Text:”…. there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone” (Ezekiel 37:7).
It is scripturally axiomatic that things have a tendency of following a natural course of action, unless and until there is a divine shaking, which acts as a catalyst for it to be otherwise. When there is a divine shaking, stagnancy is lost to mobility, speed comes to sluggishness, the weak suddenly becomes strong, the hopeless starts to sing the song of hope, roads that have been declared as closed open, natural orders are suspended, power changes hands, the ignored are celebrated, servants are positioned on horses, the forgotten are remembered and there is a lift up from the pathway to the highway of life.
The Almighty God took Prophet Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and asked him if the impossible can ever be possible; that is, can clinically dead bones receive life again? To proof that there is no cul-de- sac in the things of this world with God (Jeremiah 32:27), He asked him to prophesy; and when he did, there was a shaking and dead limbs started to look for their skulls. What this means is that when there is a shaking, students will pursue the right courses and/or vocations they were created to pursue, graduates/employees will get the right employment, square peg workers shall be placed in square hole positions, employers will meet with the perfect employees, doors of humongous business opportunities shall open, brethren that are due for marriages shall be led to where they will meet their right partners, the physically incapacitated shall rise again and compulsory help shall not rest until they have located the needed commissions.
When a divine shaking is provoked, as God has promised this year, God will lay sinews upon dead bones, He will follow it up with flesh upon them to cover the bones and resurrect the dead to proof to the world that He is the Lord.
The Almighty God is saying that when He shakes the world for your sake, He would partner with you in whatever you do and wherever you go. God will send help to you from above and cover your nakedness. And, concerning your home, business, projects and commission, you shall never ever be put to shame. Where and when some are lamenting cast downs, you shall be positioned in Goshen to testify of lifting up (Job 22:29; Genesis 47:27; Exodus 9:25,26).
Wherever you have been hated and forsaken such that no man comes to you, He shall make you an eternal excellency and joy of many generations (Isaiah 60:15). God will give you a voice over envious peers and powers of wickedness. You shall become like a maize seed inside an opaque bottle before chickens; they can see but can’t have access to, eat or destroy (cf Col. 3:3).
Any attempt to destroy, harm or hurt you shall boomerang as the diggers of evil pits shall be consumed in their pits (Isaiah 49:26; Proverbs 26:27; Isaiah 43:4 cf Daniel 6:24).
The Almighty God who lifted the siege that resulted into monumental losses in Israel with a shaking shall, during this season of lent, lift every siege placed on the lives of your loved ones and you. Your scarcity shall turn to flourishing. Powers that are saying that even God cannot help you shall see God at work in your lives (2 Kings 7). The custodian of your entitlements shall hear a deafening noise and instruct an instant release what belongs to you. All that once sang “Hossanah to the son of David” in your life but are chorusing “Crucify Him” today because things are untoward with you shall gather to tell the world “He is risen”, concerning you tomorrow, in the name of Jesus.
To be a partaker of the divine shaking of this season, you need to take your gaze off men, not taking to mind how powerful they are in the schemes of this world and come to Jesus Christ in penitence and faith (Jeremiah 17:5-8; John 6:37) ask Him to forgive all your sins, make a commitment to live a life worthy of true believers, engage yourself more with philanthropic works, love the lovables without forgetting the unlovables and it shall be well with you in the name of Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, I come to you today, use what makes you the Almighty to intervene in my life and situation in the name of Jesus.
Technological advancement has made life easy for all but it has regrettably robbed some elders of experiencing the fun of yesteryears. During those days of manual black and white television sets with control switches at the front and the back, the act that brings order to the set whenever the image is unstable is to hit the top of the television set and for voice clarity, one needs to hit it at either of the sides. Whenever such a shaking is provoked, order is interestingly brought into disorderliness and the harder one hits it, the better its conformity to order.
From our text, the Almighty God said that in a little while, His hands (not the hands of man) will shake the entire creation. Who is this God? He is the Almighty God (Genesis 17:1). He introduced Himself as the Central Bank Governor of the world economy – He said that Gold and Silver are His (Haggai 2:8). Whenever God shakes anything, all the ripe fruits, either low, medium or high hanging, visible to human sight or covered by leaves, that are set for human consumption and necessary for human enjoyment, strength and vitality are duty bound to drop. In fact, they all drop of their own accord. For your sake, and during this Lenten season, God shall shake all shakeables and your ripe fruits shall drop into your hands without hesitation, in the name of Jesus.
