Chapter
1
“Lot thought he had the
better portion, but he had not counted on God. God told Abraham to look as far
as he could see…all the land he could see and beyond would belong to him. My
question as I close is this…what do you see?”
Damilola closed his bible
silently…these days he only opened it in church out of sheer respect for his
pastor. He often wondered why he was still in this church, but even as he
thought on it, he already knew the answer…churches seemed to be the same
everywhere…he had kept hopping from church to church till his older sister had
cautioned him severely and made him realize that the Word preached was the same
everywhere, so he should just settle down somewhere.
Why couldn’t they teach what
he read every day in the bible? Why did they always have to piece together
stories about what people did and then make it look like the stories were
applicable spiritual truths?
Just last month Pastor
Kehinde had prophesied about the ‘Egyptians that you see now, you will see no
more’…he had wondered about how Egyptians suddenly translated into spiritual
symbols, till the pastor had quoted a scripture from the New Testament about
how Old Testament stuff was meant to be symbols and lessons to be learnt from.
That was when he knew that something was badly
wrong somewhere…for now, every pastor could make just about anything in the Old
Testament become a symbol based on that scripture and get away with it.
What was wrong with teaching
the entire book of Romans…or Ephesians…or even systematically going through all
the books of the New Testament, after all hadn’t he read somewhere about how
Paul encouraged the epistles to be read in every church? He really had to find
that scripture again!
He stood up slowly for
‘Offering Time’…he felt like a complete stranger…instead of being edified he
felt burdened and yet everyone else around him seemed to be enjoying the
Service…or was it just him?
He stole a glance at the choir
stand and saw his fiancée Titi, singing with closed eyes…she loved this
church…it was the reason for their constant quarrels and disagreements…as far
as she was concerned, everything that came from the mouths of her beloved
pastors was the gospel truth.
Now she was threatening to
break up if he continued in his ‘heretical ways’ as she had put it to him
yesterday evening.
He watched as the protocol
officers quickly surrounded their pastor and led him out of the auditorium…he
watched and wondered if there were also angels who surrounded him too…most
likely not…he thought sarcastically to himself…they had probably felt no need
since he was so well protected by humans!
He walked towards the choir
stand to meet Titi and drop her off at home…she was still obviously cross with
him from her cold reception.
“I hope you are thinking
about all I said yesterday?” she asked coldly, strapping on her seat belt as
they got into the car.
“Hmm hmm” replied Damilola.
“What? Is that supposed to
be a yes or no?” persisted Titi.
“Yes”, Damilola was
beginning to get angry, but he gritted his teeth…he knew what would happen if
he let loose his anger. God! She was beginning to rub him the wrong way! Is
this what he would have to cope with when they got married…shouldn’t he have a
rethink about the whole marriage thing…it wasn’t too late yet, after all they
had only been engaged about a week or so.
He knew it would cause a lot
of scandal since Titi was a public figure in church by reason of being a
chorister, but wasn’t it better to cause a scandal now and retain one’s sanity
for life?
He eased the car into motion
as Titi began to give him another lecture about his attitude and lukewarmness
to church programs. If he didn’t attend church programs how could he grow
spiritually?
“It’s quite a big project
but I believe if we are consistent with the raising of funds, we should
complete it within a year,” said Mr Okeke.
“Hmm, a hundred thousand
seater auditorium is no joke o” said Eng. Malomo a little apprehensively.
“What I’m even bothered
about is setting a realistic timeline for its finishing before approaching the
pastors with our report. I don’t think a one year time line is sufficiently
realistic. We will be dealing with the human factor. Unless Mr Okeke has some
secret stash that he plans to give us?”
Everyone burst into laughter
including Mr Okeke.
“How I wish I did,” he
replied good naturedly.
“Anyway,” began Dr. Adekoya
the Chairman of the Building Committee, “We need another meeting next week by
which time our strategies for raising money on a regular basis should be in
place. I will endeavour to contact a few people in church and get some
commitments from them. So shall we meet again same time next week?”
Dr. Adekoya owned the
popular By His Stripes Group of Hospitals with branches in several cities, but
no one knew about the various housing estates he owned across the nation.
As his driver eased into
traffic he thought about the building committee and his input as chairman…did
the church think it was that easy to just pump money into its own projects free
of charge? What was in it for the business men whose money they took? It was
one thing to pay one’s tithes but quite another thing to ask again for
donations and contributions. He felt it was a case of taking him and others for
granted…but he knew that it didn’t matter which church he attended, the moment
they smelt the whiff of money on him, he would be placed in an exalted position
in church…it was the cross the wealthy always had to bear he supposed…
He chuckled to himself at
the deep seated hypocrisy in church, for if only they knew how the money was
made and kept…and in many instances even spent…would they still elevate their
wealthy to positions of authority…would they still lean so heavily on them for
funds?
