The Nation Newspaper

Category: Worship

  • ‘Many so-called prophets are just palm-readers’

    ‘Many so-called prophets are just palm-readers’

    The general overseer of God’s Mercy Revival Ministries (GOMERM) Idimu Lagos, Dr James Akanbi, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the current economic recession and ministerial abuses in the body of Christ. Excerpts: 

    Nigerians welcomed 2016 with great recession. They are asking ‘where is God in all of these?’

    God is where He has always been. He is still on the throne. To me, if we are expecting national or general prosperity, we should perish the thought.

    Why should we perish the thought?

    To me, it is very simplistic to expect that National Gross Product (GDP) and other economic indices will improve.  When oil prices improve, another challenge will surface. That is how things will remain because the world is aging.

    What I have always said is that individuals should get God so that He can be their personal prosperity. In the midst of national calamities, individuals can still prosper. In the midst of national financial crisis, individuals can still prosper.

    There is a great covenant with prosperity that has nothing to do with what is going on globally economically. I have seen God’s people testifying to prosperity in the midst of recession. But I doubt if there will be national, general prosperity. Every nation will always have troubles to deal with. But God can insulate people from all the troubles around them.

    How do we reconcile this with the scripture that asks us to pray for the peace of Israel because those that love it will prosper?

    You know I quote this scripture a lot. But it says only those that love it will prosper. How many people truly love this nation? If we love this country, we will prosper. If we do righteousness here, God will reward us for doing it. The fact is if Nigeria prospers today, it doesn’t mean more people will move out of the poverty line.

    Why not?

    Okay, let consider this. In the last seven years, we experienced a great boom. How many millionaires rose from it? In fact, the more money we made, the poorer many Nigerians became. Our leaders became greedier. The more it came, the more our leaders positioned themselves to siphon it. A lot of them are satanically positioned to loot.

    So, individuals have to get God to get what belongs to them. Only God can spread wealth meant for His people. Whether the nation is rich or poor, those of God will feed. Those who know their God will do exploits and prosper.

    Christians should not be afraid by what is happening now. This is the best time to rise with God. When Eagles see storms that is when they soar. If individuals float, the nation will float. If we are too bothered about saving the nation and we are not floating, we will all perish.

    It is in personal prosperity that national prosperity will come to be. But if we concentrate on personal prosperity, there won’t be individual prosperity. I just look at the scriptures, key myself into what it says and it has never failed me. If anyone waits for the nation to turn around before experiencing prosperity, they are deeply mistaken.

    Pastoral authority has been taken to a ridiculous level in the nation. How did we get to the point that people listen more to their pastors than God?

    We got there in the 80s. Many of those converted in the 70s, unfortunately are not that much around again. I gave my life to Christ in February 1979 and met a remnant of the original gospel. But in the mid 80s, our ministers came back from America and created personality cults.

    They started branding themselves more than the God they preach. In the midst of that recession came in and people needed God. Those who just came from America started telling us, in a de facto way, that this is it and nothing but it.

    They started changing the church systems, bringing in body guards and other paraphernalia. Those who learnt under them also replicated the same. Everybody wants to be like J.D Jakes, Kenneth Copeland and all that.

    Will you blame pastors or members for the substitution of God for pastoral guidance?

    You blame the people who are unable to understand what God words say about leaders. Leaders are to be respected, not feared or worshipped. That is clear in the scriptures.

    Those who want to just respect their leaders and not worship them are labeled as rebels…

    …You see rebellion is about attitudes and disposition. You can prostrate to greet someone meanwhile you are standing in your mind. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. A kiss is a sign of affection and closeness. Yet, Judas used it to hand Jesus over. That someone is kneeling before you does not mean such a person means well or is following you.

    But many church leaders seem to love and encourage that

    That is because they don’t know any better. Many who started Christianity in the mid 80s will not do that or enjoy it. There are church members who come here bowing and I have had to raise them up. Many remain on their knees and I have had to insist I won’t attend to them until they sit up.

    People will always offer but it is up to pastors to determine how to respond. Must people go down to talk to me? That is not necessary. I have worked in a secular multi-national where everyone, from the cleaner to the MD, is on first-name basis. That didn’t change anything or what we have.

    Messengers in the office called me by first name. At our headquarters in Sweden, everyone was on first name. I was in the system for 14 years and so find what many do very odd. If ministers are not careful, they will run into troubles with God. In 1999, God told me never to take His glory. He said if I hold on to His glory, it will create blisters in my hands.

