THE EVERLASTING ARM – PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE – THE REACH FOR CHRIST UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN CHRISTIAN FAMILY FELLOWSHIP PRESENTS BIBLE STUDY 2024 WITH PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE:17TH JANUARY 2024

THE REACH FOR CHRIST UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN CHRISTIAN FAMILY FELLOWSHIP PRESENTS BIBLE STUDY 2024 WITH PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

THEME: THE EVERLASTING ARM

MINISTERING: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

DATE: 17TH JANUARY 2024

BIBLE TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 33:27

SONG

The Steadfastness of the Lord never ceaseth

His Mercy never come to an end

They are New every Morning

New every Morning,

Great is Thy Faithfulness O LORD

Great is Thy Faithfulness.

*OPENING PRAYER*

Ancient of Days we Worship You. We are all saying Good Morning to You.

Lord Thank You for Your Mercy. It is of Your Mercy that we are not Consumed. 

Thank You that the Mercy is renewed everyday. Accept our Worship in Jesus’ Name.

Faithful God, this Morning in Your own Miraculous Way reach out to all of us. That which we don’t know my Father and my God, reveal unto us.

At the end of everything let Your Name be Glorified. 

In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.

Shake hands with four (4) People say: Good Morning, God Bless You!

Please, be seated.

Good Morning to everybody. I wasn’t expecting a crowd – I thought to be here by 6:00am at least you must have been up my 5:00am. I didn’t know People are so interested in God that they wake up at 5:00 am on a Campus.

*The Lord that you have come to seek early, you will find Him – Amen.*

Deuteronomy 33:27

The Eternal God is thy Refuge, and Underneath are the Everlasting Arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

When I was a “Baby Christian” – And I am still a “Baby Christian”. It is just that one baby is older than another. 

I had some very serious Questions – A lot! Probably because I come from the Academic World. And at the time I got Born Again I was already doing my PhD Program. 

I had Questions that the Pastors could not answer; Questions that even if I asked them they Probably would have kicked me out of the Church, thinking that “Too much learning has made this one mad.”

Questions like, “Is it true that God knows the End from the Beginning?”

And if the answer is Yes, “did He know that Adam and Eve will eat the forbidden fruit?”

Because, if He knows the End from the Beginning, then surely He should know these things in advance.

“If He knew that they will eat the forbidden fruit why did He Plant it.”

… You don’t ask Pastors those kind of Questions (laughs). t

Then, “if they ate the fruit that He knew they would eat before they ate it and He Planted it, while quarrel with them for doing what You know they were going to do, you knew they were going to do?”

You know those kind of Questions. 

By now you yourself would be thinking, “is this man sane?”

Like: In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. And then we went further to read, Heaven is His Throne:

Where was God before He made the Heaven and the Earth?

Where was He sitting before He made that Throne?

You can’t blame me for asking Questions – I just wanted to know. I wasn’t querying God; I brought my Academic Mind with me when I came to the Lord.

And He did not slap me for asking those Questions – He knew that this boy is not querying me, he just wants to know more.

Later on, I was to learn that, they who do know their God shall be Strong and they shall do Exploits.

So you are Welcome this morning!

*Answer to one of those Questions I asked in those days, that is connected with the Everlasting Arms – And the Question was, “How Big is God?”*

You know, in those days we sang a Song:

How Great is our God?

How Great is His Name?

He’s the Greatest God

And for ever the same

He Parted the Waters of the Mighty Red Sea

He said “I will lead you”

Only trust in me.

… And they don’t sing it nowadays – That is a Song you should not forget.

How Great is He? How Big is this God that I am supposed to now trust the rest of my Life into His hands Completely?

Because, when they say Surrender your Life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I understand thay word ‘Surrender’ to mean, “Let go everything.”

So, I began to ask Questions: How Big (Size wise) is God?

How high is the Most High?

How tall is God ?

