By Gabriel Omonhinmin
The topic for the Sunday service was entitled “The true Church and evidences of revival.” The officiating Pastor is none other than the founding Pastor and the President of Christ The King Rescue Global Ministry, aka, CKREGLOM, Prophet Gabriel Olusola Onaolapo. His church is located in Yewande, in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun state.
On the day Trumpet Newspaper Correspondent visited the church, the officiating Pastor, was decked in a snow white fitting suite with a red tie.
Although, Prophet Onaolapo as he is fondly called carries the slight bulky physique of a heavy weight boxing champion, his enchanting smiles, unassuming friendly disposition makes people, who visit the church for the very first time to be at ease. Visitors without any prompting get relaxed as they are welcomed by the church ushers to the great assembly for the day’s action packed service.
A keen observer will readily notice that the generality of the church members have easy access to the church President. It is therefore no surprise, when one beginning to see the church Faithful mingles freely with him, his wife Pastor (Mrs.) Taiwo Onaolapo and other senior Pastors, such as Pastor Chris, Ikuforiji and Shola Morufola etc, without any inhibition whatsoever.
These church members also prefer to address the church President as G.O! Not daddy G.O. as it is the
tradition in some other churches. The appellation G.O. could be taking to mean General Overseer or Gabriel Onaolapo his actual name. But once the name G.O. is called, Prophet Onaolapo answers without any hesitation.
The fierry preacher, who oversees the affairs of CKREGLOM or RESCUE as the church is popularly called, makes no pretence about his dogmatic position as to the preaching of the unadulterated words of God and Christian beliefs are concerned for Prophet Onaolapo, he simply prefers to be addressed or called Prophet G.O. Onaolapo. He is quick to tell whosoever cares to listen,
“I am not a Bishop, neither Arch-Bishop nor Pastor. I’m also not a Founder or a General Overseer of this church as God alone, owns his church. I am simply a Prophet of God, who is called into the Church Ministry from the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) to do the work and will of the Almighty God. And as such, I will continue to remain a
Prophet of God. So! Feel free to address me as Prophet G.O. Onaolapo.
as I do not intend to change this appellation anytime soon. A brief chat with him, before the church service for that day begins, shows him as a man who is deep, knowledgeable and grounded in Christian religion and doctrines not only in Nigeria but across the globe.
Hear him, “Christianity has thrived and triumphed in Nigeria. First planted in Nigeria as a seed in 1842. For 180 years now, it could be rightful argued, that Christianity has fulfilled the prophecy of Scripture, then and now. He asked ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and it has become a large tree, and the beds of the air nested in its branches.’”
(Luke 13:18 to 19). Down the decades, it has preserved and propagated itself in various forms and contexts in different communities. Sometimes, it has taken the form of the sober evangelical messenger; at other times has exhibited the flamboyant charismatic flavour of its crusaders.
At times, a blend of both, in other periods, neither. Whichever garment it has worn, it has surely won the hearts of men. He stressed “Perhaps the most dynamic and innovative forms of Christianity can be found more in Nigeria than in any other parts of the world. Christianity in Nigeria is definitely exciting (and sometimes disturbing). It has imbibed the best of Christian practices from all over the world and has also discovered within its own life peculiar characteristics that have made it a unique Body of Christ.
One thing undeniably marks the church in Nigeria; it has always been a powerful and faithful witness to the message of Jesus Christ. It has experienced diversions and divisions, but in the mainstream it has never lost the centrality of the Gospel message. The Church as we have seen in recent times in Nigeria has been persecuted and pampered, but
has kept true to the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Prophet Onaolapo is jovial, as he was particularly in high spirit on that day. He was seen exchanging jokes with all categories of his church members, before the church service commenced proper. As the day’s sermon is about to begin, after the church choir led by the in house songbird and Church Choir Master, Mr. Sunday Babalola, had rendered some soul lifting Christian songs, Prophet Onaolapo suddenly rose majestically from his seat on the church altar and the entire congregation follow suit clapping their hands. The congregation remained standing until he is formally ushered to the church podium with another set of clapping, in what the church congregation called “clap offering.”
At this point, expectations become very high. As he settles in for the day’s business, he has on his side on the podium, Mrs. Rachel Sunday Babalola, who interprets his messages in Yoruba dialect. Prophet Onaolapo’s sermon for that day, was entitled “Evidences of Revival” a topic centered on Acts of Apostles Chapter 4:32-37.
Prophet Onaolapo first delivered this particular sermon sometimes in December 1st 2013 at the church auditorium, exactly ten years before the second coming of this message, due to what he described as the relevance and importance of the message to Christianity and present day church practices.
He begins the day’s sermon, with a brief admonishment of the church members. Hear him again “As Christians, after receiving the life of Christ, we must focus on letting go of our former, sinful ways. The reason we need to let go of these ways is because that they are not healthy and they lead to pain, sorrow, and even death. God helps us
overcome our sinful habits and thoughts with every day that we trust in Him and communicate with Him.”
Now, to the day’s sermon proper. He begins in this manner “I’ve said it over and over again in this podium, that revival has little or nothing to do with gathering together, noise making or rallies. We can only say there is a revival, when there is passion in our hearts. When we have this passion, it will result in corporate or collective
revival.
He continued, “Revival means our being awakened to the things of God, and having the renewed love that gets us closer to God more than ever before. Under spiritual evidence, I penned down ten points, out of which we have already discussed six points, namely Passion for Christ and his church. Fervent prayers, constant reading of the bible,
witnessing to the unbeliever, heavenly focus, and giving to mission.