When He shakes, He has promised that the desire of nations shall come, that He will restore the glory of the latter days which shall be nothing comparable to the former and that He will arrest every storm with peace (Haggai 2:7-8 cf Mark 4:35-42). His shakings provoke the manifestation of the sons of God that the entire creation has been waiting for (Romans 8:19). Suffice to say that His shakings will bring to externalisation answers to prayers, fulfillment of divine purpose and actualisation of the essence of creation. It therefore doesn’t matter what your desires or prayers have been, your lack or expectation, when He shakes, manifestation shall come.
At Philippi, which is the chief city of Macedonia, Paul and Silas were held bound and thrusted in the inner prisons with their feet fast in the stock, God caused a shaking such that “…. the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:26 cf Job 9:6). When God shakes brethren, He addresses issues of the foundation (Psalm 11:3). A foundation is that unseen but most important aspect of a structure that controls the seen (physical structure). When God shakes, He brings order into disorderliness and form into formlessness (cf Genesis 1:1-3). Doors that have also hitherto been locked shall open of their own accord. What this means is that where they have told you that there is no way, God has the capacity to suspend order and make not only a way but introduce ways therefrom, and He shall make ways for you (Isaiah 43:19 cf Exodus 14:15-16) and where there is none to help you, the help of the helpless shall arise for you (John 5:5-9).
Beloved, there is a time for everything on earth (Ecclesiates 3:1-8). This year 2017 beginning from the Lenten season is the set time for God to shake, reposition, favor and elevate Zion (Psalm 102:13). To be a partaker of the blessings of this set time, you must to surrender your life to Jesus Christ because He has informed us that holy things are not for dogs (Genesis 7:6). You must hand over the affairs of your life to Him and ask Him to shake the heaven, the earth and the waters for your sake. As He lives who honours His words more than His name, God shall restore your lost grounds and you shall celebrate very soon, in Jesus’ name.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, come into my life, make me your child, forgive all my sins, wash away my sins and right every wrong in my life, in Jesus’ name.
The Associate Pastor of Kingsword International church, Lekki, Ms Oluyele Olubiyi has advised Christian youths to shun all form of ungodly relationship as they are capable of distracting them away from God’s purpose for their lives.
Olubiyi said this at a seminar for youths organised by the Youth Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Higher Ground Parish, Alakuko, Lagos.
The event tagged Rethinking Relationship brought together over 100 youths drawn from across Lagos state. It features prayers, bible teachings, song rendition, networking session among others.
She said that many youths have become a prey and have lost their focus and purpose in life because of wrong relationships, adding that any relationship that does not have its root in Jesus Christ is prone to abuse, heartache and disappointments.
She noted that everything in once life is created just the way God wants it. We are not an unwanted pregnancy. God was not distracted when we were conceived; hence we must involve God in all that we do, especially in the relationships that we keep.
She stressed that we must love God and when we are in love with someone, we do all in our power to make them happy and fulfil their heart’s desires. It’s God’s heart desire that we stay pure and remain a virgin till we get married.
Olubiyi added that for young people who are confused and bound by pressure to do wrong, said “you need to speak with someone. Don’t be ashamed. You are not the only one struggling to live a life of purity.
[quote]She opined that staying sexually pure for Christian youth is not just an old time tale but God’s command for his children who want to please him.[/quote]
“You can decide to use your background as a reason to wallow in self-pity and bad decisions or you can choose to make something good with your life. The choice is always with the individual”, she said.
In his words, the President of the Youth Fellowship, Kehinde OLUSHOLA said that the seminar is set toward helping teenagers and youth avoid the pitfalls of moral degradation, domestic violence and increasingly cases of a divorce rate in Nigeria.
The first armour is the strong belt of TRUTH and the Truth is Jesus. He is the beginning of the full armour of God- You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free; the Truth sets free from sin and makes one live a sin-free life as one follows Him. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Salvation is in none other but Jesus. Sin is what makes it very easy for Satan to attack and defeat us. God who is all knowing, in His wisdom set a plan in motion to set us free from sin and make us overcome Satan. This plan is His sending Jesus to shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins- so we can only overcome Satan and his evil, dark agents by the blood of the lamb (Jesus).
No matter how terrible your sins, Jesus can cleanse you because He loves you.
