THE SHIELD OF FAVOUR – RCCG MAY 2024 THANKSGIVING SERVICE – PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE;5TH MAY, 2024
RCCG MAY 2024 THANKSGIVING SERVICE FEATURING SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR ALL TRADERS, BUSINESS MEN ANE WOMEN, SPORTS MEN AND WOMEN, STUDENTS, YOUTHS AND YOUNG ADULTS WITH THEIR FAMILIES
TOPIC: THE SHIELD OF FAVOUR
MINISTERING: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
DATE: 5TH MAY, 2024
BIBLE TEXT: PSALMS 5:12
GENERAL PRAYERS
- Brethren, four (4) Months had gone this Year (2024) and it has been four (4)! “Turbulent Months”.
But the Almighty God has brought you to the fifth (5th) Month – The Month of Grace, the Month of Favour and you are still alive and you are still well.
Lift your Voice to the Almighty God – Give Him all the Glory, Honour and Adoration for all His Protections in the Past four (4) Months, for His Goodnness, for His Mercy, for Promotion, for Provision and for Defense.
It is of His Mercy that we are not Consumed – We are alive and well today because of His Mercy and being Very Good to us.
Praise Him for your family – For all He has done for you and every Members of your family thus far.
Worship Him, Adore Him and Glorify His Holy Name.
Thank You Father.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Worshipped – Amen!
- Now, I want you to join me in Praying for all:
I. Business Men and Women and Traders – That even in this Time of Hardship, the Almighty God will give them Breakthroughs.
II. I want you to Pray for all Sports Men and Women – That the Almighty God will continue to show them Favour, that they won’t have Accident but they will have Breakthroughs.
III. Then I want you to help me Pray for all our Students and all the Youths as a whole – That the Almighty God will cause them to excel.
Let’s go ahead to Pray for all these People.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
- And then you will Pray for yourself that in this Month of Grace; God will be Gracious unto you and He will show you Favour.
That wherever you go, the Almighty God will be with you and it shall be well with you throughout this Month.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
SONG
We give You all the Glory
We give You Honour
We give You all the Glory
We give You Honour
OPENING PRAYER
King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Unchangeable Changer, the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, the Ending, the One who was, the One who is, the One who is to come; the Almighty, the Source of all Wisdom, the Source of all Wealth, the Source of all Success, the One who is Rich in Mercy – We bless Your Holy Name.
Please, accept our Worship in Jesus Name.
Thank You for January, Thank You for February, Thank You for March, Thank You for April and now Thank You for May – Father, accept our Worship in Jesus Name.
We commit all Your Children who are Business Men/Women and Traders into Your Hands; Oh Lord God Almighty, it was in the Time of Famine that Isaac became Very Great.
Concerning all these Your Children, even in the Time of Hardship, Prosper them and make a Way for them.
For all Your Children who are Sports Men and Women; Please Lord, the Ability, the Grace and the Anointing to go far; the Anointing to become Successful Worldwide release to them and keep Accidents far from them.
And for all Your Children who are Students and Youths as a whole; give them Supernatural Wisdom, cause them to excel and just let it be well with them.
Father, all Your Children who has been Faithful in the Payment of their Tithes and the Giving of their Offerings; this Month, embarrass them with Your Blessings.
Until they say: Father, this is becoming “Too Much”; keep on Blessing them.
And Lord, for everyone of us, this Particular Month; wherever we go, let us find Favour with You and find Favour with Men.
Keep everyone of us safe and let it be well with us.
And we will give You all the Glory!
Father, I Pray one more Time for all Your Children – That from this moment onwards, they would cease to be Customers and become Partners – Please Lord, give them the opportunity to Partner with You.
Thank You Almighty God.
And You – The Consumimg Fire; I Pray for every Members of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) all over the world; anything at all that can stand between them and their Joy; let Your Fire consume.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
Well, let Someone shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah!
Shake hands with one (1) or two (2) People and say: God will show you Favour this Month!
And then, you may Please be seated.
Today, we have been asked to speak on: “The Shield of Favour”.
Our Bible Text will be Psalms 5:12.
Psalms 5:12 – For thou, LORD, wilt bless the Righteous; with Favour wilt thou compass him as with a Shield.
“Shield of Favour” – Two (2) important words – The first one is “Shield” and the Second one is “Favour”.
- The first word is Shield.
What is Shield?
A Shield is that which Protects you from External Attacks.
When we talk about Weapons of war, there are Weapons of Attack and Weapons of Defense.
And Probably the major Weapon of Defense is what is called “The Shield”.
