A TRUE LIFE STORY…

Truly, he slept with the lady several times. Later, the lady wanted more, but he had moved on & had told her he was done with sin. But perhaps, his approach infuriated the lady; she felt used & dumped. She went straight to the church & told the pastor how his youth pastor was sneaking into her room in the night to sleep with her. How after night vigil, she would hide at the back of the rusted water tank behind the church to ‘finish work’ Perhaps, if she was sure that the guy had encountered God afresh, she would have taken it easy. But she thought the guy had used her and dumped her and started doing it with someone else. Don’t blame her so much. Nobody would want to be in the number of the census of ladies a man has slept with. And the young man was suspended publicly and disgraced. He sat in the church back seat for many months. His head pastor ejected him from his house where he was given a one-room apartment; with the fear that he would someday see his young daughters appealing and defile them. He had no place to go to…

When he gave his life to Christ, he went straight to the village shrines and destroyed all of them. The villagers gathered and began to worship the living God. The village elders passed judgment on him & banished him. His parents didn’t want to set their eyes on him again, as the shame was so much to bear. When they heard that his church had ejected and suspended him for fornication, they jubiliated. That the gods of the land have caught up with him for discerecting them. The only place he could stay was inside an old uncompleted building, without a roof. Any night it rains, he will be soaked. All he had there was his Bible and a few clothes. But he was there looking for God. He had failed both men & God. God had forgiven him, but men didn’t want to set their eyes on him. The villagers gather every day mocking him. Some of his close pals abandoned him. But whenever we passed that old building, we will be hearing his voice; crying: “Lord, give me power…If truly You have forgiven me, give me Your anointing…” Months rolled by, and he was still praying that same singular prayer.

My late mum would cook every day and give me to go and send to him. Sometimes, when I come to bring another food, I see that he has not eaten the one we brought previously. He was always fasting praying and crying. Later, the church restored him. But the stigma refused to go. Nobody called him pastor again. In church, they were avoiding him like a disease. Some of those sympathising with him didn’t come open.

One December, A great man of God was supposed to preach in that community that Christmas period. Everyone was waiting for him. The sick, the blind & the lame had gathered, waiting for him. But the news came that he wasn’t coming again. All the pastors in that community were disappointed because no one could do what they expected God to do through this great man of God. The crusade was on… The choir was ministering, yet, they did not have anyone to preach. The crowd was much & their expectations were high. No pastor felt adequate to step into that shoe. Someone was moved to call this young man to come and preach. Not because they believed in him, but so that if he preached and nothing happened, the shame would go to him alone. The young man didn’t know what to do when they told him to go & preach. How can he face everyone that knows how he failed? Everyone there knew that he had just been suspended and released for fornication.

He was crying, but he gathered courage and climbed the stage. When people saw him on the stage, they started leaving one after the other. The man who was supposed to do the interpretation dropped the microphone and went down from the podium. All The crowd almost left, because they could not imagine what a fornicator had to offer. I was there when all of this was happening. Few of the people reading this now were there too. The young man was crying as he was watching the crowd leaving and even some of the choristers climbing down the stage the moment they saw him on the stage. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he started a song and nobody, including the pastors joined him in singing.

But about 10 minutes later, something happened… One of the known crippled that came for the crusade began to shout. Every attention went to that side; lo and behold, he had stood up from his wheelchair jumping all over the place. God had healed him. People were still surprised. A few seconds later, a known blind woman started shouting from the other side “I can see… I can see… I can see…” Yet, the young man on the pulpit had not opened the Bible. It was only the songs he was singing with tears. A few minutes later, noise filled the whole place. People with Chronic diseases started shouting that they had been healed. The pastors there could not understand what was going on.”How can God use this small boy?” But More miracles were being recorded. The crowd that left started hearing the shout from the crusade ground & began to run back. Some thought the great man of God had finally come. But they saw the young man on the stage, crying when they got there. The interpreter who came to interpret for him was crying.

As he wanted to start preaching, the noise of more miracles could not let him preach. As he wanted to get close to tell the interpreter to let them climb down & start preaching to people, the power of God hit the interpreter and he fell under the power of God. He lay slain like a dead man. As the organiser of the crusade who is probably also reading this now wanted to climb the stage to take the microphone that fell down from the interpreter, he too fell under the power of God. The young man was just standing, & looking at the salvation of the Lord. The crowd had increased more than those who came to listen to the big man of God. People had rushed home to bring their people, that something was happening in the market square. Many pastors who had sick people started sending messages to their members to bring all the sick people to their churches. And without this boy laying hands on anyone, they were being healed. Some villagers who were chronic idol worshippers saw the mighty works of God and ran to the altar for repentance. He didn’t preach from any verse of the scripture, but the power of God was present to heal & to deliver…

As he was standing there, not knowing what next to say, with tears all over, some pastors began to run to him. Some holding his shoe, others dragging his shirt; crying: “Lord, we are sorry…” Some were crying: “We need this anointing…Please, give it to us.” I was there friends… The crusade that was supposed to end by 8pm ended around 12am at midnight. Healings and incredible miracles were wrought. After that crusade, God restored that young man of God. He became the most sought-after, every man of God wanted to host him. Nobody remembered he was suspended. The name of the man is Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai. There is a power price, and that young man paid the price.

Culled from Rhema Channel

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