And I discovered Scientifically that, if you want to know how tall a man is, all you need to do is let him be spread Eagle-Like against a wall. And measure the distance between his index finger from the right to the index finger on the left. 

Measure that distance – That is the height accurately.

*So, if we are talking of someone with Everlasting Arms, then you begin to have a rough idea who this God is.*

Deuteronomy 10:17 shows me Clearly, I am not the first Person to ask the Question, “How Great is Our God?” Because, when you know how big a Person is, then you have a rough idea, how big his Weapons can be.

The Weapons of Goliath is not like that of an “Ordinary Soldier”. 

You know the Story in 1 Samuel 17:4-7 – When they were describing the spear of Goliath they said it is like a weaver’s beam.

A lot could also be determined by what you are holding in your hand – The hand may be small but what is the hand holding?

When you read Exodus 4:1-20, when Moses had that encounter he had with God, he started up with the rod of a Shepherd in his hand. By the time he was going to Egypt he was carrying the Rod of God in his hand.

A lot had Changed!

*The rod of a Shepherd cannot open the Red Sea. The Rod of God can do quite a lot!*

A King is not a King until they give him the Staff of Office – I’m sure you understand.

*But then, “How much can this God hold?”*

Isaiah 40:12 says, He measures the waters in the Palm (hollow) of His hand – All the Ocean is just in the hollow of his hand.

*If He can hold the entire Ocean in His hand, I don’t think I am “Too Big” for Him to carry.*

1. *For example, How Big are His EARS?*

Psalms 65:2 says, O thou that hearest Prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

*Somebody who can hear the Prayers of everybody in the whole world, at the same time; the ears must be a little bigger than mine.*

2. *How Big are His EYES?*

Hebrews 4:13 tells me there is nothing hid from his eyes. 

That means He simultaneously sees everything that has happened and is happening all over the world at the same time.

*That tells me well, I guess I am Pretty secured that wherever I am going, His Eyes Are watching.”*

3. *How big are His Nostrils? What kind of Nose has this God?*

Exodus 15:8 says, when He breathed in anger, the sea opened. 

That must be a sizeable Nose!

4. *How Long are His Legs?*

Isaiah 66:1 – Thus saith the LORD, The Heaven is my Throne, and the Earth is my Footstool:

The leg that can Stretch from Heaven to Earth must be Pretty long legs!

*By the time I put all these together and I look at some of the things that He has done, considering for example;*

– Not only that the Arms are long, they can reach into the fiery furnace and bring out the Hebrew boys – You know the Story in Daniel 3

– That His legs can reach the Den of Lions and shut the mouth of Lion saying, “don’t touch my boy.”

That His eyes, according to 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to shew himself Strong in the behalf of them whose heart is Perfect toward him.

When I understood this, I began to breathe easily. 

Don’t forget, there was a time I was running from forces in my Village. 

I mean, I have seen raw demonstrations of what you could call Powers of Darkness.

*… Can I trust this God to take care  of those People for me?*

If His eyes are running to and fro, surely his eyes that are running will be faster than the enemy – The roaring Lion walking about seeking whom to devour. 

Because the One who is running is going to arrive sooner than the one who is walking.

His Ears are such that He can hear the cry of the whole Earth. 

And according to Jonah 2 (The whole Chapter) – He can hear you even when you are calling inside a whale.

*And I know He can hear me anywhere I may be – Amen.*

And with those Mighty Legs Oh! I understand that when He Stands the Earth trembles! 

With that height – The One who is Higher than the highest; 

I can understand Psalms 68:1-3, that if God can just arise – What will happen to His enemies? They would scatter! 

Why would they scatter? Because they see Someone who is Bigger than the biggest.