When you considered for Example Someone like Goliath – As huge as he was, with even all his Weapons of Warfare: Sword and Spear; he still has a Shield so big that it took a Man to carry it before him.
A Shield is so important that in Ephesians 6: 11-18; when God was talking about Weapons of warfare, He said in Verse 16 – Above all, take the Shield of Faith.
… You need the Shield above all.
When People are fighting in those days and for one reason or the other, maybe the sword got thrown out from the hand of the Warrior or the Spear is gone; as long as he still has the Shield, he can Protect himself and survive.
In Boxing, my Coach taught me years ago – I told you that I used to be a Boxer but I know that I don’t look one now.
He warned us: Don’t let down your Guard.
Now, when you go to battle against the opponent; make sure that you are Protecting your Head.
The only Fellow that we know in Boxing History who never bothered about the Shield of his Head is because he has his own Shield on his legs.
He is the Fellow known as Mohammed Ali – Because he has a footwork that is second to none.
And so, when you are trying to get him; he doesn’t bother – He is not wasting his time blocking because he knows that: “He can float like a Butterfly and Sting like a Bee”.
And if you know anything about Boxing, he happens to be my Hero – You won’t find any scratch on his face. He doesn’t allow anything come to his face at all by using his legs.
Now, if you are not Mohammed Ali, then keep on your Shield.
In Genesis 15:1 – God said to Abraham: Fear Not, I am your Shield.
If the Shield of God is in Place for you, you have nothing to fear!
That’s why He said in Ephesians 6:6 – Above all, take your Shield of Faith.
- The second word there is: Favour.
What is Favour?
I. Now, Favour is something that gives you an Advantage over all others.
II. Favour is something you get not because you deserved it.
III. Favour is an Invincible Force like Electricity – You can’t see it but when it is at work, you will know.
For Example, we can’t see Electricity but we can feel it now – It is giving us Light and it is the one causing this Microphone to function.
IV. When God’s Favour is on Someone, everybody else will be asking: How are you doing it?
That’s why I’m Praying for everyone of you today, Inclusive those reading now on the Label of DMC – God will show you Favour (Amen).
V. Favour is what causes you to Succeed while others are failing.
VI. Favour causes you to Excel.
VII. Favour singles you out for Blessings, Breakthroughs and Protections.
I will give you two (2) Examples very quickly:
- Let’s consider the case of Joseph
In the Old Testamentm if we are talking of a boy who Signifies Divine Favour, then it is Joseph.
The father had twelve (12) sons – Joseph was not the first born, he was not the Last born and he wasn’t right in the middle but second to the Last.
But that boy found Favour with God.
Of all the children, the father loved him and he showed it in the fact that he had a Coat of many Colours.
… He is one that will be called in my Language (Yoruba) – “Omo Daddy” (DMC NOTES: Daddy’s Special Child).
It means this is Special and of course that created a Problem of Envy for him.
I Pray for everyone of you – Very, very soon; everywhere you go, you will be envied (Amen).
If you read Genesis 37: 5-11; this boy started to Dream and to see the Future – Favour gave him a Glimpse of the Glory ahead.
When the Enemies decided to throw him into a well – His brothers said: Here comes the Dreamer. We will see how his Dream succeeds when we have killed him.
In Genesis 37: 19-24; they threw him into a well – And of all the well around, the One that they threw him into was dry.
Favour went ahead – Knew that they were going to throw him to a well and they choose the dry one.
They thought that they were killing him but he didn’t die.
You know that one of the reasons why you are still alive today was because God has Favoured you?
Oh, left to the Enemies, you will be forgotten by now.
Some of you know what I am talking about: When you considered the Enemies from your father’s house, Enemies from your mother’s house, Enemies from your husband’s house, Enemies from your wife’s house, Enemies from your Place of work – That you are still surviving today is because God has Favoured you.
Then they sold Joseph into Slavery – They thought that: Now, we have gotten rid of him.
But when you read Genesis 39: 1-6; the boy was brought to Portiphar’s house.
But because there is a still Shield of Favour about him, the boss fell in love with him.
As a matter of fact, the Bible says that He became so Mightily in Control of everything happening that Portiphar didn’t even know what is going on in his house except the food he eat.
I mean – We are talking of a Slave taking over a Company because of Favour.
And the Bible says that Portiohar noticed that God is blessing him because of this Fellow.
You know that many of your Companies don’t know that they are Succeeding because you are there?
It is because of the Favour of God upon your Life that in the Place of your Business, Success is happening – And from now on, even Greater Success will happen (Amen).
