Let somebody shout hallelujah! If you know that the mercy of God and the grace of God will continue to be multiplied unto you, shout a powerful hallelujah once again!
[Music]
Brethren, that song is a song of confession, is just telling God that we cannot help ourselves by ourselves, it’s only the grace of God that can help us, it’s only the grace of God that can carry us, and I trust God that the same grace that has brought us this far will surely see us through. [Music]
Almighty Father, we thank You for a time like this, thank You for giving us the opportunity to be alive and to witness this day, thank You for the journey of year 2026, thank You for the months, weeks, and days that have come and gone, thank You for thus far You have helped us, accept our praises in the name of Jesus.
Father, one thing we cannot deny is the fact that we cannot help ourselves; without Your grace we are doomed, that’s why we pray this morning in the name of Jesus that You will engrace everyone of us, that as we have come this morning, individually and collectively, You will encounter us with Your grace in the name of Jesus.
By the same token of grace, You will perfect our lives, You will establish us, You will establish our homes, You will establish our finances in the mighty name of Jesus. By the same grace, Lord, strengthen Your people, wipe away every tears, every physical, every secret tears, every inward tears. Father, by Your grace, wipe away in Jesus’ name.
Lord Almighty, we pray that You will fill our homes in the name of Jesus; You will strengthen us, in our inner man we shall be strengthened, our physical man shall be strengthened in the mighty name of Jesus. Everything that stands for weakness and everything that represents weakness in the life of everyone of us and our family members, Father, today in the name of Jesus, take away in Jesus’ name, bolster our confidence once again in the name of Jesus.
Lord Almighty, You will fill every heart with joy in the name of Jesus; joy of salvation, joy of a better tomorrow in the name of Jesus Christ. Everyone that is sick, I command healing unto you today in Jesus’ name. Those who struggled to come here today, I pray that before the end of this service you will leave here rejoicing in Jesus’ name, you will receive the touch of God in the name of Jesus. Those who did not even want to come because you are unable to raise enough funds for your transportation and perhaps for the offering, I pray in the name of Jesus that miraculously you will be blessed today in Jesus’ name, you will give a testimony of turn around in the name of Jesus.
Today is the last day in the month of May, I decree that all the outstanding blessings in the month of May, they will not pass you by today in Jesus’ name; the evils left in this month, God will keep far away from you, and it shall be well with you. God, by Himself will speak to us today, and through His words He will boost our joy, and He will make us happy people, in Jesus’ name we have prayed.
Good morning, once again everybody! I welcome you to this glorious service today in the name of God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And I must thank you for your partnership; there are many Redeemed Christian Church of God parishes all over the place, but you have chosen CTL to be your family church. I pray in the name of Jesus that you will not lose your blessing. Thank you for always being there, and I pray that testimonies will continue to abide for you, your head will not be bad in the name of Jesus.
Year 2026 journey is moving and it’s moving very fast, and it doesn’t matter how fast it moves, you will not be left behind, you will not be stranded in the name of Jesus. You will not sustain injury, and failure will not be your portion in the name of Jesus. So please keep hope alive; the Bible says weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning, you will celebrate the goodness of God for the rest of your life in the name of Jesus.
Psalm 126: 5 & 6 – (remember, next week Sunday is our Thanksgiving service, so come well dressed, powerfully well dressed, gorgeously well dressed, and let your shoes be a type that will help you to dance, not the one that will give you problem when it comes to dancing). It says, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing (you know when you say amen to some scriptures, you are indirectly affirming it, you are claiming it) bringing his sheaves with him.
This morning, by the grace of God, we’ll be talking about The Joy of Greater Harvest, and I need to also say this for whatever it is worth that today is a grand finale of the Explosive Growth Drive mandate of the mission, at least for the time being; we have this every year in May and November, so this May edition, by the grace of God, will be ending today, and since the second Sunday of this month, we’ve been talking about the need for us as believers to rise up for the conversion of others, because that is the whole essence of our calling, we are commissioned and we are mandated to rise up for the salvation of others, so today is the grand finale, and we’ll be talking on the joy of greater harvest.
Spiritually, joy is a deep and (what I call) abiding state of gladness and contentment produced by the Holy Spirit, unlike fleeting circumstantial happiness. Biblical joy is anchored in faith, God’s promises, and relationships with Christ and obedience to His great commission mandate; joy remains steadfast even in the midst of trials and hardship, and that’s why we always tell people that joy and happiness are not the same. Joy comes from God, it is one of the products of the Holy Spirit, like I said, is a deep abiding state of gladness and contentment produced by the Holy Spirit; while happiness is a state of just being excited and is temporary, that’s the difference.
