SHOULD NIGERIAN CHURCH LEADERS BE RETIRED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

    ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.  

(Looking at Nigeria's Political System from a godly Perspective).

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. [VOL. 6. NO 179. 15th January, 2017.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You   Free! (John.8:32).

SHOULD NIGERIAN CHURCH LEADERS BE RETIRED BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?

Gone were the days when the Word of the Prophet was Law to the King and his parliament! Gone was that period when the Man of God boldly stood before a King and his lords in council and declared: "Thus saith the LORD: Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gates of Samaria, and such prophecy came true!  (2 Kings. 7:1-20). Gone were the MIRACLES OF FIRE FROM HEAVEN BY PROPHET ELIJAH who called for fire to destroy 102 soldiers of King Ahaziah's Army and also whose sacrifice was consumed by fire from Heaven before 450 prophets of the heathen god, Baal and 400 of the grooves which ate at Queen Jezebel's table! (2Kings.1-15; 1Kings. 18:19-39). In the present Church Age and Dispensation of Grace, the spirit of APOSTACY was invited into the CHURCH through priesthood covetousness which had successfully nullified the divine anointing and spiritual powers of some servants of GOD who have turned round to become false prophets, preachers, teachers, evangelists etc, and have made mockery of the divine teachings about holiness, righteousness, probity, selflessness, truthfulness etc, as enshrined in the Word of God!

How did the Church become so powerless in spite of the transfer of the POWER OF ATTORNEY from the Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles for continuity of global evangelization but now, have to be subjected under the supervision of the  Government which they were mandated to guide for proper conduct towards its citizens at all times? (Matthew. 28:18-20; Mark.16:15-18; Acts. 1:8). Why would any government force Churches to register as business enterprises and so be regulated according to its whim and caprice? We are aware of Christians civil responsibilities to godly rulers, ".....for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God." (Rom.13:1-7), and the roles of the Church towards the larger society which scripture reveals as FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such, THERE IS NO LAW." (Galatians.5:22-23). But we have come to realize that the reasons why some governments coerce the Church with carnal laws is because some ministers of God have assumed the nature and person of ACHAN (Joshua. 7: 10-26),  who brought shame, defeat and reproach to the nation of Israel through covetousness/disobedience and also WORKS OF THE FLESH as enunciated in Galatians.5:16-17. Those men of God who dine and wine with corrupt politicians and seek for contracts from government are those who failed to claim both the prophetic prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ for His apostles in the gospel according to Saint John Chapter 17: 1- 26 and the power of the Holy Spirit, released since Pentecost over two thousand years ago, as recorded in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2:1-3:26.

CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BE BLAMED FOR LEGISLATING OVER THE CHURCH THAT DRIFTED FROM ITS ECCLESIASTICAL REALM TO MEDDLE IN TERRESTIAL MATTERS?
The Roman Catholic Church world-wide is headed by the Pope who is the representative of God over the church and who is also accorded the status of the Head of State of Rome, among the United Nations of the world, but does not participate in terrestrial administration. The Papacy is not under any obligation of accountability to the Italian Government and remains the Head of the Catholic Church for life! But that does not mean that Catholics like their Pentecostal brethren do not pay taxes to governments of the world according to the Lord Jesus Christ who paid His tax and also commanded: "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God, what is God's". The Lord Jesus established the Church on a triangular platform of destroying the works of Satan, winning of souls, and charity towards the poor, needy, disabled, orphans, widows etc, and this is why churches are majorly involved in Christian education through building of schools and also in health matters through ownership of clinics and hospitals to cater for its members and the general public at highly subsidized rates. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous servants of God have deviated from the Lord's principles and have become super- rich through these avenues to the detriment of the poor masses among their fold who could not afford exorbitant school fees and medical bills from such religious institutions and that kind of attitude must have also informed government of the need to force churches in general to submit to its financial, accounting and retirement regulations!

ARE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES NOT ECCLESIASTICAL AND CELESTIAL?
The sudden announcement of the self-retirement of one of God's Generals in Nigeria, the highly revered and charismatic Christian leader, Pastor (Professor) Enoch Adejare Adeboye, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), World-Wide, through a government directive from active service recently and the immediate appointment of his successor, hit the social media with much frenzy and surprise because such had not been the practice in the Christendom! During the Annual Ministers Thanksgiving, held at the Redemption Camp, chaired by the eminent servant of God, he personally announced his retirement and his replacement by one of his assistants, Pastor Joseph Obayemi, sequel to the new legal requirements set up by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), guiding  all registered Churches, Mosques etc, and which stipulates that Heads of non-profit organizations now have a minimum period of 20 years to lead their organizations and on retirement, were not permitted to hand over to their families!
Pastor Adeboye joined the RCCG in 1973, and became the General Overseer (GO), in 1981 when the Founder Papa Akindayomi passed on the previous year. He was born on 2nd March, 1942. in Ifewara, Osun State.

TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED, AND DO MY PROPHETS NO HARM!"
He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." (Psalm. 105:14-15). The quoted scripture illuminates God's unflinching love for His chosen people, ISRAEL, whose travails on their journey to the promised land was punctuated by unending military oppositions by hostile nations! God's jealous protection over His Church which was established through the Lord Jesus Christ who said in Matthew.16:18-19; "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Dr. C.I. Scofield, says: "The word "church" (Gk, ekklesia, from a verb meaning to call out) is used of any assembly and in itself implies no more than the gathering of people who have been called forth, e.g. the town meeting at Ephesus (Acts.19:41), and Israel, called out of Egypt and assembled in the wilderness (Acts.7:38).  Israel was a "Church," but not in any sense the N.T. church- the primary point of similarity being that both were "called out" and by the same God (Acts 7:38; Hebrew.12:23). That, "the gates of hell" (the powers of death), shall not prevail against the church, was a divine assurance that, no matter the intimidation, harassment, persecution or tribulation which the anti-Christ forces of this world might constitute, the church would be protected from death or extinction through the symbolic resurrection of Jesus Christ (Head of the church), from the dead after his crucifixion!
There is no doubt that Apostasy - which means, a falling away from the faith and rebellion against Christ by covetous Christians who have imported worldly pleasures of lust of the flesh, illicit prosperity, the unbiblical love of money, - has now dominated the Christendom in view of the glaring competition of wealth, affluence and positions of authority between them and the gentiles, as succinctly elucidated in 2 Timothy. 3:1-5. Some Nigerian "Men of God" now openly compete with corrupt politicians in riches, wealth, acquisition of ephemeral worldly properties of mansions, state-of-art vehicles, jet aircrafts, helicopters, expensive attires and dress codes, industrial and manufacturing establishment ownership, heavy investments in stocks and shares, government Bonds etc, to the detriment of the MANDATE OF THE GREAT COMMISSION, have lost all spiritual anointing AND COULD NO LONGER PROPHESY ANY EVENT WITH ACCURACY! From the beginning of time GOD had been in control of RELIGION. He, as the sovereign Head of His creation, spiritually appointed His prophets, beginning with Moses, to Joshua, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, etc, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who all distinguished and fulfilled the mandate of their Godly commission diligently with distinction and accountability .Distinguished Nigerian Nobel Laureate, Prof. 'Wole Soyinka, commented at a Book launch in Abuja on 11th January, 2017 that the Southern Kaduna mindless killings by Fulani herdsmen had religious connotation and warned that, "Religion will kill Nigeria if it is not tamed" , at the presentation of the book titled, "Religion and the Making of Nigeria." He condemned killings in the name of religion and wondered when religion became a killing machine and how any rational being could attempt to justify homicide with devotion! Religious tolerance was envisaged in the Nigerian Constitution which apportioned SECULARITY STATUS to the State so that everyone was free to practice his/her faith without intimidation, harassment or persecution under any guise! Secularism is that state in which religious power, influence or control should not conflict with the social contract and political activities of a country but that the citizens should freely practice their faith unhindered!

THE COPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE ISSUED BY FRCN ON 17TH OCTOBER, 2016.
The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, (FRCN), is one of the parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and it is responsible for setting and promoting compliance with standards for accounting, finanancial reporting and auditing in Nigeria. According to Mr. Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, to the President, the said code that forced Pastor E.A. Adeboye, General Overseer (GO), of RCCG to step down on 9th January, 2017, has now been suspended on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari, who disbanded the Board and has set up a new one that would now carry out a detailed review of its application to involve extensive consultations with stakeholders upon the re-constitution of the new Board. Will Pastor Adeboye rescind his decision? We are of the strong opinion that there should be no competition, conflict or rivalry between Government and the Church whose divine functions are clearly defined unambiguously in the Word of God, and we commend our amiable President Buhari, who has unequivocally proved once again to the world that he was not a religious bigot by setting the records straight for wider consultations among all stakeholders. We hereby remind covetous "men of God" to repent quickly in order not to end up like GEHAZI! (2 Kings. 5:20-27). THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO ACCUMULATE THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON! WE SHOULD WORK OUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND WITH TREMBLING!

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com, https://www.google.com/+zionfaithbiblebelievingchurch.

Please look forward to divine revelations in  The Sure Word Gospel Tracts, Our divinely inspired books on the Amazon KINDLE Store Namely: The Unbroken Chain of Grace, Nigeria’s Pot Pourri (Volumes 1-5), Godly Politicking For World Peace,  and The Wedding Mascot Died. 

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08098194390.  08080243066   g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.