Prayer is a very powerful tool given to us by God for regular communication with Him. As powerful as this tool is, it is rather unfortunate that many people don’t use it at all while some who do, fail to make the best of it.

The first thing that must be in place for you to pray effectively is focus; all distractions must be done away with. The devil knows that you need to be completely focused to get the best out of your prayer time, and this is why you usually remember some not-too-important things that can distract you during prayers. One of the reasons you see many men of God praying when everyone is asleep is that they don’t want to be distracted. In Mark 1:35, Jesus Christ woke up before daybreak to pray while others were asleep. He went to a secluded place to pray. You must try to remove distractions. Find a secluded place where you can always go to pray. That secluded place could be your closet or any other place without distractions.

Anyone who does not regularly go to a secluded place to pray will eventually grow cold spiritually; I am saying this from experience. Many years ago, God pointed my attention to the fact that I was growing cold. He asked me, “When last did you spend quality time in my presence? Do you remember when you used to worship me in your car so much that my presence will fill the car, and you will have to park by the roadside because tears would have filled your eyes?” I responded, “Yes Lord, I remember, but that was before I had a driver. If I worship you that much now and my driver sees tears in my eyes, he will think something is wrong.” He responded, “Oh, it is now my fault that I gave you a driver?” I quickly apologised. That night, I left the house when everyone had slept to pray in the auditorium. The moment I started worshipping, the tears came rolling down. I had been praying all the while, but the major difference was that I had not been going to a secluded place to pray, and that had made me grow cold. Now, I have made it a habit to pray in secluded places, and my fire has increased greatly as a result.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Titus 2:1-8 says that elders should behave right in order to influence the younger ones to also behave right – this is how it should be. Beyond words, the younger generation learns more by observing. Besides hearing the things you say, they can also see the things you do. If you want them to behave rightly, let them see you do what you are asking them to do consistently first.

When you lie to get a favour for your child in school, and then turn around to tell that child not to lie to you, you are deceiving yourself. If they hardly see you pray and read your Bible, you can’t turn around and ask them to read their Bibles. You should be bold to say to the younger ones like Apostle Paul said:

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Philippians 4:9

Titus 2:7 says that you must show yourself as a pattern of good works.

Many elderly people usually say that in order to catch the youths, they need to dress like youths and use their slangs. What they don’t know is that when they start looking and talking like them, they are endorsing their lifestyle and some of their negative actions. They can’t change them that way, rather, they will only reinforce their negative behaviour. Instead, they should be a standard for the youths to follow. More often than not, the youths know the truth and when they do the wrong things, they actually expect the elders to correct them. Now, imagine their confusion when they see their elders doing the same things they want to be corrected about. In Yorubaland, where I come from, we call elderly people who behave childishly ‘agbaya’, meaning ‘shameless old fellow’.

God is counting on elders to guide the younger ones on how to behave for them to have a better tomorrow. God also expects the youths to submit to their elders in humility. Finally, Titus 2:2 says that elders should be sober, brave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity and in patience. As an elder, let this be your watchword. Don’t be an agbaya.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are times we go in the wrong direction due to our human nature. For example, we had quite a good bargain when we purchased the first four acres of land that has now expanded to become Redemption City. As time went by, we kept buying more land even though the price was increasing. After we had bought about a thousand acres, some people spoke to me and said, “Why are you buying lands in this bush? There are other things to spend money on,” and I listened to them. However, one night, God said to me, “Son, who called you? These people or Myself? Who promised you a city instead of a boy’s quarters?”. I woke up and made up my mind to keep buying more land, but by then, what used to be 1,000 naira had gone up to 50,000 naira. Today, we have over 40,000 hectares, and we are still buying more. If you are moving in the opposite direction of God’s will for your life, God will step in today and bring you back to the right path, in Jesus’ name.

A fellow might have done something terrible in the past which made it impossible for him or her to reach some goals. An individual can commit a crime and end up with a life sentence. Even though that fellow’s case may seem hopeless, God can step in and turn things around.

In Genesis 49:1-7, Jacob, on his deathbed, cursed Levi because of some sins from his past, but God stepped in and gave Levi an opportunity to be restored. In Exodus 32:25-26, Moses returned from the mountain and found out that the children of Israel were dancing naked before an idol. He cried out, “Who is on the side of the Lord? Let him come to me.” Everyone belonging to the tribe of Levi crossed over to Moses and became his army. God looked down from heaven and said, “That curse on you is cancelled!” Levi missed it earlier, but he got on God’s side and was restored.

God can step in to give you hope again. I however have some questions for you: are you on the Lord’s side? Do you do His will? Are you committed to serving Him alone? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, God will step in and bring you back to the path of fulfilling your destiny, in Jesus’ name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Two days ago, I discussed the prime of a man, the time when things are at their brightest, and I said that it is possible for someone to miss his flood. What should a fellow do if he or she has missed his or her flood? If a person has not made good use of his or her flood period, is there any way out before the night falls? If God is keenly interested in such a fellow, He will assist him or her to do one or two things that will turn the situation around.

Esau missed his flood when he sold his birthright. When the time came to get the generational blessing, he missed that one too. Genesis 27:34 says that He wept bitterly. Esau repented and cried to his father, saying, “Can’t I get just a leftover blessing?” God saw that his repentance was genuine and that his request for just a little bit of blessing was a passionate cry. As God is rich in mercy, He gave him the grace to recover some of the lost grounds. After Esau left his father, he made up his mind to make the best of the little blessing he got from him and prove everybody wrong. By the time we get to Genesis 32:3-7, Jacob sent some animals as gifts through some servants to tell Esau that he was coming home. Those people returned to tell Jacob that Esau was coming with 400 bodyguards to meet him, and the Bible recorded that Jacob trembled with fear. The one who got the original blessing trembled when the one who got the leftover approached him. By the time we get to Genesis 33:1-9, when they finally met, Esau asked Jacob why he sent all those animals and told him that he already had enough. Esau was so blessed that he asked Jacob to keep his possessions. He was indirectly saying, “I might have missed my flood, but as long as I am still breathing, I can still work my way to the top.”

You might have also missed your flood, but as long as you are still breathing, it is not too late. You can work your way to the top if you are determined to do so with God’s help.

