SOMEONE WAS NOMINATED FOR A MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENT ONLY TO BE WITHDRAWN AT THE POINT OF SCREENING. THAT’S NOT MY GOD
WHEN MY GOD PROMOTES YOU, YOU ARE PROMOTED AND YOU DON’T NEED ANY SCREENING
MY DADDY TOLD ME THAT IF YOU DON’T COME FOR THE 71ST ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE RCCG, YOU WILL REGRET IT!
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW HIGH YOUR EXPECTATIONS MIGHT BE, DURING THIS CONVENTION GOD WILL SURPASS THEM ALL
AS MANY OF YOU WHO WILL LOOK ON TO JESUS TODAY, YOU WILL NEVER BE ASHAMED AGAIN!
ONE OF OUR RCCG PASTORS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY WAS CAUGHT AND THROWN INTO DUNGEON BUT WAS SAVED AS WE LOOKED UNTO JESUS
WHEN IT LOOKS AS IF THE ENEMY HAS CAPTURED YOU AND THERE’S NO WAY OF ESCAPE, LOOK UNTO JESUS
WHEREVER YOU MIGHT BE AND THE DOCTORS HAVE SAID, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR YOU, LOOK UNTO JESUS
THERE IS A GOD WHO CAN REVERSE THE IRREVERSIBLE AND THAT IS THE GOD I SERVE
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “LOOKING UNTO JESUS” || AUGUST 2023 THANKSGIVING SERVICE || RCCG || 6th August, 2023
– There is someone here who will never weep again; if you’re that one let me hear you shout halleluyah!
Our convention begins tomorrow as you know and the theme is, “Beyond Expectations.” That means it doesn’t matter how high your expectations might be, during this convention God will surpass them all. I don’t need to appeal to you to come, one thing I can assure you of is this: if you don’t come, you will regret it. You say who said so? My Daddy told me that. It’s one convention the kind we have never seen before. If you believe that I am truly a man of God, then take my Word for it. If you don’t believe, if you think you don’t mind, “he’s always just saying there is someone here,” (you say) you’re not even sure whether he is speaking the truth or not, don’t come. If you don’t believe that it is God who sent me, don’t come. If you believe that, “you know he is a mathematician and he is just using mathematical theories to manipulate us,” if you think it is mathematics that took the Redeemed Christian Church of God from 40 parishes in 1981 to a Church now in more than 190 nations of the world, don’t come. Church Gist. But if you believe that there is a God in Heaven, the One who can do exceedingly above all you can ask or think, if you believe he is the one who chose of all themes – Beyond Expectations – as the theme for this convention, whatever it is going to cost you, make sure you are there. Just like he said, this is a convention that will never be forgotten. “Oh, I can watch it in Dove.” That is true. He is the one who gave us Dove Media; may the name of the Almighty God be blessed. Technology had advanced; you can phone your children in America and you will be looking at them and they will be looking at you. But on one occasion I was phoning my grand children and I was eating pounded yam. I said sorry o, we haven’t reached the technology yet where I can send pounded yam across. Let me tell you the truth: there are certain miracles that cannot go by television. Church Gist. When God says there is someone here, by here he is talking about Redemption ground. You say, “I sit in my room and I claim it” … Half a word is enough for the wise.
This morning we are to talk about, “Looking unto Jesus.” Hebrews 12:2; Psalm 34:5. Church Gist. I decree in the name of the One who is called Jehovah Elshaddai, as many of you who will look on to Jesus today, you will never be ashamed again! Psalm 121:1-2.
Who are we being asked to look unto?
1. We are being asked to look unto the healer. Exodus 15:26. We have to look unto the one who never refers a case. Church Gist. The one concerning whom it is written in 1 Peter 2:24, by his stripes ye were healed.
2. We are asked to look unto the one who is called the provider. Philippians 4:9; Haggai 2:8
3. We are asked to look unto the one who is called the great deliverer. John 14:6; John 8:32, 36.
4. We are asked to look unto the promoter. John 12:32 because promotion does not come from man, not from the East, West, North or South. Church Gist. Psalm 75:6-7. When God promotes you, you are promoted. I was listening to the news and I heard of someone who had been nominated for a ministerial appointment and she got to the Senate where she was to be screened only to be told, your name has been withdrawn. That’s not my God. When my God promotes you, you’re promoted. When he promotes you, you don’t need any screening. I decree right now to all of you who will look unto Jesus, you just keep going higher!