    Isn’t this fuelled by overdependence on pastors for divine instructions?

    Yes, I agree with you my brother. You see ministering as a prophet is different from seeking to control lives. I operate in the prophetic office but it is not to pry into someone’s private life. You are kidding if you say you are a prophet by just telling where they live, what car they drive and their family backgrounds.

    That is the specialisation of the devil. He can tell the past and the future. He only lacks powers over the future. That someone is telling you your car’s number doesn’t make him a man of God. The devil can do that. He gives people gifts to do all of that. You can hear voices without being a man of God.

    You can look at people’s palms and tell what is happening to them. It doesn’t make one a Christian. You don’t have to be a prophet to see all that. The bible says by their fruit you know them. But the problem is that some evil people can cultivate those fruits but they have secret sins. If you study them hard and long enough, you will find stuff that does not belong to God in them.

    Is there hope for the church from such manipulative pastors?

    My answer is mixed. In the midst of the confusion, God is getting some glories. The gospel is being preached. At least the name of Christ is being heard by the fake and genuine preachers. But the hope for church is that Christ will continue to be preached. That is the only hope.

    Maybe again if government regulates activities of religious bodies, things might change a bit. We have a church in the UK and I know how well we operate there. But the problem is that some haters of the church can also capitalise on that to kill the body of Christ. In advanced societies, the regulations are so cast in stones that nobody can manipulate them to hurt the church.

  • ‘We’ve prayed enough; we need people to work hard’

    ‘We’ve prayed enough; we need people to work hard’

    The General Overseer of Victory Life Bible Church Abeokuta, Ogun State, Apostle Lawrence Achudume, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on how the nation can rise again from economic downturns. Excerpts:

    Two hundred and sixteen started on a turbulent note for the nation with dwindling oil revenue, economic shutdown and job losses. Nigerians are asking ‘where is God in all of these?’

    God remains where He has always been. Nothing has changed Him or shifted His place. In all of these, God remains God. What I know is that Nigeria will rise again.

    Sometimes when a nation or people are going through the valley of the shadows of death, it is because God is leading them to a table prepared for them before their enemies.

    Those who are thinking Nigeria is finished because of failing oil revenue are joking. God is not done with Nigeria yet. All of them are happening so that the real entrepreneurs can arise. The real blessed people will rise up. What is happening is a blessing in disguise.

    How?

    Nigeria has depended too much on oil. God told me over 30 years ago that our oil will become worthless one day. Oil is not the only natural resource we have. God is proving we have followed the old traditions for too long.

    We have become blinded to what God is doing in this country. All of are running after oil, ignoring other resources. Before oil, we were surviving. Without it, we will still survive. There are other things to be tapped into. The real Army will rise and discover the riches of this nation.

    Eight months after this administration came into being, some are asking if the promised change will ever come to be.

    We have a challenge with our politicians. We are a nation of intelligent people led by the ignorant. Our politicians think they always have to lie to win our votes. They said things during the campaign without thinking them through.

    They made promises as if people were not taking note. They promised things without considering their workability. And that is the problem with our politicians. They think Nigerians are dummies. They don’t have good advisers on what they can do to fix things rather they are overwhelmed and confused.

    Well, one can be overwhelmed with the reality that one didn’t know exist outside power

    I don’t believe any administration is overwhelmed because every nation on earth has challenges and issues they are contending with. You shouldn’t promise what you cannot do because it is not a fiat. We have arms of government that must go through processes and bureaucracy. There are always people who want you to fail and will sabotage you. You have to realise that and see how to get things done notwithstanding.

    Government is a continuum. You shouldn’t rubbish what your predecessors did. Once you focus on that, you have failed. When you come in with a mentality to change everything, you are doomed to change without giving the previous administration credit for the things they did well, no matter how small.

    Is God involved in this?

    God is always in every nation but it is left to those in power to fix their people. Look somebody built China, Indonesia, Singapore and United Arabs Emirate. Greece was once down but someone fixed it. Spain and Italy were down but got out. We need a team of people that will put their hands to work things out. This nation needs saviours that will pull us out of the woods.

    Some clerics have advocated for convocation of national day of prayer. Do you belong to that class?

