IF YOUR NAME IS CAUSING PROBLEM IN YOUR LIFE, GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE GRACE TO CHANGE THAT NAME TODAY
“THE REASON THE RCCG IS SUCCEEDING IS BECAUSE OF A COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND THE FOUNDER. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME.” – PASTOR ADEBOYE REITERATES
GOD SAID TO ME, “SON, I WILL BE YOUR SOURCE,” AFTER COMMANDING ME TO SOW MY GRATUITY TO 3 DIFFERENT MINISTRIES
NOBODY CAN EVER FIND OUT MY SOURCE. IT IS GOD.
THE POSITION WHERE YOU WILL HEAR THE SECRET OF GOD YOURSELF, THE ALMIGHTY GOD WILL BRING YOU THERE.
THIS YEAR GOD IS GIVING YOU AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME HIS FRIEND – HIS FAVOURITE
DURING THE LIFETIME OF MY FATHER IN THE LORD, SEVERAL COMPANIES IN NIGERIA CAME TO HIM FOR STAFF RECOMMENDATION
GOD TESTIFIED OF ABRAHAM AS HIS FRIEND; WHAT WILL BE YOUR TESTIMONIAL FROM GOD?
YOU WANT THE HEAVENS TO OPEN UNTO YOU? YOU MUST LIVE A LIFE THAT WILL CAUSE THE ALMIGHTY GOD TO IDENTIFY WITH YOU
THIS YEAR, GET YOURSELF TO THAT STAGE THAT YOU CAN HEAR FROM GOD YOURSELF
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A PROPHET TO HEAR FROM GOD; JUST BE A CHILD OF GOD
THIS YEAR, THE ALMIGHTY GOD WILL OPEN MANY EARS TO HEAR FROM HIM
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN (Part 3)” || WONDERFUL SERIES || RCCG JANUARY 22ND 2023 || SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE
Praise the Lord!
We want to continue our series on, “FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN (Part 3)” Church Gist. We will be discussing a little further about Abraham – the one for whom the heavens opened. Our text is Genesis 18:17-21.
When we were discussing Abraham last Sunday, we spoke about the fact that Abraham was one of the people for whom the heavens opened. Church Gist. God lives in the heavens and for him to come and visit Abraham, the heavens had to open and God had to get up and travel. When God is travelling miracles are distributed, etc.
But the question is, “Who exactly is Abraham? What is it that God saw in Abraham that caused the heavens to open for him?”
1. Abraham according to Romans 4:16 is called the Father of Faith which means the example of true believers. If you were looking for a role model for all Christians or believers, then use Abraham as your role model. Isaiah 51:1-2. Church Gist. Those of you who are righteous, who want to do the will of God, just remember Abraham. You don’t know what to do, doubtful of what step you should take, you want to do the will of God, consider Abraham.
2. Someone so special that God testified of him. Genesis 18:19. I remember very clearly that during the lifetime of my father in the Lord, several companies in Nigeria will come to him at Ebute-Metta and say, “We need an accountant; cashier. Church Gist. Any time anywhere they needed somebody that can be trusted, and so so from your Church has applied for this post. What do you say about him?” Daddy will say in a very clever way, “Brother so and so says he is a Christian.” You know what that means? (It means) I am not giving you my assurance but he has said that he is a Christian. But then occasionally they will mention somebody and he will reply, “he is a true child of God.” That’s Testimony. Church Gist. The Almighty God here testified of Abraham. How wonderful will it be if the Almighty God were to write your testimonial today.
For you to know the gravity of God’s testimony of Abraham, I have given this illustration before that in a king’s house, at least in the olden days in my nation, you have all manners of children because the King in those days will have so many wives. Church Gist. So many that he will not be able to minister to them appropriately. Now, there are people in the palace who come for business – the high priest, the chief hunter, etc and they help the King to minister to the wives. When the children are born, anybody with eyes can see clearly that this child was not born by the King. But because he is born in the palace, he is a prince or a princess. Many of the people who have been helping the King to minister are people the King cannot fight because they are at the backbone of the Kingdom. Church Gist. You can’t fight your chief warrior or your chief herbalist. You know what they have done but you can’t do anything about it. When kings receive visitors and the king, the host is introducing the children one by one to the visiting king he will say to the visiting king, “this boy is a prince. This girl is a princess.” Then he will say, “This is my son.” The visiting king understands that is a prince because he was born in the palace; not my son. That’s a princess born in the palace but not my daughter. But this one, without any doubt, he is my son. God said, I know Abraham.
You want the heavens to open unto you? You must live a life that will cause the Almighty God to say that without any doubt, this boy or girl is mine.
3. Not only somebody that God testified about, God said, I can’t even hide from him what I am about to do. My beloved, this year you need to sit down and rearrange your race to heaven. Get yourself to that stage that you can hear from God yourself. Church Gist. You need to get yourself to that stage where God will no longer hide anything from you. John 10:4-5. You don’t have to be a prophet to hear from God; all you need to be is to be a child of God.
– This going to be the year where the Almighty God will open many ears and I am praying that he will open your ears today so that you too will hear from him.
What does, “I can’t hide anything from him” mean? It means he is my friend. John 15:15. You want to be a friend of God? This year he is giving you an incredible opportunity to become his friend. Not just his friend, to be his favourite. Church Gist. There are friends and there are friends. John 13:21-26. It is a glorious thing to be able to say, “My Daddy didn’t tell me that.” It is a beautiful thing; something that shows that by the special grace of God, you are very special to God. That way you cannot be deceived by any prophet. Let him call himself by any title, “Most senior prophet whatever,” let him prophesy. Church Gist. You must be in a position to be able to say, “well, I am not doubting any prophet but My Daddy did not tell me that.”