“Sir are we stopping at…?”
asked the driver respectfully.
“Yes of course,” replied Dr
Adekoya a trifle impatiently. The driver ought to know by now that after every
midweek service he stopped over at his mistress’s house…a house within one of
his estates.
His once beautiful wife had
let herself go and become fat and ugly and lazy…she couldn’t even cook for him
anymore and instead employed maids and servants to do everything for her. She
was more interested in hosting her friends every month for elaborate parties.
It was only with great reluctance that she even attended Sunday Services with
her husband to ‘keep up appearances’.
The doctor always looked
forward to his weekly visits to his mistress, the 26 year old beautiful and
voluptuous Remi. Remi knew how to cook…she knew how to take care of a man…above
all, she was willing to do anything for him…he smiled at the memory of the last
time they had been together…he had thought she would refuse his strange request
in bed but she had acceded without hesitation.
As the driver drove through
the gates of the estate Dr Adekoya picked up a call from his wife.
“Hello my dear,” she said;
“I forgot to tell you that I won’t be home when you get back but your meal is
already prepared. I am helping my friend Tayo to prepare for her daughter’s
wedding tomorrow. Or would you mind very much if I slept over at her place?”
“No not at all,” replied Dr
Adekoya, his heart leaping for joy. “Have fun!”
For the first time ever he
was free to spend a whole night with Remi and not worry about the time…
Chapter
2
Ex-pastor Adeleye shambled
out of his study looking tired and frail. He ignored his wife’s hiss as he made
his way to the dining room where a meagre meal had been served for him.
His home was quite large,
yet it had the look of wealth that had once been, but now had faded away. He
really wasn’t hungry but he had long since learned not to stir up his wife’s
wrath unnecessarily…at least she still prepared meals for him which he was thankful
to God for…
He ate alone and sighed in
his heart at the life of scorn, contempt, ridicule and poverty that he had
consigned his family to…but who was he to question God?
God had told him
unmistakably in diverse ways too many to ignore to WALK AWAY, and he had done
so howbeit with great reluctance. Perhaps it was his reluctance that he was
being punished for…he should have walked away without hesitation…willingly…but
he had been too tied to the wealth he had acquired through the church.
His children barely talked
to him now…they were dependent on the mercy of the church…a church their father
had established and nurtured till it was bringing in millions in tithes and
offerings each month…till their father had informed them that God had asked him
to walk away from it all and dissolve the church.
There were other powerful
vested interests in the church however, so the church had not been dissolved as
their outgoing pastor had hoped…but in appreciation of his contribution, they
had placed him on a pension for life and undertaken to pay his children’s
school fees through university to whatever level they chose.
The thing about God was that
He never gave reasons for his instructions…but then He was God!
He took his plate to the
kitchen knowing his wife wouldn’t...it was her own way of punishing him for his
inconsiderate choice to make his family suffer. She had never believed for one
minute that he had heard from God! Hadn’t her husband been preaching the
undiluted word of God? Was he not an upright man of God? Wasn’t it God who
asked him to start the church in the first place?
At first Mrs Adeleye had
thought her husband was being blackmailed to leave the church…perhaps he had a
mistress somewhere…so for over three months she had hired people to trail her
husband’s every movement when the going had been good…but his movements had
always been stereotyped and very predictable.
He only stopped at two
places after church; the supermarket and his widowed sister’s place.
When she had thoroughly
convinced herself that he had no mistress nor any shady dealings with anyone,
she had resorted to begging and pleading with him…even throwing her body at him
to make him rescind his decision to dissolve the church and admit that he had
been mistaken in hearing from God…it had been a spiritual attack…but her
husband had been resolute and stubborn.
“I will not go against the
wishes of the Lord. I don’t like it any more than you do, but this is what the
Lord wants and this is what I will do.”
It was the board of elders
that had saved the day when they had appointed another pastor in his place,
claiming that ‘out of the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing shall be
established’. The pastor was the only lone witness and until there arose at
least another witness, they would not accept his word as God’s instruction.
That was how the good pastor had been shamefully dismissed.
“I did what you asked of me
Lord…are you satisfied?” Pastor Adeleye had asked God brokenly, unable to stem
the dam of tears.
As he walked back into his
study where he spent most of his life, his son Yomi came down the stairs brushing
past him and headed out of the door.
“Where are you off to Yomi?”
asked his mother anxiously.
“To a friend”, was the short
reply.
“Precious have you had
lunch?” yelled her mother from downstairs.
“Not hungry yet mum”
Precious yelled back.
No one seemed to be hungry
these days sighed Mrs Adeleye…who could blame them…if their father hadn’t
squandered away an opportunity of a life time, will we not still be the happy
golden family we once used to be?