    That is not what we need. Much as it is good to pray, we must do much more. Nigerians are prayerful. People pray every minute of the day. Must we meet somewhere to pray? Those saying that are just seeking cheap publicity. What we need is for entrepreneurs to rise. We need people who must put their ideas to work.

     How can they rise when the economy is in shambles?

    Interestingly, this is when we need them most. What you need to run any economy are Small Scale Businesses doing little productions here and there. They don’t need billions to operate but little cash.

    We need electricity and good roads to run businesses. Nigerians have to learn to face their own businesses. This idea of working in government offices is killing us. The civil service is over bloated. How many civil servants are working really? If you give people little take-off grants, the economy will pick up again. It is not about everybody looking up to the government.

    That mindset is fuelling corruption. Politicians cannot steal without the civil servants. Everybody wants to be in government to steal. Those who should be running businesses are in government, making cheap money.

    You have been about advancement in the church. What are you driving at?

    I mean that our lives should be better than last year. We have to venture out and start new things. We have to learn to do our own things. It is not just about prayers; you have got to work things out. If you become a millionaire without a business, you are a thief and a suspect.

    You have to offer values for people and design concepts that will bring about wealth. That’s the kind of advancement I am taking about.

    Schools run by the church taken a new turn. What is the drive?

    God told me to reach out to the society. The school has a mixture of those who can afford the fees and many orphans on scholarship. We go to orphanages to get them.

    I have run into Christians who argue churches have no businesses doing businesses. What do you say to them?

    Well, it depends on what they are looking at. If those businesses are like Corporate Social Responsibilities, it is fine. Our event centre is the cheapest anywhere in the city. I am someone who does not like using school premises for functions. Last week, I was someone where a corpse was bought to a school compound when the students were around.

    Our event centre has generators and other facilities that must be maintained. After you pay staff, there is nothing left again. I haven’t even seen a kobo they made from them. There is a committee in charge and I have never asked them how much they have or make. If it was a business, I should be interested in how much they make.

    Are you deliberately avoiding leadership at the PFN, CAN level?

    Yes, I am. I believe I have so much to do already. To add anything more will make me become unfaithful. I am already tight with the VLBC assignment.

    There had been attempts to bring me in but I had begged to be left out. I won’t be able to attend meetings and perform well. There are many ministerial bodies too but I have tactically turned them down. While they are holding their meetings, I am somewhere else. And I am not omnipotent or omnipresent.

  • Be patient with Buhari, Uche appeals  

    Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Uche, has begged Nigerians to exercise patience with the current administration in its determination to fight corruption and fix the nation.

    He told our correspondent on the sidelines of the 3rd edition of toward a new Nigeria and an Evening with the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, South West Zone, Archbishop Magnus Atilade organised by Breakthrough Media at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos last week.

    Captains of industries, public office holders and development experts participated at the event with the theme role of the church in nation building.

    There were awards for deserving Christians including the National and International Coordinator of Christian Pentecostal Mission (CPM), Rev Mercy Ezekiel;  General Overseer of Harvesting Faith Ministries, Dr. Dare Olaoluwa and  Chairman, Island Club, Lagos Island, Chief Owolabi Martins, among others.

    Uche said it was too soon to casting aspersion on the new administration just eight months after assumption of fund.

    The President, he said, is working hard to recover stolen funds and deliver on their numerous promises.

    Uche stated: “I will assess this new government after one year of their stay in office. They have just started.

    “Let us believe that they are setting the pace to work and need a little time.”

    Uche, who lauded the anti-corruption stance of this present government, said: “Nigerians should be patient with President Buhari as he is trying to recover stolen funds.

    “I believe that they are saving the recover funds to develop the country in no distance time.”

    Atilade charged church leaders to speak the truth to power while laying godly examples for others to follow.

    He took a swipe at some church leaders after money and lucre gains, saying the gospel is not for personal enrichment.

    According to him: “Let us promote good works, mirror the society, expose bad eggs, fight corruption, teach church growth, protect the church interest, influence government policies and advocate and persecution of human rights, people interest and welfare.”

  • Bamgbola launches new ministry at 70

    Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Lagos state chapter, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, last Sunday joined the club of octogenarians.

    To mark the milestone, the former Bank chief launched the Global Youth for Christ Movement, his pet project.

    Bamgbola said he received the mandate for the ministry from God after completing a leadership training in America in 2003.

    God, he claimed, however told him then to wait till a ripe time to launch the initiative.

