It was a moment of great tribute on Friday 15 June, as the body of Christ in Lagos led by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the International Communion of Charismatic and Apostolic Ministries (ICCAM), eulogised the late Archbishop Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe as his body finally laid to rest.
The church leaders, who in turn spoke about their personal interactions with the late Obembe, described him as a man of uncommon faith. Until his death, Obembe was the presiding Archbishop of El-Shaddai Bible Church and Apostolic Cardinal ICCAM. Also, he was at a time the chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship Nigeria (PFN).
Matthew Ashimolowo, the senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), in a short sermon said Archbishop Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe is not in the presence of sorrow, but in the presence of his Lord. “…I am persuaded that Archbishop Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe: not of works, lest any man should boast but of grace; his Lord and Saviour has called him and he is in the presence of our Lord. While here today, we feel the pain that we have lost a loved soul; I know him when he was a young bachelor, 40 years ago in 1979,” he said.
Ashimolowo in eulogizing Obembe said there are three approaches to death; to the unsaved man, death is an enigma; to the Atheist death is an end, but to the believer, death is an entrance. “The New Testament did not end, we are the end of the New Testament,” he said.
The children of the late Archbishop also took turns to eulogise their father, who they described as their first love, friend and chairman.
A special prayer was said for his immediate family, his church and the congregation. The ex-General Overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, Wilson Badejo led the prayer for the family; while Joseph Ojo, the Archbishop of Calvary Kingdom Church (CKC) led prayer for the church and ministry, as Tunde Bakare of Latter Rain Assembly prayed for the congregation.
SEYI JOHN SALAU