But all this had happened
over a year ago…no one in the family went to church anymore…at the end of the
day, it all came down to money…it was the reason why the church hadn’t folded
up on that day…her husband had accounted for the money transparently…at least
she admired him for that! No one had accused him of embezzling church funds…he
had only been…naïve…she had married a naïve man…and now she had lost
everything…
Remi knew a gold mine when
she saw one, and she knew she had hit one in the person of Dr Adekoya. Her life
was made till the second or third generation if she played her cards well.
It meant she had to keep a
low profile and not flaunt her catch to her university friends…thank God the
man was a medical doctor so he supplied her with pills to use to prevent
unwanted pregnancies…but she had been quite taken aback with his strange and
perverse request for another kind of love making as he had called it.
She wasn’t a church goer but
she had definitely read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and she had instantly
been repulsed by his strange lust…but had quickly come to terms with it with a
smile…
“If that is what you want
sir, it’s OK with me,” she had responded in Yoruba, for which she had received
a whopping one Million naira paid into three different accounts she had previously
opened at his request.
She had resolved since then
that she would do whatever he wanted in order to keep him…she needed the money
to care for her aged parents in the village and her siblings here in boarding
school.
But Remi had other plans for
herself too…she wanted to get married to Mr Right someday…her parents kept up
the pressure all the time…”she wasn’t getting any younger!”
So she had started investing
in business…already she had completed the building of two houses with the money
she had been receiving from her ‘boyfriend’ and had rented them out…a third was
almost completed too.
She planned to build an
estate of her own and she had been acquiring land for that purpose. One million
every Wednesday was a whole lot of money in a year and ever since she had
acceded to his filthy request, he wouldn’t have it any other way…so the money kept
coming in…but tonight she would softly and gently address the matter of the
pain with a view to getting the money increased as compensation…for now she
would have to endure the pain…but when she was done…when her plans for
blackmailing him were perfected…she would literally become a multi-billionaire
overnight….but that wouldn’t be for a very long time…she needed proof beyond
every shadow of doubt.
She looked up at the
carefully concealed CCTV cameras she had installed a long time ago over her bed
at different angles of the room…they were painted the same colour as the wall
and partially covered with paintings, so that even the lens did not show except
on very close scrutiny.
Chapter
3
Pastor Kehinde Abayomi
dismissed his two aides for the night and drove himself home. He intended to
spend the night in prayer for his ailing father. He had been diagnosed with
cancer, but his family had refused the doctor’s report…they were faith and
prosperity teachers…how would it look like if they succumbed to the devil and
panicked and took their father all over the world looking for the best doctors?
Pastor Kehinde and his twin
brother Taiwo were both convinced that this was either a spiritual attack or a
test from God to prove their faith. Their mother had been apprehensive and had
advised that alongside their prayers, there was nothing wrong with taking him
for chemotherapy treatment and the other things that their doctor had
recommended, but the twins had put their foot down.
“That would negate our faith
mum” Kehinde had said and Taiwo had agreed.
“We can’t ask God to heal
him and at the same time trust in the arm of flesh!” Taiwo had said to their
mother.
Their uncle wasn’t even a
believer so as far as the Abayomi family was concerned, his opinion didn’t
really count.
“I still think you should do
what your mother says, I don’t think God is against doctors…do they not use the
wisdom He has given to heal people?” Uncle Jaiye had asked.
“Yes uncle, but we have gone
very far with our faith; we have seen God work miracles in church isn’t that so
mum?” Taiwo had turned to his mother for support.
“Yes, but we have been
praying for a while now for his healing and there doesn’t seem to be any sign
of improvement, maybe God is trying to tell us something!” their mother had
wailed.
“Mother I know how difficult
this is for you,” Kehinde had said gently, going to his mother to comfort her
as she wept softly.
“But let us trust God, it
will all turn out for good…our testimony will be the stronger for it. Remember
the word we received in church this morning about Joseph who spent several
years of his life forgotten in a dungeon for a crime he didn’t commit. God will
vindicate us and reward our faith. We must stand strong as a family mother. Epele ma…”
Kehinde walked around his
large study praying in tongues…this was the second day of his fast. He had been
fortifying himself with testimonies of faith and listening to faith building
CDs from his favourite preachers and televangelists. Even Tim Saunders was
praying for his dad as were so many other international preachers who had at
one time or the other graced their church at various conferences and
conventions.
All had assured the family
that it was a spiritual attack and their dad would come out hale and hearty and
healed…the only disturbing thing about it all was their father’s attitude and
strange words lately.
Of late he had been
expressing regret at establishing the Rising Star Church and how God was
punishing him for not obeying his instructions a long time ago to dissolve the church…but
the doctor had said he was probably reacting to some delirious symptoms he was
being treated for and that they should not worry about it.