    He said the inter-denominational group is aimed at equipping youths for Christ and fire them to evangelise Africa for Christ.

    Bamgbola retired voluntarily in 1993 as founder and chairman of defunct Victory Merchant Bank because he “could no longer stomach the corruption in the banking system.”

    Citing Abraham who was called to leave his father’s house at 100, and Moses who became the leader of Israel at 90, Bamgbola said, he, at 70 is “still young”.

    He vowed to devote all his human and material resources to promotion of the new project.

    Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Lagos chapter, Bishop Sola Ore, described the celebrator as a consummate leader with an uncommon integrity, honesty, humility and dignity.

    His life, according to Ore, is worthy of emulation.

  • Members plan big for Primate Olabayo’s 70th birthday

    Members of the Evangelical Church of Yahweh have lined up activities to commemorate the 70th birthday celebration of its founder and Primate, Apostle Prophet Theophilus Olabayo.

    The three-day event kicks off on Wednesday, February 24th with a visit to the Motherless Babies Home, Anthony Village and the Old People’s Home, Yaba followed by Annual Theophilus Olabayo Colloquium with the theme: “Prophets: The ministry, the gift, the calling” on Saturday, February 27th.

    A thanksgiving service will hold on Sunday, February 28 at the Evangelical Church of Yahweh (International Headquarters) in Mende, Maryland, Lagos.

    Among the keynote speakers are Prof. Dapo Asaju, Vice Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo and Prof. Christopher Oshun, former Vice Chancellor, Joseph Ayo Babalola University.

  • ‘Meltdown is an opportunity for believers to shine’

    ‘Meltdown is an opportunity for believers to shine’

    President of Uche Ume Evangelistic Ministries International with headquartered in Umuahia, Abia State, Rev. Uche Ume, has been in full-time ministry since 1996. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on how Nigerians can experience true, positive changes. Excerpts:  

    Do you have any word on what to expect this year?

    Everybody sensitive to what is happening and what God is saying will know that we have actually come to the point where we need to go back to God.

    Presently, the economies of nations are failing; the technical knowhow of people are failing and the expertise of men is failing even the securities of sophisticated nations are being messed up.

    At a time like this, what we need the most is heaven’s solution. For instance, you don’t take a car produced by Peugeot to Toyota to rectify its fault but you take it back to Peugeot for repairs. The earth is the product of God and if anything is going wrong, we need to go back to God.

    We came from him and we are His products so if there is any challenge, we must go back to him. Let me tell you the truth 2016 is the year that many who used to be up will go down; it is a year when many who used to be rich will become poor.

    Many people that used to feed well will no longer feed well. It is also one year that some people that used to be on the ground will be lifted but it all depends on how one relates to God and what one pays attention to.

    What does this portend for Christians?

    We should do what Joseph did. He accessed the mind of God and got ideas for the problems of his days. I believe that if it were to be the believers of today, they would pray that the seven years abundance would come to pass and cancel the seven years of lack but it was in the seven years of lack that God lifted Joseph.

    The promise of God in the life of Joseph was fulfilled in that seven years of lack. Pharaoh never needed him in the seven years of abundance; Joseph became relevant in those seven years of lack because he had supernatural ideas on how to preserve food that could keep the nation going during the seven years of lack.

    If there is anything we need now, it is the supernatural idea, everything in the natural has failed and it will continue to fail. There is nothing any man can do about it. There are certain things that people do which are just trials and errors. They try this policy; they see that it is not working, they change it but we shouldn’t continue like that; what we need is supernatural idea.

    This is the time that the Joseph of our generation should manifest and say exactly what God is saying.  When you check what is happening across the world, you will realise that men do not reign by their certificate or education, they reign by ideas, great men of the world are not men of certificates; there is nothing wrong with education.

    I love education and I went to school and we study every day but the truth of the matter is that the majority of those who are making impact, those who have become a source of blessings to others, those who make others smile, who have given other people jobs and pay them salaries are not doing so because of their certificates or education.

    No, it is all about divine ideas which entail telling somebody what to do. If there is any time that Nigeria as a nation needs God the most, it is now and I want to say it here that the days of asking people to go and seek God on behalf of any individual is over. God wants people who will be in His presence because there are two kinds of blessings that we get whenever we are in his presence, especially when it has to do with prayer.

     

    We get the blessing of changing our environment and also the blessing of changing of our inside. For some time, this nation has experienced what can be referred to as collective prayers. I call it a prayer collection, which only changes our environments but the inside is not changed.