And then because he (Joseph) refused to submit to the amorous moves of the wife of the boss, they threw him to Prison.
When you read Genesis 39: 7-23; even when he landed in Prison, the Jailer – The Man in Charge of the Prison said that I hand over the Jail to you.
If you are a Prisoner and you are the one in Charge of everything happening in the Prison; Prison won’t be so bad because you are the one who decides who eats and who does not eat. And you can be sure that you will eat the best of all food.
While he was in Prison, because of the Shield of Favour round about him, he was still Succeeding.
I assure you that it doesn’t matter what the Enemies in your Place of work may try against you; you will keep Succeeding – Amen!
And of course, you know the Story in Genesis 41: 1-44 – Overnight he moved from Prison to the Throne.
Somebody who met him in Prison became a Link to the Throne.
There are People that you will begin to meet from now on that God will use to fulfill your Destiny – Amen!
- Let us consider Peter.
When you read Luke 5: 1-11; the Bible tells us that when Jesus Christ wanted to Preach and the crowd was so much; there were two (2) boats that He could use but He choose that of Peter.
There was Nothing Peter had done before that time to make him Special but Favour choose him.
When God is looking for a Partner, Favour will cause Him to choose you – Amen
And then you know the Story of Peter – He messed up “Big Time”. I mean he denied Jesus Christ and he even cursed that he has ever known Him.
But by the time you get to John 21: 15-19; Jesus Christ still come looking for him and He still said to him three (3) times – Feed my Sheep, take care of my Lamb.
But you see, there is something Secret about all that when we are talking about Favour – It doesn’t matter what you have done in the Past; Favour will cause God to overlook.
And that is found in Luke 22: 31-32 – Jesus Christ told Peter; He said that I know that satan has a Plan to destroy you but I have Prayed for you.
You want to ask yourself a Question – Why didn’t Jesus Christ Prayed for Judas Iscariot? It was Peter satan wanted but Jesus Christ Prayed for him.
And so the Problem shifted from Peter and landed on Judas Iscariot.
If God is looking for Someone to Favour; He will find Someone here today or among those reading now on the Label of DMC – Amen!
And who will that Fellow be? – It will be among the DMC Family Members.
Now, I will tell you the Story that illustrates this:
Several years ago in 1976, I travelled for the first time outside Nigeria – There was going to be a Conference of World Applied Mathematicians in Canada.
Of course you will know how Young I must be in 1976 – And there were only two (2) Representatives representing Nigeria and I happened to be one of them. That is Favour on its own.
I was just a “Little Boy” just beginning my Life but somehow, I was among the two (2).
I have never travelled outside Nigeria before and Nigeria Airways of Blessed Memory left Nigeria late and so by the time I got to London where I was to take my Flight by British Airways to Ontario Canada, the Plane had gone. And so, I went to them and they said sorry you missed your Flight; we will arrange for you to stay in an Hotel. And quickly they made the arrangements and then they said that its Nigeria Airways that was late and so they will pay.
They had already given me everything I needed to go to the Hotel before they picked the Phone to call Nigeria Airways and I was hearing their Conversations – Don’t put him in any Hotel. I didn’t wait, I ran.
I got to the Hotel and it was time to eat and there there were two (2) Restaurants – One on the Right and the other on the Left.
Which one should I go to? I said when I get to Heaven, I will be on the Right and so I went to the One on the Right – I didn’t know that is the Restaurant for First Class Passengers.
So I went in – And I’m telling you that the food there was something else. That was the first time that I find myself sitting down at a Table and a White Man was serving me.
… Oh, I wish Somebody will take my Picture!
So, I went there – Took Lunch, Dinner and then Breakfast the next Day.
Now as I was about to go; they asked for my Meal Ticket that they gave me at the Airport – He said, No; you should belong to the Left Side!
I said that’s “Too Late” – Favour!
Then I got to Canada and the queue was very long because People came from all over the world and it was cold.
And all of a sudden, a woman came from the table where they were Registering the People and suddenly stopped when she got to me – What’s your name? I told her. Where do you come from? I told her.
Then she turned back.
Few Minutes later, she returned with a big cup of hot tea and a big Pack of sandwiches and gave it to me. I didn’t look at anybody – I finished it.
And just as I was finishing, she came back – She has gone to Register for me and brought me everything I needed. And she came with a Young Man to take me to where I will stay.
God is going to Single Somebody out for a Miracle – Amen
Then I got to my room, and my wife at home wondering how I will survive over there now – We don’t even know what they eat.