5. We are asked to look unto the one who is called the hope of the hopeless. Colossians 1:27.
6. We are asked to look unto him who is the source of joy. John 16:24.
7. We are asked to look unto him who is called the Saviour because that’s his name. Matthew 1:21.
Briefly let me take about 3 or 4 specific instances to show you what happens when people look unto him.
Mark 5:25-34. Church Gist. A woman looked unto him when doctors had failed. She took her eyes off doctors and looked unto Jesus and got instant healing.
In 1983, a young man had cancer of the jaw bone – son of a very wealthy man. His father was an ambassador of Nigeria and all the doctors in London, the best hospital in London told the father, “You want your son to see his native land again? Take him now because he has less than 2 weeks to live.” Someone told the father, “there is a God in a place called Redemption Camp; take your son there.” Church Gist. They brought the boy. When I looked at him, his head was swollen like the big container you buy petrol into. The head was so enlarged, the throat so contracted that it took him one hour to drink a bottle of coke. He was hungry and nothing can go down the throat. The coke he was sipping he had to just take a little bit at a time. When I saw him, even my faith shook. But we looked unto Jesus – the one who has never referred a case. He’s alive today. When he went back to the same doctor they said, “You are not the one we saw.” He said, I am the one. Church Gist. They told him, “okay, congratulations. We don’t know what happened but because of the chemotherapy, this therapy, that therapy, you will never be able to produce a child because your body is already destroyed by all kinds of chemicals.” He said, fine. He came and told me I said, I know my father; he doesn’t do job by half. When he heals, he heals. Today he is married and has children.
Why am I telling you this? Church Gist. There might be someone listening to me wherever you might be and the doctors have said, there is no hope for you, Look unto Jesus. The same doctors will hear your testimony.
When it looks as if the enemy has captured you and there’s no way of escape, look unto Jesus. Acts 16:23-39. Every one of you that the enemy thinks they have captured, they will come and beg you! In one of these countries where the Redeemed Christian Church of God is, they arrested one of my pastors. He was just in the street when they just grabbed him and threw him into a dungeon. We couldn’t locate him. Church Gist. We just knew he disappeared. It was the wife who said, “I can’t see my husband, I don’t know what has happened” but God knows where he was. So we looked unto Jesus – “you are the one who said that we should go into all the world to go and preach the Gospel that’s why we sent your son here. You have to intervene.” Then all of a sudden my son said, “wait a minute Lord, today is March the 2nd, today is the birthday of your son. Give me a birthday present.” After months, those who threw him into prison he said to them, “what is it I have done? Tell me.” No one was talking. Church Gist. Then they came and said, you are free; you can go. Well, today is not my birthday but every day belongs to the Lord and in this special day, I decree: every one of you in any form of bondage be free in Jesus name!
When it looks as if your case is already too late and there is nothing anybody can do to help you at all, when your relatives themselves think that, “no no, don’t worry the Pastor, your case is beyond help,” look unto Jesus. John 11:39-44. There is a God who can reverse the irreversible and that is the God I serve. Church Gist. Some Bible scholars say that if Jesus had not mentioned Lazarus by name, every dead person would have come out of the grave that day because the one who was speaking is the resurrection and the life. Whether you believe it or not, he is still alive and he is here today and he is saying to those of you that the doctors, relatives or bankers said that your case is already beyond help he is saying to you, “Look unto me and I will give you a testimony that will shake the world.”
I am sure you remember the story of a sister who made a mistake while she was in secondary school, became pregnant and since her parents mustn’t hear she decided to abort. She took some drugs and started bleeding. By the time they took her to the hospital the doctor felt that there is only one way to save her life and that’s by taking our her womb. So she survived and went ahead and got married and of course you know the result of that kind of marriage. Church Gist. She had no issue. She got born again, so one of these funny pastors like myself who believe that with God all things are possible. So she kept coming and the pastor kept on praying. One day the pastor said, “wait a minute woman, every body I prayed for they were already testifying, what’s your own case?” She said, my story is that I have no womb. You have no womb? And you’re asking me to pray for you to be pregnant? “Sir but you are the one who taught us that with God all things are possible.”
