Bisi Daniels
It is usually ignored as an achievement but to host millions of people all day into the night without any ugly incident is perhaps a miracle in itself. That was what happened on the Friday of the 66th Annual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). Massive attendance – a sea of heads everywhere at the Redemption Camp!
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Everywhere one turned, there were lots of people, with yet more people flooding in.
The three-million-seat Old Auditorium at the Camp was overflowing, and completed sessions of the new three-kilometre-by-three-kilometre Auditorium called the Arena was full.
Confirming that, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the church, announced that it had been planned for the church’s pastors lay hands of members of the congregation towards the end of the programme but with the number of people in attendance the exercise was not possible. It was postponed to 11am on Saturday.
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With both auditoriums full, estimated attendance must have been between five to six million people.
The massive flow of people was also noticeable at the call on mothers who had been blessed with the fruit of the womb through prayers at the church to take their babies to the altar for blessings. For about 10 minutes, mothers carrying their babies proudly and dancing, poured in from various angles of the auditoriums to the altars. Soon, pools of heads formed at the altars.
“When you consider all these homes where there used to be crying every month but now there is joy, join me to rejoice with them,” Pastor Adeboye said.
“You know how much I love children, but my wife love them more.”
Then he let out a secret. “My wife wanted 12 children but we had to stop somewhere. Now we have many spiritual children (the name he calls church members, who call him Daddy).”
Happy mothers
It was also interesting that people who choose to be at the Old Auditorium to participate in the service via large screens, when the event was live at the New Auditorium, some few about 2 kilometres away. That may have saved the new Auditorium from being overwhelmed.
However, many more people participated from viewing centres in parishes or branches of the church in 198 countries.
There is the general belief that you don’t have to be touched or seen physically by Pastor Adeboye to receive God’s blessing through him.
Miracle handkerchiefs
For example, he doesn’t touch mantles, mostly handkerchiefs, he blesses, which many people have used to perform miracles. He only prays from the pulpit as people at the auditoriums, viewing centres, and even homes, wave their handkerchiefs.
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God’s ways are beyond the realms of human comprehension. On Friday, when people gave testimonies of using the handkerchiefs to cure stroke and raised a woman from the dead, Pastor Adeboye blessed more handkerchiefs.
Towards the end of his sermon on Friday, he asked for handkerchiefs to be waved as he prayed in the spirit.
A lady from Rivers State, Amaechi Florence, had earlier testified how in 2016 her elder sister suddenly dropped dead but after praying for her with one of the handkerchiefs blessed by Pastor Adeboye, she came back from the dead.
“When she did, she started behaving abnormally and I knew the devil had not finished its work, but with more prayers my sister regained her sanity.”
Other testimonies included those of couples who were barren for between 10 and 20 years but proudly showed their children to God’s glory.
The sermons
The night started with an opening prayer by Pastor JA Obayemi, National Overseer of RCCG. Praise and worship songs, lively sessions of the church’s programmes followed.
The first sermon of the night was preached by Pastor Joe Olaiya.
Preaching a simple but profound sermon the harm of sinful life earlier, he showed how sin ruined God’s covenant with man for him to have dominion, and how righ- teousness could restore it.
“Sin dominates people and put them down but righteousness bring up a man.
Love God, obey His instruction, serve Him that is your own duty. God own duty is to lift you up,” he said.
Pastor Adeboye
Pastor Adeboye begun his sermon was one of the many high points of the night. While on his knees at the altar while praying he shared two prophecies, indicating that it was also a night of prophecy.
Reading Genesis 1:26-28, he said God created us to have do- minion, so if we desire dominion, we are desiring the will of the Lord.
“You either have dominion or you are under yoke, it is either of the two and you have to choose one tonight,” he continued.”In life you either have dominion or you are under the yoke.”
He took time to explain some examples of dominion – physical, financial, spiritual.
Physical Dominion: It is good to be healed, Mark 1:40-45. It is only those who have been sick that will know the value of healing. It is better to be healthy and not to be sick at all and it is better still for you to be the one healing the sick, Mark 16:17-18. But when your shadow begin to heal the sick then you have dominion physically.
Financial Dominion: It is good to be rich. Abraham our father was rich Genesis 24:34-35. Abraham is the father of faith, God blessed Abraham greatly. But it is better to be wealthy, Genesis 26:12-14. But it is better than been wealthy to prosper, you begin to have dominion financially when you flourish, 2 Chronicles 7:5.
When do we say you have do- minion financially? When you can do what you want to do without looking for help. That level where you reach that anything you want to do, you don’t need anybody’s help, that’s financial dominion.
Spiritual Dominion: Mark 5, it is better never to have being in bondage, there is something like not been in bondage where you will begin to deliver the oppressed and cast out demons. You have spiritual Dominion when you get to a level that your handker- chief will begin to heal the sick, Acts 19:11-12.
Comprehensive Dominion: Pas- tor Adeboye, said God has made provision for Comprehensive Dominion, a situation in which one has great dominion over every- thing, including Satan and his host.