Suddenly Somebody came knocking at the door the following Morning and he said that I saw your name on the List of those who has come – Your name is Adeboye, aren’t you? I said Yes.
And he said that he is a Nigerian from Ota (DMC NOTES: A City in Ogun State Nigeria). And He said that he is Studying there and then said that when it is time for Lunch, come to my Place.
I don’t know how he did it but he has a way of mixing Ground Potato with Starch – He does it in such a way that it will look like Pounded Yam.
And I just found myself eating Pounded Yam in Canada.
On the Last Day of the Conference, they took us to the Government Farm to entertain us – And some have barbecue and so we were all lining up and taking our food.
And I looked at the farm – Beautiful Green Grass all over the Place and I just felt like going out.
I took my food, went outside and one Young White Man followed me. And when I got out and I saw very beautiful Green Grass, I felt like sitting down and just enjoying myself but when I touched the ground, it was cold and so I decided that I will stand.
And a White Man came to me and said – You want to sit down? I said Yes.
He removed his Jacket, spread it on the floor and told me to sit.
I said No, No and I heard God said: Sit down! You are the son of the King of Kings.
I am Praying for Someone today – Beginning from this moment, you will be enjoying Divine Favour (Amen).
Now, I just want to tell you one thing and round up:
If you want the Shield of Favour round you Permanently, all you need to do is to be Holy!
You will find the illustrations of that in Genesis 39: 7-10 – Joseph refused to sin. He said that how can I do this evil thing and annoyed the Only One who can take me to where I am going?
Stay away from sin!
You will find some very interesting illustrations in the Scriptures.
In Numbers 23: 17-24 – When a King hired a Prophet to come and Curse Israel; the Prophet could not curse them.
Why? Because God has not beheld Iniquities in them.
So instead of cursing them, it was Blessings that was comimg out – As he (Prophet) opens his mouth to curse, Blessings started coming out.
And he said that the reason is: God has examined these People and He can find no sin in them.
If you will walk with God in Holiness, even your Greatest Enemy will come and begin to bless you!
So, the King got angry – And said, I brought you here, I wanted to make you rich but instead of you cursing my Enemies, you have been Blessing them.
The Prophet said: Take it easy. I know how to deal with these People – I know their God and so let me teach you what to do.
Celebrate all manners of Feast and invite them to come. When they come, make sure that your daughters are scantily dressed so that these People will commit Fornication and Adultery. And then, let their God deal with them.
Read Numbers 25: 1-9 for this Story.
The advice he gave Succeeded – The People that has not sinned before began to sin.
When God decided to fight these People, the Bible said that 24,000 of them died in one day.
Sin can turn the only friend that you have – Which is God, to your “Bitterest Enemies”.
When People say: Why do you talk about Holiness all the time?
I have told you that Holiness is the Master Key – As long as God is not fighting with you; it doesn’t matter how many People are fighting with you, you will win!
One with God is always a Majority any day any time.
Let the Enemies ganged up against you: Let them lie against you; let them make fun of you – As long as God is on your Side, you will just be getting Higher and Higher!
In Psalms 18:35; the Bible calls Salvation a Shield.
if you are truly saved and you are living Holy and you stay away from sin – The Favour of God will Shield you from every Enemies.
You run into sin, you run into trouble.
Just one more Story – Particularly for those of you who are Sports Men and Women.
When I was in the University – And in every University that I attended, I was a Sports Man.
And I remembered several years ago in 1966 – We came from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) – DMC NOTES: Nsukka is a Town and Local Government Area in Enugu State Nigeria and the University slated there called UNN.
We came from UNN to Ibadan (University of Ibadan in Oyo State Nigeria) for the first Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) in 1966.
The Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) organizes University-Level Sports Events in Nigeria. It hosts an Interuniversity Sports Competition called the University Games. The first NUGA Games were held at the University of Ibadan in 1966.
And we were already sure of one thing before we left Nsukka – We have examined our Chances of getting Gold and we knew that we will win Gold in Soccer because we had this Fellow in our defence; oh that boy can kick.
He is in the back and each time he will kick the ball, it will land in the Penalty-Area of the Opponent – Right from the back.
So, our boys knew that and they Strategically Place the Strikers – Just wait, the ball will come and meet you there.
But the Coach who came from America warned us: You are going for Competition – Stay away from your Girlfriend.
And then we got to Ibadan and the Girlfriend of our backbone came to visit him.
Anyway, whatever happen happened and it was time to Play the Match.