I recall I have said times and times again on this pulpit on the need for people to create happiness where necessary in order to save yourself of depression and other social ease. There are people who will just lock themselves up, prove themselves to a state of self-pity, and before they know it, their PC BP will go up, some people develop stroke and others, no, even in the midst of trials and hardship, joy will find expression, and I pray in the name of Jesus that today, joy will find its way into your life in the name of Jesus.
Somebody may want to ask Pastor, how will that happen? It happens by grace. Grace is what you call divine enablement; grace is not acquired by strength, grace is not acquired by works, grace is acquired by grace and mercy. But there is a dimension of joy that many believers have never truly experienced, there are categories of joy, that is what it means, but one in particular, you will not be able to enjoy it until you are able to fulfill the divine mandate, that particular joy is reserved for those who engage in the harvest.
We live in a time where people seek joy in comfort. Today, quite a number of people seek joy in comfort, we seek joy in success, and of course our personal breakthroughs, which is not out of place, is a normal thing for people to at least enjoy and rejoice in comfort, in success, in personal breakthroughs and accomplishment, but guess what, heaven reveals a higher reality, because true joy is not found in what you receive, but in what God does through you.
The greatest celebrations in heaven are not about material possessions or positions, but about souls. In Luke 15: 7, it says, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance”. They said in this morning, just one soul in heaven brings a high level of joy, a high level of dimension of rejoicing than 99 people who have known Christ; no wonder Jesus Christ endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him.
In Hebrews 12: 2, it says, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God, and that joy was a joy of the harvest of life, redeemed, and think about it, if one soul brings joy in heaven, then greater harvest produces greater joy.
Therefore, in this season of Vision 2032, God is not just calling us to walk, He’s inviting us into a deeper, fuller, and multiplied dimension of joy, and that is what you are about to enter into from today. It is my prayer that we will enter it with joy, with open heart, with vision, with passion and with great zeal in the mighty name of Jesus.
So let’s look at a few dimensions of this joy before we round up this service. Number one, the joy of personal fulfilment. John 4: 36, and he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit into life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together; there is a joy that comes when your life becomes a channel of God’s power. You speak and someone believes, you invite and someone responds, in fact, we are saying it this morning that our responsibility is number one, just to invite and to speak to them.
The ultimate responsibility of salvation actually lies with God, so it’s a privilege and it’s something that comes with joy when you speak and somebody believes you, you invite someone, come to my church and he responds to you, you follow up and someone stands. It’s not everyone that is followed up that eventually stand, there are people you follow up, in fact, a time will come once they see you coming they lock their gate, they instruct their security guard, please don’t open the gate to that man, but it comes with joy when you follow up and that fellow stands.
And brethren, nothing cures emptiness than by being used by God; when God uses you, there is a way you feel, nothing cures emptiness than being used by God. Many are unfulfilled not because they lack blessings, but because they lack impact, and impact is part of what brings joy. But I pray today for every one of you under the influence of my voice this morning that God will make you a man and a woman of tremendous positive impact in your community in the name of Jesus.
This joy is deep, it’s not shallow, it endures, is not temporary, is personal, because you know God uses you, and that’s why when God does some of these things, you come forward and testify, is your personal experience that nobody can take away from you. You know in Luke 10: 17, the Bible tells about the disciples, after they’ve gone out to preach, the Bible says, and the 70 return again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name, that is the joy of success, joy of fulfillment, making impact.
The reason why many of us are not fulfilled today, or we don’t have the kind of joy that we pray for, is because we ignore the very place where joy is found. Brethren, if I must confess, joy is found on the feet, in the harvest feed, and nothing compares to the joy of being used by God.
Number two, the joy to the church, which, of course, is a corporate celebration. In Acts 2: 46 & 47, and they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of what. 47Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. When harvest increases, joy multiplies in the house, and I pray in the name of Jesus that in CTL and in Lagos Proverbs 20, and in all our parishes in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, there shall be multiplication of joy in the name of Jesus Christ.
When there is multiple of joy in the house, testimonies increase, faith rises, and of course, the unity of believers is strengthened. You find out that there will be collaboration, there will be oneliness, togetherness, and brethren in faith will be able to come together to bind and to lose, and the Bible says if two of you shall agree. Oftentimes the problem we have is that lack of unity; if there is a unity between a couple, there is a unity between brethren, when we cry unto the Lord, the Lord will hear and answer.
