The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye has called on Christian faithful to battle against the challenges of life.
He said although the Scriptures assure us that we are Born to Win; and that we are conquers, there is a war of life to be fought.
“Don’t let anybody deceive you; life is war,” he stated. “From the day you were born till the day you die, it is war! The battle begins when a child is born and he or she keeps fighting until finally when death comes.”
He said at the May Holy Ghost Service of the church at the Redemption Camp that not even the Biblical assurance of our being more than conquerors exempts us from the warfare of life. “When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you have just joined the Army of Christ,” he said, illustrating it with 2 Corinthians 10:3: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
The General Overseer, who preached a sermon “ Born to Win” under the series “Swimming in Glory,” also used a familiar illustration: “You see, when you read ‘We are more than conquerors’ that should tell you straightaway, it is a very serious matter”.
“We don’t use the word conqueror when we are discussing games. In a football match, we say one team wins, another loses or there is a draw. We don’t use the word ‘conquer,’ but you conquer in war.
“The God we serve is not a civilian; the Bible says; ‘The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”
It also says: He is mighty in battle.’
Taking time to explain the various battle fronts, he listed them as sickness, poverty, the battle for freedom from bondage, and the battle with attackers.
Sickness
“You must fight sickness,” he charged. “The moment you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are equipped to fight sickness and win.”
Citing the reaction of the body to the ingestion of poison and cuts, he stated that God created the human body to fight diseases. He recalled doctors saying that under proper conditions the body will always heal itself and that sometimes drugs are administered to hasten the fight of the body system against diseases; and placebo drugs are given when it is discovered that the body can overcome a disease.
Admitting that despite the opportunities to fight diseases people die, he pointed out that we are all going to die someday and that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he still died later.
Despite the reality of death, he stressed the need to fight sickness so that people don’t die before their time.
“You must fight sickness; don’t let sickness kill you before your time,” he said. “You must fight any sickness that is trying to send you to early grave.”
He shared a testimony of one of his spiritual children who deified death: “An old man known as Baba Okeowo came to me, I think at the age of 84, to say, “Please pray for me because I have only two weeks more to live.”
“Why?” I asked.
He said a prophet told him when he was 44 years old that he would live to be 84 and also several other things that had come to pass.
“So, that is why I have come to this holy ground to die here,” he added.
I laughed and said, “Papa, do you really want to die?”
He said, “No, of course not, but that prophet said so.”
I said, “No, let’s forget about the prophet. What do you want? Now that you have given your life to Jesus, are you ready to serve God?”
He said, “With all my heart.”
I assured him, “Forget the prophecy, you will live and not die.”
Papa was almost 100 years when he finally said, “Daddy G.O., please I think I would love to go now.”
After a congregational prayer, during which he joined his faith with others, Pastor Adeboye continued: “You must fight sickness; fight it in your life, fight it in the life of others: Lay hands on the sick, command sickness to leave them. Lay your hands on your children, tell sickness ‘leave my children alone!’
Poverty
He said that although the Bible acknowledges the existence of poverty, it doesn’t single any individual out to die poor and it wasn’t the portion of anyone in the congregation to die poor. He led his listeners to pray against dying poor.
He also prayed for freedom from the bondage of the devil and for victory over spiritual attackers.
Citing examples from the Bible and his testimonies, he assured that all life’s battles are fixed in favour of people who give their lives to Jesus Christ.
“The fight against sickness is fixed; because Jesus had already made provision… ‘By His stripes you were healed’.” He said. “The fight against poverty is already fixed; because 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: “For ye know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
Earlier in the night, people who had experienced the miraculous touch of God shared amazing testimonies, and Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye led the congregation to pray for all nations and their leaders.