Don’t give up on yourself. There are people who became successful in their old age. They may be few, but you can be one of the few. What you need is an undying determination and the grace of God.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

If you are above 50, you are already in the second half of your day, and you need to apply wisdom more than ever before. By evening, you are supposed to be relying more on wisdom, not on strength as the flood might have subsided. You may refer to yesterday’s teaching to understand what I mean by the flood. Job 12:12 says that wisdom is supposed to be with the ancient; years are supposed to teach wisdom. Job 32:7 says that days should speak and multitudes of years should teach wisdom. This is why it is said that a fool at 40 is a fool forever. You are supposed to have become wise by the time you are 40 because as people grow older, they naturally become weaker.

Nobody will believe, except those who are close to me, that I used to be a boxer. Nobody will believe that there was a time I could carry a bag of cement in one hand and another in the second and say that I was balancing the equation. Now, even with two hands, I will think twice before I pick up a bag of cement.

In 2 Samuel 21:15-17, the Bible says that David waxed faint. This was the same person who killed a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-35). He was the same person that delivered 200 foreskins when he was asked to get a hundred (1 Samuel 18:25-27). David, the giant killer, the one who single-handedly cut off Goliath’s head, waxed faint, and he would have been killed in battle if somebody had not come to his aid. What lesson can we learn from that? When David was at his peak, he had prepared for the time he would grow faint. In 1 Samuel 22:1-2, when he was in the cave of Adullam, he gathered some vagabonds and turned them into mighty men. It was one of his boys that was there to help him when his evening came.

In 2 Samuel 23:1-39, we read of the people he had prepared who were now called ‘David’s mighty men’. These men risked their lives by taking on an entire army just to get him water to drink. If you are in your flood age, you should prepare disciples when things are going very smoothly. Are you preparing for those days when the flood will be gone? What arrangements are you making during your daytime because the night is coming? I am speaking in proverbs, but a word is enough for the wise. Start building younger people now so that when your strength is no longer as before, they can be there to help you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

People in their noon are the ones we often call ‘adults.’ You will notice that Jesus Christ started His ministry at the age of 30. John the Baptist, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Luke 7:28), also started around the same age. Samson, by the time he killed a thousand people, was around 30 years of age. David, when he became king, was also about that age. Phillip, when he was turning Samaria around for God, was also in the noon phase of his life. There is a saying:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune, neglected, all the voyages of their lives are bound in shallows and mysteries.”

The noon time is when the flood comes. If you are a pastor, around this time, there is hardly any sermon you will preach that will not be appreciated. With very little effort, the church grows, but the flood does not last forever. If you miss that flood, you will get to a stage where it would not matter how well you preach because people will say, “We’ve heard this before.”

The noontime is probably what God was referring to when He said in Isaiah 60:1-5, “Arise, shine, for your light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” God is smiling on your efforts. There are those who made good use of their flood and, as a result, were able to keep going when the evening came.

There was a young man whom God used to perform miracles, signs and wonders. He prospered so mightily that he reserved a presidential suite in Sheraton Hotel permanently for himself. In those days, he was always travelling with five Mercedes Benz cars. The number plates carried the name of the ministry, and each one was tagged ‘Ministry 1’, ‘Ministry 2’, ‘Ministry 3’, and so on. After a while, however, the flood subsided. Money stopped flowing in, the cars disappeared, and the police began to look for him because of the money he was owing the hotel.

Don’t misuse the flood when it comes. Be wise to use your brightest moments so well that the brightness will remain, even when the evening comes. Don’t waste your resources. Don’t mismanage your health and the relationships God sends your way. These are some of the things that will keep the brightness when the evening comes.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Specifically, the morning of a man stands for his youth. In (1 John 2:14), Apostle John said, “I have written to you young ones because you are strong.” The major characteristic of youths is their strength.

I know most youths see their youthful days as days to enjoy themselves. This is true, according to Ecclesiastes 11:9-10:

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth…but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment…

Note that the above passage also says that youths will account for the seeds they sow later in life. Those that spend their youthful days engaging in all sorts of vices will reap plenty of trouble later in life (Galatians 6:7). In Genesis 49:1-4, when Israel was about to die, he called his children together and began to prophesy about their future. He said concerning Reuben, “Mighty Reuben, excellency of strength…but you will not excel.” Why did he say this? In Genesis 35:22, Reuben did something that he should not have done, and his father heard about it. Now, when his father was about to die, he told him he would not excel, even though he was the firstborn. When you read Revelation 7:1-5, you’ll be amazed that by the time they were listing the children of Israel who were sealed, Reuben was no longer the first.

Beloved, if you are young now, meaning that you’re less than 30 years old, make good use of your youth. Be careful of the kinds of seeds you sow now because you will reap their fruits later, and the harvest is always greater than the seed sown.

…I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
1 John 2:14

The above passage does not only say that you are strong as a youth, but also that the word of God is to abide in you, and you are to overcome the wicked one. Your youthful days are the days to soak in the word of God like never before. This is the time to memorise as many scriptures as possible. Now is the time to build your spiritual strength to stand against the devil and overcome him. Use your strength to do a lot for God because a time will come when you will discover that being a youth does not last forever.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Genesis 1:1-5, God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night’. The combination of both gave us the first day. When you dig deeper, you will discover that a day is broken into three parts – morning, afternoon and evening. In Psalm 55:17, David said, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Day is God’s unit of measuring the time of man on earth. Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Proverbs 10:27 tells us that although God can lengthen a fellow’s days, He can also shorten them.

According to Psalm 90:6, the morning is the time for growing up, and it is the time for joy (Psalm 30:5). When you are growing up as a child, you have no responsibilities. When children wake up in the morning, they want breakfast to be on the table, and how it gets there is none of their business. Listen to a child laugh, and you will also begin to laugh because their laughter is right from the inside. The afternoon is when you are at your peak, and the sun is at its brightest. Job 11:17 talks about age being clearer than the noonday. The noon is the peak of life. The evening is when things begin to become dim, and the sun is about to set. (1 Samuel 4:15) says that Eli was 98 years old and his eyes waxed dim. Psalm 104:23 says that man goes to his work and begins to return home in the evening. Your evening is when you begin to round off your life.

It is pertinent to know which part of your day you are in so that you can act wisely and make the best out of it. However, if you don’t know, you could be trying to achieve good results with the wrong method. This is why those who fear God are called wise because even though they grow old, they have wisdom and can still do what strong people cannot. There is a time to use strength primarily, and there is a time to use less of strength and more of wisdom. There is a time to run and a time to pass the baton. You must recognise your times and seasons to make the best out of your life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When you hear the expression ‘God is smiling on you,’ it means you are enjoying divine favour and grace. In Numbers 6:24-26, God said that the sons of Aaron were to pronounce a blessing on the people, and the blessing went thus:

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

When God’s face is shining upon you, it means the Lord is smiling upon you and you will enjoy divine favour everywhere you go. It also means that every darkness around you will be consumed, and you will be basking in His light.

