THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD (RCCG) PRESENTS LIGHT UP WEST MIDLANDS @ RCCG CONVENANT RESTORATION ASSEMBLY (CRA) HOUSE; 117 – 125, NEW JOHN STREET, BIRMINGHAM UNITED KINGDOM
THEME: LIGHT UP MIDLANDS
MINISTERING: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
TOPIC: BREAKING CURSES
DATE: 12TH APRIL, 2023
BIBLE TEXT: 2 KINGS 2: 19-22
Lift Up your hands to the Almighty God and bless His Holy Name. Give Him Glory, give Him Honour, give Him Adoration.
Worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Let Him hear you speak to Him – Tell Him that you Love Him and you appreciate Him.
In Jesus Mighty Name we Worship – Amen!
SONG
I know my Redeemer liveth
I know my Redeemer liveth
I know my Redeemer liveth
He liveth forevermore.
OPENING PRAYER
KIing of Kings and Lord of Lords; Ancient of Days, the Light of the world. The One who says: Let there be Light and there was Light, we Worship You. Please, accept our Worship in Jesus Name.
Tonight, in the Life of everyone here and even those reading now on the Label of DMC; let there be Light.
In this City (Birmingham), let there be Light; in the entire Midlands, let there be Light; in Great Britain, let there be Light; in our Homes, let there be Light and in every facets of our lives, let there be Light.
At the end of everything Lord, I Pray that we will all go Home singing a New Song.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
Well, if your Miracles will be bigger than that of your Neighbour, then let your Hallelujah be louder – Hallelujah!
Then shake hands with one (1) or two (2) People and say: God Bless You.
And then you may Please be seated.
2 Kings 2:19-22:
19. And the men of the City said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this City is Pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
20. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
22. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
Appearance can be Deceptive!
The City of Jericho was beautiful – Just like Birmingham is “Very Beautiful” but then according to this Story, the People of Jericho themselves knew that they have Problems!
I have a “Rough Idea” that there might be one (1) or two (2) Problems in Birmingham. But I believed that the Almighty God will step into the situation!
In 1 Samuel 16: 1-7; we read of a Story of when God wanted to appoint a King in the house of Jesse and Jesse began to bring forth his children.
And the first Fellow he brought was his First Born – Tall, Strong, Handsome; such that the Prophet of God was deceived.
He looked at him and said: Ha, this must be the King!
But God said No, don’t look at his size as I have rejected him.
… God looks at what is inside and took a Decision.
Occasionally, we Human Beings; we look at the External and jump into Conclusions.
It reminds me of something that happened years ago – I was to Minister to some “High and Mighty” in the Exclusive Section of Ikoyi in Lagos State Nigeria.
I arrived early as usual and we waited for the “High and Mighty” who of course will arrive at their own convenience.
I was asked to stay in the house of the Lady who was Hosting the Meeting that Day.
When I entered the Living Room where I was asked to sit down; I saw that the Living Room was in Stages – There were five (5) Sitting Rooms; each one in ascending order of Grandeur. When I saw that Place where I was seated; it was the lowest of them.
I wanted to Change my Sermon – I have Prepared a Sermon that I Titled “That you Need a Miracle”. And when I saw what I saw, I thought I should Change the Sermon to “Oh that Man will Praise the Lord”.
But God spoke to me that: No son, don’t Change the Sermon. She needs a Miracle.
We are all looking fine – Glory be to God but only God knows what we are covering with our “Beautiful Dresses”.
And the reason it is Unusual is because: Well, we have come to Birmingham for a Program that is to begin on Friday, 14th of April 2023.
DMC NOTES: The RCCG Ordained Ministers’ Conference in Europe for Pastors, Assistant Pastors, Deacons and Deaconesses is Scheduled to take Place in the City of Birmingham, United Kingdom from Friday, 14th to Saturday 15th April 2023 at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) Birmingham United Kingdom under the Theme: “A RENEWED STRENGTH”. Your “Most Sincere Team (DMC) will attempt to explore all her Contacts to bring if Possible the details to our reading Pleasure!
We have held Ministers’ Conferences in several other Towns in the United Kingdom.
On very rare occasions, after we have finished the Ministers’ Conference, we may spend the Sunday in that same City – Very, very rare occasion because as soon as we finished on Saturday we go.
In your own case, we are not holding a Meeting after we finished on Saturday; we are holding a Meeting before the Meeting.
… This can only be God!
And whenever things happened like this, I get suspicious – It simply means that there is Someone here that God wants to attend to and He wants to do it hurriedly.