The Man who will shoot from the back to the front, he will kick and the ball will go from here to there (Short Distance).
To cut the long Story short, we lost the Gold Medal in Football.
I mean that it was so remarkable that the School Management Set Up a Committee of Enquiry – How can that happen?
And then they discovered that this boy had a Visitor – A Visitor of Shame.
And they Suspended him for one Semester.
But then, there is a Rule at UNN in those days – That for you to even get any Chance of being Promoted at all, you must have attended 75% of the Classes.
Suspended for a Semester out of two Semesters means that you can’t be in Class for 75% of the time.
So, it sounded as if he lost a Semester but he actually lost a Session.
We used to sing a Song when I got Born Again:
Beware of sin
Because sin can destroy
Run to Jesus
Because Jesus can save
The Song is a Yoruba Song:
E sora fun ese (Beware of sin)
Ese pa ni run (Because sin can destroy)
E sora fun ese (Beware of sin)
Ese pa ni run (Because sin can destroy)
E sora fun ese (Beware of sin)
Ese pa ni run (Because sin can destroy)
E sora fun ese (Beware of sin)
Ese pa ni run (Because sin can destroy)
E sa to Jesu (Run to Jesus)
Nitori Jesu gba ni la (Because Jesus can save)
E sa to Jesu (Run to Jesus)
Nitori Jesu gba ni la (Because Jesus can save)
E sa to Jesu (Run to Jesus)
Nitori Jesu gba ni la (Because Jesus can save)
E sa to Jesu (Run to Jesus)
Nitori Jesu gba ni la (Because Jesus can save)
ALTAR CALL
If you have not given your Life to Jesus Christ, run to Jesus now – He is the only one who can save you.
Stay away from sin as sin is a Destroyer.
I’m going to count from one (1) to five (5) – if you want to give your Life to Jesus Christ, come now I’m counting!
Those of you already infront – Please go ahead and ask God to have Mercy on you and save your Soul and forgive all your sins and tell Him that you will serve Him for the rest of your Life as you don’t want to have anything to do with sins again.
The rest of us, let us Stretch our hands towards these People and Intercede for them.
That the One who saved our Souls will save their own Souls also and that God will give them Genuine Salvation.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
PRAYER FOR SALVATION AND CLOSING PRAYER
Saviour of Mankind, I just want to say Thank You.
Thank You for Your Words and Thank You for Your Children who has come to Surrender their lives to You
Father, Please receive them, forgive them, let Your Blood wash away their sins, save their Souls today Oh Lord, receive them into the Family of God.
And I Pray that from this moment onwards, they too will enjoy the Favour of God and whenever they cry to You, Please answer them by Fire.
And I’m Praying for everybody here today or reading now on the Label of DMC – As they cry unto You for Favour, with that “Mighty Favour” of Yours: Shield them from evil, Single them out for Blessings and just let it be well with them.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Praise the Lord – Hallelujah!
The rest of us who believed that this Month is our Month of Favour and you are going to be enjoying Favour with God; let me hear you shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah.
The next Prayer you are going to Pray is not a Prayer you Pray casually – It can make all the difference between you and reaching your Goal.
You lift up your Voice to the Almighty God loud and clear and say: Father, from this moment onwards, let Your Favour be a Shield unto me.
Go ahead – Open your mouth and cry unto God!!!
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
STOP PRESS: Out and ready for Pick Up – Our Year 2023 RCCG Programs covering all Programs, Inclusive Weekly Messages of Pastor Mensah Otabil, Apostle Joshua Selman, Bro Gbile, Pastor Paul Enenche and Pastor Poju on a 16GB Flash from our Stable. Call/Text/WhatsApp 08023604721/08066497178/08059821748
To Support DMC: https://discoverymediacrew.com/donate/
To read other Messages on the Coverage of DMC MediaCrew so far this Year and beyond; kindly visit our Website: http://discoverymediacrew.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @discoverymediac
Send a Friend Request on Facebook to DMC MediaCrew.
Like our FB Page: Discovery Media
Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/NzzPckuGazKYFxZZFkt9fg
Follow Us on Instagram: Discoverymediacrew
Watch and Follow Us on YouTube: Discovery Media Crew
For Enquiries, email Us on: info@discoverymediacrew.com
Discovery Media Crew … Reaching out to the World through the Power of the Gospel!!!
COMPILATIONS BY:
MOSES DURODOLA, TITILAYOMI AJAYI AND TOPE BABALOLA
© DISCOVERY MEDIA CREW (DMC) 2024
Recent Comments