OVERFLOWING GREATNESS (I) by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Text: Genesis 15:15-20 

I want to talk on the fact that Greatness can be in degrees. For example, like one of my sons mentioned; the Local Government (County) Chairman is a great man in his local government, the governor is a great man in his state, the president is a great man in his nation, but when presidents meet some presidents are more equal than others. You may not believe this but we have The Redeemed Christian Church of God in all manners of countries, including a country where they have twenty (20) police men and five (5) prisoners. And the prisoners are allowed to go home on weekends. That will tell you how big that prison must be, but the country has a president and the president is recognize by the united nation. So greatness is in degrees!

1. NOTHING

Degrees number one will be those you considered insignificant or those who could be called NOTHING. In I King 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. There was a man mentioned there called Elijah, the Bible says Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitant of Gilead, they did not mention his father’s name. Among the Jews for you to be mentioned and your father’s name omitted it’s a way of saying you are nothing. However when the Almighty God takes nothing, He can change it to something. He can pick somebody like Elijah who was considered as nothing and turn him to somebody who can call down fire from heaven. When we talk about insignificant; I just tell you a story, I heard the story I don’t know whether it’s true or not. A sister in search of a husband; prayed to God; God, just send me someone anyone, and she finished praying. Not long after that a brother in the church came to her and said “thus said the Lord, you are the one I am going to marry”. The sister said “Oh God, I said someone, not something” am sure that explains what am talking about.

But if there is anyone here today who could be regarded as something not someone, my Father will intervene on your behalf in Jesus name.

2. NEXT TO NOTHING

The next degree of greatness is what you could call NEXT TO NOTHING. You are not absolutely nothing but they are not too far from next to nothing. You see a good example in Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. It tells us about Bartimaeus the beggar. But they mentioned the name of his father; Bartimeaus the son of Timeaus. He was a beggar, poor, wretched and blind, but at least he came from a home that is regarded as something. So he was next to nothing, but of cause you know by the time the Almighty God finished with him, he became a center of attraction. So, when you put something that is next to nothing to the hands of the Almighty God, He can make something out of nothing.

And if there is anyone here tonight that could be regarded as next to nothing, before the sun rises my Father will change you to something in Jesus name.

3. A LITTLE

Category three is A LITTLE in 1 Samuel 9:21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?, we hear a man talking; his name is Saul, He said; I am a Benjamite of the smallest tribe in Israel and my family is the least of all families in Benjamin. Everything about him is little; little family, in a little tribe, in a little nation. But by the time the Almighty God has poured His oil on him, the one who was little became a king.

And I am prophesying to someone here today too, right now you might be little but before you die the world will hear about you.

4. GREAT

Category four is GREAT in Genesis 24:34-35. Someone was speaking and he said I am Abraham servant; and the Lord has blessed my master greatly. Abraham was great but how did he become great? Like one of my children said, greatness comes only from God. It is by divine choice (Genesis 12:1-3). God just decided of all the families around in the land where Abraham was, He just said I choose this one; I am going to make this one great. Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Says our God is in the heaven, He does as He pleases. He can choose anyone and make Him great.

I have a feeling that He is already looking in this crowd for someone that he will chose.

5. VERY GREAT

Category five is VERY GREAT. We see that example in Isaac. Genesis 26:1 -13. He sowed in the time of famine and he became very great, but we can look at Isaac to discover the secret of his becoming very great and we will find out that is it rooted in Genesis 22:1-18. When God said to Abraham, I want you to go and sacrifice your son, your only son Isaac which thou loveth. Isaac was a first fruit sacrifice. He was a young man who was hundred percent submissive to his father. He was a son who made even a greater sacrifice than his father, because when God told Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac; it is easy to go and kill somebody else, it is more difficult if you are the one to be killed as a sacrifice. Isaac made a greater sacrifice than his father and he became greater than his father. One of my sons says you start where your father ends, beautiful definition! 

However, I hope you understand the full meaning of that; it means if the sacrifice of your father is great, your own sacrifice must be greater. Glory be to God. And I know a man that could be called very great at least from the perspective of financial blessings. The mother was a great woman; she was the leader of the market women in a particular town. But the boy happen to be the only son; built on the wealth of the mother and I mean he built, he worked hard, he wasn’t a spoilt brat, he did everything, he did much, much more than his mother did and he became so rich that by the time of his death in faraway Australia, he had at least 56 million dollars in the bank there, not to talk of London or America.