– In the name that is above every other name, every impossibility in your life will become possible today!
From that day onward anytime the pastor saw the woman coming this way, the pastor will dodge that way. One day the woman discovered that the pastor was dodging her and she stopped looking unto the pastor, turned her face to God. “God I am not trusting the pastor now for my miracle; I am trusting you.” Church Gist. She had a dream that night: found herself standing naked and saw a huge man coming into the room with the skin of an animal in his hand. She was so frightened she couldn’t move. The man got to her and wrapped the skin round about her body. She woke up and discovered she was menstruating. By the last time I heard of her she had 5 children.
– Everything that is considered impossible in your life shall be made possible today!
When your business seems to be collapsing, when you’ve done everything you know and instead of succeeding you seem to be failing, some people are already looking at you and calling you, “afamako” that’s what they call them in the olden days. Church Gist. Some of you young ones won’t know the meaning. That’s what they say in Lagos here, “Afamako ise lari a o r’owo’” – We can see the labour but where is the fruit? Look unto Jesus, you will surprise everybody. Luke 5:1-7.
We had a Congress. We used to call it, Christ Redeemer’s Congress in those days in Akure. We finished the Congress, prayed for everybody, “oh, you can go home,” and a man stopped me and said, “no, you can’t go Sir you have to pray for me.” I said, we’ve prayed for everybody. He said, you need to hear my case. Church Gist. He was a successful business man. He had a saw mill but everything just went wrong. All the machines refused to work and every attempt to repair them failed. So he began to borrow money to feed and he borrowed so much money that he got to a stage that when his friends saw him coming, they dodge. They were not asking him to pay the debt but they don’t want him to borrow more. When your creditors begin to dodge you, you know you are in trouble. Church Gist. Things got so bad: hunger at home, hunger for husband, hunger for wife, hunger for children, things got so bad that the wife went mental. He had no money to take care of her in an hospital, he just took her to one herbalist and dumped her there.
Then he came to the Congress. He said you’re not going anywhere Sir unless … I said, fine. Stretch out your hands.” I laid my hands on his hands and I prayed a simple prayer. He got home, laid his hands on the machines and every one of them jumped back to work. He ran to the Babalawo, laid the hands on the wife and the wife shook her head and said, “ah ah, what am I doing here?” Church Gist. The last time I heard about my friend, he has been made the Ọbá of his town. He has cars now not just one. You’re having financial difficulties? Look unto the great provider.
– I decree in the name of the one who sent me, before the end of this year you won’t even know what it means to be poor again!
Look unto Jesus the Saviour. There is nobody too far gone for him to save. 1 Timothy 1:15. Paul said, I consider myself the chief of sinners. But then he had an encounter with Jesus – the one whose blood cleanses from all sins. 1 John 1:7. Church Gist. The chief of sinners was cleansed by the blood of the Jesus we asked you to look unto and immediately everything changed. The one who started as chief of sinners ended up as one of the chiefest Apostles.
When I was a lecturer in the University of Ilorin and I was looking over our little Church in Ilorin at that time, an Alhaji attended the Church one day. I don’t know how it happened but he came and he heard me preach about salvation – there’s nobody that Jesus cannot save no matter how bad. So I made the altar call and he came forward and gave his life to Jesus and he went home rejoicing. But after some days he came back and said, “I don’t think this thing can be true o.” I said, what do you mean? Church Gist. He said I am not the kind of person Jesus can forgive. I have done too many evils. He told me series of terrible things he has done. He said, do you think Jesus can forgive somebody like me? I said, “ah! The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sins. You’ve surrendered your life, then your sins are gone.” He went home rejoicing. Few days later he came back. He said, “I didn’t tell you all.” Then he told me some more and I assured him again. The finally he came and said, I will tell you one more thing I did. If you think Jesus can forgive somebody who did that then … Then he told me something that he did and I am telling you, even I was horrified.” He said, “ahan you see, I told you.” I said but wait a minute, let me read it to you, 1 John 1:7. I said I just want to ask you a question: what is the meaning of “all”. Church Gist. He looked at me and said, “I think all means all.” I said that’s settled; no more problem for me. There is a God who can save anybody. It doesn’t matter how bad you have been. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sins.
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