FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN – PART 33: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE – SPECIAL RCCG ONLINE SUNDAY SERVICE, 24TH DECEMBER, 2023.
SPECIAL RCCG ONLINE SUNDAY SERVICE
TOPIC: FOR WHOM THE HEAVENS OPEN- PART 33 (CASE STUDY OF JOSHUA (PART 20) – LEARN TO GIVE THANKSGIVING AFTER VICTORY AND DON’T BE OVERCONFIDENCE)
MINISTERING: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
DATE: 24TH DECEMBER 2023
BIBLE TEXT: JOSHUA 7: 2-12
Let Us Pray!
SONG
Immortal God
Invincible God
Immortal God, how Great thou Art.
OPENING PRAYER
Immortal, Invincible, the All-Wise God.
We Thank You because You are All Sufficient God – You know all things and You can do all things.
Thank You for everything that You have done for us in the Past and we Thank You for what You are going to do for us today – Please accept our Thanks in Jesus Name.
Father, it is written that You sent Your Words and it heals them.
As Your Words will be going forth today; let it bring Healings to Your Children.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
Praise the Lord – Hallelujah !
Well, greet one (1) or two (2) People and say: The Almighty God will surprise you today – Amen!
And then, you may Please be seated.
As we continue with Part 33 of our Series on: “For Whom The Heavens Open”.
We will be reading Joshua 7: 2-12:
- And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the Country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
- And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the People go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
- So there went up thither of the People about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
- And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
- And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
- And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
- O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
- For the Canaanites and all the Inhabitants of the Land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the Earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
- And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
- Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my Covenant which I Commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
- Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
… Oh Lord have Mercy!
How I wish that we have several weeks to look at this Story alone. But we have so many other things to learn and so we will just do the little that we can do today on this Section.
The Message that we want to bring to your attention here is that: Israel shouted before the Wall fell in Joshua Chapter 6 and then they took over Jericho.
They shouted one Big Hallelujah and the Wall fell and they overtook Jericho – That Mighty City.
But do you noticed that after the Wall fell, and after they took over the City; there was no Thanksgiving Service – None at all.
They were willing to shout so that the Wall can fall and so that they can Match Straight ahead and take over Jericho.
And after Jericho was taken, the next thing that they thought was to keep going on and go and handle Ai – There was no Thanksgiving Service.
- Learn that when God has given you a Victory, Praise Him!
Why? Because you will need Him again.
I. In Judges 15: 14-19; God gave a Great Victory to Samson – He used the Jawbone of an Ass to Slaughter thousands of his enemies and the rest fled.
And he boasted: Heaps upon heaps; look at me with the Jawbone of an Ass, I have killed a thousand People,
What was the next thing that he did? He threw away the Jawbone – He didn’t say Thank You, he didn’t Celebrate God but he just Celebrated himself.
And then, he became thirsty and then he cried to God – You gave the Great Victory to me and now this “Invincible Enemy” called Thirst is about to kill me.
And God, out of His Infinite Mercy said: I thought that you threw away the Jawbone. Pick it up again and out of the Jawbone came out water and he drank it.
… You will need God again.
II. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17; the Bible says that you are to Pray without ceasing.
But when you look at Verse 18 (1 Thessalonians 5:18); it also says that in everything, give Thanks.
Pray without ceasing is linked to Thanksgiving – Give Thanks without ceasing).
III. That is why you heard David say in Psalms 34:1 – He said that I will bless the Lord at all times, His Praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Why did he say that? Because he knew that after one Victory, you will need God again.
IV. In 1 Samuel 17: 34-51; David said that a Bear came, I killed the Bear; after that a Lion came, I killed the Lion and then after that, Goliath came.
You will need God again and so you need to learn how to Thank God at all times for everything that He has given you – Keep on Thanking Him!
V. Moses can tell you that in Exodus Chapter 14 – God opened the Red Sea, the Children of Israel Passed through on Dry Land. And they had a Thanksgiving Service in Exodus 15: 1-21.
After the Great Victory of Exodus Chapter 14, they had a Thanksgiving Service in Exodus 15: 1-21.
Why? You see the Elders has a saying:
A. They say that when you see a Hunter who returns from a Successful Expedition and he is making a Sacrifice; (Giving a Thanksgiving Service); it is not because of the animal he had already caught, it is because of the animals still remaining in the bush.
He is saying that if I’m Grateful this time, I will be able to catch more animals next time!
B. But then they also have another Proverb.
They said that you are working in the farm and then Rain fell and then you ran to a nearby Hut and they took you in to escape the Rain. After the Rain stopped, you walk out of the Hut and you didn’t say Thank You to the Owner.
