The remains of Pastor Dare Adeboye was today May 11 committed to the earth after a farewell service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God House of Favour located at the Redemption Camp.
Pastor Dare, son of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of RCCG died on May 5 at the age of 42
Church Times observed that the farewell service which attracted hundreds of people was more of a celebration. It is believed that the late Adeboye has gone to his reward.
The message at the service however turned out to be quite instructive as Pastor Kola Oyeneye; a contemporary of the Late Pastor Dare ministered with so much passion urging his listeners to rejoice for the life of the departed.
His message titled, Nothing, rested on the reality of the Christian faith that nothing can separate believers in Christ from the love of God.
Oyeneye who said he was supposed to have had a chat with Pastor Dare Adeboye the Sunday before his demise said he was taken aback when he did not hear from him on Sunday at 9 pm as they had agreed to talk.
He however preached on the three stages of grief for Christians; urging Christians to beware of generals with stars without scars
According to him “Scars of war are as precious as the victories of the war,” adding that it is not unusual to cry and show weakness.
He said, “It is okay to weep, it is okay to cry. This exit is painful. On Sunday we were supposed to be on a call by 9 pm but I did not hear from him. I sent an SMS on Monday he did not respond to me. It is painful. We connect at the level of nation and church. But our grieving should not be like that of the people of the world.”
Oyeneye said further that in the world, there are five stages of grief but for the believers in Christ there are three stages
He then went on to explain that the first stage in grieving for the believer is thanksgiving “It is okay to give thanks. The Psalmist says bless the Lord Oh, my soul. You don’t have a choice in the face of tragedy but to give thanks. In everything we are asked to give thanks.”
The second stage according to him is: Expect joy. “Children of God have an expectation of joy after weeping. The Bible tells us that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. The worst advice given to men is to tell them not to weep. But the Bible makes us understand we can weep. Weeping may endure for a season, but joy comes in the morning.”
For Oyeneye, the third stage of grief for the Christian is: Move on “As hard as it may look, we must move on. I was deeply encouraged when our daddy Pastor Adeboye still preached after the incident. We were marked down but we must recoup and advance.
“We did not lose our God, we lost a general. We might retreat a bit but we have to move. Our generation understands this. We are troubled on every side but we move. We advance. Flash the #tag, we move. We press towards the mark of the high calling.”
He then delivered a message God gave him for the Adeboyes recalling how God spoke to him when he was told he would preach at the farewell service. He said God told him to tell the Adeboyes that “you know we have history and that in the grand scheme of things, this is part of the history.”
He said God gave him a song with the lyrics: “You and I, we have got history. We go way, way back. Nothing can stand between us…
Turning to the audience he said to them,
“what history do we have. One gift you can give to this great man is to surrender your life to God.”
Full lyrics of the song recommended for the Adeboyes
[Chorus]
Cause you and I, got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back{ You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back } [x3]{ Naah, nah, nah
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
Naah, nah, nah
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah } [x2][Bridge]
{ I’m never gonna let you go
I am never gonna let you go
I’m never gonna let you go
I never have, I never will
I’m never gonna let you go
I am never gonna let you go
I’m never gonna let you go
I never have, I never will } [x3][Bridge 2]
{Nothing can separate us
No thing can separate us
Nothing can separate us} [x2][Chorus]
{You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back} [x2]{You’ve always had my back
You always have my back
You’ve always had my back
You’ve always had my back} [x4][Chorus]
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back
You and I, we’ve got history
We go way, way back
We go way, way back