When God decides to show you favour, you will achieve more than somebody who is working extremely hard without divine favour. When God shows you favour, miracles happen. For example, Genesis 24:63 says that Isaac went for a stroll and in the 67th verse of the same chapter, the Bible says:

And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

All the background work in getting Isaac a wife was done by some other people. When you compare Isaac’s experience to that of Jacob, who laboured for 14 years without pay before he could get the woman he wanted to marry, you will see the difference between favour and hard labour to get what you want. I decree that from now on, God will show you favour.

Not too long ago, all the universities in Nigeria were ranked, and Redeemer’s University came second. The first was the University of Ibadan, the oldest university in Nigeria, founded in 1948. Redeemer’s University was only 17 years old at that time, and we beat universities that were more than 60 years old. How could this be? The only explanation can be divine favour.

The question now is, what can you do to always enjoy divine favour? You can find a good answer to this question in Proverbs 3:3-4 which says:

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

To draw God’s favour to yourself, always tell the truth and show mercy to others.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Many Christians don’t pray aloud anymore, and this is one of the reasons we are seeing fewer demonstrations of power among us. During the first service I attended at RCCG, we were asked to shout hallelujah, and the fellow beside me shouted so loudly that I almost ran out of the church. Where there is power, there must be noise. The Concorde, a plane that could take you from London to New York in about three hours, was grounded partly because people said it was noisy. With its powerful engine, it was bound to be noisy.

These days, many Christians have to be cajoled to shout ‘hallelujah’. I remember many years ago when I was asked to preach during a Christmas carol at Aso Rock, and all the high and mighty were there. When I asked them to shout hallelujah, they shouted like sophisticated ladies and gentlemen, until I said, “The next fellow to shout hallelujah is the only one who will see the new year.” This time around, they really shouted. Real Christians do not have to be threatened to praise their Father.

Many years ago, I was walking and praying within Redemption City in the middle of the night, hungry and thirsty for the power of God. I had been crying, “Lord, I told You from the beginning that I don’t want to be ordinary. I was serving You as much as I could when I was still lecturing at the university, making some money to do Your work, but you pulled me out. Now, You have made me a General Overseer, and I lack the power to do the work that must be done. Father, either empower me or take me home.” As I prayed, the ground under my feet shook violently. There was an earthquake that was felt from as far as Ijebu-Ode – it was in the newspapers. An earthquake is not quiet. Noise is necessary for power; stop trying not to be noisy. Don’t hinder the move of God with your so-called sophistication.

I am at a point in my life where I need other people to carry more fire than me so that when I am leaving, I will know that I am leaving commandoes behind that will take the work of God farther than I did. Stop forming, as the youths will say, when you are in the presence of God. Be free to make a loud noise that will shut the devil out and let the power of God flow.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

God loves unity; wherever He finds people uniting in His name, He will show up. You can see a good example of this in 2 Chronicles 5:13:

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;

In the above passage, as the trumpeters, singers and musicians all sang as one, God’s presence came down like a cloud and filled the temple. God loves it when His children worship Him in one accord. This is why Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three people are gathered in my name, there will I be.” At the upper room in Acts 2, the Bible says that when the people were in one accord, the Holy Spirit filled the room with a sound like a mighty rushing wind. Wherever believers are gathered in unity, God will show up in His glory.

Psalm 133:1-3 tells us that when brethren come together in unity, it is like the anointing oil that was poured on Aaron’s head which went all the way down to his feet. Do you know what that means? It means that it is only when God’s people are united that the anointing can flow amongst them. Without unity, the corporate anointing will not flow. The reason many churches are not experiencing the power of God amongst them is that they are not united. Where there is gossip, strife and backbiting, don’t expect the power of God to flow. These vices are not of God, and so, God cannot be where they exist.

1 Corinthians 12:12 says that we are all different parts of one body. If the hand is envious of the eyes and the leg is keeping malice with the head, how can the body function effectively? When we become united in our local assembly and in the body of Christ as a whole, we will see great miracles amongst us that will amaze the whole world. If you are a pastor reading this now, you should ensure that all forms of strife amongst workers and/or members of your local assembly are resolved today.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are many Christians who say that they do not take nonsense from anybody. However, these same people take nonsense from the devil. Whether you take nonsense from people or not is not very important, what is most important is that you do not take nonsense from the devil. The Bible says:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1 Peter 5:8

Will you sit around and let him come and devour you? You should stand your ground against him and set his tail on fire so that he can run far away from you.

One of my daughters shared a testimony some time ago. Her child was sick, and they took the child to the hospital. On getting there, the doctor said that there was nothing he could do to save the child. The woman asked, “In that case, can you refer us to another hospital?” The doctor referred them, and on their way, they got stuck in a terrible traffic jam. While in the traffic jam, the child died. The woman said, “I am not going to take this,” and after five hours on the road, she suddenly had a brainwave. She said, “At least my father will call his God, and his God will answer. I will call on the God of my father, and I even have a handkerchief that he once prayed over.” She laid the handkerchief on the child, called the child’s name and commanded him to come back to life. The child jerked awake, and there was no need to go to the hospital anymore.

When you are determined not to let something evil happen, your prayers will be more fervent than usual. There are probably things in your life that the devil has been using to torment you. These things will only stop when you become determined not to take any nonsense from him again. If you have been praying gentle prayers concerning these things, it is time to use your authority in Christ and start issuing commands in your prayers.

You must however, submit yourself to God first before you can successfully stand up to the devil. James 4:7 says:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

If you are sure of your right standing with God, when you resist the devil, he will run away from you. Stop taking nonsense from him!
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
John 9:4

The above passage says, “The works of Him that sent me,” not the works of your pastor. This was why I laughed when I heard someone say to me some time ago, “I’ve been serving you all these years.” I was amazed, so I responded, “Serving me?!” I thought we were serving God together on the same platform. You need to really know whom you are serving. Are you serving God, your pastor, or your Head of Department in church? If you are serving God, you won’t only behave well when your pastor or Head of Department is around, but you will do so at all times because the One you claim to be serving can see you all the time.