They said that another Rain is going to fall and then you will come back to the same Hut.
… Learn to be Grateful
VI. Moses knew that after the Crossing of the Red Sea, Marah was on the way.
Exodus 15: 22-25, they came to Marah.
Marah now is not the case of “Opening up so that my People can Pass”; they are now thirsty and they now needed water to drink and the water they saw was bitter.
But because they had already given Thanks for the Miracle that had just happened, the Almighty God could say to Moses: Alright, I have Prepared the Solution to this ahead of Time – There is a tree here, take a Branch from the tree, throw it to the water and the water will become Sweet.
My Prayer for everyone of us who are True Children of God is that our Victory will Last forever – Amen!
Please, after every Victory, have a Thanksgiving Service.
- Then we can move on to another Major Point here – And that is that the People came back to Joshua and said: Ai is small, don’t send the whole Army but just send three thousand (3,000) People will do.
And I believed that this is a very Special Message for those of you who are in Leadership Positions – Whether in the Church or anywhere else: “BEWARE OF OVERCONFIDENCE” as Overconfidence can kill.
When Joshua was face-to-face with Jericho, he didn’t send Somebody to go and survey; he went there by himself.
He was there by himself telling God how am I going to get through when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in Joshua 5: 13-15.
But now, Jericho is down, Ai is small – I am Joshua, the Great Victor. I don’t need to go and see Ai for myself, let me send Somebody.
The Elders has a Saying that no matter how Wealthy you are, when it comes to the issue of going to the Toilet; you can’t send your Messenger as you have to go yourself.
There are certain situations in your Life that you can’t ask anybody to go and seek the face of God for you!
Please my Beloveth Children, learn from me:
Thank God for Prayer Warriors in our various Churches but it doesn’t matter how much they Pray; their Prayers cannot replace the Prayers of the Pastor.
I believed that all the Leaders of our Churches are Listening – It doesn’t matter how many People you have in the Prayer Band; God expects you to Pray as you are the “Set Man”!
We have thousands of Prayer Warriors who come around Particularly during the RCCG National Convention – And I mean thousands of them, Praying 24/7; and yet I go to the Prayer Room and I stay there.
That’s why you don’t see me much during the RCCG National Convention except when I have to Minister in the Evening because Somebody has to stay in the Presence of God!
Thank God for the Prayer Supports of all the Pastors, of all the Prayer Warriors et cetera et cetera; but God wants to hear from you – You are the “Set Man”.
Because like I have always said, when the Convention goes fine and Miracle happens and all is well, we all share in the Joy. But if anything goes wrong – And God forbids, they will blame only one Fellow and I’m sure you know who that Person is.
I remembered one Convention when it rained on the Holy Ghost Service Day (Friday); my People said, it rained today daddy. You are supposed to be in the Prayer Room (Laughters).
I told them, yeah I accepted. They must be saying: Well, you failed us.
I asked God, what happened? And he told me that there will be crowd that Night.
That means that He cooled down the Place because at that time, we had only the Old Arena and it couldn’t take all the crowd without some Cooling down.
- Anything goes wrong, the Chairman of the Company or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be held responsible.
- Anything goes wrong under your Watch as the Pastor, you are the one who will be held responsible.
There are things you don’t send other People to do for you – Praying is Number 1 of them!
Overconfidence can kill:
I. Overconfidence is what killed Samson.
In Judges 16: 5-21; Samson was so sure that who is this “Little Girl” called Delilah – I, Samson the Great Champion; killed thousands with Jawbone of an Ass. What can you this “Little Girl” do?
Because if you read that Story in Judges 16: 5-21; Delilah asked him Point Blank – What can we do to weaken you?
Samson said, well let’s Play a Game!
Overconfidence killed Samson!
II. And believe it or not, it was Overconfidence that killed Goliath.
In 1 Samuel 17: 41-51; Goliath looked at David and said: Am I a dog? You are coming against me with a Sling and a little Shepherd Stick? Do you know who you are coming to?
That was why he didn’t cover his face – He had a Shield big enough.
But he looked at David and said, I asked these People to send a Champion but they sent a Child.
You know the rest of the Story – He never lived to know the results of his Overconfidence.
III. 1 Samuel 2:9, my Beloveth; the Almighty God made it clear: By Strength shall no Man Prevail.
So, if God gives you a Victory, Please don’t arrogate the Success to your Cleverness, or Strength – No, No, No; it is God!
