come and feel acceptance. It is the place where the downtrodden can come and feel uplifted. This is the purpose of the Church. It’s the place for warmth, it’s the place for fellowship, it’s the place for brotherliness, sisterliness and neighbourliness. Anybody who works contrary to the brotherliness, sisterliness and fellowship of the brethren in the Church is working against the body of Christ. Church Gist. Nobody is telling you about anything about another person in Church as gossip, you came for fellowship, you came for brotherliness. Nobody is jamming your head with another person, nobody is keeping you as a permanent enemy because of seat. Church Gist. If by your actions, the Church is no longer a place of love and fellowship and warmth for somebody, when you meet Jehovah, you will tell Him why you destroyed the purpose of His Church in the life of that person.
There are evil people the devil sent to Church to frustrate that purpose in the life of people. They’re permanent quarrels clashing people’s heads. Church Gist. The Church is not a place for class differentiation. It’s not a place for egocentricity, “I am the big me, you’re the small you”. The Church is a place where the driver and the boss can sit together. The Church is a place where the messenger and the manager can sit together because when we go to heaven, there’s no compartmentalization. Heaven is a leveller. Let’s just calm down.
The person you’re despising now may have more value in the eyes of God than yourself by virtue of their personal altars of relationship, their consecration with God, the sacrifices they have made and the things they’re doing with God on a continuous basis that you’re not aware of. Church Gist. Church must never be turned to a place of hatred, gossip, animosity, malice and backbiting. Some people are so possessed with the devil, they see somebody coming and they start talking. Those are demonic agents, they don’t have human hearts. Nobody made in the image of God would ever at any time try to put down another human being. Church Gist. That’s why I preach and talk about the issues of the oppression in our land with all the passion I possess, these people are demon agents, human demons, ‘humons’, mixture of demons and humans.
If you saw the brother that is not well dressed, criticizing the dress is not the right approach, you should look for him a new dress. Church Gist. I hope what I’m about to say will not put me in trouble? Three days ago, somebody said, “can you please give me one shoe?” What? Now, he has the ability to get the shoe but he asked me to give him one shoe. I said, “I should give you one shoe? What’s your shoe size?” When he told me, I gave him 3 shoes, 3 suits, excess of what he asked of and the ones he didn’t ask of, that’s how Baba (God) behaves. Ephesians 3:20. Church Gist. Just make life sweet for yourself and everyone around you. This life is too temporary to maintain permanent enmity.
Somebody was speaking to somebody yesterday and he had already poured out venom in all he was talking, I told him, I said, “if you carry feather and you distribute the feather from door to door of people’s houses and after 2 hours, you realize you didn’t need to distribute that feather, that you want feather back, can you collect them back? No matter how hard you try, it’s gone. Church Gist. Why do you say permanent things out of temporary anger? Do you want to maintain permanent enmity? No”. He said, “I’m sorry Sir”.
– look at Somebody by your side, say, “I refuse to hate you, it means, I love you”.
Now, please, I don’t want you to misunderstand me, what we are purely talking about now is the love of God, in case somebody thinks they’re having a proposal (laughs).
I would like us to practice these things. I’m trusting God that we’ll dwell here for a while this year. Church Gist. I would like us to practice, let’s chase the devil to hell. Everyone, just add value to somebody’s life, enhance somebody’s worth, let somebody feel important because they came in contact with you. Church Gist. It doesn’t matter who they are, it doesn’t matter what is their level, let somebody feel important because they came in contact with you.
This is my counsel in conclusion;
1. Let nothing take you out of the House of God. Psalm 122:1. When I say ‘nothing’, some people will think that it’s problem that I’m talking about, not necessarily. There are some people who were taken out of Church by success. Church Gist. They became successful, they got more money, they got some triumph, they got a position and that was the end of their devotion to God. What an error. Because the way in is the way forward, how you got it is how you keep it. Church Gist. If God gave it to you, the devil can’t keep it for you, your hardwork can’t keep it for you. Not triumph, not trial, not success, not failure.