For some people, they are serving their neighbours. They want their neighbours to see them as fervent Christians, but, in secret, they keep committing sins. If you really know you are serving God, you will care more about being holy in His eyes than looking holy in public. Revelations 4:11 says, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” You are to please God irrespective of the people around you.

Lastly, some people claim to be serving God, but they are actually serving their needs; they come to Him only because they need something from Him. Everything they do for God is motivated by what they want to get from Him. For example, this is why there are people who reduce their commitment in church or even stop going altogether once they get the job that they have been praying about.

For some, they are only in church because they are looking for a godly husband or wife to marry. In John 6:24-26, Jesus sent the people who were coming to Him because of bread and fish away. Such people’s service is not acceptable to Him; He can see their real intentions and does not count them among His children.

Are you serving God, people or your needs? Beloved, you need to be very clear about whom you serve. Serve God for who He is, and not for anything else.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In my study on this topic, I noticed that Apostle Paul, who said in Philippians 4:7: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ,” was promoted so highly that in 2 Corinthians 12:11, he said, “I’m not behind the greatest apostles.” When we talk about promotion, many of us think about titles. Titles are beautiful, but I will rather be a deacon that can raise the dead than be a National Pastor that cannot heal a fly.

I preached a message on total surrender one day in church. In those days, only a few members had cars. After the service, a young man came to me and said, “Daddy, from now on, I surrender all to Jesus.” I said, “Really?” He said, “Yes”. I then said, “Good. So, we will now be able to borrow your car tomorrow for a church assignment.” He replied, “But I have to go to work tomorrow”. I laughed and said, “I just wanted to show you that you haven’t surrendered all.” I only asked about the church borrowing his car, and that was difficult for him to agree to. What if I had asked for something bigger?

What could make an individual surrender totally to God and even serve Him without pay? I found the reason in Philippians 2:5-11 which is our Bible reading for today. It started by saying, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” It further told us how great Jesus was and how He humbled Himself unto the point of death, even the death on the cross. Then verse 9 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him…” At that point, I knew that the gain always outweighs the pain. Hebrews 12:2 says:

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When you seek the things of God first, the other desires of your heart will also be granted unto you according to His will. When you lay your life down for God, He will surely honour you in return.

There is great joy awaiting anyone who surrenders totally to God. If you surrender all that you have to Him, He will give you more in return. Beloved, surrender all to God and He will bless you far beyond your imagination.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In continuation of my discussion from yesterday, one of the challenges of being anointed is that anointed people are perceived to be stronger than they really are. Because they pray and God answers immediately, people think that they don’t need prayers themselves. Also, because they lay hands on the sick and the sick get healed, people think that they are superhuman and can never be weak or tired. Because they preach and souls get saved, there is a tendency to think that they never get tempted, whereas, they probably face temptations more than other people.

Moses made just one mistake in 40 years of leading the Israelites, but God said he would not get to the promised land. He had been interceding for Israel whenever they did terrible things, and God had been forgiving them. Now, in his own case, there was nobody to plead for him.

Do you want to be heavily anointed? Be ready to work endlessly. When I discovered that the Bible says that we should earnestly covet spiritual gifts, I was happy. I asked for double the anointing on Elisha, Peter, Paul and Jesus Christ when He was on the earth and then asked that all should be combined and doubled again. God warned me then that I was asking for a dangerous thing because people would not let me rest. When people see that you are anointed, they will bring all their problems to you. Even after you minister to them from the altar, they will still want to see you personally. You cannot send them away because the purpose of the anointing is to serve.

When I employed a personal assistant, and he asked, “What are our work hours?” I said, “We start the day at 5am and only God knows when we will close.” This is why raising other people who will also become anointed is necessary. RCCG is in over 190 nations in the world. How will I cope if every member comes to me with their problems? This is why each local assembly has anointed pastors that can pray for the members; only the cases they can’t handle come to me. God has also made things easier by making it possible for me to pray from the altar and anoint handkerchiefs which are used to perform the miracles that people would have called the General Overseer to pray about in the past.

A lot of responsibilities and challenges come with being anointed, so if you desire to be anointed, you should be ready to embrace them.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Do you want to be heavily anointed? The One who generates the anointing has more than enough for everybody. Psalm 23:5 says, “Thou anointed my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” He has more than enough for everybody, but are you willing to pay the price? Are you willing to go through the challenges that come with being anointed? Hebrews 1:9 says that if you love righteousness and hate iniquity, God will anoint you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

Yesterday, I mentioned some benefits of being anointed, but it is also important to note that the anointing also comes with some challenges. The major challenge with being anointed is that power can corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The more anointed you are, the more careful you must be because of the tendency to misuse the power. In Numbers 20:1-13, especially verse 10, Moses said to the people, “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?”

Only a few minutes before then, he was on his face before God, asking for a solution to the problem. The moment God told him what to do, he turned to the people who had been provoking him, called them rebels, and spoke as if the power to bring water out of the rock was from him and not from God. In verse 12, God said that because he did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people, he will not enter the promised land.

I have always told pastors in The Redeemed Christian Church of God that no one must ever feel as if he healed anybody. Left alone, you cannot even heal a rat! It is God who heals, and you are only a vessel through which the healing takes place. You must always see that as a privilege. Since the power to perform miracles is not yours, God can use anyone else to do it. A man of God once said that if you remove God from him, there will be little left. I was surprised because, in my own case, if you remove God from me, there will be absolutely nothing left.

Beloved, never forget that without God, you are nothing. Anyone who thinks that he or she can be something without God is clearly on a path to destruction. No matter how anointed you are, never allow yourself to think that you are all-powerful. Ensure that you remain humble.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Do you want to be heavily anointed? The One who generates the anointing has more than enough for everybody. Psalm 23:5 says, “Thou anointed my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” He has more than enough for everybody, but are you willing to pay the price? Are you willing to go through the challenges that come with being anointed? Hebrews 1:9 says that if you love righteousness and hate iniquity, God will anoint you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

Yesterday, I mentioned some benefits of being anointed, but it is also important to note that the anointing also comes with some challenges. The major challenge with being anointed is that power can corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The more anointed you are, the more careful you must be because of the tendency to misuse the power. In Numbers 20:1-13, especially verse 10, Moses said to the people, “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?”