As a nation, Nigeria needs to be set free from sin. Our sins have kept us desolate, there are so many atrocities committed in the land daily. Hardship is never an excuse to sin; it’s not an excuse to cheat, kill, steal, live immorally, lie, etc. oh, that we would surrender to Jesus and cry out to Him to set us from the bondage of sin.
Are our sins too great for God to forgive? Does God not love us anymore? Why are we in this predicament and what is the way out of this biting situation in Nigeria?
Hear the word of God to Israel, “Come now, and let us reason together, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” This is also the word for us as a nation.
Let us read the kind of life Israel lived, yet God gave them hope?
4 Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.5 Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment.7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.9 Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of a city like Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people likened to Gomorrah: 11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.12 “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says theLord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;20 But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of theLordhas spoken.
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. 22 Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. 23 Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them. 24 Therefore the Lord says, The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. 25 I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy.26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice and her penitents with righteousness.
Do you see Nigeria in the above description? I do. In spite of this, God has not left us; the hope He gave to the Israelites is for us too. We need to seek God sincerely and repent of all our evil ways. He will forgive us and give us a new beginning, look at all the beautiful promises- if only we will hearken to His call- “COME! Let us reason together…”
Let us come together as a nation irrespective of our differences and call on the name Jesus to save us from our sins. We need to humble ourselves and plead for mercy, and decide to follow Jesus, so He can lead us to live in holiness and righteousness. Oh, how I wish for such a country that will follow God without oppositions. For righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. Nigeria ARISE!!!
From twitter to facebook and instagram, church leaders are embracing social media platforms to evangelise and reach millions outside their folds, reports Sunday Oguntola
Faith Ohi’s early morning routine has remained largely unchanged in recent months. “I wake up, catch a brief devotion and log on to the social media for inspiration and news,” she shared.
Her first point of contact is always the official twitter of founder of Daystar Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Sam Adeyemi. “I am sure he will have one or two inspiring notes to drop each morning. I look forward to them like I do to my main meal of the day,” the chartered banker stated.
Though she worships with a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) parish, Ohi has come to more or less adopt Adeyemi as her pastor, at least on the social media. She reads and retweets almost all the tweets of the preacher. She laps up his inspirational messages and follows him religiously.
David Oyedepo
Like Ohi, many Christians have found the social media as alternative platforms to stay in touch with their favourite preachers whose churches they cannot attend for one reason or the other.
Daniel Oke is one of them. Though he worships with an Anglican Church in Abuja, Oke’s day is never complete without a visit to the social media platforms of the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. “I find his tweets and prayer points very helpful. I take those prayer points as if my life depends on them,” Oke, a public servant, said.
Shadrach Ene misses services almost every Sunday, especially when he is on calls as a medical doctor. But he hardly misses the physical connectivity of Sunday worship. “I can confirm that I am more blessed than even thousands in the worship centres.
“I do not only follow the live streaming but also contact twitters for minute-by-minute updates of the service. I can quote many of the bible portions and topics of services in the last few months, though I have not been in church physically,” the Gynaecologist shared.
Realising these, many church leaders in the nation have been paying more attention to their visibility on social media platforms. From facebook to twitter, they position themselves to fish for souls and carry out ministerial assignments without physical impediments.
Adefarasin
Our correspondent observed that most Charismatic Pentecostal preachers have noticeable presence on social media to shore up their visibilities. The reason is because some of them have branches and members worldwide with whom they interact via the platforms.
The same cannot, however, be said of the mainline preachers and churches. Many of them have readily available membership with biological, ancestral or familial affinities. For them, they will always show up in church whether or not their pastors care to connect with them on social media.
But the new generation churches cannot afford these luxuries. They have to aggressively build a strong membership base and appeal to the upwardly mobile with strong bias for personal branding and appeals. To attract and maintain these highly exposed members, the social media becomes inevitable for their pastors.
The big players on twitters
On the micro-chip platform twitter, for example, Christ Embassy founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, boasts of over 1.2 million followers. This is despite the fact that he had only 1,711 tweets as at last Wednesday. He joined the twitter community on June 2010 and has not been active since November 2015.
Adeboye, with the handle @PastorEAAdeboye, joined in January 2011. He has 322,000 twitters with 356 likes. His last tweet was on February 19 during the Sunday service, which earned him 47 retweets.