I have told you about him before, he was the man who was driving in Yaba some time and his car tire was flat and while the driver was trying to change the tire, he went for a little stroll and then saw the branch of a bank and said I remember this branch, I kept some money here about ten years ago. So he went in and said, “I want to see the manager” and they say “the manager is not in” but the cashier said “can I help you?” he said “I kept some money here ten years ago, I want to find out how much interest has accrued”, the cashier said“sir, how long ago?”, he said “ten years ago”, and how much is the money? He said “eight million pounds sterling”. Now the man who can forget 8 million pounds sterling for ten years, I think you have a rough idea of what we are talking about.

I am here prophesying to someone, I am not saying you will forget your money, but I am prophesying to someone that a day will come in your life, if you withdraw your money from a branch of a bank, that branch will close down.

The Lord said there is someone here tonight, he said those who called you the backward one, will soon call you the foremost one.

Divine Connection Appreciates YOU

Dear One:

I am excited that I rose above the grief of losing my mentor, mother and matriarch - Deaconess Ibiyemi Oluremi Asake Famuyiwa nee Odu to continue the vision she was a BIG part of. Today as I commemorate her birth posthumously, I send you a report of the previous DC Breakfast Meeting held at Crowne Plaza in Englewood, New Jersey on November 8, 2014.

Awesome! That's the word that captures the Divine Connection Breakfast Meeting (DC-BM). Working class mature singles from different churches including MFM, Times Square Church, Faith Fellowship and of course RCCG, 10 excellent ministers including 1 Provincial Pastor and 1 Zonal Coordinator. Great life-changing ministration, delicious breakfast, information packed folder, a goodwill message of hope from Pastor Toyin Laoye - the first female pastor in the entire RCCG North America... An offer of partnership and sponsorship from the guest minister, an offer of support by a couple of ministers and guests, testimonies of deliverance and healing and a prophecy that Divine Connection would become a regional event! 

Indeed, my team and I are humbled by God's grace and glory upon the work He has committed into my hands. I was still basking in the euphoria of what God has done when my pastor called to offer us partnership for subsequent events!

I call you not friends but brothers and sisters because I recognize we couldn’t have done it without you. I extend my thankfulness and appreciation to you for participating. The icing on the cake for me are the guests that approached me to offer support to the ministry. One of the guests who received a sponsored ticket came to me after the event to say, “"I really should pay for this!" 

I assure you that all that happened occurred because God sent us financial help and some of us committed to praying and God stepped in. Many asked whether the prayer line would continue but this is up to you. Let me hear from you if we should continue the prayer line on a weekly basis and of course daily in the week of an upcoming event. I suggest we retain the Whatsapp group, this will serve as a medium of informing you. DC has a Facebook presence, please feel free to join using this link - Divine Connection (DC).

To the glory of God and with the support of our partners, we were able to offer sponsorship to 80% of the guests, 10% were offered part sponsorship and only 10% of those who attended paid the full rate of $30. Those who went the extra mile in helping us plan the event received book gifts. All our ministers arrived on time and waited through the event to counsel those who needed one on one ministration.

We are at the verge of setting up the USA Committee. If you are led to be a part of the committee, please send an email. If you desire that DC partners with your local church to organise a similar event in your church, please send an email.

Our next event in the USA would be planned for 50-100 mature singles. It would be scheduled for between February and March 2015. Please feel free to suggest venue, theme and those we may consider inviting as guest speakers and those we can approach for partnership and/or sponsorship. If you desire to order more copies of Eden Magazine, What Is Wrong With Us (the book that led to my marital breakthrough at 38) and the Divine Connection Devotional for Singles and/or wish to be part of the USA DC Committee or wish to sponsor, please contact the undersigned.

Before then, we are partnering with our partners to host DC Breakfast Meeting in Tabernacle of David in Ajah, Lagos (Nigeria) and Pavilion of Redemption, Houson, Texas (USA). Updates will be posted on our Facebook page.