IV. 1 Corinthians 10:12, and the Almighty God says: You think you Stand? Take heeds lest you fall.
V. Oh, I’m moving from Glory to Glory because I’m living Holy and I’m doing all the Will of God et cetera et cetera.
How I wish that you will read Luke 4: 1-12?
When the devil tempted the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord won hands-down. The Bible said that satan left Him (Jesus Christ) for a while looking for another opportunity.
You win? Congratulations! But remember that you are fighting an enemy who does not sleep nor slumber.
Because when you read Matthew 13: 24-28; the Bible tells us the Parable of a Man who sowed a Good Seed.
The Bible said that while Men slept, an enemy came to sow tares.
Thank God that we have a God who doesn’t sleep nor slumber.
That’s why in Isaiah 40: 28-31; the Bible says that, wait on Him and He will renew your Strength.
You don’t win and then say, now I’m the Great Conqueror! Ha, the enemy is always looking for another opportunity!
Lamentation 3: 22-23 says that it is of the Mercy of the Lord that we are not Consumed.
It is because He renews His Mercy every Morning, that is why we are here alive.
That is why the Bible says in Matthew 26:41 – Keep Watching, Keep Praying.
As we have learnt, those of us who attended the School of Disciples (SOD); the Greatest Time or the Most Important Time when you should be on the alert is after a Victory!
You have just won a Great Victory, hey Stand on your Watch!
I. You know the Story of Gideon in Judges 8: 22-27.
Gideon just won a Great Victory and then the devil tried to tempt him immediately.
The People came to him and say: Come and rule over us and he said no way. God is our King, and so don’t put me in trouble.
I’m sure that you will Clap for him – Good boy! He didn’t want to take the Glory of God to himself.
But almost immediately, the devil entered into him and told him, ask for their Gold. And he asked for Gold.
And he made an Ephod – An Ephod is a Special Thing that a Priest will wear.
He didn’t build a house with the Money o – It was an Ephod he made.
And the Ephod became an Idol that brought destructions to the house of Gideon.
… Watch and Pray!
II. You know the Story of David very well in 1 Samuel 8: 6-11.
It was when the People were returning from the killing of the Philistines after Goliath was dead that the People sang – Ha, King Saul had killed a thousand, David killed ten thousands.
That was when the “Real Problem” for David began – That was when the father-in-law became a Man who was throwing Javelin at him.
… Watch and Pray!
III. You know the Story of Peter in Matthew 16: 13-23.
When Jesus Christ said: Who do Men say I am?
And the Disciples said, some say that you are the Great Teacher; oh you are a Prophet and you ate this and that.
And Jesus Christ said: Who do you People (The Disciples) say I am?
Peter said that You are the Son of the Living God.
And Jesus Christ said, Congratulations as you are hearing from Heaven.
And then Jesus Christ began now to say, alright, I’m getting ready to leave – I have to suffer.
Immediately Peter who was now feeling that I can hear from Heaven, the devil jumped into him and he said: No Lord, You are not going to suffer and You are not going to die.
Do you know what the Lord said to him? – Get thee behind me satan.
… From the one who just got Revelations from Heaven, to the one now who is allowing the devil to speak through him,
Watch and Pray! Overconfidence can kill!
ALTAR CALL
And so, those of you who has not given your Life to Jesus Christ – Thinking that you can handle your Life yourself; you are being Overconfidence. You can’t handle the devil as he doesn’t sleep nor slumber.
If you don’t have the Almighty God who does not sleep nor slumber to help you; satan will make a Mincemeat of you.
But if you love yourself now, you will humble yourself by coming to Jesus Christ – He will save your Soul and become your Defender.
So, if you want to give your Life to Jesus Christ, bow down your head now so that I can Pray for you at this moment.
Let Us Pray!
PRAYER FOR SALVATION AND CLOSING PRAYER
My Father and my God, I want to Thank You for Your Words and I want to Thank You especially for those of you who has decided to Surrender their lives to You because they can’t face satan alone.
Father, Please receive them, save their Souls, let Your Blood wash away their sins and Please receive them into the Family of God.
And as from now on, begin to fight their battles for them.
And I Pray that anytime they cry to You from this moment, You will answer them by Fire.
And I Pray for all Your Children who are already Your Own, that from this moment onwards, anything called “Pride or Overconfidence” will become a Stranger to them.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
Praise the Lord – Hallelujah!
Now, I rejoice with those of you who has given your Life to Jesus Christ.
I want to assure you that from now on, I will be Praying for you.
So, Please go to the nearest The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Church to you – Tell the Pastor there that I sent you and he will tell you what to do next.
God Bless You!
Praise the Lord – Hallelujah!!!
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
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