COVID-19: Rather than live in fear or doubt, go for vaccination ― Adeboye

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, has urged members of his congregation to take the COVID-19 jab rather than living in fear or doubt.

He gave the admonition during the October 2021 Holy Ghost Service and grand finale of the Annual Youth Convention of the church titled ‘Exceeding Expectations’ which was held at the 3×3 auditorium, Shimawa, Redemption Camp, Ogun State.

The programme was monitored by our correspondent on Dove Television, the official broadcast station of the RCCG.

The revered cleric, who was spotted in a piece of suit with the colour of the Nigerian Flag of Green-White-Green, during his message at that started about 1:15 am on Saturday, said he had never at any moment or event told his members not to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

While noting that he was not speaking on behalf of the umbrella Christian bodies in the country but in his personal capacity as a father to his children (RCCG members), the septuagenarian urged them not to fret, reiterating that those who would die of the virus are those destined to die as God had earlier told him.

He, however, urged RCCG members to subsist with the culture of cleanliness and observe all COVID-19 preventive protocols as specified by the governments at various levels.

Although the cleric didn’t state categorically if he had taken the COVID-19 vaccine, he asserted that if in the course of his God-given assignment to the world it would require he be vaccinated, he would present himself for the sake of the Gospel.

The Ifewara-born cleric, however, described as laughable and incredible some state governors who were reported to be coercing their people to be vaccinated or will be prevented from accessing banks and worship centres.

He urged the government to focus on making the vaccines much more available and also focus on other minor maladies killing Nigerians such as snakebites that is said to claim over 2,000 lives annually rather than chasing people with few vaccines.

“I’m a man under authority. What I’m saying does not necessarily represent the view of the Christian Association of Nigeria or the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, this is just my view vis-a-vis The Redeemed Christian Church of God.

“Safety is of the Lord. It is of the mercies of God that we were not consumed. If we were to go by what scientists said, what the highly-skilled, intelligent scientific people said, oh God we should be counting the number of deaths in Nigeria by hundreds of thousands.

“That’s what they projected. But there is a God who answers prayers and He is still here today.

“When God told me on January 1, 2020, that the world is going to behave like a child in convulsion, when He said later not too long after that, that the whole world would have a compulsory holiday, I didn’t know all the details.

“Because we know in parts; we only know what he tells us. And God is not talkative. So, those who are always prophesying per second I wonder which God is talking to them.

“But as soon as it became clear that we are in for a very serious trouble, and the scientists began to say “hey what will happen to Africa now?” I cried to God.

“I reminded Him of the prayers of the elders that a cow that has no tail, it is God who will be chasing away the flies of that cow. I cried to Him “My God please, we have no help but You; help us.

“We have an enemy we can’t see and unfortunately, the majority of our doctors are not even around, they’ve gone to look for greener pastures. The facilities are not there. Many of the hospitals that will treat highly infectious diseases had been shut down for years. Help us.” And he spoke back to me and said Son, I’ve had heard your cry.

“I’m not talking to the country, I’m talking to you, my children. He said to me, “Son, only those people whose time has come will die from this virus.” He told me Himself; he didn’t send a prophet. So, let me tell you one thing first and foremost, I think I have said this before; don’t be afraid.

“Now don’t be afraid does not mean be careless. You know my stand on cleanliness. You know how much time we devote to sanitation during our conventions. You know that.

“So if this thing has taught you nothing at all other than being clean, Glory be to God. But don’t be afraid. You will not die before your time.

“I think I read in the news some days ago that the average number of people in Nigeria who die from snakebites is 2, 000 a year. If that is the case, and Coronavirus has been with us for almost two years and the number of people who are dead is less than 4, 000, that means snakebite is killing more people than Coronavirus. And I told you then that this thing is just one of the noisesome pestilences.

“So, don’t be afraid. If your time comes, there’s nothing anybody can do to keep you here, Coronavirus or no Coronavirus. You should know that.

“Now having said that, I have never said to you ‘don’t be vaccinated.’ You have never heard that from me. Rather than live in fear or doubt, get vaccinated. If you believe that getting vaccinated would put your mind at rest, then go ahead.

“You may say, Daddy, are you saying that you too could be vaccinated? Ehhh….! If there are nations in the world that say that I cannot come to preach the gospel there because of vaccination, I will do anything for Jesus Christ.

“If vaccination or no vaccination is going to hinder me from doing the work God has called me to do, even if they asked me to be vaccinated 100 times, I will be vaccinated.

“So don’t ever say that you heard from me that I said you should not be vaccinated.

“I laughed when I heard that some governors were making it compulsory for people to be vaccinated before they can go to church, I said where the devil failed, some people are trying.

“Because the moment the virus first came, the first place they wanted to attack was the church – the very people who are praying to stop this thing, that said we shouldn’t meet. But thank God we overcame that.

“And it is doubly funny when I now heard that unless you are vaccinated, you can’t even go to the bank, I said I think he must have been misquoted. He must have been because, if they say unless you are vaccinated you can’t go to the bank and the number of vaccines available in the country is less than 10 per cent of the population, it means that 90 per cent can’t go to the bank.

“But I laughed because they gave us a notice that those who have money in the bank can quickly go and collect and we can go back to the original method of banking.

“You know how our fathers used to bank their money? They put it in pots and bury them at the back of their house. But all these things are necessary to make us laugh.

“Because in the Nigeria of today if you don’t laugh… Listen to me my children, tommorow will be alright so keep on laughing. The Bible says rejoice,” he concluded.

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