Adeboye has a penchant for sharing prayer points at specific times of the day on twitter and inspirational messages. His followers reply most of his tweets but hardly engage him in conversations, perhaps due to the reverent image they have of him.
Sam Adeyemi
Adeyemi with the handle @sam_adeyemi has 350,000 followers as at last Wednesday. He follows 141 people, mostly foreign-based preachers, global leaders and protégés with a handful of Nigerian preachers. The arguably most active twitter preacher in the country engages people in conversations when he can.
He also retweets many followers, a strategy that earns him even more fan base. His tweets stand at 10,300 with 359 likes. It is believed that he is personally in charge of the handle considering how freely he engages followers.
His wife, Nike, is certainly in charge of her handle. Her 11,600 tweets have earned 133,000 followers and 3,471 likes as at last Wednesday. The rise in the community she joined in March 2012 is largely due to a weekly series for women and ladies on relationship, career and parenting. The tweet-chat receives a lot of retweets and trending status.
Fiery preacher, Tunde Bakare, is also a big player among pastors on twitter. He joined in September 2011 but has only 768 tweets, an indication that he doesn’t particularly enjoy tweeting. Going through his timeline, it is obvious he tweets only during special occasions or events. He follows only 15 people.
But despite his little activities on the platform, he has 225,000 followers, hinting his TV ministry and activism might have shored up his fan base on t_bakare.
Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on The Rock joined in March 2011 and is likely to be in charge of the handle going by the irregular activities on the page. He follows only seven people with just 678 tweets and 29 likes.
But when he tweets, his 69,400 followers pay attention. For example, his last tweet on a deceased gospel singer got 416 retweets on February 19.
Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Ministry, otherwise called Winners Chapel, has joined the platform since December 2010 with 105,000 followers. He has 10,500 tweets as at last Wednesday. But he has recently become more active considering the activities on his timeline.
Senior Pastor of Fountain of Life Church Lagos, Taiwo Odukoya, has been around the platform since January 2011 with 2,885 tweets. His handle @pastortaiwo, however, boasts of 51,200 followers with 91 likes. He mainly retweets the official handle of the church.
Senior Pastor of Elevation Church Lekki Lagos, Godman Akinlabi, has recently stepped up his activities on twitter. Though he joined since August 2009, it was only recently he became very active with his Mr and Mrs. series on Friday afternoons.
For his efforts, he has 38,300 followers after 22,200 tweets. He is believed to be one of the most engaging, addressing a variety of issues from marriage to relationship and spirituality with his regular activities.
A walk from facebook
On facebook, the situation is a bit chaotic because of the propensity to open many fictitious accounts. Many of the preachers keep respectable distance from the popular platform because of fear of impersonation and operation of parody accounts.
Adeboye, Adeyemi and Oyedepo have at different times denied accounts opened in their names by unscrupulous elements soliciting for donations and unsavoury activities. But founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, has a very active facebook account where he dishes out predictions and prophecies.
He recently pulled down a post where he predicted Hillary Clinton was going to win the last United States of America’s presidential election after Donald Trump was declared winner.
Despite the vulnerabilities of facebook, many of the preachers simply stick to official church page where they share materials they can totally control. Many of their members, however, post videos and materials of sermons, mostly after Sunday services.
Avoiding banana peels
A social media expert, Keji Ola, is of the opinion that church leaders have all to gain by embracing the new platforms. “Ministry is no longer restricted to the four walls of churches. There are several hurting, willing souls out there.
“The more they are exposed to the words of God, the more the ministers can fulfil their mandates and influence society for good. It is no more time to run but embrace the social media,” he stated.
However, he warned that there are pitfalls they must avoid in the new adventure. “For me, I prefer they handle their handles themselves. But if they cannot, they must have a mechanism for seeing everything before it goes out.
“They must trust those who handle their accounts absolutely to protect their best interests. There mustn’t be any misrepresentation or slips because, on the social media, a mistake is hardly forgivable.”
He continued: “I think they should avoid revealing personal details but stick to ministerial issues and activities. It is not about them but the souls waiting for the word of hope through them. They must realise this as much as possible and remember every post reflects their personal brands and project their value systems.”
An alumnus of University of Lagos, Venerable Adegoke Agara, has been installed as the 5th Dean of Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, Lagos.