Only a few minutes before then, he was on his face before God, asking for a solution to the problem. The moment God told him what to do, he turned to the people who had been provoking him, called them rebels, and spoke as if the power to bring water out of the rock was from him and not from God. In verse 12, God said that because he did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people, he will not enter the promised land.

I have always told pastors in The Redeemed Christian Church of God that no one must ever feel as if he healed anybody. Left alone, you cannot even heal a rat! It is God who heals, and you are only a vessel through which the healing takes place. You must always see that as a privilege. Since the power to perform miracles is not yours, God can use anyone else to do it. A man of God once said that if you remove God from him, there will be little left. I was surprised because, in my own case, if you remove God from me, there will be absolutely nothing left.

Beloved, never forget that without God, you are nothing. Anyone who thinks that he or she can be something without God is clearly on a path to destruction. No matter how anointed you are, never allow yourself to think that you are all-powerful. Ensure that you remain humble.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The anointing makes you a blessing to all kinds of people. In (2 Kings 4:1-7), Elisha was a blessing to a poor widow. You can put an end to someone’s poverty because you are anointed. Also, you can become a blessing, even to the rich and powerful. You can sit in your room and tell a rich fellow, “Go and wash,” as Elisha told Naaman, and if the fellow obeys, he will be healed. It is important to note, however, that if an anointed person blesses others solely for monetary gains, the problem of the rich will become the fellow’s problem as Naaman’s leprosy came upon Gehazi (2 Kings 5:20-27).

The anointing gives you the power to put smiles on the faces of people who would otherwise have been sorrowful. When I turned 80, I insisted that I wasn’t throwing a party. However, some General Overseers gathered in my office after the Holy Ghost Service that day. When they were asked to share testimonies, one of them, a medical doctor who is now a General Overseer, said two of his daughters became terribly sick. One was already gasping for breath when all of a sudden, he thought, “I have prayed, and nothing has happened, at least I know someone whose anointing is more than mine,” so he called me that night. When he told me what was happening, God asked me to tell him to do some things. When he started doing what I asked him to do, the other doctors that were with him started wondering what he was doing. He told them this wasn’t medicine, but an instruction that came from Redemption Camp. The children survived miraculously, and today, one of them is a doctor, and I think the other is an engineer. If you want to be able to turn sorrow away from families, pursue God’s anointing.

The anointing also gives you divine security. Our God is like a coin that has two sides, He is Love (1 John 4:, and He is also a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). When He says touch not my anointed, He is saying, “Don’t touch fire.” In Africa, we have a saying that even when a dog is mad, it still recognises fire. No matter how crazy a man may be, he will never walk into a fire. When you are anointed, you become too dangerous for the devil to touch.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Yesterday, I made it clear that the anointed is not to be dishonoured for any reason. Now, the question someone may have in mind is, “What do we do with ministers of God who we believe to be erring?” This is a very delicate situation that requires God’s wisdom and direction. For example, in Numbers 12: 1-6, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of something they believed he did wrong. At the end of the day, Miriam became leprous and Moses had to pray to God for her to be healed.

It is not in your place to judge God’s servants; leave their judgments to their Master. In Romans 12:19, the Bible says clearly that vengeance is His, just report the matter to God, and He will deal with His anointed as He pleases.

Anointed ministers of God cannot hide under the canopy of being God’s anointed and begin to treat His sheep the way they like. Hebrews 10:31 says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; believe me, a fellow should not experience God dealing with him or her Himself. The reason we discipline erring workers is to shield them from God doing it Himself. When a pastor misbehaves, and the General Overseer suspends him, it is so that the Consuming Fire Himself will not be the one to do it. So, if a pastor overlooks a fellow’s wrongdoings because of his or her contributions to the church treasury, that pastor is doing more harm than good because God Himself will come in, and nobody wants to fall into the hands of the living God.

In 2 Samuel 11, David used his position to snatch another man’s wife and also got him killed. Nobody could punish him as there was no one who was superior to the king. God had to step in to punish him. From that point on, there was no peace in David’s home. Not long after, one of his sons, Amnon, raped his half-sister, and then another son, Absalom, killed him. Later, Absalom rose up against his father. To date, the sword has not departed from Israel on account of the Lord’s judgement over David (2 Samuel 12:9-10).

When a person is anointed by God and uses that anointing to cheat others, when God punishes that fellow, the punishment might last throughout his or her lineage from generation to generation.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Yesterday, I talked about how dangerous the anointing can be when it is not properly handled. However, many anointed people believe that the caution to be careful with the anointing does not apply to them. This is not true. The fact that you are anointed does not give you permission to cause another anointed man of God harm. This is one of the major killers of some ministers of God; they speak evil of their colleagues, and when the repercussions come, they go to God complaining and wondering why things are not going well with them.

In 1 Samuel 24:1-6, a rare opportunity presented itself for David to kill King Saul, who had been seeking ways to kill him. David’s followers were happy about the opportunity, but David refused to kill him. However, so that Saul would know that he came close enough to kill him, he cut off a small part of his clothes. The Bible says his heart smote him, meaning that he was uncomfortable with what he did. Even though God had forsaken Saul, David still acknowledged that he could not lift his hand against him because he was anointed.

I remember when I was ordained a pastor and got anointed, for three days after they poured the oil on my head, I didn’t take my bath because I treasure the anointing. It took me a while to realise that no amount of soap can wash away the anointing. Once a person has been anointed, the fellow remains anointed even when he or she backslides. Even in that backslidden state, you must be careful of how you treat the person because of the anointing. I have never said anything negative about pastors who have left The Redeemed Christian Church of God dishonourably. The reason is that the oil is still on their head, and I don’t want any trouble with God.

The only exception is when God Himself authorises the action. For example, God may use the vessel that He used to anoint a man of God to deal with the same man of God. In this case, the vessel is acting as a representative of God. In (1 Samuel 15:27-29), Samuel refused to worship with Saul, and because Saul didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of his cabinet, he pulled Samuel back and tore his clothes. Samuel turned around and said, “Your kingdom is torn from you.” He made it clear that the reason he was making that decree was that the Lord who sent him to anoint Saul was pronouncing judgement on him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When the anointing is handled positively, its effects are similar with handling electricity positively. When electricity is handled properly, it can produce light and heat just like with the microwave, but when handled carelessly, it can destroy. When handled the right way, the anointing can destroy yokes, according to Isaiah 10:27. However, when it is handled wrongly, it can kill. If a fellow messes around with electricity, he or she will get roasted.