There are people that challenges of, “I’m ashamed now, all my mates are married”, that’s the voice of the devil, “all the people we married together have dedicated their children”, that devil is a bastard, you will dedicate your own this year!
Don’t let nothing stop you. Anything that drives you away from God, drives you away from good and everything that drives you to God, drives you to good. Church Gist. The more successful you get, the more you must press into God and the more confronted you get, the more you must press into God.
– somebody say a loud Amen.
2. Let not the House of God ever be too far for you. Isaiah 2:2. That is, the agenda of God for Church is for nations to attend, that’s what we see here every Sunday. We have people from 11 countries in service today plus South Africa. Church Gist. If somebody can carry his/her bag from Kenya, buy air ticket, fly all the way to Abuja and come to Church, there’s somebody in Lugbe here that Church that is on the airport road here is too far to attend, what a mockery. You know what Jesus said? He said, “people came from the ends of the earth to come and worship the son of man. They will rise up in judgment against you”. Church Gist. The Queen of Sheba came all the way to see the glory of Solomon. You know, what we do in time has consequences in eternity.
Somebody came all the way from Australia, South Africa, paid their fare, jetlag, different time zones, came here, paid millions of naira, booked accommodation in hotel and they came despite what they heard that there’s terrorism in Nigeria, there’s kidnapping and banditry, they despised that and came and somebody from Garki and Asokoro said airport road is too far. Church Gist. Do you know that Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland has only one Church in Lagos apart from Ikorodu. People drive from the backside of Lekki, all the way to Ogun State to attend Church every Sunday. 3-4 hours. They journey like that and journey like that every Sunday. When the Faith Tabernacle was dedicated, he said God didn’t ask him to open another branch. Church Gist. “What of others who cannot come?” He said, “If you cannot come, find another Church”. Am I communicating? I want us to change our mind so that God can change our lives, I am talking to all of you watching me along the Lugbe and Kuje axis, all the way to Area one axis, your excuse is like a dock that is lame – it already has bad walking steps and the leg is crippled on top. Church Gist. The House of your father can never be too far for you, the House of your friend and your lover can never be too far for you. Nations are coming, let us abandon this convenient Christianity. “If is not convenient, I won’t do it. If it is not comfortable, I won’t do it”, if Jesus was looking for what was comfortable, He won’t die on the cross and He died on a rugged cross, not a smooth one. Let the House of God not be too far for you.
3. Contribute positively not negatively to the love, the warmth and the fellowship in the House of the Lord. Philippians 2:1-4. Psalm 133:1-3. Don’t be the source of bitterness, envy and division in the House. Church Gist. Let nobody with so-called money buy you over to their camp, “you’re in my camp, don’t be close to that other place”. Whether it’s central Church or departmental matters, don’t let anybody form you into any camp, it’s the spirit of Satan.
4. Contribute to the growth and increase of the House. Be a contributor to the explosion. Ephesians 4:15-16. Summary of that is, don’t just be in Church, let Church grow because of you, let the House enlarge because of you. Evangelize, be evangelistic, let Church grow because of you, don’t just be there, let your presence be felt and your absence be noticed. Church Gist. Be a positive difference maker in Church. Evangelism, soul-winning, you can buy a bus, “this is for bringing of the brethren to Church” and we’re trusting the Lord for hundreds of buses because we have seen that every corner of this city, people are waiting for us and you want to be a part of making that happen and the Lord will bless you.
5. Be committed to service in the House. Don’t just sit and do nothing, don’t attend and do nothing, contribute to the service in the House. Psalm 84:10. “By all means, I want to do something in the House of my God, I don’t just want to sit and do nothing”. Church Gist. Contribute to the House of the Lord and I believe that the Lord will contribute to your life. Those who serve God are serviced by the God that they serve.
– somebody say Amen!
#DrPaulEnenche
#DrBeckyEnenche
#LightHasComeGloryIsRisen
#TheProfitOfTheHouseOfTheLord
#DIGC
#GloryDome
#SupersonicSunday
#19thFebruary2023
#ChurchGist