*I am just trying to explain to you some of the reasons why by His Grace, I have the kind of Faith that cannot be shaken.*

*Because, if only you know how Big your God is, you will never fear again.*

*If you know how Big the One Supporting you is, when He says to you, “I am going to do this thing”; you will be a fool to try to think “how can He do it?”*

*It was when I fully understood how Big He is that I realised that, if all of sudden He looks down on you tiny fellow and says, “I will do this for you”; you should go to sleep.*

… He if He says He is going to do it, He has the means!

So, when I asked him to give me a little house in Mushin (DMC NOTES: A Low Earner People Community in Lagos State Nigeria) and He said, “don’t ask me for a house, I have decided to build you a City.” 

Incredible as it may sound, this is coming from the One with the Everlasting Arms.

Let me at this Stage ask you a Question: 

I. How many of you believe that your tomorrow would be alright? – The DMC FAMILY MEMBERS!

Let me hear you say Amen – Amen!

II. How many of you would stop doubting God from this moment on? The DMC FAMILY MEMBERS!

Let me hear you say Amen – Amen!

*However, in as much as He is as well equipped as He is, there are Challenges:*

– Where can I hide from Him?

– Can I ever outrun Him? 

David said in Psalms139:7-10, Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy Presence?

*God is chasing you and you think can escape. You must be a Joker!*

David said, If I take the wings of the Morning, and dwell in the uttermost Parts of the sea; He will reach out there and say, hey Boy! Come out here.

I mean, Jonah was running; God said go to the right, he decided to go to the left – Funny fellow! 

He decided to go by sea. Remember, God holds the waters in the hollow of His hand. Remember, the wind and the sea obey Him.

So, this fellow Jonah must have been an Academic Person – He said, I will run away! 

And God said, no Problems: wind blow, sea respond.

By I like Jonah – When he woke up and saw what was going on, he knew immediately who was in action. 

*Maybe you should ask yourself Questions: Are you going through a Storm? Who is responsible? You think God can ever fail? No! It is not Possible.

So Jonah said to the People, “I am the one causing trouble, just throw me overboard.” Immediately, the Storm ceased!

*I have a Special Prayer for you this Morning, inclusive those reading now on the Label of DMC – Whatever it is that is causing a Storm in your Life, may God reveal it to you today (Amen).*

Maybe you have a Restitution to make, and the Almighty God has to create a Problem for you to wake up and realise – Hey! I did something wrong. There is something I need to put right.

… This is a Digging Deep (Bible Study), so anything goes! 

I have told you the Story of one of my Students when I was at the University of Lagos. He had this little Problem – And the little Problem was body odour. He smelled like death. 

If you are sitting next to him, within five (5) Minutes you will relocate. The Doctors had done everything, he applied all manners of soap, lotion, Perfume, but the thing got worse. 

He came for Prayers, and as I was about to Pray God said, don’t Pray for him yet, he has a Restitution to make – Small boy, a Student in the University: what Restitution?

Then I began to ask Questions, and all of a sudden he remembered – Before he came to the University he was a Teacher in a Primary School. And the children were contributing one Kobo each, in Preparation for their Christmas Party.

*… One Kobo was big in those days.*

And then he gained Admission in September and left. The children came back to School, the Teacher had gone with their money. So they cried to God. And you know when children Pray, God answers: “God, You know where our Teacher is. He has taken our money.” And God decided He would bring the Teacher back. 

As soon as he realised that Oh! Maybe I did something wrong, he said, the Problem is Solved. I asked if he would go back he said yes. “Do you know how much?” He said yes – Twenty seven (27) Pennies.

I said, go back and pay the children their money. Instead of paying them in Pennies, pay them in Shillings. He said, I will do so Sir. 

He went to the School, and as soon as he arrived the children saw him, they ran out “our Teacher has come.”

Then he said to them: you remember the money you contributed? They said, how can we forget (laughter). And he gave them a Shiling each. Oh! They were so glad. So they reported back to God!

This Young man came back to me and was asking for Prayers. God said, there is no need for him to Pray. Tell him not to drink iced water for two (2) weeks.

… God can fight you will water.