Feel free to visit our sites Divine Connection, DC HOMES, CGN Books, DC Host. The first link has inspiring messages that can lift your spirit. Please note that most of the materials visible this week will focus on Sunday School as part of our Sunday School Awareness Campaign, a project my husband is involved in in our local church. But messages for and about mature singles can be accessed via the side links and archive of the first link.

I would love to receive your feedback. Kindly use this survey link. Be sure to add any ideas, suggestions or comments you have for us.

Your marital journey is on cruise and I’m glad to be a part of it! On behalf of the DC Team, I welcome you to a vision that is bigger than the sum of our strength!

Omolola Omoteso

DC, Host

The Root of Marital Delay

Divine Connection (DC) is ministry to mature single male and female above 25 years. I strongly believe God ordered you here tonight for a divine connection experience. Even as you have joined the prayer channel tonight, I pray the Lord will open the secrets of marital breakthrough to you in Jesus name.

There are three major reasons a Christian may experience delay 

1. It could be God and the only antidote is the prayer of mercy. You will recollect that it was said in the Bible that God closed Hannah’s womb. She had no way out of this quagmire other than to plead her case with God. If God is the architect of you delay, please go to him and continue to humbly pray the prayer of mercy. 

2. You could be operating under a known or unknown curse. Peradventure you promised to marry someone and after you changed your mind you never went back to break the tie or someone you jilted is so upset that a curse was placed on you, for this, the way out is the prayer of deliverance. You can pray it yourself or ask to be referred to a deliverance minister. 

3. The number three reason a Christian may experience delay is self; yes you may be in your own way. It is for this reason we carry out counselling, organise seminars and do one on one counsel for those who sign up. If you are in your own way, biblical counsel will help you discover how and guide you to make lifestyle changes that would guide you towards marital breakthrough.

Divine Connection’s vision is to empower you for marital breakthrough. Come Saturday we would be meeting at Crowne Plaza in Englewood. Our guest ministers include Pastor Jumoke Arasanyin. We are trusting God that Pastor Kunle Omotoso will attend to lead us in the prayer of deliverance. They will be joined by other ministers of God who would counsel us to discover the root of our delay. Brethren, as they minister to us, every stronghold against your being joyfully married will be broken and we will celebrate the birth of new homes in Jesus name.

The event will start by 9AM and end at noon but you will have an opportunity to wait behind for one on one counsel and for social networking. We ask that you come fasted. Hot breakfast will be served.

Matthew 6:33 says, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. When you seek God's kingdom in holiness, be rest assured He will meet you at the point of your need. Many women went to the well that day but it was Rebecca that was divinely connected. Someone said to me, it’s not like we would have a balance of gender on that day but brethren, you don’t need two men or three women, all you need is a divinely ordained person who can connect to you in special way. 

In 2009, I attended a retreat in far away Georgia. While there, I was introduced to a woman of God who became my divine connector. I could have turned up my nose; after all it is a man I need to meet not a woman! The man I would marry was not there just like it wasn’t Isaac that went to the well but that meeting became a destiny changer. By 2011 I was married. I beg you in the name of God, when you attend events for Christian singles, don’t go looking for that one man or that one woman, be there to meet The One who is able to translate this one meeting into marriage for you.

Together we will create joyful HOMES including yours in Jesus name!

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Often when we try to pray the prayer of praise or thanksgiving we end up making it a prayer of supplication, prayer of request, prayer of confession etc. Below is an attempt to give you a guide to enable you direct your praise or thanks giving to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Two ingredients must be present in praise and thanksgiving, these are songs and acknowledgement. To help you flow it is important to recount the blessings you have enjoyed as a child of God. This is not the time to lament over unanswered prayers but a time to approach your Heavenly Father with a sacrifice of praise and thanks.

Prayer of Thanksgiving:

Song: We give you all the glory, we give you honour, we give you all the glory…

My initial thought was to decline praying about thanks giving! Since my mother passed, everything for which I can thank God has paled in comparison to the loss I’ve felt in these 365 days. But on second thought I want to believe having me lead a prayer of thanksgiving a day after the longest year of my life is definitely not a coincidence.

I’ll want us to just go ahead and begin to appreciate God for the blessing of salvation. The blessing of knowing him who said that to Him will all flesh come.