    Today, we talk about corruption. Most of the people that you see that are taking the money that does not belong to them still claim that they seek God. The outside is changed but the inside is not changed but whenever the inside of the individual is changed you discover that such a person would want to live for others by putting smiles on their faces.

    How do you assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration?

    As a matter of fact, I believe that it is God that enthrones people; the Bible says that if there are powers that be, they are ordained by God. No matter what a man does, if God does not want the person to be on the seat of power, he can’t get there so the fact that God allowed President Buhari to be on the seat of power means that his emergency is the will of God.

    But I have nothing to say in assessing this government until I give it sometime because many Nigerians have so many expectations when the President came on board; our minds are opened, our eyes are fixed. So, we are waiting to see the results. We want to see change happens in the area of economy, security, power and other sectors.

    However, we cannot say that he is doing well or that he is not doing well. We are just watching but I think that the foundation is being laid so we are watching and praying for him to succeed. But my counsel for President Buhari is that he should go for results because the common man in Nigeria wants the change to reach him. Buhari should not talk about results; he should go for results.

    People don’t doubt results. Whether someone loves or hates you, once the result is there nobody can doubt results so he should fix his eyes on how to give this nation the results that the citizens are yearning for. Once he can give them the results, there is nothing that pessimists can do because you don’t doubt results. Once the nation can experience change, everybody will believe in him. So I will advise the president to go for results.

    Some people are of the view that President Buhari is not objective in the current war against corruption, do you agree with such opinion?

    Well, I am not a politician but what I will say on this matter is that whoever that has taken the money that should be used to develop this nation should return such money. Whether such people are in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other political party, they should bring the money back for the purpose for which it was meant.

    On whether Buhari is objective or going after the opposition party members, my opinion is that they should recover the money, no matter whoever is involved.

    As a stakeholder, what is your take on Abia State governorship tussle between Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and Dr Alex Otti?

    I am not of PDP or All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The battle in my state is about PDP and APGA. In my ministry, I have PDP members and APGA members but my stand has always been that leadership is about making impact on people’s lives.

    What is life’s worth if you cannot be a blessing to your generation? What are we living for? Remember what I said before, when you serve the people very well, you don’t need to campaign vigorously for them to vote you in.

    Governor Ikpeazu just assumed office, Dr Otti has not entered, so what we are talking about is not even about governance; it is about election, who won and who did not win.  The Election Petition Tribunal has passed its judgment; the Appeal Court has passed its own judgment. We are waiting for the Supreme Court, which will in a short while rule on the matter.

    Whosoever emerges, we will give him our support for the good of the State. The truth is that Abians know that their votes can count; the politicians are aware that power is with the people and that the opinions of the people now count. What is happening is also a lesson to whoever gets there; four years is not too far from today. If you don’t do well, the people will vote you out.

    You’re set for this year’s camp meeting, what should the participants expect from this event?

    Our annual camp meeting is in line with what I am talking about. We call it Eagles’ Camp Meeting where we teach and lead people to prayer. It is where we pray with you; we don’t pray for you. We let the people know that they can do it for themselves. We want people to come, hear the word of God and we pray with them.

    Eagles’ Camp meeting is a meeting where you do it yourself. It is where we make people realise that they too can relate with God and that there is no superhuman when it has to do with God. He treats people equally. Whereas another person can pray for you and gets answer, you can also pray and get answer.

     

  • Cleric tasks churches on building stronger families

    The Senior Pastor of the Chapel of His Glory headquartered in Ado Ekiti, Reverend Kunle Salami, has stressed the importance of family stability and development in human life.

    Salami, a former state Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), at the annual Family Life Conference of the church, said stronger families will contribute to the nation’s development.

    He noted that the church must be awake to its responsibilities to tackle moral decadence in the society, which has led to collapse of marriages and increase in criminal activities in the country.

    Speaking on the significance of the Family Life Conference, Salami said the programme was a divine inspiration to build a family that will entrench the fear of God and fulfil its divine mandate.

    According to him: “We believe that the family unit is very important; everybody comes from one family or the other and if the family is weak, the society will be weak.

    “If the society is weak, the nation would be weak, the state would be weak, the local government would be weak. Our vision on Family Life Conference is to make families stronger.”

    Speaking on the impact of the programme, Salami said: “Families of those people that attend the programme have been stronger.  We talk about things that affect family life, we talk about sex, family life, career, discipline children.