You need to know: How Big is our God? His Name is the Lord of Host. Oh! He is Love. But He is also the Consuming Fire.

Within two (2) weeks everything called smell disappeared! 

That Young man today is a Bishop.

*If there is anything in your Life that is causing whatever Problem you have, may God reveal it to you today – Amen.*

There is a no way you can run; there is nowhere you are going that He will not see you. If you don’t believe me, ask Gehazi in 2 Kings 5:20-27. 

Elisha was sitting at home when Gehazi said, I will go after this Syrian and get something. And God was just showing everything to Elisha.

Elisha saw every part of the action – How the man said, why are you here? “Oh! My master sent me to go and get some things from you. Some visitors came after you left, et cetera.” Even when Naaman said, I will give you double of what you are asking for.

God was even telling Elisha what Gehazi was thinking – What he would do with the money. Because he was Planning, now I am going to retire as a follower of this Man of God who doesn’t want to be rich. And I am going to buy Olive yard, Vineyard, etc.

The Man of God said “where you want to build a big farm? Okay! Be a Leper and live in the bush. 

*You can’t hide from God. He knows what you are doing – Everything. He even knows your thoughts. That’s how Big He is.*

You remember the Story of Anaias and his wife Sapphira, in Acts 5:1-11. 

Peter wasn’t there when they were Planning; but God revealed everything to Peter.

If you are doing certain things and you think God does not know; maybe He is waiting for you to repent. Because a day would come when He would surprise you. 

*… You can’t surprise Him, but He can surprise you.*

Years ago, there was this Young man who came from a Neighbouring Country (I won’t mention name).

The Boy was sweet tongued. He was going all over the Place and we thought, “here comes a Great Evangelist.”

We didn’t know he was a Spy from another Nation. And that the reason he became attached to the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was because you know, we have quite a bit of spread. So it is easy to get some information from a large crowd. And he has been around for a while.

Then one day I was sitting in my office and he came, “Daddy how are you? We’ve done this, we’ve done that.” And all of a sudden God said, he is a spy. I was shocked!

And so I said to him, for how long do you think you can deceive God? He said, what do you mean? “You can lie to everybody, you can’t lie to the Holy Spirit. God was with you when you went to this and that Place. Have you forgotten what happened to Ananias and Sapphira?”

By now he was sweating! 

So I told him, don’t worry you won’t die in my office. 

But the Army discovered their Network and the Boy died the following week – You don’t joke with Him!

*When we talk about Someone who has Everlasting Arms, be careful how you deal with Him. He hears your thought. What you are thinking is even distinct from what you are saying out.*

In Mark 2:1-12, when they brought in the man who was Paralysed from neck downwards, and Jesus Christ said, “son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” 

Those who were there, they didn’t speak out (it was a thought in their hearts) “Who is this that is forgiving sins?”Jesus heard and confronted them with the information.

*So, let me ask you some Questions:*

1. *For how long will you Pretend to be a Christian?*

For how long will you sing beautiful Songs, shout the “Loudest Hallelujah” and you are not exactly who you Pretend to be.

Think on those!

2. *Don’t you know that if you can’t beat Him you should join Him?*

If I am trying to run away from you and you are going to grab me (anyway);

If you try to dodge Him and He knows how to corner you, why don’t you just join Him – Surrender to Him?

You know, I like Saul of Tarsus; the moment God knocked him down from the horse, what he said is, “what do You want me to do, Lord?” And he never looked back.

You know, he just decided to Surrender one hundred Percent (100%). 

*You must surrender one hundred Percent (100%) when dealing with a God Who knows your Address.* 

In Acts 9:10-12, when God was sending that Disciple called Ananias to go and locate Saul where he was Praying. God told him the Address accurately – “There is a man of Tarsus…” He didn’t say a man of Rome. 

He knows where you were born – He knows your Village. He said, “in a Street called Straight, in the house of so and so” – Because they didn’t have house Numbers then. 