When I look at the situation of the country sometimes, it breaks my heart, God wants to hear prayers, but the problem of denominations, ‘this one is for this, the problem of pride – I know Him more than you, I do better than you, I’ve won more souls than you, my church is bigger than your own’, will not allow us to be united, and that’s why it’s not as if God does not answer prayers, but when He sees that His people are not together, how are we going to solve this problem? But I pray in the name of Jesus, that every strongholds of the devil on the Church of God, the Lord will prick today in the name of Jesus Christ.
When there is unity, there will be change in the atmosphere, because we’ll find a positive energy and feeling all over the place. A harvesting church is a joyful choice any day; you could see it from that scripture, where there is no harvest, joy dries up, if a church is not winning souls, it will eventually lose its joy. I pray that our joy will not be lost in the name of Jesus.
Number three is the joy of the mission, Vision 2032 as of course given to us by the authority of the mission, ably represented by no other than our Father in the Lord, Pastor E.A Adeboye. In Psalm 126: 6 that we read, it says, He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him; every soul won is a step towards Vision 2032, as far as the Redeemed Christian Church of God where we belong is concerned, it is the fulfillment of the divine mandate of the Great Commission, to which we are irrevocably committed.
You know the vision and the mission statement; number one there is to —- Pastor Jenrola, the next Tuesday should be for vision and mission statement, everybody must be taught, we must know about it, that is the whole essence of our existence as a mission, and it represents the habits of God. A proof that the vision is working is achieving purpose, a reason for corporate rejoicing, and vision without harvest is theory. Praise the Lord! Vision without harvest, vision without result, vision without achievement is theory, but harvest turns vision into celebration. I pray in the name of Jesus that we will celebrate in Jesus’ name.
Vision is not celebrated in plans, it is celebrated in results. Even in our country we had a lot of vision – Vision 2000, Vision 2010, Vision 2020, Food for all by year 2000, Hope for all by the year 2000, how many people have hope now? Theory. You don’t fulfill vision by attention, you fulfill it by harvest, by result.
Number four, the eternal joy, (and I call) heaven’s celebration. And as we have seen in Luke 15: 7, heaven rejoices over one soul, now imagine 10 souls, 100 souls, 1000 souls; every soul you win creates a celebration in heaven. The question is, will heaven rejoice because of you?
And number five, contending for this joy, you must pursue it. In Galatians 6: 9, it says, and let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Please be unrelenting, don’t give up, greater harvest does not happen casually or by happenstance, not at all, e must be intentional, we must be consistent, we must be aggressive (that may sound somehow but that is a fact). Matthew 11: 12, it says from the time of John the Baptist to this present time, the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force, and we must take it with some measure of urgency.
Jesus Christ said in John 9: 4, He said, “I will do the work of Him that sent me, while it is day: for night cometh, when no man shall be able to work; and of course, in First Samuel 21: 8, David said the King’s business requires haste. We don’t have so much time to waste, as a matter of there is no time for us to wait, and this assignment may not be convenient because it is commitment; it is not convenient but is a commitment, and every commitment don’t usually comes with convenience. So don’t ever think that, oh, I’m going to do it when it is convenient for me, no, no, no, is a commitment, and what should be our attitude?
Number one, fix evangelism as a lifestyle. The task of soul winning must not be left to a specific group of people, the evangelism team and follow-up, no, no, is a responsibility for everybody. We must fix evangelism as a lifestyle, beat follow-up discipline is not easy, but I want to seize this opportunity to thank evangelism and follow-up team, they do a lot.
It doesn’t matter how busy they are on some Saturdays, they will attend to this, attend to that, yet they will still go out; some, they will do it before they go about their personal business. I want to commend your effort, and I pray that the Lord Almighty will reward your effort abundantly in the name of Jesus.
So, make follow up as a discipline; refuse to quit. There are things that will annoy you, in fact, some of the people you visit will annoy you. Some will insult you, some will shut that door at you, and some can be funny enough to throw water to tell you what are you looking for? Are you the first born of Jesus? You come here again, but don’t let that discourage you, don’t quit, because quitters don’t win, and winners don’t quit.
