The church is in 197 countries from where the faithful who couldn’t make it to the Camp participated in the congress from viewing centres.
Bisi Daniels
Millions of people from around the world packed the two auditoriums at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and hundreds of Viewing Centres on Friday as the church’s 2018 Holy Ghost Congress climaxed.
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The church is in 197 countries from where people, the faithful, who couldn’t make it to the Camp, participated in the congress from viewing centres. Considering the sitting capacity of the old auditorium and the new three-kilometre-by-three-kllometre auditorium, no fewer than 6 million people may have attended the event which went deep into Saturday morning.
Everywhere one looked on the Redemption Camp there was a sea of heads, stretching as far as the eyes could see.
For those seeking miracles, the hosting of such mammoth crowds without an incident should probably be the first. The second should be the church’s ability to feed and accommodate a large part of the congregation free of charge.
But there were also turn-around miracles as some happy couples gladly testified to God’s intervention after many years of barrenness, some as long as 20 years after marriage; and the use of handkerchiefs,
anointed by Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to heal various diseases including cancer.
On such occasions, the congregation expects Adeboye to pray for the them because of the proven efficacy of his prayers and also to anoint mantles for them.
The expectations reached a feverish pitch when he announced his encounter with God on Thursday night.
According to him, he had prayed for God to do him a special favour; something special during Friday’s plenary and got the assurance that he would focus specially for an hour on the congress during the congregational prayer session.
The one-hour prayer
After his sermon, he announced the beginning of the special hour. He had told the congregation, “We are to pray for one hour. If you like within that one hour fall asleep. An opportunity like this might never come again. I will not go back to God for this kind of opportunity.
“If I were you, all those things I have asked from God that have not been granted, I will present all of them to God; If I were you, I won’t ask for a small thing.
“I will be asking God: Don’t let my sun set in the afternoon. Anoint me afresh, and let me be one of your favourites. Put an end to my sorrow.
“I am not going to tell you what you are going to ask for the one hour. Go ahead, your one hour begins now…”
Promptly, people rushed to the altar and all available space to pray, rendering the air with various voices. For one solid hour, the congregation prayed, some people in standing position or on their knees, while some sprawled on the floor.
Miracle handkerchiefs
At the end of the hour, Pastor Adeboye sealed the prayers with his, and proceeded to anoint the mantles. He said; “You don’t argue with results. You don’t argue with testimonies. When I listened to testimonies of what God has been doing with the handkerchiefs anointed here: the healings, raising the dead and like the one we heard here yesterday about a woman whose breast was restored, I feel encouraged.
“Because of these incredible testimonies, I have made up my mind to be anointing your handkerchiefs, clothes, shoes, everyone on every special occasion.”
He asked people to sing their choice of praise song and wave the items they wanted anointed as he sang his own praise song and prayed. The sea of heads in the auditoriums turned into a white roaring sea of handkerchiefs.
The General Overseer who never misses an opportunity to win souls, would not miss Friday’s, except that he didn’t do it himself.
Reverend Joe Olaiya, who preached earlier that night on how sin affects God’s response to our prayers, made the altar call and many people rushed to the altars in both auditoriums.
In the sermon, Rev Olaiya reminded the listeners that “the LORD’s hand is not too short to save, and His ear is not too deaf to hear,” and advised that when fasting and prayers are ineffective, one should “look inwards and backwards” for reasons.
“Sin distances us from God and causes affliction,” he warned. Another high point of the night was the congregational prayer for all nations, which was led by Pastor Folu Adeboye, the wife of the General Overseer and one of the pillars of the church. She prayed particularly for bad aides and advisers around leaders to be removed.
Glory ahead
In his own sermon for the night titled, “The Glory Ahead,” which was also the theme of the congress, Pastor Enoch Adeboye defined glory simply as the opposite of shame, saying that the theme, Glory Ahead is a prophetic saying symbolizing a great future.
He said glory generates hope, serves as an encouragement, and provides comfort. “Glory belongs to the wise. From now on be the wise. The wise shall inherit glory.