He said, if you get to the Street called Straight, ask from the People there, “where is the house of so and so?” Because right now there, is a man waiting for you, he is Praying.

He knows your Address, he knows all those things you do behind closed doors. 

*I think we’ve reached a stage in our lives when we need to know this Truth – It will affect our Christian Life.*

*Particularly in this age when we don’t even know who is a Child of God and who is a Pretender.* 

We’ve been hearing some Stories since the beginning of this year. 

*Remember, God said at the beginning of this year that the Wind is already Blowing.*

*And when the Wind blows, it exposes Hidden Things.*

*As the Elders would say, “when the wind blows you will see the anus of the hen”.* 

*And you haven’t seen anything yet.*

We are hearing of some very serious Secrets of Pastors, Prophets, of this and that. 

And the Wind is not going to stop. 

*That is why you need to Clean up your acts as soon as Possible; because you have the Insider Information.*

*If there is anything you need to Restitute, do so quickly before the Secret comes out.*

3. *How Complete is your Surrender to Him?*

I have one Good News, and with that I will close. 

*I know it’s a Digging Deep, but it will end in Joy – Amen.*

*The One who carries the whole world in His hand can carry you – Amen.*

Isaiah 46:4 says, And even to your Old Age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

When He says, “I will carry you” 

– That means through thick and thin. 

– That means, if you find yourself in some very Unpleasant situations, He will be there to carry you.

Well, that is easier to say! 

*You may not know the meaning of, “He will carry you” until you need to be carried.*

Not too long ago I lost my son who once told me, “there are only two (2) People I don’t want to offend – God and you (Pastor Adeboye). 

If you have a son like that what would you do? You would love him. And all of a sudden today he was here, tomorrow he was gone.

The last time I heard from him he said, “Daddy, we just finished our Youth Program: everything went very well. And I just want you to know, God answered your Prayers.” Oh! Glory to God.

Again he said, “Daddy, Thank God in the last one year, God has helped me and my Team to Plant Thirty five (35) Parishes.” 

Ha! Glory be to God. 

And then the next thing I heard, he was gone! 

*Let’s be Truthful, it doesn’t matter your Anointing, when you get that kind of blow, it is not easy.*

I had to put up a bold face because of the Youths and Young Adults. I saw how they all were, and I had to encourage them – Swallow my own Pain and tell them, let’s March on. 

We Move!

But there are times that when you are alone with God you are tempted to say, why? 

But then I got a Text from one of my daughters, “Daddy, let God carry you.” – That turned the tide!

*Let the One with the Everlasting Arms carry you – Amen.*

But if He is to carry you, you have to be Clean. You cannot continue in sin and expect Grace to abound. 

His Hands are Holy hands – They are Everlastingly Holy Arms.

*PRAYER POINTS*

There are several Prayers you should Pray today, even as you have listened to me or reading now on the Label of DMC;

1. If I have Restitutions to make, Father reveal to me. 

Then give me the Grace to make them quickly before the Wind that is blowing would open my Secret to the world.

2. Give me the Grace Lord, to live a Life that is Genuine – Not hypocritical. 

– A Life that will Please You all the time:

– A Life of Humility.

– A Life that will remind me that no matter how ‘big’ I think I am, I am absolutely Nothing compared to the One with the Everlasting Arms.

… And then with Faith in the One who is Bigger than the biggest, Taller than the tallest, Older than the oldest, Richer than the richest, you will cry to Him;

4. Father, from this moment onward Please, carry me.

Shall we go on and Pray?

Go ahead, talk to the Almighty God: 

*CLOSING DECREE*

My God will help you!

He will hear your cry!

He will help you to correct your ways.

Where you need Grace to put things right, He will Supply the Grace.

He hears Prayers; He can hear even in the belly of a Whale.

He will hear you today, and the Wind will blow in your Favour – Amen!

Thank you so much for staying all through to read.

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