Pastor Enoch Adeboye on Tuesday night revealed how he got the theme of the 65th Annual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
During his message at the Welcome Service of the Convention at the Redemption Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Mr. Adeboye, who is the General Overseer of the 195-countrywide Mission, said while he was praying about it in August last year, God told him emphatically it should be “Halleluyah” and he had since been excited about it because of its various implications, the key of which is praising God to access His blessings.
Citing a past convention, when so many people were healed but he later saw one or two people were still in wheel chairs, he said the song and dance of praise at the Convention is all for God, and he will come down mightily for all participants.
Mr. Adeboye said after that convention where some people were not healed, God told him He wanted to show him he (Adeboye) was not God.
According to him, this year’s convention of praise and thanksgiving is all for God and the moment one sets foot on the Camp ground or participates at viewing centres or watch by Internet, TV, or by radio one becomes a candidate for blessing.
He had explained how this works in an earlier welcome message: “the heavy presence of the One who inhabits praises will so saturate everywhere on the Camp ground there will be physical and spiritual healing for all who participate.”
Explaining this further on Tuesday with Psalm 100, which urges believers to: “enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name…” he said gates are often erected because of treasures behind them. So, he said God calls on us to enter His gates with praise and thanksgiving, which is what the Convention seeks to achieve.
And the reward, he says, is that all who access His courts through the gates and shout Halleluyah will receive His touch.
He however warned that only the righteous can access God who is holy, and sinners have to repent and be saved.
The call to the altar for this witnessed a rapid flow of a stream of people, who from afar formed a pool of people half the size of a standard football field.
Promising that all participants at the Convention would go home shouting Halleluyah, he ended his message with a call for people to count their blessings and give thanks to God for as long as they could before departing.
To do that some people stood, some knelt down and some went flat on the auditorium floor.
The Welcome Service was opened earlier with a colourful calisthenics display, Bible passage recitals and drama sketches by kids and youths.
On Wednesday, the Convention started with a graduation ceremony of Bible College students, followed by Pastor Mrs. Folu Adeboye’s meeting with missionaries based abroad.
The second plenary session of sermons, praise and dancing started at 8p.m.
The RCCG Convention is so popular among its members that they have composed a poem with all past editions.
The RCCG Convention Poem
• In 1998 over 7million people gathered to receive DIVINE VISITATION at Lekki beach.
• The visitation which brought VICTORY AT LAST in 1999.
• I was not baffled then in 2000 when we started experiencing OPEN HEAVENS,
• And you know when heaven opens there will be WIND OF CHANGE in 2001.
• After a great wind of change then God decided to outpour SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS in 2002,
• Which made the multitude to sing A NEW SONG in 2003.
• It did not stop there in 2004, many were given THE MASTER KEY,
• Which led to UNLIMITED BREAKTHROUGH in 2005,
• Followed by the experience of HEAVEN ON EARTH in 2006,
• People kept on moving to THE NEXT LEVEL in 2007.
• JOY UNSPEAKABLE in 2008
• Made us sing OUR GOD REIGNS in 2009,
• God was pleased with that and told us ALL WILL BE WELL in 2010,
• Then A NEW THING started happening in 2011,
• SIGNS AND WONDERS 2012,
• THE OVERFLOW in 2013,
• We went to thank THE GREAT SHEPHERD in 2014.
• Which is now promising us loads of Joy, and has decided to open THE FLOOD
• GATES OF HEAVEN in 2015.
• He has answered AMEN to all our prayers in 2016. A seal, stamp to our request.
• No wonder God said in this year 2017 it is time to shout HALLELUJAH, our testimonies shall resound & our blessings shall manifest fully in Jesus Christ name as we do so.
All images were taken by Komolafe Segun, Managing Director of Skenhanced Images
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