And that Fellow will not be a Pretender tonight or reading now on the Label of DMC! Because Problems can remain until the Fellow in Problem cries out.
In the Story that I told you earlier on; that woman with that Great Splendour in the Living Room, which can give us an insight into what she must be worth; had a Problem – The Problem was her son who was a Drug Addict.
The son was so far gone that when the mother says whatever that want to happen, let it happen; I won’t give you money for Drugs anymore. The boy says alright, then I will fix you.
He waited till one day when the Mother was travelling to United Kingdom and Planted Drugs in her Lugage.
So, they arrested the woman at the Airport. It was because of “How Big” she was that didn’t let her end up in Prison.
But that day, the boy got Born Again.
Whatever is your Problem(s) that you cannot share with anyone; God will give you an answer(s) today or as you read now on the Label of DMC – Amen!
But in James 4:2; the Bible made it clear that: “You have not because you ask not”. Until you ask for Help, God is not obligated to answer you.
In 2 Kings 4: 1-7; the Wife of one of the sons of the Prophets was heavily indebted. She was Practically drowning under debt.
But every day, when People saw her and said: Sister, how now? She said fine, Glory be to God, the Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want.
Until the day the Creditors said: You don’t Pay us by tomorrow, we will sell your boys.
That day, when they asked her: Sister, how now? She said: “All is not well”.
It was that day that she cried out that God solved her Problem.
There is Someone here tonight or reading now on the Label of DMC; God is going to answer your Problems – Amen!
Now, you know the Story of Jericho very well – You are Bible Scholars, I’m sure.
You know that the Problem with Jericho was a Curse – A Curse Pronounced several years before in Joshua 6:26.
Well, the Wall of Jericho fell; Joshua Pronounced a Curse on the City.
And one thing about a Curse is that it flows Downhill – From Generation to Generation.
So for years after Joshua Pronounced his Curse, Jericho was still suffering.
I have a rough idea that God is about to break a Curse on Birmingham and on Someone here or reading now on the Label of DMC – Amen!
Now, the beauty of this Story was that God gave Jericho a Second Chance – A Second Chance because Elijah has been in Jericho and Jericho didn’t cry out that they needed Help.
In 2 Kings 2:4; Elijah said to Elisha – Elisha, you wait here, God has sent me to Jericho.
And the two (2) of them came to Jericho and Jericho watched Elijah Passed by, Crossed Jordan to the Other Side. They watched as the wind blew and Elijah disappeared to Heaven.
And then they saw Elisha Picked Up the Mantle that fell from Elijah, smote the Jordan River, split it into two (2) and cross to Jericho.
And they said: Ha, Thank God what we missed before before, we won’t miss it this time.
I believed that God is giving Somebody a Second Chance – A Chance to Permanently uproot your Problem – Amen!
You know when you read 2 Kings 5: 1-14; if you Pay attention to it, you will noticed that God gave Naaman a Second Chance.
Naaman has been told by the Housemaid – You go to the Man of God in my Country, he will Pray for you and your Problems will be over.
Naaman came to Elisha, Elisha sent his Servant to him: Tell him to go and wash seven (7) times in River Jordan and he will be Clean.
Naaman got angry – Can you imagine that?
… A Leper getting angry with a Prophet.
He said that there are better Rivers in my Country? Why can’t I wash in them and be Clean?
But God gave him a Second Chance – One of his Soldiers drew near and said: Permission to speak sir! Even though he was very angry, he said okay yes. What is it that you want to say?
If the Man of God has asked you to do something Great, will you not have done it? All he asked you to do now is: Wash and be Clean.
… He got a Second Chance and he get a Miracle.
God is giving Somebody a Second Chance tonight or as you read now on the Label of DMC and I hope that you won’t miss it this time – Amen!
Now, God can Change a Curse to a Blessing!
It does not matter who Placed a Curse on you, there is Someone still called “The Almighty”.
I. Some of us don’t know the meaning of a Curse because we have not seen it in Action.
II. And some of us are even Struggliny under a Curse and we might not realised it.
I come from a family of Great Warriors and my Great Forefathers were a Supper Warrior. And in those days, they go out and bring in Slaves.
When they bring in a Female Slave, they can decide not to sell her but marry her. But that you are a wife doesn’t mean that you will be treated as one because you are a Slave.
And so the Story was told of one of the Slaves wife who gave birth to a Child. And the “Real Wife” – The one married also gave birth to a Child at the same time.
And the one who is the “Real Wife” got Special Treatment like you will treat your wife. But the Slave Girl was shabbily treated.