In 2 Kings 1:9-12, a king sent some soldiers to arrest Elijah, and the captain met the man of God sitting on a hill. The captain ordered, “Man of God, come down.” Elijah answered, “So you know I’m a man of God, and you are talking to me like that? Roast!” Immediately, fire came down from heaven and burnt the captain and his soldiers. When the king waited, and those 51 soldiers didn’t come back, he sent another 50 soldiers with their captain. When the captain got there, he saw ashes on the floor. Speaking to Elijah, he was even more rude and said, “Man of God, come down quickly.” Again, Elijah roasted them. When people disdain the anointing, it may cost them their lives.


Years ago, when the military was ruling in Nigeria, the then-military head of state wanted to become a democratic ruler. His spiritual advisers told him that what he wanted to do would not succeed because of a man called Adeboye, who was always praying for the country in the Redemption Camp (now Redemption City). I was in the camp when one of my children who was privileged to hear the information came and said, “Daddy, you have to travel quickly, they are coming for you.” Although I am anointed, I was troubled. Fortunately, my wife wasn’t there when the message was delivered. Later that night, I told her that I wanted to go and pray. While I was praying, God spoke. He said, “Don’t worry about him, I have taken care of the situation.” Though it was the month of June, God told me to tell people to wish each other a happy new year during the Holy Ghost service. The Holy Ghost service held on a Friday, and by Sunday, the military dictator had been removed permanently.

Don’t joke with the anointing. One of the biggest mistakes we make as Christians is that we tend to get too familiar with the anointing. When people find an anointed man of God who is humble, there is a tendency to get overfamiliar with him, and this can be dangerous.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

An electric iron is really just a piece of iron until it is connected to electricity. When you connect an electric iron to electricity, it becomes something you can smoothen your rough clothes with. A television is basically a screen with some components and wires attached to it. When there is no electricity, it is just there, capable of nothing. However, the moment you connect it to electricity, you will be able to see what is happening in another part of the world in real time. This is how the anointing works, it changes the ordinary to the extraordinary.

In Judges 15:14-15, when they brought Samson before the Philistines, and they began to rejoice, the Bible says that the Spirit of God came mightily upon him and the ropes binding him were burnt as with fire. Then, he grabbed the jawbone of a dead ass, and as soon as the jawbone came in contact with the anointing, it became a weapon of mass destruction. The anointing turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Electricity, in its raw form, is like fire. You may not see it that way because it is controlled before it is passed into your house. In the same vein, the anointing is fire. When the Holy Ghost fell on the people at the upper room, they could see cloven tongues of fire on each person’s head. The difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle is fire. You can ride up to 100 kilometres on a bicycle using your physical strength, but by the time you are done, they may need to pour water on you. However, if you are on a motorcycle, you will cover the same distance in less time and without stress. That is what the anointing does. When you see a man working like ten men put together, and instead of getting tired, he remains fresh, the anointing is the difference. So, whenever you are anointed, what you are receiving is the firepower to achieve things that are beyond your normal capacity.

The anointing is not only for pastors. An anointed doctor will successfully handle medical cases that other doctors cannot handle. An anointed businessman will achieve greater feats than his normal capacity can achieve. When the anointing comes upon you, you are empowered to do more than you can ever imagine. For example, the anointing made Elijah outrun Ahab’s chariot (1 Kings 18:46).

Beloved, I encourage you to seek God’s anointing; it will give you tremendous speed and turn your life around for good.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Many people seek to understand what exactly brings about miracles. When they see a man of God lay hands on a sick person and the sick person gets healed, they want to know what passed from his hand into the sick fellow’s body that caused the healing. When they say someone fell under the anointing, the question is, what is the anointing?

The anointing can be described as ‘heavenly electricity’, generated by the Holy Spirit. In other words, just like we have electricity here on earth that powers most of our appliances, the anointing is the electricity of heaven. When you see an anointed fellow, that fellow has connected himself to the generator of the anointing in heaven, which is the Holy Spirit, and he now has the heavenly electricity flowing in him. Acts 1:8 says that you will receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you. It is that connection with the Holy Ghost that makes the anointing flow through you. You must note, however, that the anointing is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the generator of the anointing. The Holy Spirit is God Himself.

How then do you connect with the Holy Spirit in order to get the anointing? The first thing you must note is that He is called the Holy Spirit because He cannot be near anything that is unholy. If you want to connect with the Holy Spirit, you must be holy. God will not anoint a sinner. Amos 3:3 says that two cannot walk together except they be agreed. If you are not holy, the Holy Spirit cannot work in you.

Also, just as you connect with a man when you speak his language, you connect with the Holy Spirit when you speak in tongues. The more you speak in tongues, the more heavenly electricity you are generating into your body and the more anointed you will be. You see, how anointed you are depends heavily on how much faith you have. Jude 1:20 says that you build up your holy faith by speaking in the Holy Ghost. So, the more you speak in the Holy Ghost, the greater your faith will be. The greater your faith, the more anointing you will have to do the impossible. You must note also that there are some levels of the anointing that you cannot reach if you don’t add regular fasting to your regular prayers (Matthew 17:21).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Mark 16:17-18 tells us that as a believer in Christ, you are to cast out demons and perform all kinds of miracles. The question now is, are you a believer? If the answer is yes, then you too can perform miracles as Jesus did. You may then ask, “Why have I not been able to perform any miracle thus far?”

In Mark 3:13-15, Jesus’ disciples were told what to do. They were to keep Him company, preach, heal sicknesses, and cast out demons. The reason most Christians have not been working miracles is that they have not been following this order. How much time do you spend fellowshipping with God? This is the first step in working miracles. You must spend quality time studying your Bible and praying daily. The more time you spend in His company, the more His power will rest on you.


You are also required to preach the gospel. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Many believers don’t evangelise. God will not give you the power to work miracles just so you can show off, He will only do so if you will use it to win souls for Him. If you get these first two steps right, the power to work miracles will follow duly.

Many people feel it is not compulsory for them to have the power of God. If I feel it is not compulsory to heal, then I won’t pay the sacrifice that will make healing easy. If I am not concerned when somebody dies, I won’t pray much before I ask the family members to arrange for the burial of the fellow. If you truly understand that God is expecting you to be the channel through which He will heal the sick and raise the dead, that it is a must that you cast out demons and that some demons won’t leave except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21), your attitude to food and pleasure should change.