The installation rites, which held last Sunday in the church, were performed by Bishop of Diocese of Lagos West, Rt. Reverend James Odedeji.
The event, which lasted for about six hours, also featured institution of nine reverend members of the church into the positions of Canons.
Odedeji noted that the installation was necessary to maintain the tradition of succession of the church’s leadership.
He prayed for divine intervention and support in taking the church to a greater height.
“The installation is for the continuation of the church leadership. When a leader leaves, others take over or replace him.
“The church currently needs spiritual growth, so we are trusting God to do that.
“Under Him, we know he is going to direct us to take the church into a greater height.”
In his sermon, the Bishop charged clergymen to be focused, determined and demonstrate the teachings of Jesus Christ in their lives.
He said: “You must allow Christ to manifest in you. Demonstrate Christ in your behaviours; when you talk, Christ must be heard.
“Do not allow the devil to show up in your life. That is when you can have a successful life. Be focused, determined and ensure you finish well.”
Odedeji also urged members of the church to support the new leaders with prayers as this will go a long way to assist their stewardship and contribute to their leadership success.
“Men of God need your prayers because they are not perfect. You need to support them and pray genuinely for their success.
“If you pray for your leaders, God would give them the wisdom to lead you right. When you pray for those in front, those behind will have a Godly success,” he said.
Present at the event were Vice Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Prof. Dapo Ashaju; Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Research) University of Lagos, Prof. Babajide Alo and chairperson of Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Ayotunde Philips.
Since the month began, we have been exploring the powers inherent in our tongues. Last week, we examined the creative, prophetic and reproductive power domiciled in our tongue (words). This week, I will conclude this series by discussing how powerful our tongues can be from the scientific perspective.
From the paper of a renowned Neurosurgeon as captured in Pastor Yonggi Cho’s book, Ministering Hope For 50 Years, the expert stated that the speech area nerve that allows humans to speak has the power to control other parts of the body. For instance, if a person says, “I am gradually getting weaker,” other nerves in the body immediately receive that command from the speech area nerve and obey it, saying something like, “Let’s get weak. We need to get weaker; that’s the message from the command tower.” That is how a person gets weak and becomes ill. In other words, those nerves can weaken an individual.
Also, he said if another person says: “I am not capable. I cannot do this.” Then, all the nerves in his body respond accordingly, almost as if they say to each other, “We are not capable; that is what the speech area nerve commanded; that is an order; we need to prepare to become incompetent, we must give up all means of utilizing our capabilities.”
Furthermore, he stated that if someone else says, “I am too old; I am too tired to do anything else,” the speech area nerve will exercise its power and take command over all the nerves. The nerves will then respond as if they were saying, “Yes, we are all old. Let’s prepare to die – to rest in the grave.” However, if an individual says, “I’m healthy,” then the speech area nerve sends its command to other nerves, effectively saying, “You’re all healthy.” They respond, “We’re all healthy, very healthy.” They then process the command and become healthy. That way, even sick people can regain their health.
Spiritually, these speech area nerves can be likened to the angels of God, who are sent to minister to us who are heirs of salvation. They are ever on guard to deliver us from evil and carry out our orders, precisely (Ecclesiastes 5:6) Thus, spiritually and scientifically, it is proven that our breakdowns or breakthroughs are absolutely at the command of our tongues. Therefore, we must watch what we say, because what we say determines what happens to us.
Are you born again? This means, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? If you haven’t, you can do so as you say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”
For further reading, please get my books: Releasing The Supernatural, Walking In The Miraculous, Commanding The Supernatural.
I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have five services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. respectively.
I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org
Residents of Sholiyi community in Gbagada have appealed to authorities of the Deeper Life Bible Church to take necessary steps in easing traffic congestion in the area.
They asked the church to fulfil its agreement to build two link bridges in different areas of the community for traffic decongestion.
They spoke during a courtesy visit to the Lagos headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of Nation titles last week.
The cathedral billed for dedicated in April is expected to cover 6,200 square metres with an additional 16,244 square metres.
Secretary, Landlord/residents association Sholiyi community, Mr. Moses Eniayewu, said: “We are not asking Deeper Life Church to relocate from Gbagada community.
“What we want from them is to construct two bridges in two different areas in the community so as to ease traffic congestion.”
Eniayewu traced the traffic congestion in the area to 2009 when the church obtained approval from Lagos State Government to construct a 30,000 –seater auditorium.