And so she Placed a Curse on our family – She said: If anybody delivers a Child in this family and the mother takes Salt within the first seven (7) days if it is a Girl or within the first nine (9) days if it is a Boy; the Child must die.
And I’m telling you that you don’t want to joke with a Curse – That thing kept going on even when Slavery ended up in Nigeria long time ago. But even in my own time, we see it happened.
If a woman should go into hiding and just taste Salt and Oil, the Child must just die.
Thank God for Jesus Christ – He rescued me from that Curse.
You don’t want to joke with a Curse – There are some of us who are Struggling very hard and not making Headway.
If you go deep, it may be “Generational Curse” – Something Somebody did in your Generation years ago but you are not involved in it but a Curse flows like a River.
In 2 Kings 5: 20-27; when Elisha Pronounced a Curse on Gehazi; do you remembered what he said?
He said that the Leprosy of Naaman will cling on Gehazi and on his Seeds forever.
Nobody can be born in the household of Gehazi without becoming a Leper.
The Medical People are just discovering what had been there all along – They began to talk about Genes.
That is what they call it – There is Genetical Problem.
It is a Curse and that Curse will be uprooted tonight or as you read now on the Label of DMC – Amen!
God can Change a Curse to Blessings – If you read Genesis 49: 1-7; it tells you of a Fellow called Levi. The father Pronounced a Curse on him at the time the father was about to die.
The father said that he will be Scattered – In other words, he won’t amount to anything.
But then the Almighty God turned that in Numbers 3: 5-13; God just said: Moses, bring me Levi near.
His father says that he will be Scattered but I say No; bring him close to me. He said that I have Chosen him to be my first born.
I Pray for Someone today – It doesn’t matter whether it is your Great Great Grandfather that got a Cursed; it doesn’t matter if the Curse is from your Grandfather or father or mother; the God I served will turn it into a Blessing today (Amen)!
But you see, in that Story that we read; Elisha said to the People in Jericho – Bring me Salt in a New Cruise.
I won’t talk about the Salt tonight because of our “Limited Time”; but I will talk about “The New Cruise”.
He was saying to the People of Jericho that you have to turn over a New Leaf!
… You want your Curse gone, your behaviour must Change.
The Almighty God is not going to treat Curses lightly – A Curse is a Destroyer, a Curse is a Force that you can’t fight and win!
In the Village where I came from (DMC NOTES: The Village is called “Ifewara” in Osun State Nigeria); they recognised a Curse as a Demon – A Very Powerful Demon for that matter.
They regarded a Curse as a Demon that if you send it on errand; it will check when it get to where you send it whether or not the Fellow offended you or not. If the Person did not offend you, it will return – Leave that Fellow alone and come and deal with you!
When the Elders were telling us those things in the Olden Days; we didn’t even know that it is in the Bible.
But God said that: “A Curse without Cause shall not come (DMC NOTES: Proverbs 26:2(b).
Because it is as Powerful as that, it will not Strike you unless you give it a reason!
And of course, if it is the one that is inherited, it won’t even wait.
But you can begin afresh!
The Curse on my family was broken over me and my Lineage when I gave my Life to Jesus Christ – Because then, I became a New Creature and then I belong to a New Family.
Jesus Christ said: He came to His Own and His Own received Him not. But as many People that received Him, to them gave He Power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name (DMC NOTES: John 1: 11-12).
When you give your Life to Jesus Christ, you Cross Over from the Family that is Cursed into the Family of God. And in the Family of God, there is no Curses but Blessings!
Levi, the father Cursed him on his death bed to make sure that Curse can never be Vacated. And as soon as he finished cursing him, he died.
But then, something happened along the way – Levi said okay, I have been cursed and so what shall I do?
Then a Divine Occasion came in Exodus Chapter 32 – Moses had gone to the Mountain to collect the ten (10) Commandments. Before he came back, Aaron had agreed with the People and they were Worshipping an idol made of Gold.
And Moses knowing very well the kind of People he was leading; knew that he couldn’t handle them alone.
So, he stood by the gate and cried – Who is on the Lord’s Side, let him come to me.
And low and behold; every Child of Levi said that even though our father cursed us, we are on the Side of the Lord.
When they all moved to the Side of the Lord, and the Lord said: Okay, if you are on my Side, then I am on your Side too.
That is when God said to Moses – Bring Levi near me and they will be my First Born.