If you are His disciple, according to Mark 3:13-15, you are expected to heal the sick. Every now and then, God will send you to raise the dead, cast out demons, and cleanse people with incurable diseases (Matthew10:7-. If you are His disciple, it is compulsory that you pay the price and receive the power to work miracles.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

PRAYERS FOR THE CHURCH

1. Father, thank You for the glory that you have put on Your church and for everything You are doing through Your church on the earth.

2. Lord, please help the church in my nation to remain faithful to Your calling. Don’t let the church derail from its purpose on the earth, in Jesus’ name.

3. Father, please let Your love increase amongst the different denominations of the church. Let us all see ourselves as one, in Jesus’ name.

4. Father, please help church leaders all around the world. Protect them from all the attacks of the enemy, and don’t let them get weary in doing Your work, in Jesus’ name.

5. Father, please provide the resources for Your church to advance Your kingdom here on earth, in Jesus’ name.

6. Father, please increase the influence of the church in every area of life and every aspect of human endeavour, in Jesus’ name.

7. Father, please help the church in my nation to overcome all the challenges that may arise; help us to emerge triumphant, in Jesus’ name.

8. Father, please let Your Spirit and power fill your church. Help us to experience more of Your power, even more than the churches of old, in Jesus’ name.

9. Father, please provide everything that the church needs to carry out Your mandate of winning souls to Your kingdom. Equip and empower us to fulfil Your mandate on earth, in Jesus’ name.

10. Father, please plant Your undying love in the church so that we can show love to the world and attract more souls to Your kingdom, in Jesus’ name.

11. Father, please give the church the wisdom to dominate in our generation, and even in generations to come, in Jesus’ name.

12. Your personal prayer points for your local assembly.

Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are many people who have received an impartation of God’s anointing, however, miracles are yet to happen through them. When a fellow receives the anointing, it remains dormant in him or her until it is stirred up. When Elisha got Elijah’s mantle, it remained an ordinary cloth until he used it to strike the river and asked the river to part.

I once attended a Kenneth Hagin meeting in Tulsa, USA, and saw a raw demonstration of the power of God. I made up my mind to see him, and by God’s grace, I was able to. He asked me, “Young man, what do you want?” I replied, “Sir, I want everything in you that has made you who you are.” After attending to everyone else in his office, he turned to me and said, “Young man, kneel down.” I knelt and saw his two big hands coming towards my head – that was the last thing I remembered. By the time I came around, I was on the floor, and he was kneeling by me with his hands on my head while praying furiously in tongues.

When we returned to Nigeria, I begged Papa, the General Superintendent of RCCG, to let me line people up and pray for them. In those days, we didn’t pray for anybody, everyone prayed by themselves. Papa allowed me, and so, during the evening service on that Sunday, we lined people up. Some people who had been in Tulsa with me saw that people fell when Kenneth Hagin laid hands on them, so, they came to stand behind the people that were lined up to catch them if they fell. I laid hands on the first fellow, but he didn’t fall. I wasn’t discouraged because I knew that people falling is not necessarily an indication that miracles have happened. However, by the time I got to the seventh fellow, someone fell under the anointing. After that, a couple of others also fell. I stirred up the gift that I had received and then saw it work mightily.

If hands have been laid on you, or you have been anointed by a man of God, it is not time to relax. The impartation will remain dormant if you don’t use it. Look for opportunities to pray for people and stir up the gift. The first fellow you pray for may not be healed immediately, however, keep stirring the gift, and soon, you will see it work mightily.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Consecration means being totally surrendered to God, in other words, holding on to Him and Him alone. Unfortunately, a lot of people hold on to Jesus with one hand and hold on to the world with the other. How do you explain Christians who claim to have given their all to Christ but who still consult witch doctors over challenging situations? Truly consecrated Christians are ready to go all the way for God. Such people may go through a lot of suffering for the Lord, but they will still count it all joy, as long as God is with them (James 1:2).

A good example of a genuinely consecrated person was Apostle Paul. He was totally sold out to God, such that even when God warned him about being apprehended in Jerusalem, he still went there to preach the gospel (Acts 21:11-14). He was so consecrated that he declared in Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Consecrated people care about God more than anyone or anything else. I was watching an interview on Dove Television one day, and the guest said that in the past, all Christians cared about was for God to use them, but nowadays, people are more interested in how they can use God. Many people just use Christianity as a cover-up to look good in the society, but when a little test comes, they denounce Christ. For example, these days, many Christians compromise their faith to get married. They wear revealing outfits to attract men, attend ungodly gatherings with the hope of finding suitors, and worse still, engage in premarital sex.

A missionary’s inspiring story greatly impacted my decision to be consecrated to God. She was serving in an area that was hostile to Christianity. On her wedding day, while she was getting ready, the authorities raided her home and arrested her for preaching the gospel. Instead of crying, she smiled, kissed the handcuffs and said, “Lord, I didn’t know I was so special to You that You didn’t want to share me with anyone else. How beautiful is Your wedding ring to me.” She was so sold out to God that while others saw a disaster, she saw the handcuffs as God’s wedding ring to her as His bride.

Beloved, are you consecrated to Jesus?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Jesus knows the end from the beginning, so He knew that what was going to happen to Him on the cross would be very terrible. This made Him pray in Matthew 26:39, saying, “…O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” The Bible recorded that while He was saying this prayer, His sweat was like blood. This tells us that He took that prayer very seriously. Yet, Jesus still decided to go through with the suffering.

Jesus did not lay down His life out of compulsion. He said clearly in John 10:18 that He laid down His life willingly. That statement is heavy, and it made me ask, “What kind of love will make a man surrender Himself to be humiliated and slaughtered like this?”

I saw the perfect answer to my question in John 15:13 which says:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

This is the greatest kind of love in the world. Jesus loves you more than anyone in the world can ever love you, and He showed it by laying down His life for you.

Again, I asked myself, “What will make a man surrender His life like this?” I saw the answer to this question in John 10:11-12. The Good Shepherd never deserts the sheep when He sees a wolf coming. He stays and protects the sheep from being devoured because of the love He has for the sheep. The devil is the wolf that tries to steal, kill and destroy, while Jesus is the Good Shepherd that laid down His life for you to have eternal life.

Jesus is the only genuine protection you can get from the claws of the wolf – the devil. If you believe in Him, and surrender your life to Him, the wolf will have no power over you because Jesus has already died for you. The wolf, however, is free to devour anyone that is not following Jesus or believers that stray away from Him.

