PROPHETIC ANALYSIS OF THE 14TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE OF PFN IN BENIN – Ladi Thompson

PROPHETIC ANALYSIS OF THE 14^TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE OF 2017 IN BENIN

The 14^th Biennial Conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) staged in Benin has come and gone but I am minded to say that its impact will reverberate into eternity. When the “future” that is hanging in the spirit realm finally unfolds this meeting will be remembered as a gathering where God called the Pentecostal fold to remembrance bringing many unseen witnesses with Him.

Pastor Ladi Thompson Living Waters Unlimited, Lagos Nigeria.

The Spirit of God was definitely in attendance hovering over Benin City, that singular location that represents the abundant application of God’s grace to the Nigerian church. From ancient times till date the voice of human blood spills speak out from the reddened earth of Benin unheard by human ears after the order of the blood of Abel the righteous who was slain by Cain his brother.

The reason why our spiritual ears cannot pick up their insistent clamor for justice is because their vengeful cries have been neutralized and drowned by the witness coming from voice of the only blood that speaks better things than the spiritual blood type of Abel. Such is the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that it neutralizes the blood witness of human sacrifices numbering in hundreds of thousands offered on ancient altars in the past. Again the blood voice of babies unborn cruelly aborted on the altars of pleasure and other rivulets of spiritually illegal blood flows including a few human sacrifices offered on modern altars concealed from prying eyes are also a part of the chorus muted by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Another poignant witness was the voice of Benson Idahosa’s spiritual stature testifying to the largesse of grace and oceans of mercy bestowed upon the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. We must not fail to mention another significant witness in the mix represented by the long forgotten words of Pa Sidney Elton replete with its encouragements, rebukes and warnings also present in the spiritual glow that witnessed the celebrated 14^th biennial of the PFN. Perhaps it was a coincidence but it’s doubtful that there could have been a better suited venue for this epochal meeting.

On the physical level the atmosphere was one of gaiety, pomp and joyous exuberance as thousands gathered for the three day meet themed “From Glory to Glory”. It could not have been a coincidence that the meeting was beamed live for the nation and the world by extension to participate using the modern miracle of cable TV and wonder of the internet social media. The affable, gentle but firm personality of Felix Omobude played the role of the chief host being the current president of the PFN on a freshly renewed tenure.

The meeting had been advertised as the gathering of ‘Generals’ and so it was with the heavy hitters in attendance as Daddy Adeboye was there, with the likes of Wale Oke, Mike Okwonkwo, Umai Ukpai and other multi-starred generals of the Pentecostal fold who saw the earlier moves of the Holy Spirit. The not-so-young generation of recently promoted mono-star Generals too graced the gathering although a handful of old timers announced on the bill boards were conspicuously absent. The convention started as advertised on Tuesday the 7^th running multiple sessions until the curtain was drawn at the finale on Thursday the 9^th of February 2017. Through its duration the convention was exciting, enlightening and explosive and the Pentecostal signature was unmistakable.

Now that the convention is over a wise believer would take time to digest the spiritual gains of the meeting and I would encourage those absent in body to get the ministrations on the internet because of the fierce spiritual wind that are presently blowing over the land. As the scriptures say in 1 Corinthians 2:15 …. “He that is spiritual judges all things but is judged of no one!” During the end times it is wise to take stock whenever believers attend any meeting to authenticate and personalize the spiritual profit.

THE BEREAN PRINCIPLE … The Nigerian church often feels insecure when the process of authentication is initiated and many church leaders feel that it is a sign of mistrust not understanding that authentication is a basic spiritual protocol commanded by God Himself.

The believer is cautioned by God not to take anything for granted in the end times. 1 John 4:1 …. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. As powerful and beautiful as the 14^th biennial conference was it would be unscriptural not to give room for the Holy Spirit to confirm or reject whatever was delivered by His servants. The Berean Christians received a commendation from God because they understood and practiced spiritual authentication.  In that same manner the Ephesian Church was approved by God in Rev 2:2 … I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars.

The Ephesian church scored a pass mark where the Galatians got it wrong! The Galatians were spiritually careless and they were captured by another gospel, to worship another spirit and embraced another Jesus in their church. Until Apostle Paul returned to run an authentication test the Galatians were totally deceived and rejected the true gospel! The implication was that every marriage or baby dedication done at the altar of the Galatian church was unto satanic spirits! Every Sunday they gave offerings to a satanic spirit and listened to polluted sermons without detecting the deception.

It’s interesting that Paul’s prescription whenever the spiritual authentication failed was extreme. Apostle Paul’s prescription was that those who present another gospel, another spirit and another Jesus were to be treated as accursed. Learning from the Galatian church we realize that any corruption or deviation from the original gospel, original spirit and genuine Jesus Christ is judged as fake!