Tonight is not a Night you will joke with and I can give you several reasons why you should not joke with Tonight:
1. I have told you that this is a Very Special Meeting – It wasn’t in my Plan at all.
Ask your Pastors, they will tell you. I am supposed to arrive on Thursday, 13th of April but God insisted that I must be here Tonight.
2. Another Special reason is that Only God can tell whether I will come back to Birmingham again.
Do you know why?
How many Cities in Europe? I am eighty one (81) years Old and I’m not getting Younger.
When People come to me and say: Daddy, you are looking Young! Keep on deceiving yourself. The Owner of the Calendar is marking it.
We don’t know tomorrow but at least we have today.
God in His Infinite Mercies, is giving Somebody not just a “Second Chance” but a “Last Chance”.
If you are not ready to turn over a Brand New Leaf, I will do my job and we will go and I will continue.
But if you make up your Mind; wait a Minute o – No more joking, no more Fooling around, no more “Playing Church”, no more being in the Choir when your Heart belongs to the devil, no more being a Pastor and being a Fornicator at the same time. Then my Father can Change a Curse to a Blessing!
Because after Elisha did what he wanted to do, he made a Proclamation.
He said: I heal this water now; no more Barrenness, no more Death.
Do you know what Barrenness means?
It means: Fruitless Efforts.
Somewhere along the Line, in this Particular Service; I will be making a Decree!
Because you see – It takes Someone’s with a Higher Anointing to cancel a Curse that has been Pronounced by a Man of God.
When Joshua said: Jericho, I Cursed you – The Man who Cursed Jericho was the Man who said Sun, stay where you are. You don’t joke with People like that.
Until Someone with a “Double Portion” of Anointing came, the Curse on Jericho cannot even be broken.
I am not claiming to be like Elisha but with all Humility, I know my God and I know what He has done in my Life.
An Elderly Man came to the Redemption Camp several years ago. He has just given his Life to Jesus Christ.
He was an “Extremely Wealthy” Man – I mean so Wealthy that when I want to visit him in his house; unless there is Somebody to lead you, you can be lost in the Top Floor. That is how big the Mansion was.
And then, he bought a Flat at the Redemption – Two-Bedroom Flat.
And then one day, he came to me and said: Sir, I have two (2) weeks to live sir. That is why I bought this Two-Bedroom Flat as I want to end up here on Holy Ground.
I Laughed. Who told you that you have two (2) weeks left? He said that a Prophet I met forty (40) years ago.
He said that there was a Great Man of God who told him everything that will happened to him in forty (40) years – Who to marry, what Business to do, this, this and this.
And then he told me the year I will die and I have just two (2) weeks to go. He said that everything that he said has come to Pass.
So, I said: Do you really want to die? Well, not really but the Prophet said.
I said now you have just given your Life to Jesus Christ. You are just beginning to serve God and so why will God kill you?
He said that it is not God killing; it is that the Prophet said and every other things he said came to Pass.
I said that with all Humility sir, there is a Greater Prophet here.
He was to die at the age of eighty four (84); I told him that are you are ready to serve my God one hundred Percent (100%), no Pretence? And he said all the way.
I said that then in that case, forget that Prophesy as I cancel it.
The Old Man when it was few days to his one hundredth (100th) Birthday; sent for me and said: Thank You, I have lived an extra sixteen (16) years and I’m fulfilled now.
Do you know that he went to Bible College at the age of Ninety something years old.
And he said to me: Release me, I want to go.
Somewhere along the Line tonight, I’m going to make a Proclamation and my Father is going to back it up.
But that Proclamation is going to be for those who is going to seize this opportunity and turn over to a Brand New Leaf.
ALTAR CALL
So, if you Claimed to be Born Again but you know deep within yourself – You call yourself a Child of God and you are still living like a Child of the devil. Because it is not what you call yourself that matters but it is the Fruit that you are Producing.
But you really, really want to become a “True Child” of the Living God, one hundred Percent (100%) and no joking now, I will count from one (1) to ten (10). As many of you that can find your way to the Altar, you can come,
I will Pray for your Salvation and then we will Proceed. I’m counting now!
Now, those of you who has come forward, Please cry to Jesus Christ and say: Have Mercy on me, save my Soul, forgive all my sins as I will serve You from now on – No more joking, no more Fooling around, I will do Your Will one hundred Percent (100%). Just have Mercy on me Lord. Be my Lord and my Saviour.
And the rest of us, let us Stretch our hands towards our Brothers and Sisters and intercede for them.
Pray that the One who saved you will save them too.
Pray that the Almighty God will be Merciful unto them.