Beloved, if you don’t want to be prey to the devil, give your life to Jesus Christ now. Commit to following Him and Him alone. He paid the ultimate price for you, and He is the only One that can lead you into everlasting life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When Jesus Christ was on the cross, He appeared to be helpless. This was a man who could call 12 legions of angels to come to His rescue, yet, He was nailed to a cross, and it seemed like he was helpless. Truly, what can a person whose hands and feet have been nailed to a cross do? For example, while Jesus was on the cross, he said, “I thirst.” Instead of giving Him water, they gave Him vinegar, and He could do nothing about it. This was not because He did not have the power to do whatever He wanted, but because if He had saved Himself at that time, you and I would have become preys to the devil. So, because of His love for us, He was helpless. He became helpless so that you can be helped. If you have been washed by the blood of Jesus, you will never lack help, in Jesus’ name.

On the cross, Jesus was lonely. He cried in Matthew 27:46, “…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” He was not even talking about how His disciples forsook Him. They left Him when He was arrested, but now, even God forsook Him. That was the biggest heartbreak for Him because there had never been a time when God was not with Him. However, He went through all that so that God can be with you always. He went through that gruelling experience so that you will never be alone and so that whenever you call on God, He will answer you.

Everything that happened at Calvary was sorrowful for Jesus; you cannot experience such pain and shame and not be sorrowful. He, however, put Himself through that sorrow so that you can have joy. Therefore, if you are truly washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, everything causing you sorrow is banished now, in Jesus’ name.

He did it all for you to have a life that is beyond what this world can give you – eternal life. The question now is, are you enjoying the benefits of the sacrifice He made for you on the cross? Are you truly washed in His blood? Are you living your life like Christ? The benefits of the sacrifice He paid are only for those who live holy. Anyone who truly lives holy will experience the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I have made up my mind to live holy for the rest of my life, what about you?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Whenever God wants to talk to a congregation, no matter how large, He will address individuals. Revelations 3:20 was written to an entire Church, but He said, “If any man…” John 3:16 says, “God loved the whole world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever…”

We came into this world one at a time. Genesis 25:21-26 makes it clear that even when twins are born, they come out one at a time. Even if the twins are to be delivered by a Caesarean operation, the doctor will bring one out first before the second. Romans 14:12 says that we are all going to give an account of ourselves before God. The messages you read in this devotional are not for everybody, they are for you in particular.

Whenever David wants to talk about something very serious, he personalises it. In Psalm 23:1, he said, “The Lord is MY shepherd; I shall not want.” He didn’t say, “The Lord is our shepherd.” Whenever some brethren want to close a service, they will say, “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” I always wonder where they got that from because it is not written in my Bible. What is written is, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6). Goodness and mercy are not for us they are for me. The result of my dwelling is for me, not for us.

In Psalm 27:8, David said, “When you said, seek my face, my heart says, thy face will I seek.” I don’t know what others are thinking, how far they want to go in the Lord, and how hungry and thirsty for God they are. I cannot thirst and hunger for God on their behalf. Don’t let someone else’s lack of hunger for God affect you, even if he is your pastor. Your walk with God is personal. When you come face to face with God in judgement, you will give an account of yourself individually. So, if you see someone who does not take his Christian life seriously, don’t let it bother you; Christianity is an individual matter.

Seek the face of God and encourage others to do so, but don’t let their laxity influence you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh are reasons many take what belongs to other people. The obsession to have it all without working for them and being controlled by material things will eventually lead to stealing. God wants you to have everything you truly need but in His own way and at His own time. He is willing to give you everything you need and more, but you must seek Him and His righteousness first.

Nobody can bless you more than God, so it is better to wait for God’s blessing because it will make you rich without any form of sorrow being added to it (Proverbs 10:22). Don’t let the devil deceive you with flashy things. Mark 8:36 says that all the material gains in the world will profit you nothing if you lose your soul. Beloved, please do not trade your soul for material gains by stealing. Nothing at all in this world is worth your soul.

God frowns strongly at stealing. If you desire to have more, work more. Do not take from those who have laboured for their possessions. Some people try to categorise and rationalise stealing. For example, some people will say corruption is not stealing. Some will even try to explain why internet fraud is different from stealing. Beloved, the moment a person takes something that does not belong to him or her without the permission of the owner or under false pretences, that fellow has stolen.

In 1 Corinthians 6:10, the Bible makes it clear that no thief will enter heaven. The devil is the father of thieves because, according to John 10:10, stealing is his first assignment in any man’s life. My father in the Lord, Pa Josiah Akindayomi, used to say that your father will take care of you with whatever he has. If your father is God, then He will take care of you with healings, blessings, and long life, but if your father is the devil, he will take care of you with sicknesses, marital problems, death, and the like. Thieves should never expect God to answer their prayers because God is not their father.

In Leviticus 6:4 and Exodus 22:1-4 God said that if you have stolen something, you are to return it to the fellow you stole from in double fold. Don’t keep stolen property in your possession. Finally, let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth (Ephesians 4:28).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Many young people these days see their elders as ‘old school’ and think that they can do without them – they are making a big mistake. I know there’s a lot of advancement in science and technology these days, and that the youth have more access to information than ever before, but no matter how many resources they have, there is one thing the elders have that they do not, and that is experience.

The elders have walked the path you are walking now and can tell you the outcome of whatever you are doing, even before you start. They have experienced far more than internet search engines can show you. Some of them have made mistakes in the past that you don’t have to make if only you let them guide you. The problem, however, is that many youths think that they are very wise, and such thoughts can put them in trouble.

There is a popular saying in Africa that what an elder sees while sitting on a chair, the child cannot see it, even if he climbs an iroko tree. I learnt a lot from the Late Pa S.G Elton though there were bits of advice he gave at the time that I thought were wrong. Today, I now know he was totally right. Thank God I listened to him. There are things about yourself that you don’t know and cannot see, but an elder will see them and advise you appropriately. Proverbs 30:12 says:

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

You could think that your talent and knowledge are enough to make you successful, but an elder will point your attention to a character flaw that you must get rid of if you really want to be successful.

When you’re employed in an organisation, respect those who have been there long before you. In church, give ears to what the elders have to say. At home, don’t neglect the advice of your parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties. When you do this, they will share some of their valuable experiences with you, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom (Isaiah 11:2), you will be able to put all their bits of advice together wisely. This will give you an unparalleled advantage over your peers in the journey of life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.