    “Appropriately, we talk about parenting, different aspects of family life. We don’t want to over spiritualise the family”.

    The cleric also advised Christians not to shy away from politics but participate actively to bring about positive change in the country.

    He said: “If Christians do not join politics, politics will never be plain. In the early 80s many people didn’t join the civil service because it was seen as part of the most corrupt sectors.

    “But when Christians joined the civil service, they were able to make their impacts. I believe that Christians should go into politics, but I don’t believe that a pastor should abandon his callings and go into politics.

    “Many of them that go into politics didn’t go to serve. They talked about dividends of democracy but the dividends are in their pockets not in the hands of masses.”

  • Work commences on TPC’s auditorium 30 years after

    Work commences on TPC’s auditorium 30 years after

    THIRTY years after its establishment, The Pentecostal Congregation (TPC) Ilupeju, Lagos is finally ready to have a permanent, ultra-modern auditorium.

    Members and well-wishers last week gathered for an historic, heart-warming foundation-laying ceremony at its permanent site on Ilupeju Bye-Pass.

    General Overseer of the church, Bishop Abraham Olaleye, said the church took that long to conceive a permanent auditorium because of its peculiar background.

    Olaleye, who is President of Abraham Evangelistic Ministries (AEM), said: “AEM started as a full-time evangelistic ministry, the late Archbishop Idahosa counselled me in 1984 to have a church base but I didn’t believe it.

    “But God said I should go ahead but not to be involved in church planting. We started in 1986 at Evangelist Obey’s house in Papa Ajao, Mushin.

    “Two years after, we moved to Idera Cinema in Mushin and then Ilaka Street in Ilupeju. We grew to 1,000 members but God pruned us down to less than 300.

    “We moved in to this land in 2003 and bought the land in 2004 for N12million with half from a bank loan. God had to use a ministry partner to offset our loan after our inability to repay.”

    He said the church didn’t focus on buildings but imparting lives, recalling that many ministers within and outside the country have passed through the church.

    General Overseer of the Guiding Light Assembly (GLA) Ikoyi, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, told members to focus on the word of God for resources to complete the project valued at over N500million.

    When completed, Adefarasin said the project will be “a testimony to the simple trust in God and consistence to righteousness.”

    The project is conceived to have a basement, foyer, auditorium, state-of-the-art recording studio, office apartments and multi-purpose hall.

  • Understanding the Power of Faith for Fulfilment of Prophecies!

    Every prophetic word is ordained for fulfilment. However, we must understand that prophecies are not philosophical assertions but divine verdicts. This is because God speaks according to His divine wisdom, not our limited human reasoning (Proverbs 3:19; Psalms 104:24; Isaiah 55:8; 2 Kings 7:1-2; Ecclesiastes 11:5). However, we must recognize that prophecies can only be fulfilled by the hand of God. That is why to experience fulfilment of prophecies, we must engage the weapon of faith (Isaiah 14:27, 43:13).

    What is faith?

    Faith is being fully persuaded of the truth, the prevailing circumstances notwithstanding, until it triumphs: Faith is a covenant, tenacious force that stabilizes us under all conditions. When faith is rooted and grounded into our spirit-man, it brings us into realms of unquestionable rest (Hebrews 4:10-11; Romans 4:18-21).

    Faith is not a religious philosophy or belief system; it is a spiritual mystery that confers mastery on the saints: Faith is not a humanistic principle or a psychological theory; Bible faith is a mystery. When we operate by this Kingdom mystery, we command mastery over the situations of life (1 Timothy 3:9; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

    How is Faith a Mystery?

    Faith draws on the raw power of God: Faith taps into the raw power of God for our desired change of story (Luke 8:40-48; John 1:12; Romans 1:16).

    Faith brings God’s hand to bear on our situations: Faith invokes the hand of God for the fulfilment of prophecies in our lives (Luke 1:45; Isaiah 53:1; 1 Kings 8:15).

    Faith invokes divine intervention: For instance, God delivered the three Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace because their faith invoked His intervention (Daniel 3:28; See also Daniel 6:22-23).

    What makes Bible faith unique?

    Bible faith dominates the world of the spirit: At the instance of faith, all evil forces bow because faith dominates its environment (Ephesians 6:16).