“When we saw this, we initiated a meeting with them and told them that before going ahead, they should provide link bridges at Fred Omojole lcrescent and Ogundare Avenue.
“Initially they agreed but later they didn’t meet with us to discuss about it again.”
Eniayewu alleged when the community discovered the church was not ready to do as promised, the community wrote a letter to former Governor Babatunde Fashola who ordered stoppage of works until the bridges were constructed.
He added: “During the time of Fashola, there were some terms and conditions that they were expected to meet and because they couldn’t meet the conditions they had to stop work on the project. The church said it had no money to construct the bridges and we all kept quiet.”
Baale of Sholiyi, High Chief Solomon Olamiju, pointed out Ayodele Okeowo Street is the only road in and out of the community.
The street, he said, should be decongested in case of crisis and emergencies, pointing a recent fuel trailer breakdown caused a four-hour traffic girdlock.
“Even with the General Hospital located in the area, whenever there is emergency there is always a problem. Imagine a community with only one exit and Deeper Life Church is located at the beginning of the street.”
An official of the association, Olawale Olawuyi, added the church officials said there was no money for the bridges after a tour of Mende and Ifako to show outlets where they can construct them.
National secretary of the church, Pastor Jerry Asemota, told our correspondent there was never any intention to renege on the promise to build the bridges.
The one from Diya road-Sholiyi, he assured, will be completed in the next two months.
Asemota said the church, as a responsible entity, has been doing so much to alleviate flooding, traffic congestion and environmental challenges in the community.
According to him: “We have fixed the culverts on a link road from Banjoko Street to Atunrase crescent. We have tried to maintain the Omojole crescent road but residents park their vehicles on the street, making work impossible.
“Government officials have come and said there was nothing we promised that we have not done and construction of roads is not our responsibility.
“But we are working hard. We were meeting with the resident associations until three other communities came up and we decided we should meet them together.
“But the association in Sholiyi does not want that and I guess that is their main grouse with us.”
Christians have been urged to always display good character for people to have sweet memories after their demise.
A leader of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah Witnesses, Okitipupa in Ondo State, Lawrence Odofin, gave the advice while delivering a sermon at the funeral ceremony of Mrs. Oluremi Ogen, mother of the Provost, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo, Prof. Olukoya Ogen.
The cleric described death as painful and a price that would be paid by all mortals, irrespective of their status.
He urged people to always remember that death could come at anytime and strive to do good things that would make people remember them positively when they die.
Quoting several bible passages, the minister admonished the congregation to always place their trust in the Lord and shun sinful acts capable of denying them eternity.
Eulogising the deceased, the cleric described her as a good philanthropist, lover of children and outstanding community leader who made positive impact in the Jehovah Witness organisation and to everyone who came across her.
He emphasised the needs for her children to continue to identify with the Assembly and emulate their late mother especially in the field of evangelism.
He believed that was how the legacy she left behind could be sustained.
While testifying of the performances of the deceased in the Jehovah Witness Assembly, the officiating Minister of the Christian Organisation, Brother Isaac Fafoluyi, scored her highly in evangelism, church attendance and financial contributions.
He urged others to emulate her good work.
Eminent personalities from traditional institutions, public and private organisations, armed forces and academia among others graced the occasion.
Among them were Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom,Oba Festus Obateru Akinruntan; Falujagbo of Ode-Aye, Oba William Akinlade; Oniju of Iju-Odo kingdom, Oba Festus Oyedele Olumoyegun, Oba Batuga Adetoye of Idepe kingdom as well as Oba Thomas Oluwoye Adetayo, the Ahaba of Ajagba.
There were also vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts and eminent scholars from various institutions.
Lagos State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has applauded government’s decision to challenge an Appeal Court’s ruling on the wearing of hijab by female students in public schools at the Supreme Court.
It said the government has reassured the Christian community of its neutrality and commitment to justice with the appeal.
Lagos CAN’s chairman, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, said Christians will rather pray than fight over the case.
He also expressed confidence in the judiciary to do justice to teh case in the interest of fairness and equity.
Bamgbola spoke with reporters last week in Lagos.
He said: “We believe the judiciary will give the right decision because it is necessary for peace in the state.
“We have had peace in Lagos state and we believe we are brothers and sisters with our Muslim counterparts.
“We won’t fight because of hijab and we believe that God will give us justice.”
