Rod Of Power by Archbishop Benson Idahosa: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Challenge Facing the Church

Since 1987, the gospel of Jesus Christ has faced tribulation and trial on a scale the church had not experienced in fifty years. The challenge came so hard against ministers and ministries that men and women across the world were being asked: Is God still there, or has he stepped away?

Some pulled back in their giving. Some slackened in their faith. But in the face of it all, more people were coming to the kingdom than ever before in history — because salvation is not in any other name than the name of Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. Man may change. Government may change. People may change. But he does not.

The Hardest Place to Preach

The hardest place to preach is where the pastor is himself a preacher. You cannot go there and be casual — you must ask God for scripture and come ready.

When preaching to someone who already knows the Word, the standard is higher. That is as it should be.

Elisha and the Rod — Learning from Elijah

Elisha had watched Elijah up close. He saw a prophet who taught in the school of God's power — not the school of men's tradition. Elijah taught him:

• How to live in a society that denies the power of God
• How not to humiliate yourself in the hands of the Lord
• How not to allow the devil to use you as a vacuum to sweep the floor
• How not to accept any suggestion of destruction

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The passage is 2 Kings 1:10. The king of the land had grown tired of the church — tired of the power that sustained heaven and earth. He sent fifty soldiers to capture Elijah and bring him before the open market, that the whole world might see: "Where is your God now?"

Elijah was not ready to be used as an instrument of disgrace.

"If I Be a Man of God"

Elijah did not say: If I sing in the choir... If I play the trumpet... If I pay tithes... If I speak in tongues...

He said: "If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty."

And fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

He settled the question of his identity before he settled the question of his authority.

There is a time to accept insult silently. There is a time to say nothing. But when the people of God are openly mocked and the name of God is used as a joke, there is also a time to say: God, if you are still there, and if I am your man, show it.

Elijah did not say, "If we be the church." He did not hide in a committee. He took personal responsibility: If I be a man of God.

Again — Second Captain, Same Answer

The king sent another captain of fifty. The same declaration. The same fire. The same result.

You may think that one defeat would have been enough to teach the devil a lesson. It is not. The enemy does not stop after one confrontation. He returns.

If the devil comes to your house seven times a day, cast him out ten times. There is no time for negotiation with the enemy.

Tell him to go — from your business, from your family, from your finances, from your children. Command his departure. The Bible did not say run from the devil. It says he shall run from you.

The Third Captain — A Different Response

The third captain of fifty came and fell on his knees before Elijah. "O man of God, I pray, let my life and the life of these fifty servants be precious in your sight."

Notice: this was how the devil's children now addressed Elijah. It is time for the devil's children to kneel before you and call you a man of God.

It is time for sickness to look at you and say, "Oh, man of God." It is time for diseases to bow. It is time for shortages to leave.

The Power to Raise the Dead

At the age of twenty-four, still a young preacher, there came a moment of decision. The pastor had preached: Cast out devils, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead.

The response was immediate: Has he done it? Have you done it? Can it be done? And the answer came back — yes.

So a bicycle was taken and a search was made, house to house, street to street: Is anybody dead here?

From eleven in the morning until half-past four in the afternoon — and finally a house was found where a child had died. A three-year-old girl.

There was no prior experience. No certificate. No knowledge of what to do. The Bible was searched — and the pattern was found. Everyone was sent out of the room. The name of the child was asked. Then the declaration was made:

"In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth — [child's name], I command you, rise up right now."

In five seconds, the child sneezed and rose.

Jesus has not changed. The power of God has not changed. The blood of Jesus is still available for miracles.

Binding the First Universal Witches' Conference

Years later, word came that the first universal conference of witches and wizards was being planned — and the city chosen was the same city where this ministry was based. Nearly nine thousand were coming from across the world.

When asked what would be done, the answer was clear: "I'm going to stop it. I have stopped it."

Not "I will stop it" — "I have stopped it."

A live television confrontation was arranged. The chief host of the conference made his boasts. Then came one question:

"Are you a witch?"

He said no. And the meeting was cancelled.

What I bind on earth is bound in heaven. What I loose on earth is loosed in heaven. No further discussion was needed.

The president of the nation sent a telex to all ambassadors around the world: do not allow one wizard into Nigeria. And today, the constitution of Nigeria is among the few constitutions in the world with a written prohibition against the practice of witchcraft.

It Is Time for the Church to Know Who She Is

That is lacking in the church today. The church must move from comfort to confrontation — not aggressive arrogance, but the calm authority of a son who knows his father.

You have tolerated nonsense long enough. It is time to rebel against sickness, against cancer, against disease, against shortage.

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. Romans 8 says that same Spirit will quicken your mortal body. When you know who you are — every demon in your city will fear you.

It is not about singing in the choir. It is not about paying tithes alone. Those things matter. But they can know who you are when you raise the dead. They can know who you are when fire falls.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, in the name above all other names — receive power. Power to raise the dead, power to heal the sick, power to loose the bound, power to cleanse the leper. Open your mouth and worship him right now.

Jesus is here tonight with power, with healing, with miracles. Whatever door was shut before this prayer — your door will be open. Say it now: God has answered my prayer. He has heard me already.