    Bible faith has its domain in our hearts: Man is a triune being; that is, we are essentially spirits, we have souls and live in bodies. As such, we must understand that Bible faith is of the heart from where it dominates the head and body (Romans 10:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). For instance, the faith in the heart of the three Hebrew boys dominated their heads; they could not think of the effect of the fiery furnace. As a result, their heart-rooted faith imparted on their thoughts and prevented their bodies from been burnt (Daniel 3:28; Proverbs 23:7; Mark 11:23; Psalms 119:15).

    What must we do to see prophecies fulfilled?

    It is important to note that every prophetic word places specific demands on our lives; and until we adhere to them, God is not committed to fulfill His Word in our lives. For instance, if Abraham did not depart as instructed by God in Genesis 12:1-3, none of those promises would have been realized. Therefore, to see prophecies fulfilled:

    We must give ourselves wholly to every demand of the prophetic word: We must understand that there is no prophetic word from God that does not place a demand on man for its fulfiment. For instance, Jesus said to the man who was born blind, “Go to the pool called Siloam and wash.” When he obeyed, his sight was restored (1 Timothy 4:15; John 9:7, 21:5-6; Luke 5:1-8).

    We must engage in spiritual warfare: We must engage in spiritual warfare in order to subdue the opposing forces against the fulfilment of prophetic words in our lives. This is because every time a great door and effectual is opened to us, there are many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9; Deuteronomy 2:24).

    Engage faith-filled words: Our mouths must be filled with the reality of the fulfilment of every prophetic word. This is because until we speak it boldly, God cannot confirm it openly (Acts 14:3; Luke 21:15; Psalms 81:10-14; 2 Corinthians 4:13).

    Friend, for your faith to facilitate fulfillment of prophecies in your life, you must be saved. This entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are set for this new experience, pray this prayer with faith in your heart: “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: Unlimited Power of Faith, Exploits Of Faith and The Law Of Faith.

    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

  • ‘How to make marriages work’

    ‘How to make marriages work’

    President of Family Booster Ministries, Pastor Bisi Adewale, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the fundamentals of Christian marriages. Excerpts: 

    Why are many marriages turbulent in this part of the world?

    The problems of marriages are unique to each environment and individuals. Marriages in Europe and Africa have unique challenges. African marriages have peculiar and unique. In Lagos for example, the challenges will be peculiar. If a woman works in Lekki and closes by 5pm. She won’t be home until 10pm if she stays in Ijoko, Ogun State.

    That’s different from a marriage in the village where the woman is back from the farm by 2pm every day. The challenges that women who have shops face will also be peculiar. They don’t have leave or off-days, meaning their husbands will either have to come to their shops to eat or the meals are parceled to them.

    Urbane Christian marriages are affected by the lack of work-life balance. People don’t understand that we have many balls to juggle and how you do it successfully determines your marital environment.

    What are some of these balls to juggle?

    You have to ball of your spiritual life, work life, family life, church life and many others. You have to find a balance for your marriage to survive and thrive. A Pastor recently banned members from belonging to more than one or two units. He realised that people were always in church for one unit meeting or the other that gives them no time to enjoy their homes. He found out it was affecting marriages in his church. In some other place, some people will say that pastor is not spiritual. But he is and also wise. The truth is sometimes church activities can kill marriages.

    How is that possible?

    Some churches observe fasting for the first three months of the year. Members must participate and they are banned from meeting with their spouses, which is totally wrong. The Bible says we must not have sex during fasting but once you break from 6pm-11-59pm, spouses are free to enjoy conjugal sex.

    We have situations where churches ban couples from sleeping in the same room during fasting. They even tell them to separate a night before receiving Holy Communion. Is that to say what happens the night before is an unholy communion?

    So, if church activities are not well managed and regulated, they will destroy marriages. That is why pastors must be careful because if a marriage breaks, the church will lose at least five to seven people. The church loses members, finance and integrity.

    There are growing concerns over marital crises that ended up being escalated after pastoral counselling. What could be responsible for this?

    That is true. I have seen situations where pastors have done a lot of damages to marriages. That is because a lot of them are very biased. Many of them are disposed towards the higher tither or seed sower. If the husband gives N50, 000 monthly and the wife cannot even afford anything, the pastor is naturally likely to take sides more with the husband in the counselling room if he is not well-trained.

    Our seminaries are not working us in this regard. They don’t have curriculum for marital counselling. We train Pastors to join couples but fail to equip them on how they can counsel them to stay married happily.