A glassful of orange juice with just two drops of arsenic poison would be described as a glass of poison even though it has the same orange color and at least 98% orange juice content. We could conclude that there is a digital accuracy to the genuine gospel because an ATM would never dispense cash when the pin number has a deviation no matter how small! The pertinent question then is “How do we run a spiritual authentication test on the convention according to the scriptures?” because the consequences of spiritual deceptions are so terrible that you may not want to hear it.

We know the spiritual testimony of the blood of Jesus was in the Benin convention at the beginning and we have also identified the Pentecostal legacies of the Benson Idahosa, Pa S. G. Elton and even the Pa Akindayomi heritage but the equally important issue is the result of the authentication tests of the messages delivered by the Pentecostal Generals that were there gathered! To encourage and assist the Nigerian believer we can draw inspiration from Elijah’s divine encounter when he became weary and almost depressed after being pursued by Jezebel in the same way the Boko Haram and Fulani Islamists have put the Nigerian church on the run in many parts of Northern Nigeria. When Pentecostals gather we usually have a lot of exciting music, loud noises, prophetic shouts and a great buzz but the matured Christian has to outgrow all that to get at the substance in the convention.

At Mount Horeb, Elijah was unmoved by the wind that broke rocks, neither was he impressed by the earthquake that shook everything! Most Nigerian believers get excited when the fire falls but Elijah knew that the secret to divine connection was never in the fire! Elijah knew what to watch out for! Most of us would leave a convention satisfied after people are slain in the spirit, falling left, right and center in the pews, in fact we would jump with delight when the crusade ground vibrates and quakes with the woofer power of modern audio speakers. When prayers are punctuated with a roar of “fire” from the lips of thousands we would go home fulfilled but Elijah was unmoved till he heard the “still small voice” of God’s word. This is what a genuine Pentecostal should keep in mind!

In the next part of this discourse we would endeavor to run a spiritual authentication test on the powerful ministrations at the PFN biennial of 2017 and would encourage all genuine believers to do the same. We must remember that the objective is not criticism but spiritual authentication. This is why we believe that the spiritual testimonies of Pa Josiah Akindayomi and Pa S. G. Elton were present at the Ugbowo convention ground in Benin City. It was the pursuit of this spiritual authentication that produced the sub-covenant on which the Redeemed Christian Church of God was built. This why the radio program that emanated from No 9 Willoughby Street, P.O. Box 172, telephone 43662, Ebute-Meta, Lagos always started with that emphatic announcement “This is that authenticated Way of Salvation”.

Born in 1908 into an idol worshiping family Olufemi Akindayomi (originally named Ogunribido Akindolie) spent his life in the pursuit of that genuine path to eternal life. It was a long, torturous and challenging odyssey that took him through the Anglican Church-1927, the syncretistic Cherubim & Seraphim Church-1931, a dedicated prayer group called “the Glory of God band-1947” before he hit the gold mine on which the church fellowship started in 1952. This later spread to become the global megachurch known as the RCCG. I sought out his audio tapes and did a study of his ministrations and was amazed at the same digital precision that Pa Akindayomi injected into his preaching. He was very authoritative and the details of his peculiar sub-covenant can be found in his messages. Pa Josiah Akindayomi was emphatic on the spiritual authentication of both the message and its messenger and he would deliver dire warnings to his listeners to taste the fruit of every ministration and minister to judge whether it was the real thing or not.

No doubt he understood the grace of God ad continually prayed for all ministers worldwide not to miss the strait and narrow path of eternal life. His pivotal authentication verse came from Mathew 7:20 … Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them! One sip of a cup of any fruit is enough for a blind man to tell the difference between orange and pineapple and nobody will be excused before God because the spiritual authentication is very simple. Pa Akindayomi had a high nasal pitch to his voice and I often hear his admonition reverberating in my heart crying out ‘Nipa eso won la ofi mowon” in his peculiar Ondo accent.

The 14^th biennial PFN theme “from Glory to Glory” was obviously an inspired capture to call forth things which are not as though they were! Speaking in the natural Nigeria is in a deep recession, unemployment is high, and inflation has gone through the roof. The nation is being torn apart by the combined forces of the boko haram and Fulani militia with violent crimes dotting the national landscape, kidnapping, ritual murders and armed robberies.

Citizens have been struck dumb with the daily reports of embezzled funds numbering in millions of dollars. Paralyzed by poverty and traumatized by the low value of human worth many have resigned to fate while others eke a living from day to day with quiet desperation.