Thank You Father. In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
PRAYER FOR SALVATION
Almighty God, I know that before the Foundation of the world; You knew that this Meeting will take Place and You knew that these People will come Forward to surrender their lives to You.
Father, Please receive them, have Mercy on them, save their Souls, let Your Blood wash away their sins.
Please, whatever they have done wrong before, overlook them today, give them a New Beginning, receive them into the Family of God.
And anytime they Call on You from now on, answer them by Fire.
And I Pray that today, You will Change every Curses on them to Blessings.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Praise the Lord Hallelujah – Hallelujah!
GENERAL PRAYERS
Remember that I say that Problems can Persist until the one in Problem will cry for Help – Cry and not Whisper.
So now, I’m going to ask you to cry to God:
1. You will cry to the Almighty God tonight and say: Father, every Curses in my Family; cancel it tonight.
Thank You Father. In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
2. You are going to say: This time Father, turn every Curses to Blessings in my Family.
Thank You Father. In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
And so shall it be in Jesus Mighty Name – Amen!
Please be Seated!
The Bible says that “The Just shall live by Faith”.
From that moment that Elisha spoke, things Changed – So, I will speak tonight too.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION
So, we want to have what we call “A Celebration Meal” – That is the Holy Communion.
That is why I said that Tonight is Unique because we don’t usually have a Communion Service in a Light Up Program before but God knows what He is doing.
So, we will administer a Communion Service Tonight and then do next what God asked us to do.
Pastors, Please distribute quickly the Elements for the Holy Communion.
Shall we Stand Please!
When we eat and drink tonight; like I said that it is “A Celebration Meal”. And believed me or not, that is what it will be – Amen.
One of the reasons why Tonight Meeting is so Special is that it is coming so soon after the Resurrection Morning!
And so when you eat the Bread, you will just be Thanking God – Thank God for everything that has been achieved for you on Calvary. Healing, Deliverance from Forces of Darkness et cetera et cetera.
The Lord Jesus Christ; the very Night in which He was betrayed took the Bread and when He has given Thanks, He broke it saying: Take, Eat; this is my Body broken for you; do this in Remembrance of Me.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – Amen!
Go ahead: Eat and Thank God for what He did for you on Calvary.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen!
Now, you take the Wine – The Wine is the Symbol of Life (A New Life; a Life that is Free from Curses, Stagnation, Fruitless Efforts but full of Power.
So, as we drink the Wine, you ask the Almighty God for a Brand New Beginning in every facets of Life – Amen!
After the same manner also; He took the Cup when He has sup, saying: This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood, Please do ye as oft as you drink it in Remembrance of Me.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – Amen!
Thank You Father. In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
SPECIAL DECREES AND PROCLAMATION BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
And so Father, in the Life of all these Your Children; I hereby Decree – No more Curses, no more Failures, no more Death, no more Barreness, no more Stagnation and Father, let there be Light.
No more Darkness, no more Sorrow, no more Bitterness.
And I say in the Name that is above every other names, every Curses in Birmingham is now destroyed.
Lord God Almighty, from this moment onwards, every Curses that has been on Birmingham, turn to Blessings.
And I Decree that every forms of Darkness operating in this City from this moment onwards; Pack your load and go.
Right now as I Pray, as the Light of the Most High God invade this Place, Darkness scatter and never regroup again.
Birmingham you are Blessed; Midlands you are Blessed; United Kingdom you are Blessed and the Church of God you are Blessed.
And everyone here Tonight and those reading now on the Label of DMC; you are Blessed and you will remain Blessed forever.
Your Generation shall be Blessed and you will Serve God.
The Revival of the Most High God will begin Tonight from this Place.
So shall it be!
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Well, let Someone shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah!
Please, Pass the cups to the aisles so that the Ushers can collect them very quickly!
THANKSGIVING
As it is our Tradition; after we have had an opportunity to dine with the Lord; we want to say Thank You to Him for what He has done for us Tonight.
Lift Up whatever you want to Give to the Almighty God!
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERING
My Father and my God; I want to Thank You very much for what You have done Tonight. May Your Name forever be Glorified.
Father, I Decree that beginning from Tonight, Your Children will never Lack again.
That every Curses on their Finances is broken.
That from now on, they begin to Prosper and Prosper Speedily.
Father, I Pray that whatever they have Lost in the Past will be Fully Restored.
And that whatever they are Giving now will be d Least they will ever Give.
In Jesus Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Well, let Someone shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah!!!
As the Band Play Songs for us; we will dance and give our Offering.