– I pray for everyone of my children: the position where you will hear the secret of God yourself, the Almighty God will bring you there.
4. Abraham wasn’t just somebody God testified about, a friend of God or a favourite friend of God, God said concerning him in Genesis 15:1, “I am your reward.” Church Gist. For the Almighty God to say to you, “we are not talking about me rewarding you with money, position or earthly promotion. I will be your reward.” If you have the All sufficient God as your reward, what else can you ever lack?
I told you before that when I became General Overseer and things were very tough and I finally collected my gratuity for having served the government for 29 years and the money was a lot, (I mean every little money is a lot when you have nothing) and I was planning how to spend the money – which one I will save and so on and so forth hoping that before I finish the money the Church will at least grow a bit. Church Gist. God spoke to me, “Son, divide the money into 3. Give this one to this ministry, give this one to this ministry, give the third to that ministry.” While I was trembling he said to me, “Son, I will be your source.” Things were hard but he said he will be my source; that’s why nobody can ever find out my source. It’s God.
He said to Abraham, “I will be your reward.”
– I pray for every one of my children, may the Almighty God be your reward.
5. Abraham is the first to learn one of the names of God. The relationship was such that God introduced himself to Abraham. Genesis 17:1. Church Gist. The relationship must have been really intimate. God said, I am the God who is more than enough. I am the All sufficient God, God your mother’s breast, the God who is inexhaustible. What a name!
6. Abraham is the first fellow to have Covenant relationship with God. Genesis 17:2-4. I hope we know the meaning of a covenant? It is an agreement signed in blood; an agreement that cannot be broken. Church Gist. One of the reasons Jesus became man is that the Almighty God can finally have somebody who can shed his blood to make sure that the covenant that had been started from the beginning can fully be finalized.
Many of us know, particularly those of you that are members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, that the reason this Church is succeeding this way is because of a covenant between God and the founder. Church Gist. It has nothing to do with me. God saw a man who was worshipping an idol; grabbed him, saved his soul, told him “I will start a Church through you that will go through all the whole world. All I want you to do is the following” – and he told him. And My Father in the Lord … I was going to say, “God bless him” but he is already in heaven. You can’t get a better blessing than being in heaven. … Fulfilled his own part of the covenant and God is not going to break his own. Church Gist. So if you are trying to find out the secret of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, go to God and find out what is the meaning of a covenant.
God made a covenant with Abraham – the first person to have that covenant.
7. He was the first fellow to have his name changed by God. His name used to be, “Abram” but God changed it and said, “Even that name is too short. Let’s make it a little more mouthful. Let’s call it, Abraham.” – I like that! I have spoken to you before the importance of names. Church Gist. You know Moses, Moses means I pulled him out of water. You know the part water played in the life of Moses – changed water to blood, brought water out of the rock, when he couldn’t get to the promised land it was because of water, passed through the Red Sea, water water water. Because his name was Moses. God looked at Abram and said, “No,” I change the name from Abram to Abraham. Genesis 17:5. Church Gist. How I wish that if your name is causing problem in your life, God will give you the grace to change that name today.
But, what is something that must be extra special about this Abraham? Something about him kind of unique? Church Gist. Because I want the heavens to open unto me just like it opened to Abraham.
1. He was a covenant keeper: Genesis 17:9-13. Abraham was 99 years old when he circumcised and there was no anaesthetics in those days. Genesis 17:23-24. 99 year old man? I could not imagine the pain. Church Gist. Where I was born, there was no anaesthetics but they do the circumcision very early in life before you can really know the full meaning of pain and Mama is there to shock your mouth with breast. So as you’re trying to cry, a little bit of milk is settling … This man was 99 years when he circumcised. He was a covenant keeper.
2. It will interest you to know in Genesis 14:13-20, that Abraham was the first to pay tithe. He paid it voluntarily – there was no law then for those who say, “tithing is of the law.” The law didn’t come until more than 430 years later. Exodus 12:40. Church Gist. That’s not to talk about the years between Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph added. But at least we know 430 years, the children of Israel were in Egypt before Moses brought them out. Law came by Moses. So long before law came, Abraham voluntarily paid tithe. You want to be of the seed of Abraham? Galatians 3:29.
3. According to Genesis 22:1-18, he was the first one to give first fruit sacrifice. God said to him, I know you have 2 sons but one is the one of covenant – Isaac and that’s the one I want; not the one that came by manipulation. Church Gist. He gave first fruit sacrifice donkey years before Solomon said it in Proverbs 3:9-10. Why? There is something about this Abraham that is godly, something about his nature that is almost divine. John 3:16.
There is one very important thing I must mention: Abraham was a lesson in purity particularly where marriage is concerned. There are a lot of young people today who believe that you can marry anybody from anywhere provided he or she says he is a Christian. Read Genesis 24:1-67. Church Gist. Don’t just marry anybody who says he is a Christian. Do you share the same background? Because when we talk of purity, something is only pure when there is no blemish. If a big bucket is full of very clean water and then a woman was carrying a baby quickly through to go and remove the nappy of the baby who was crying and in the process, a little bit of faeces from that child drops in the bucket of water, that water is no longer drinkable.
The Almighty God meant for his children purity – no blemish, no spot, no wrinkle. That’s Abraham. Church Gist. He told the servant, “don’t marry just anybody for my son. Go to my roots. Don’t let there be a mixture in this family.”
Galatians 3:13-14. You can be partakers of the blessings of Abraham. Church Gist. The heavens that opened to Abraham can open to you. The channel is Jesus Christ; no other way.
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