    Unfortunately, every pastor is a marriage counsellor. Even if he just beat his wife in the room, someone is waiting for him in the office for his counsel on marriage. That is why every pastor must be trained on marital counselling. Many of them are not trained and just resort to traditional marriage counselling.

    What is traditional marriage counselling?

    That is a situation where the wives are always the guilty parties in every dispute. The husbands are always vindicated even before the wives are heard. That is what happened in traditional societies. The wives always leave the resolution meetings embittered and hurt. The mediating parties only postpone the evil days; the woman will fight back.

    So, pastors should be trained in the art of marital counselling. This is difficult from normal counselling. Unfortunately, seventy percent of counselling revolves around marriage. But if a pastor is not trained, he ends up aggravating marital crises.

     Do Pastors come to the Marriage School you run?

    A few pastors are humble enough to attend and some are sending their wives to attend. That is still fair but it is not the best. At times, members cannot trust their Pastor’s wives to confide in them. A lot of Prophets are not helping too. They can tell a husband ‘your wife is your problem. You must fast to get rid of her.’ That is a big crisis we have in our hands.

    So, we need more pastors on board so that we don’t ruin homes. They need to know how to run their marriages too so that they will be good examples for members. If marriages are not taught in churches, it will affect parenting. That will hurt how we raise our kids. If all we preach in church is finance, people will be rich but then destroy the church. They will raise vagabonds. You realise that most of our musical super stars used to be in the church. We didn’t parent them well and they left for secular music.

    Most preachers say there is equality in marriage. Is that a biblical concept?

    I think we have to differentiate between equality and justice. Equality says spouses are the same. In the eyes of God, we are equal but in justice, God makes the man the head. Spouses should operate as if they are equal but the man remains the head. Any pastor that preaches equality is wrong. I don’t believe in 50-50. I believe the wife should respect and submit to the husband while the husband should love and provide for the woman.

    If a woman believes because she is the breadwinner she is the head, she is missing it. A woman cannot ask for equality in decision-making. If every organisation, we always have many directors but there is always a Managing Director who is responsible for the final decisions. The wife can be Director Finances, Home Affairs and all that but the husband is the indisputable Managing Director. It doesn’t mean the husband should be a dictator. By justice, he shouldn’t be the headache. Any Pastor that says women and men are the same is reading his bible upside down.

    The greatest issue women have against men is not giving them attention. What do you have to say to this?   

    Naturally, men are addicted to work. Many of them will choose their work above their work, which is wrong. Then, they have victors’ mentality, which makes them think they have married the woman, they should relax. They don’t women don’t have nowhere else to go.

    They forget that one day, they will retire and come back to meet the same woman they have abandoned for years. That is the only person who cares so much for you. If a man dies, it is only the wife that will return to his grave every year. His friends, siblings and children won’t remember to go back but the wife will not forget.

    In Africa, our men are not romantic. We never saw our grandfathers and fathers playing love with our grandmothers and mothers. You see intending couples holding hands but never couples. A good man must play with his wife. Everyday should be like a valentine. Buy her gifts that she likes; make her happy and you will enjoy it.

    But many men also wonder what else women want after providing for them

    You see provision is the least on the need list of women. What women need in the descending order are affection, attention, appreciation, affirmation and provision. Women are like babies that must be pampered. If you give her provisions without the others, you have given afflictions to that woman.

    You must be a boyfriend to your wife and a lover. If you are, you are never bored when she talks. When you go to eateries, you see engaged couples listen to themselves with rapt attention.

    One day, I saw one. The guy bought the lady a yoghurt and meat-pie. He then bought out sachet water he got for himself outside the eatery. He didn’t eat from the lady’s meal. But how many husbands will do that? They will rather take the meal and ask their wives to go hungry. Only a lover will do what that guy did.

    Some intending couples are bothered about the operations of Marriage Committees. How best should the committees operate?

    The problem is not with the committees or the intending couples but the pastors. You have to carefully pick those who have affinity with the youths as committee members. Then, you should train them not to see themselves as Alphas and Omegas. Then, you must let the youths know why they need to see the committee members before marriage.

    Youths hate dictatorship, which is what most marriage committees do. The members should be taught the committee is not the Holy Spirit that chooses for couples. Marriage committee should stop at guiding people, which is what God does with us. Nobody has the right to choose for anybody but the persons involved alone.