The joy of harvest is not given to the interested, it is given to the committed; verybody may have interest, but it is the exclusive preserve for those who are committed. You know the Bible says many are called, but a few are chosen; people may be willing, you may be interested but if you are not involved, so it is to the committed. So if you are willing and obedient, obedience underscores your level of commitment, it says you will eat the fruits of the land. It is my prayer that God Almighty will help us in Jesus’ name.
So, in conclusion, there is a joy waiting for you, but it is not in comfort. The joy that is waiting for you, the one that waited for Jesus was not in comfort, as we have seen, it says for the joy that was set before Him endures the cross, despising the shame; the joy that is waiting for you and I is not in comfort, it is not in excuses and it is not in observation, it is not in sitting on the fence, it is not in binding and casting, that is funny, but it is in the harvest, and the level of your harvest determines the level of your joy.
Jesus, like I said, endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him; that joy won souls, you and me. And now the question is, will you also pursue that joy today? Will you want to follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Shall we rise on our feet? Have you heard it? There are many of us who have never entered this joy, you never experienced it, you have been mere spectators and not participants. There are those who have enjoyed it before but have lost the fire because they became tired and passive along the line, but today God is calling everyone of us to greater harvest and greater joy, not small joy, not a little one, not a seasonal one, but overflowing and multiplying joy.
I remember this, all those days, “I have a joy, the joy of salvation, the joy of deliverance…” That will be your portion today in Jesus’ name. But the truth of the matter is that you cannot share in the joy of harvest if you are not connected to Christ, I want us to bow down our heads and talk to God. If your fire has gone down, if your passion for soul is gone, return now, and the prayer will be, Lord, restore my joy, restore my fire in the name of Jesus, make me a passionate harvester again in the name of Jesus.
If you have not been connected to Christ, your own prayer this morning will be that Father, please have mercy on me. I regret my ignorance, I regret my inactivity, I regret my life of sinful tendencies, please come into my life today, take my life and let it be in the name of Jesus.
Open your mouth and cry unto the Lord, if your fire has gone down, pray to God for restoration that God will restore you, our God is a great restorer. Pray that God will restore your fire, He will restore your passion, He will restore your zeal in the name of Jesus. Let’s pray to God, that God, please make us passionate harvesters again in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Father, because You have answered, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
[Altar call]
Very quickly I want us to pray, you know today is the last Sunday of the month and it’s good that we make one or two prayers so that God Himself can carry us as we continue the journey.
Number one prayer, you’re going to pray to God and say Father, please connect me to the joy of greater harvest in the name of Jesus. Open your mouth and cry unto the Lord. Father, please connect me to the joy of greater harvest in the name of Jesus. I cannot help myself in this regard, Father, please connect me to the joy of a greater harvest in the name of Jesus. Thank You Father because You have answered, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
Number two prayer you are going to pray, you are going to say, Lord, make me a fruitful and a consistent harvester in the name of Jesus. Father, make me a fruitful and consistent harvester in the name of Jesus. Open your mouth and cry unto the Lord, Father, please make me a fruitful and consistent harvester in the name of Jesus. So shall it be in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
Thirdly, you are going to cry out to God and say Father, remove every barrier to my effectiveness and fruitfulness in the name of Jesus. Every barrier to my effectiveness, every barrier to my success, Father, please take away in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Father, because You have answered, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
You are going to pray unto the Lord and say, Father, baptize me with fresh passion for souls in the name of Jesus. Baptize me with fresh zeal for souls in the mighty name of Jesus. Thank You, Father because it is done, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
You are going to cry unto the Lord and say Father, let my life produce a multiplying and undeniable harvest in the name of Jesus. Pray to God, open your mouth, we need grace, we cannot do it by ourselves. Pray to God, Father, let my life produce undeniable and multiplying harvest in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Father because You have answered, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
Lastly, you are going to cry unto the Lord and say Father, let Your grace that has brought me this far carry me, oh Lord, for the rest of my life in the name of Jesus. The same grace that has brought me this far, Father Almighty God, let it carry me for the rest of my journey in year 2026 and even the years to come in the name of Jesus. Let me not fail, let me not falter, let me not suffer dishonor, let me not suffer disgrace, let me not suffer shame in the name of Jesus. Thank You because it is done, in Jesus’ mighty name we have prayed.
As you have spoken in His ear, so shall it be unto you in Jesus’ name. His grace will carry you, by the grace you will be strengthened, you will be empowered, you will be established, and you will be settled, in Jesus’ name we have prayed.
