THE MESSAGE NOW
Vol 1, No. 9 – Monday, 5th September 2016
Dan.12:1-3, John.4:5-42, Luke.19:13
The Abuja Declaration known as ‘Islam in Africa’ had a Conference in Abuja, Nigeria in 1989 six years after the London Strategy Meeting of 1983. Its foremost strategic agenda in that 1989 Conference were and still existing as follows: (1) ‘to eradicate in all its forms and ramifications all non-moslem religions in member nations. Such religions shall include Christianity’, (2) ‘to ensure only moslems are elected to all political posts of member nations’, (3) ‘to ensure the appointment of only moslems into all strategic, national and international posts of all member nations’, (4) ‘to ensure the ultimate replacement of all western forms of legal and judicial systems with the sharia’, and (5) ‘to make sure that these strategies work’.
Dearly Beloved, take a deep breath and then wait for the next bomb shell. Indeed, to ensure that the Islamic agenda/strategies above works, the then President of Nigeria, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida not only endorsed it but worse still looted the Nigerian treasury by removing the sum of 21 billion Dollars from our national treasury. This sum was handed over to the Islamic Development Fund ofOIC with the clear instruction to: ‘use (this fund) for the total islamisation of Nigeria in particular and the whole of Africa in general’.
Dearly Beloved, Are your scholarly and spiritually sensitive minds following me atall? If so, the question your intelligent minds must be perspiring with and for at this moment, I guess, must be the question: what is/are the genesis of the collapse of Christianity in Turkey in the first instance? If you are passionate about your Christian faith, then the answers below must be of great concern to you.
To start with, when the capital of Turkey at the time, Constantinople (now called Istanbul) fell in 1453, it had the largest and the most expensive cathedral on earth called ‘Hagia Sofia’ (House of Wisdom). In spite of the beauty and the wasteful expenditure of money on that Cathedral, it became the inheritance of islam in the end.
Of course, this is the same way our earthly mansions called churches without sound spiritual palaces in our hearts and in heaven will one day become the inheritance of the antichrist (see Mat.6:19-20). When Basilica Cannon shattered Constantinople into pieces in 1453, 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed headed straight for the altar inside the cathedral. On standing on the altar, he raised up his hand and commanded, ‘convert it into a mosque’.
Dearly Beloved, are you shocked by this? Then wait for more. From that day in 1453, the Cathedral called Hagia Sofia remained a mosque for 478 years until 1931 when the government of Turkey went secular. Then in 1931, the Turkish government decreed that Hagia Sofia which was a Christian cathedral but which was turned to a mosque for 478 years should be further converted to a museum. It remains a museum till this moment of writing and has not yet been returned to the church.
Dear reader of this article, are you already beginning to hate moslems because of what you have read so far? Then you are mistaking. Please rather hate two people. First, hate yourself for failing Christ in evangelism, soul-winning and untiring show of Christ’s love to all men irrespective of their race, language or creed. Second, hate Satan who is the number 1 enemy of both Christians and moslems. Dearly Beloved, make moslems realize that both Christians and moslems have been created by only one God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Acts 17:26).
Prior to the fall of Constantinople, certain far-reaching factors of disaster were glaringly looming. First, the church in Turkey had few committed forces just a paltry 7000 men. On the contrary, islam had 80,000 well-prepared forces. I ask where are the forces of evangelism today? Pastor Mike is not preaching war, revenge or hatred. But rather, once again, Pastor Mike is calling you back to very serious evangelism and outward show of Christ love to win both moslems and the likes to God, the Most High. When was the last time you went on evangelism? When was the last time you prayed for peace? When was the last time you prayed for fellow Christian brothers in the north and everywhere? When was the last time you prayed for the souls of moslems to be saved? Are you being used by Satan against fellow Christians in any guise? When was the last time you truly hazarded your life for the sake of the gospel or the salvation/deliverance of others? Remember the next time you adorn yourself in your latest fine attire that at that same moment some other Christians have just put on their latest ugly rags.
Second, the church spent its financial strength on buildings, non-essentials. As such, it failed to pay for Basilica Cannon (royal gun) which was one of the foremost bombard technology at the time. This armory was presented to the church then for purchase but it could not afford it for whatever reason. Shockingly, Sultan Mehmed of the Ottoman empire effortlessly paid cash for this bomb. Thus in three month, the bomb was ready for war against the church and Christianity in Turkey. Worst still, are you aware that that bomb was invented by a Christian who of course sold it to Sultan Mehmed since the church could not pay?
Further, one of the greatest tragedies of the Turkish Christians at the time was concentration on building edifices and not Christian disciples (as was earlier noted). Other cataclysmic errors of the Turkish Christians included: Underestimating islam – Are the Nigerian Christians not doing same? Nobody is raising any outcry against Fulani cattle rustlers, strategic islamisation of Oshun State, etc, (2) the assumption of the best defended city – Constantinople was the best defended city at the time. South-western, south-eastern and south-south Christians are all feeling safe now believing that only northern Christians are in trouble. Hmmm! Tragedy is already at the door.
(3) Bitterly divided house – just as there is no unity among the body of Christ in Nigeria, (4) racism and tribalism – (5) powerless church authority without people’s backing through financial support – (6) christians’ empowerment of islam – Strategising, voting during elections for fanatical moslems, and (7) less force (7000 – 80000) – how many forces/disciples are committed to daily evangelism of the Nigerian church of today?Remember DL Moody who will never go to sleep on any day or night until he has reached a soul with the gospel of Christ.
Other factors (not peculiar to the Turkish experience) but strictly limited to Nigeria is the silenced issue of dual constitutional ideology. What does this mean? Section 1 subsections (2) and (3) of 1999 Constitution provides that the Constitution is the most ‘supreme’ law of the land and that every other law not in consonance with it is ‘void’.
Section 10 provides that no government be it of a state or even the nation at large, shall adopt any religion as its own. Section 15(2) provides that ……. discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited. The question is, why Boko Haram, and why the sharia?
Section 38 subsection (2) further provides that ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance’. Yet, the same Constitution encapsulates sharia, which forbids a change to any other religion other than islam. By the way, Dearly Beloved, are you aware that in the 1999 Constitution, sharia is mentioned 73 times, islam 28 times, grand kadi 54 times, and the word moslem is mentioned 10 times. No single mention of Christ, Christian, Christianity, church nor a single mention of Pastor in the Nigerian Constitution.
Three other factors rocking the boat of Christianity in Nigeria and which of course is strengthening islam are: (1) indifference, (2) over-sensitivity and undying ceaseless appetite for money, and (3) pastors and churches in close partnership with Satan.
Are any of these untrue about the state of the Nigerian church today? As Pastor Bosun Emmanuel rightly opined, the effort of the Nigerian church is now concentratedly focused on building palacial castles and millionaires no longer the making of disciples. Thus he reminds us to take our salvation in our hands because when war breaks out, the millionaire we are making instead of making disciples will be the first on the next available flight jetting out of the country.
Dearly Beloved, on all of these, my question to you is, where do you stand? Still indifferent? Are you ready to be used for and by Christ?
Pray now:
Read Lamentation.3:40, 5:21 and genuinely repent of every personal known sin and those of ours as a nation.
Read Ps.29.
O heavenlies speaking doom and disaster against me and my nation be silenced by the voice of the Lord.
Pray for whosoever is Ajayi by name for business consistency and rebuke the devourer for his or her sake.
I shatter in pieces every closed heaven over my prayers.
O human enemies of Christ receive the arrows of deliverance and be saved.
Pastor Mike
