Spiricoco Twittter@SpiricocoNg
This is the PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, asking people to sow a $3,000 seed for divine intervention.
He admitted the amount was high but claimed it would “touch the heart of God.” He said the Holy Spirit told him to raise $3,000—$1,000 each for father, mother, and children. The 'pillars of the home'.
When turnout was low, he dropped it to $1,500. This is the leader of all Pentecostal churches in Nigeria.
Believers, judge for yourselves: Was this truly from God, or just the usual prosperity preacher scheme for extorting God's people?
Can money move God’s heart? Never.
What moves God is His will and sovereignty:
“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” God said.
And Jesus showed that God values the heart, not the amount.
3000 dollars is a lot for us, but to God who made the earth, it is only carnality that would make us think the money that cannot buy a Sony FX3 camera would touch the heart of God and cause Him to act.
What a shame.
Jesus commended the heart, not the amount, in the widow's mite example.
“This poor widow hath cast more in… for she cast in all she had.” (Mark 12:43–44)
So why did Bishop Wale Oke pressure God’s people to give when God had not spoken?
The painful part is that it came from him. We did not expect him to be of such stock. What a letdown. A sadness.
If this is happening at the top, is it any surprise the church atmosphere is what it is?
Scripture warned of something similar to this.
Micah 3:11 (NIV)
“Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money…”
He is an elder—one who should rebuke such errors—yet he practices them. No wonder PFN remains silent while unbiblical teachings spread.
It's why someone like Korede Komaiya can call the apostles of the Lamb riffraffs for not being billionaires, and nothing happens.
Why Ibiyeomi can say Jesus hated the poor, and no formal rebuke from the body. Why Fatoyinbo could utter depraved things, and no one calls him to order publicly from PFN.
And many more.
If our elders mirror the excesses of younger ministers, then truly the rot begins at the top. Even his earlier remarks downplaying Christian persecution now make unfortunate sense, although he recanted later.
This was disappointing and fell short of Paul's standard for an overseer of the gospel:
“We did not come with a cloak of covetousness; God is witness… but as we were approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak—not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.”(1 Thess. 2:4–5)*
Why say all this?
To remind you, Christian: do not be disheartened. Stand firm. Don't let things like this shake you or discourage you.
If a minister abandons Scripture’s standard, you are not obligated to follow. Move away. Guard your faith. Guard what you listen to.
Keep your garments clean. Immorality abounds. Hold your convictions tightly. Stay holy.
Your Lord sees, and light will dawn soon.
May God bless and keep you. Amen.
We also pray for Bishop Wale Oke that he turns away from this sort of way. It is not of God.
A great responsibility he has. An elder is to be modelled while he models the Chief Shepherd - Jesus.
May God help and bless us all, amen.
