When Pastor Enoch Adeboye said towards the end of a sermon, “ I want to prepare you for what is about to happen,” it was easily understood by the congregation, which had been waiting for the special blessing.
But it would not have been imagined that the General Overseer in a church where pastors are impeccably dressed in suit to preach during church services, would remove his jacket on the pulpit.
The Fridays of the Annual Holy Ghost Congresses of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) are often loaded with prayers, prophecies, and miracles, signs and wonders. They are also noted for peak attendance at the Redemption City and through online participation.
On this Friday, the two large auditoriums of the church in the city were packed full and it didn’t matter that the plenary had stretched far into Saturday morning.
The night featured all the regulars – prayers, praise and worship, guest speakers, testimonies, the General Overseers’ sermon, Holy Communion service and Anointing Service.
Pastor Adeboye’s preparation of the congregation was done with a testimony. He recalled: “Some years ago in the first Auditorium; God told me I should wear seven Agbada(garments) for something He was going to do.He knows I don’t like Agbada yet He asked me to wear seven.
“Although nowhere is it written in the Bible that thou shall wear seven garments and shall dance for five minutes and then lay them on the altar, that was what He said to me and I heard Him clearly, so I did it.
“ He gave me specific instructions to the people to only touch, and not hold any of the Agbada, for the anointing of God to flow into them to solve their problems.
“He said they were to touch only and not to hold. But one man thought if touching was going to solve his problems, he needed to hold the agbada to solve all his many problems.
“As he grabbed one of the Agbadas, the power of God grabbed him and he began to shake like a rat being shaken by a dog.
“I had left the auditorium by 8a.m to my prayer room, but at about 5 p.m, they came to knock on the door, because the Power of God was still shaking the man. I had to go and pray for him to be released.”
Having prepared the congregation, Pastor Adeboye launched into what they were waiting for.
“What I am about to do tonight is what I heard God say. If it is childish to you, please don’t participate.
“ Now, whatever piece of cloth you want anointed, put it at your feet. The Lord has asked me to remove my jacket, lift it up to Him while you are watching. I am going to pray for some minutes and then drop it.
“He asked me to tell you that, as I drop it; you will shout“Jesus” seven times and then pick whatever piece of cloth you dropped at your feet.
“Please, for God’s sake, don’t joke with what you are about to pick from the ground because it will be saturated with anointing.
“Don’t give it out! You can use it on people to pray for miracles but don’t give it out. Don’t let it leave your hand.
“Please, whatever you want anointed, it must be a piece of cloth, put it at your feet now and stand up.
You can keep on saying ‘Amen’ while I pray, and focus on this piece of cloth.”
After the exercise, General Overseer prayed and decreed double anointing for the congregation and participants around the world.
“Father, I have done what You asked me to do, and I hereby Decree All those who believe receive the Double Portion. Receive the Double Portion of the Spirit of God!”
He then told the people to lay the piece of cloth on their heads and pray with prayer points he gave them. In the practice of the church, miracles from the prayers are expected in the testimonies of church members at subsequent services.
The Sermon
Earlier, in his sermon on “Double Portion,” which was also the theme of the Congress, the General Overseer, explained that it is the inheritance that a father gives his first born as a commandment of the Lord that when the father is distributing his inheritance, the first born must get a double portion.
Although like Esau, not every first born gets a double portion, with Jesus Christ as the first born of the Father, believers as joint heirs with Him, are entitled to Double Portion.
He said we need double portion for a number of reasons:
It will activate your potential, all the things that have been deposited in you and waiting for manifestation.
The moment you get the double portion those potentials are activated.
With double portion, you start seeing the invisible and hearing the inaudible
With double portion or anointing, you enter your destiny.
When Elisha took over the mantle of his Elijah, he entered into his destiny – first, parting the river as his master did; and by returning to his base, where his peers came to bow to him.
He woke up in the morning as a son of prophet and by the time he was going to bed, he was a prophet in less than 24 hours.
He warned that when we see someone under heavy anointing, we should be careful about the way you deal with him because he carries power that is like high tension electricity wire.
When you are carrying this double portion anointing, for the rest of your life, God will help you to outsmart Satan.
More importantly, the double portion is meant for us to use one portion to take care of ourselves; while the second is to be used to bless other people.
With a double portion of anointing, you become a yoke destroyer.
The double portion available today is not that on Elijah but the double portion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who get it are people who are faithful to God to the end. People who are single-minded and focused.
And they must be people who must be ready for a new beginning, a brand new beginning by surrendering to God completely for salvation.