He added, “We shall continue with the topic, giving to mission today. According to verse 32 of Acts Chapter 4, “the multitude had everything in common.” One of the weapons the Satan is using to destroy the church today is mutual suspicion, as we now have in some of our churches elders who can’t shake hands genuinely or share food. Churches where these habits exist or happen, can’t grow.
But when there is revival of harmony among church members, the pastor’s work will be made much easier and the Lord’s grace will be upon his church and its members in accordance with verse 33 of Acts Chapter 4. If we must know, God does not live where there is confusion.
In verse 34 and 35 of this same chapter, we saw that some people sold their possessions to meet the needs of the church. Special mention was made of Barnabas because he stood out in the act of giving for missionary
purposes or work in verses 36 and 37.”
“Now, let us examine LOVE in accordance to 1 John 3: 13 to 18, 1 John 4:7. In these chapters, it is clearly stated that whosoever hates his brother is a murderer, and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Jesus laid down his life for us so we ought to love each other. When you allow your brother to suffer, while it’s within your powers or capacity to help such a person, the love of God is not in you.
“As Christians we must learn to love through our actions, not with words or tongue, our love for others must be in deeds and truth, whether the person in question is lovable or not. To further buttress this very point, in 1 John 4:7, the bible tells us to love one another, for love is God and anyone who loves is born of God.
It is only when these acts of love are done, can one be truly regarded as a born again Christian. It isn’t possible to say, I am a true son of God, if you are a wicked Christian. My submission therefore, is that, he who does not love don’t know God, for God is love.
“True Christian’s knowledge of God will invariably be measured, by how; he or she shows love to others. Verse 12 of Acts Chapter 4, says that “No one has seen God. But if we genuinely love one another, God will continue to abide in us! He went further to say in verse 20, if anyone says he or she loves God, and hate his brother, he is a liar, for if he does not love his brother, who he has seen, how can he or she love God, whom he has not seen? A callous or stone hearted person cannot claim to be Christ like.
Prophet Onaolapo continues, an unforgiving spirit opposes the gospel of grace that we are today preaching about. As there will always be friction and disagreements in any human setting or society. But in whatever the situation we find ourselves, we must be generous in forgiveness. As one of the signs of revival is for Christians to demonstrate unconditional love at all times. In concluding this very topic, I must not fail to refer us to, 1 Peter 4:8, which says
“Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
“One of the things that distinguished Christians from pagans and unbelievers is the gift of the spirit. Sadly, most churches these days no longer pay much attention to this. Forgetting, that it is the will of God to give us these gifts. Let us therefore, lists facts, purposes, and instances where these gifts were used in the bible. The above text therefore, tells us, that spiritual gift is necessary in the church and can also be imparted.
Prophet Onaolapo then explained further, “In 1 Cor 1: 7 – The Corinthians church, was a church where all spiritual gifts were made manifest. In Hebrew 2:4 God distributes his gifts according to his own will. Acts 2:17, 1 Cor 12: 1-11, and Romans 12: 6-8. He now delved into the list of spiritual gifts, which he enumerated as follows: – “Wisdom is a required powerful tool in any given sphere of life. As most crisis and confusion that occurs in our daily lives and activities today, is due principally to lack of wisdom.
“Another very important gift of the spirit is knowledge. The gift of knowledge is a revelation gift. It usually reveals the secrets about men. We also have the spirit gift of faith. So also is the spirit gift of healing. There is also the spirit gift of miracle. We also have the spirit gift of prophecy. This particular spirit gift, enables people so given to discern things. Most leaders need this spirit gift to function effectively in whatever capacity, or position they find
themselves.
“There is the spirit of diverse tongue; this can be an existing human language. There is the spirit gift of interpretation of tongues. There is also the spirit of service, which is the gift of humanity. There is the gift of teaching. There is the gift of counselling/encouragement. We have the spirit gift of generosity and giving. There is the spirit of gift of leadership as it is not everyone that can lead. This particular spirit entails endurance, perseverance and tolerance. We have the spirit gift of observation.
It was this type of special gift, God gave to Andrew. People with these qualities are usually calm and patient. They are often times, moving library and repertoire of information. “We also have the spirit gift of mercy/help (benevolence) people in this category can’t even but help even if it means inconveniencing themselves. We also have the spirit gift of boldness and confidence.
As a fearful man can’t be a good Christian. Faith is usually not for cowards. The gift of prayers, singing, vision, gift of dream and administration are also very important spiritual gifts men need to function effectively and survive. Finally, the very important thing about these spiritual gifts is that they are from God only. It is only God that distributes these gifts, freely. He alone dispenses these gifts in the way and manner it pleases him.
“These gifts are required in churches for them to function effectively. The gift of the spirit is usually different from the gift of calling. It is possible for any man to have more than one of these spiritual gifts. These gifts can also be imparted. Gift of spirit is different from fruit of spirit. Spiritual gift is also different from ministering gift. This particular gift is never a sign of holiness. Gift of the spirit is one of the promises and prophecies of the end time church as spiritual gift is different from natural talent.
In all these situations, Prophet Onaolapo stressed, “What creates the feeling of wholeness in the heart of the believer is the awareness that God’s standards, never change, neither does His compassion. ”One thing we search for at every level of our relationship with God is ‘to be understood.’ When I am properly understood for example, I would not always have to express and explain things, the way I am presently doing.
“We quickly grow weary when we are around anyone who demands that we constantly qualify our statements and explain our intent. We usually want to be near those who comprehend the subtle expressions of affection, intimacy, and need a touch, and brief hug, a sigh emitted in the stillness of a moment. Effective communication can’t be typed
or taught; it must be understood. This is what I have laboured thus far to impart, on the congregations present here today.”
Now let share the grace, our time for today’s service is up, he concluded.
