Message
When I became the General Overseer of RCCG, I was so concerned about the church's growth that I would fast, pray, and preach for years without taking any rest or going on holiday. Suddenly, I discovered that whenever I preached for more than 15 minutes, I would lose my voice. I followed numerous recommendations from people to combat the issue, such as drinking tea with honey, but it persisted.
One elderly woman discovered what was wrong with me and said, “You are suffering from what is called ‘teacher’s disease’. You keep teaching without resting your voice, and now it is in rebellion.” I asked her for the cure, and she said, “Don’t talk for 15 days.” I responded, “How am I going to do that with my busy schedule?” She answered and said, “When your voice no longer lasts for up to five minutes when you preach, you’ll do what I said.” Therefore, for the first time since I became General Overseer, I took a holiday and went to Germany. I stayed with the Nigerian ambassador there, who had a sauna in his house. He told me that it warms the body from the inside out, and when I enter, I must exit after 15 minutes at most because I would have been sweating profusely. I went into the sauna, and 5 minutes later, I hadn’t sweated. Ten minutes later, I still hadn’t sweated. It wasn’t until after 15 minutes, when I was supposed to be out, that I began to notice a little sweat. I stayed in the sauna for 45 minutes before any real sweat came out. I had put my body under so much stress that it wasn’t functioning as it should anymore. Since then, I have learned that I must not overwork myself and must rest from time to time if I am going to fulfil the assignment that God has given me.
In , God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, and you will notice that four of the verses emphasise the law of the Sabbath. God emphasised the need for His people to rest on the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. To emphasise its importance, God revisited the issue of the Sabbath in , instructing Moses that anyone who violated the law of the Sabbath should be put to death.
Beloved, getting rest from time to time is important. When you rest as often as you ought to, you will keep yourself refreshed and preserve your life.