Starting Monday 29 July, Ebute Ayo Model Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Oworo, Lagos will commence a week-long activity in celebration of the church’s 10th anniversary. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, the Most Superior Evangelist, Prophet Adeniyi Adegbenga Francis, the secretary to the Prophet and Prophetess worldwide, and pastor in charge of the parish speaks on ‘The Rebellious Prophet’ the theme of the anniversary. He said that many of today’s preachers, pastors and prophets have abandoned their calling to seek after other things. Excerpts:
How did you arrive at the theme for the church’s 10th anniversary, ‘The Rebellious Prophet’?
We went to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 28 verse 15 to 17; I found out that these days a lot of people who call themselves prophets are liars. We rebel against the wish of the Lord; what the Lord said we should do; we are not doing it, instead, we are doing the opposite. I want the people to know that for the present dispensation, we have lots of rebellious prophets which mean, lying prophets that the Lord did not send. They are using their own selfish interest to call themselves prophet because they need something to eat.
If I get you correctly; you are saying we have prophets who are not called into ministry. So, what is the relevance of the theme to the nation?
If you look at the country today, we have lots of pastors who call themselves prophet. Now, let’s look at the political atmosphere of the country especially during electioneering campaign period; a lot of people on social media (Facebook) prophesying that if Buhari campaigns, so, so thing will happen; another one will say, if Buhari contests certain things will happen, but at the end look at the same Buhari is still the president. God does not even tell them anything but because they are in need of what they will eat – if you look at this country today, you will see that the so-called pastors and prophets are the ones bringing this country down because what the Lord has not asked us to do is what we are doing, especially in Christendom. We are now turning things upside down instead of allowing the will of God to take its place, and that is affecting the country negatively. I can say we the ministers are the ones doing the wrong things like I said ‘rebellious prophets’ and if you find out very well; at the door post of some pastors and prophets, you will find corruption – it falls at their doorpost but when they come out to the public, they will say, ‘the Lord says, the Lord says’. So, what I know now is that God is coming to intervene very soon.
What is the way out?
The good prophets should go out and preach to the world; not about financial prosperity, or materialism, rather we should go out and tell people about salvation and the kingdom of God by putting people back on the right way of what the Lord wants. For instance, nobody is preaching about the Ten Commandments again but if you look at the bible from Genesis to Revelation: that is the most important thing and even if you look at the constitution of most countries in the world, it stemmed from that Ten Commandment. But right now, we are not preaching about that rather we will find some pastors going astray because what the Lord wants us to do, we are not doing it. What you find now is that the pastors are the ones committing fornication, idolatry, stealing and all sorts.
Back to the anniversary celebration, can you tell us briefly about the history of the church?
I will say am the first prophet of this church from 1997 when the church started. The church was founded and built by the Most Superior Evangelist Emmanuel Olusanya Adetula JP (dead); he died July 2018. After procuring the land, he did the sand-filling and building of the first church in seven days, then the services started. In 1998, I was transferred out of Lagos to Delta State in Obiaruku, Parish one. After Obiaruku, I was transferred back to Lagos and then to Eket in Akwa Ibom State. I was in Eket till year 2000 when God asked me to leave and then I moved to Port Harcourt. However, in 2006, I was planning to travel out of this country to South Africa with the hope that I was going there to study Aviation while I was still doing my pastoral work. Along the line, everything just got disorganised – the person with my passport disappeared and till today, I have not set my eyes on him. Because I started the church here in March 2006 when I came back to Lagos; I felt I should visit the church for Sunday service to reconnect with the people in the church, but I met the founder of the church who came back from America to Nigeria; who then asked me to stay and build the church. I told him I was travelling of which I did not know God had a different plan for mine. From that 2006 I met someone as a senior shepherd here who I assisted being the prophet-in-charge then. By 2010, he was transferred out of this place and by 2011, I took over the mantle of leadership. Really, it is not that we are doing the 10th prophets and prophetess anniversary. I started in 2006, but there are some break in-between (some years) that is why I calculate the real years I came back to take the mantle of leadership of the church with the hope of doing more than we have done before.
Looking at politics in Lagos State; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu recently transmitted names of people that will work with his administration, what is your view of governance in the state?
I really do not go into politics and I don’t want to talk about politicians because I believe those that are there, the bible says don’t judge. I don’t want to judge anybody; he has appointed the people to work with him and the only thing I can say to that is that I will be praying for them, that the mind of God will be in them – what God wants them to do, they will be able to do. I do not want to get involved with anything politics.
What is your view on insecurity in Nigeria?
The only thing I can advice is that the president, governors, senators should do more to equip our security agencies and architecture because all the things we are hearing today were not there in the past. The stories about the Fulanis, Boko Haram and others; who are the people behind these things, where does it come from, who are the insiders? Nobody knows. I will also urge the Christians and Moslems to go into prayers because the scripture says, if we are watching and God is not even watching; then what we are watching is in vain. But, lets pray (both Christians and Moslems) very hard that God should take over the security situation in the country and assist all our security men and women. Again, I will advise that if the government would listen, it should employ and deploy people that are trust-worthy to take charge of our security across the country and not touts.
So, if Christ tarries; what is your vision for the church in another ten years?
In another ten years, if I am still alive and not transferred out of here; am going to make this place a point of contact and location that would be known globally. I am working towards that right now. On social media, evangelism, prophetically I will do to the extent that the Lord says I should do globally and not just the Lagos region alone.
