“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hos 4:6)
A video is circulating on the social media in the last few days, of a man who slumped on the pulpit. I feel pained about the development though I do not know the man. I condole with his family and brethren. May God give them the fortitude to bear the painful loss.
Why should men of God slump on the pulpit? Why? Why should a useful tool in God’s hand experience such tragic and untimely death? Why? Why should people who are God’s investments depart suddenly at the prime of their lives? Why?
Recently, we lost a brother in Imo state. He was such a dutiful brother who had diligently attended to me when I was invited to minister in their meetings. He slumped on the pulpit while ministering on a Sunday service, leaving a very young wife to battle the agony of early widowhood. Then Pastor D. died in his sleep in Ekket. The investment of God, all the grace and anointing to positively impact his generation gone. Let me not bore you with more examples of people I personally know who have “gone too soon”.
The rate at which men of God slump on the pulpit or die suddenly these days calls for serious concern. God is not a waster of His resources. Whatever causes these monumental wastage of these kingdom resources is definitely not traceable to God.
Yes, God could avert these death, but they still happen. Why? I think we should look seriously into the matter. Maybe God is “helpless” (pardon my language). How can God help us when we blatantly refuse His help through our ignorance?
Of all human problems, ignorance is the worst. Nothing destroys God’s people faster or better than ignorance. The devil cannot do anything in the life of a child of God until he is captured in ignorance.
Painfully, most Christians glory in ignorance claiming spirituality. They ignorantly mistake religiosity for spirituality.
Years ago, I was on a prayer mountain in Ekiti State for private prayers. One night in the hall we all slept in, there was an alarm raised. A young man was about to die; he was panting and fighting for life. We gathered together to assist him. We saw that he was so weak and seriously emaciated. He looked so pale too. After giving him water and some liquid food, he stabilised and was able to talk. Guess what, he was on the 3rd mountain within a week with “biribiri” fasting (fasting with no food and water or any drink). The mountain where we rescued him is so high that with full stomach, you will need to rest at least three times before you get to the top! He was climbing high mountains with empty stomach, combining this with sleepless nights in vigils. What was he looking for? Agbara (power)!
Many of them heard tales about Babalola climbing 21 mountains and fasting for a hundred days and, looking for “agbara Babalola”, they do stupid things in ignorance and waste their lives. By the way are you aware that Babalola himself died in his mid fifties, in his sleep after a week of travelling and meetings unending? I say this, not to denigrate our revered father, but for us to learn. The blessed Apostle left when CAC needed him most. As we will usually say, “a mu olododo lo saaju ojo ibi”.
Many of us see endless fasting combined with endless sleepless nights as proofs of spirituality. We brag about the number of days we fast and how little we sleep at night. In fact, we preach about it arrogantly on the pulpit. You will hear preachers say, “If you sleep at night, you are not a serious Christian”. “If you cannot pray 7 hours each night, you can’t be a carrier of serious anointing”. “Power answer to sleepless nights in prayer and serious fasting” and so on. Uninformed people will hear these from people they respect and set the ball rolling for untimely death!
Do you know why God created the law of sabbath? He knew man needs rest. Sabbath, by the way was created for rest and not worship. It was Jews in dispersion after the Babylonian captivity that converted sabbath to a day of gathering in synagogues for worship and religious education; originally, it was for rest.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exo 20:8-11)
God did not rest because He was tired, He rested to institute sabbath for man.
By the way, do you know that Sunday is not a sabbath day for ministers of God? The busiest days for most ministers are Fridays to Sundays. That indicates that most of them do not have a sabbath day; no day of rest. In the name of spirituality and anointing, they work all days, pray all nights, have no sabbath and eat poorly because of fasting. When they now slump, we blame it on attack. Who is attacking who?
To make the matter worse, many of us see not going to hospital and not using medicine as proofs of our spirituality. Even when our bodies are giving us dangerous signals, our religious arrogance will not permit us to do the needful. We quickly forget that Apostle Paul had a medical doctor in his team. You think Dr. Luke was only writing for Paul, abi? The same Paul counselled Timothy, a Bishop to take little wine as a form of medication. But you are here, refusing to go to hospital or undergo periodic checkup because you have a religious ego to protect. If you die suddenly due to ignorance and you make heaven, please deliver my message to my dad; tell him I’m doing my best to take care of his wife here.
Brethren, there is no need rushing to heaven; remember, we will spend eternity there. Finish your assignment here; don’t go too soon.
▪︎ If you are above forty, you need periodic medical check. Having a personal physician is not a bad idea at all.
▪︎ Take a day for your sabbath. Mine is Monday. After the serious work of the weekend, I stay indoor on Monday to rest.
▪︎ Fast, but don’t be stupid about it. God warned me in the year 2000 about fasting. He said if you kill yourself with fasting, I have a replacement for you in the assignment. Since then, I fast only when He commands it. I discover that faith and obedience work for me more than fasting. I still fast; but not stupidity.
▪︎ Sleep. Less than 6 hours of sleep daily will send you to early grave. Sleep is more important for your body than food; ask any doctor. Pray at night but not with religious stupidity.
▪︎ Know when to say no. As a minister, you can’t attend all programmes, minister to all people and meet all needs. If you kill yourself, they will bury you and look for another “daddy”.
▪︎ Observe annual holiday. You are entitled to a month annual leave; take it for personal renewal. During your leave, travel, relax, spend time with your family, take care of your health, have fun. By the time you resume, you are renewed like the eagles.
▪︎ Allow God to do His work. Don’t do the work of God at the expense of your life.
Beloved brethren, only one person’s life was needed for the redemption of the church – the man Jesus the Christ. His blood had been shed and His life given. Your death is what is called double counting in economics; it is a waste. Please don’t die for the church; it is unnecessary. But if you insist, see you in eternity.
Please share this to educate the brethren. Enough is enough; no more slumping on the pulpit.
©️ Dr Amos Olu Oladele