Song: For this God is our God, forever and ever

The bulk of our prayer is for needs and wants in our lives or in the lives of others but today we’ll thank him for being God to us. My father is not your father, my mother is not your mother but this God is our God. We are going to thank him for being God, for being the propitiation for our sins

Song: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth

Let us thank God for being mindful of us. For being our carer, our provider, let us thank him for crowning us with glory and honour; the bible says he made us a little lower than the angels and he gave us dominion over all the works of his hands.

Song: There is none holy as the Lord

Finally let us thank him for the excellency of his name. Psalm 8 says his name his excellent. Obama’s name opens political doors, Wole Soyinka’s names opens literary doors but the name of the king of kings and lord of lords created those whose name open doors!  It is because of the excellency of his names that Elijah was able to command the sun in his name and the sun stood still. Go ahead and thank God for that wonderful name Jesus.

Song: That wonderful name Jesus

Round off: Lord we thank you for you. We thank you for the grace to call you father. We thank you for the ownership we claim to that name. We hank you for that wonderful name which is the master key, that name which is the answer for whatever challenge we may be going through, that name which shatters every strong hold in our lives. Thank you for giving us an opportunity tonight to approach the throne of grace knowing that we have assurance of mercy and grace in Jesus matchless name. Amen.

Mrs. Omolola Omoteso-Famuyiwa is a minister who is passionate about 

sharing God's words for the healing of others.

Sunday School Resource - Guidelines for Coordinators and Teachers

Teachers in the Sunday School Department (SSD) are expected to attend the teachers preparatory meeting. It holds at least once a week. It is a must for all teachers to attend; on no account should a teacher who did not attend the preparatory meeting be allowed to teach. The purpose of the teachers preparatory meeting include:             To do a careful study and analysis of the lesson in view until the core of the lesson is understood by the teacher (who should first learn as a student)             To read and critically ascertain the correctness and relevance of every Bible quotation in the lesson.             To discuss and agree on the divergent views on a subject and reach a unified conclusions in line with the Scriptures.             Since teachers are not expected to argue on a topic in the presence of the students the preparatory meeting will enable teachers sort out the grey areas.              Teach the Word without compromise or apology, but with love, humility but firmness. Ephesians 4:15, 25. Exalt Jesus in all your teaching. Let everyone know they need a saviour regardless of personal challenges, status, religion etc. John 3: 1-5, 14-15; Acts 8: 5, 27-35, Acts 9:20 (what are the attributes of Philip as a teacher and preacher demonstrated here?) Emphasise salient doctrines and spiritual experiences in your teaching. John 3:1-7; 4:19-24 – Salvation, Holiness, Holy Spirit baptism etc. Teach until your listener understands, for no learning has taken place till the students know what you are teaching. This can be achieved through various means, viz:             Teach in plain simple terms, and not grand theological phrases.             Use picture language that will make the truth come alive in living colour. Metaphors, parables, similes, etc. were used by Jesus in the gospels.             Build on what the listener already know and believe. Jesus and the disciples never attacked others for their beliefs. They used their beliefs as a basis to help them understand the truth they were teaching (Acts 17:22-23).             Relate and repeat your message when necessary. Be focused in achieving your objective. Students must go home with cogent lesson, i.e. forcefully convincing. Hence, you need thorough preparation so that you can discover the basic lesson taught in the lesson. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!  This can never be over emphasized. Jesus prayed the whole night for just few hours teaching. Pastor E. A. Adeboye fasts and prays for weeks in order to prepare for a sermon or teaching that may take some minutes or hours. We are shaping lives and destinies through the Word. It‟s a sacred job. People‟s lives and eternity depends on the Word. RESULT          The Word will bear fruit and our labour in the teaching ministry will not be in vain.          The church will be at peace. Wrong doctrine brings disharmony and aggravation. Acts 15: 1-2, 22-23, 30-31.          Tremendous growth. Acts 5:11-16; 19; 9-10; 6:27-28.          The church will be prepared for the second coming of Jesus. Eph 5:27.          The doctrine of Christ will be preserved for coming generation. CONCLUSION True believers must be unwavering in the practice of the doctrine they accepted. This is why removing the ancient church landmark is a gross abuse of the call to teach and lead in the body of Christ. Any deviation from sound doctrine in the church is an end time spirit. Watch out! 2Tim 2:13; John 17:16; 2Tim 4:1-3.