WOULD YOU RATHER BE AN ACTIVIST CRITICIZING THE GOVERNMENT OR SOMEONE SO WEALTHY TO JUST SUPPLY NEEDS?
THE INFLUENCE OF ELIJAH GREW FROM BEING AN ACTIVIST TO A KING MAKER. GOD ENLARGED HIS INFLUENCE AND WANTS TO ENLARGE YOUR INFLUENCE
THE ONE WHO IS THE KING MAKER IS WAY ABOVE THE ONE WHO IS CARRYING PLACARDS CRITICIZING A KING
I WANTED TO DO THE WORKS THAT JESUS DID BUT I HAD TO START FROM WHERE JESUS STARTED – I LEARNT TO FAST 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS
THERE IS A PRICE TO PAY IF YOU WANT TO ENLARGE. NOTHING GOES FOR NOTHING
– Pastor E. A. Adeboye on “ENLARGE” at RCCG OCTOBER 2023 HOLY COMMUNION SERVICE || 5th October, 2023
Let somebody shout halleluyah!
1 Kings 19:4-8. As we are considering the theme of the Youth Convention which is, “Enlarge.” When we talk about Enlarge, there are several definitions and I trust that tomorrow when my children begin to preach unto us, they will give us all the definitions you can ever think of. But let’s take the definition of a mathematician.
To enlarge simply means, make bigger – make it bigger. Elijah started as an activist. 1 Kings 17:1. He was a young man like you, full of passion for God. He came before the King and prophesied to him, “there will be no rain, no dew, until I decree it again.”
We want to talk about enlarging your influence. This man started like any young fellow. The King was not behaving himself properly and just like any activist, he confronted him.
Occasionally, we youths have been called out by activists to join them to criticize what the government is doing, to carry placards and make our feelings known. But the influence of Elijah increased. He moved on as we find in 1 Kings 17:8-16, to become a provider of the needs of a poor widow and her son so that even during a famine, during hard times like we are passing through, it became a source of supply to a family in need.
I’m sure if God were to ask you today as a young man or woman, “which one would you rather be – an activist or someone who can just supply the needs?” If God were to ask you, will you like to be one of those carrying placards marching about protesting, or rather become so wealthy that when you see people who are hungry you don’t have to tell anyone, you just feed them. If God were to ask you, because the influence of this man continued in the same 1 Kings 17:17-24. When the son of the Widow died, Elijah had enough anointing to raise the dead. When the child of that widow died, the widow was not crying to the King, “O King, my child is dead. Your majesty, come and help me.”
No! The widow turned to Elijah and said, “Look at me o, I have a problem, my child is dead.”…and Elijah raised the dead.
If God were to ask you, which one will you prefer? Will you be somebody that is made bullet proof so that when you’re out protesting and the police are shooting, the bullets will bounce off you? Or, will you rather prefer to be anointed to raise the dead? Which one will be your choice? We’re talking about influence.
The influence of this man grew from an activist to a provider of needs, to a man who could raise the dead, to a man who could bring about a national revival in 1 Kings 18. But then, he got to a stage in his life when he felt, “I think I have gone high enough, I’ve done the best I can, but I think I better just go home and rest now because I haven’t seen much improvement.” The Almighty God said to him, “you’re wrong, you can come higher still, I can take you from being an activist and turn you to a King maker. Come over and meet me at Horeb and I will tell you that from now on you will be the one who will anoint the King over Syria, etc.
I want to turn you from being an activist confronting the King to becoming the One who will make the King because if you are the One who anointed the King, then the King will do whatever you say.” 1 Kings 19:15-17.
The one who is the King maker is way way above the one who is carrying placards criticizing a king. I was watching a program on television some days ago and I heard a man saying, “if all the youths in this nation form a party with the agreement that it will be only one party for the youths and whoever we choose to be our flag bearer we will all support, there is no party that will be able to defeat them”… Because the youths in this nation outnumber the old ones at least, 7 to 3. God says to Elijah, “let me enlarge your influence. Instead of you rebuking a king, become the maker of kings.”
Then God went further and said, “let me enlarge your influence by giving you the opportunity to secure your own future. Let me allow you to be the one who will anoint your successor.” The influence of Elijah began… when you could call it great – you can’t be an ordinary person to walk into the palace and just prophesy to the King and walk out like that. There are many of you already prophesying, many of you who are already great even at your age, but God is not joking when he chose for you the theme, “Enlarge.” As we will learn later tonight and tomorrow, the Almighty God can make you far far bigger than you are.
However, before Elijah travelled to that level where he became a king maker, where he became the one who chose Elisha, there was a meal. God fed him. God told him, there’s journey ahead and you have to travel 40 days and 40 nights to arrive. Like I said, we will be talking more about this later on.
Eat now, because you will be fasting soon. You will be fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. That’s what he told Elijah o. That may be what he will be telling somebody here now. You want to be great? Want to enlarge? God is going to grant your request but I am here tonight as your Daddy to share a secret with you before you eat so that you will know that the meal of tonight is not an ordinary meal. It’s a meal to prepare you.
As a younger Christian, – I’m still young, I’m only 81. Moses began his ministry at the age of 80 – I spoke to God because I told him I don’t want to be a pastor, he insisted, he won. So I told him, “I don’t want to be an ordinary Christian or Pastor. So if you want me to be who you want me to be, I want to at least do the works that Jesus did and do greater works.” John 14:12.
The Lord said, “no problem, it’s just that we start from where Jesus started.” Where did he start? He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before he performed his first miracle. I am telling you at that time, the only time I ever fasted was on Good Friday and that fast was from morning till 12 noon and by 10am I was already checking the clock. 40 days and 40 nights?
Well, you’re the one who said you want to do what Jesus did and you want to do greater works, let’s start where he started. I almost said, “Lord, don’t worry.” But my mathematical brain came in – I said what’s the problem? You don’t get PhD in Mathematics in one day, if there’s anything you learnt in mathematics it is that you start from the known to the unknown, from simple equation to simultaneous, to quadratic, to exponential, etc. So I started with 3 days and 3 nights and I am telling you, it was like 3 months.
But after sometime, 3 days and 3 nights every month became a joke.
So I moved on to 5 days and then, 7 until we got to 40 days and 40 nights not once, not twice, on one occasion 3 times in one year because we want to talk about Enlarge. Enlargement is no joke.
All the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ as I have told you before is simply summarised in, “nothing goes for nothing.” You want to enlarge, you want to be great, there’s a price to pay. But before we begin to talk more about the price and etcetera, shall we eat first.
The Almighty God said to my friend Elijah, (you know he’s my friend, I spent 3 years studying him because I wanted to be like him) “eat, drink because the journey is far.” But before we come forward to eat and drink, if you’re not yet a true child of the living God, may be you better come now because the journey is far and if the journey is far for those who are already Christians you can imagine how far it will be for you because you’re not one of his, He is the one who will supply the strength.
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