Doctor Adekoya the family
doctor was a staunch member of the Rising Star Church and was acclaimed to be
one of the best and most experienced medical practitioners in the country. He
had once been invited to be Commissioner of Health in his state, a position he
had politely declined.
Kehinde paused
intermittently to listen for God speaking as he prayed on into the night…only
one word kept recurring in his mind…”By his stripes he is healed”…he took that
to be an answer from God and switched over to Praise just as the dawn began to
break.
Pastor Abayomi was ensconced
in a large room in his house that had been set up like a private ward. His
family had spared no expense in seeing to it that he was well attended. There
was always a doctor within the house and several nurses in attendance. Doctor
Adekoya himself made it a point to come in once a day to attend to him.
“But isn’t this the same
thing as sending him for chemotherapy?” Mrs Abayomi asked her favourite son
Taiwo in a final appeal.
“Isn’t he still being
attended by doctors as well as by God…or is it the grievousness of the illness
that makes it deserve only God’s attention?”
“Mum, please don’t begin to
doubt God. We are only doing this as a temporary measure till Dad is strong
enough to exercise faith. Right now dad is talking like you…he doesn’t believe
he will be healed, he believes God is punishing him for some imagined
disobedience.”
“Well let me ask you this
son…when you have malaria why do you buy drugs…why don’t you just go to God for
your healing?”
Taiwo stared uncomfortably
at his feet trying to think of some answer that had plausible scriptural
backing…but none came to him.
“I thought as much…your
generation talks through both sides of their mouths…you believe God for healing
only when Man does not have the answer!” Mrs Abayomi began weeping again…this
time loudly, as Taiwo led her to his room…he would ensure she was not left
alone to herself to think thoughts that might eventually lead her to hurt
herself…
Devil
you are a liar! He thought savagely to himself as he wrapped
his arms around his mother, swaying gently and praying in tongues.
He heard sounds of people
entering into the vast living room. His twin brother had arrived to take over
his shift…no visitors were allowed for now…Taiwo waited for Kehinde to enter
his bedroom…by now his mother had quietened down.
Two of the servants knocked
on the door and brought in a tray of fruits and fruit juices along with a plate
of Amala and Ewedu soup.
“Mum you just have to eat o
hmmm? Sit up, they’ve brought your food. I was told you refused to eat this
morning but now that I’m here you have to eat.”
“I’m not hungry, can I go
and see your dad?”
“You will, but you have to
eat first OK?”
Mrs Abayomi shook her head.
“Mum, don’t let Kehinde come
in and see you refusing to eat, you know he isn’t gentle like me, he will shout
at you o!”
The door opened and Kehinde
walked in…
“Taiwo is the food still
hot?” he asked, patting his mother on the back as he assisted her into a
sitting position.
“I told your brother I’m not
hungry yet Kehinde!”
“Ah mummy, if you don’t eat
do you think we will eat? If we tell Daddy you’re not eating, it will only
worsen his condition you know?” asked Kehinde, more as a statement of fact than
a question.
Mrs Abayomi shook her head
wearily as she washed her hands reluctantly in the bowl of water on the table.
Taiwo and Kehinde exchanged
worried looks above her head…she was looking so frail and emaciated in just a
few days…
Taiwo left the room to go
back to work while Kehinde stayed. As he entered the car and was driven off, he
couldn’t help recall his mother’s words about the hypocrisy of the church…
He was guilty as charged…but
he had never thought twice about taking drugs for malaria or even Paracetamol
for colds…he guessed it was because such things were always in plain sight…yet
it bothered him…every little act of faith was also an act of dependence upon
God…or wasn’t that how it worked?
He made a mental note to do
a study on biblical healing later that week…he needed to get all his facts
right…he had to…dad’s life was dependent on it…
Chapter
4
Damilola waited along with several others in
the large lobby that served as the reception for the Rising Star Church. He
knew this was probably his last time of visiting the church, for he had ended
it all with Titi…he just couldn’t take her taunting, nagging, and bossing
anymore!
He had officially broken off
with her and felt peace at last…he could never live with such a woman for the
rest of his life…rather than that; he was prepared to suffer any consequences.
Her parents had come to his
home and at first appealed to him, then realizing he wasn’t going to change his
mind, had begun lambasting him, eventually leaving in a terrible rage after
heaping curses on him.
Soon after, he had received
a call from pastor Taiwo Abayomi asking him to come and see him in the office
at his earliest convenience…so here he was, knowing that nothing the pastor
said would change his mind…as a matter of fact, he had decided to honour the
invitation to drop his bombshell…he was leaving the church for “personal
reasons which he couldn’t explain at this time”.
His older sister had been
rather disappointed in him…she was saddened because he was unable to “manage
his life very well”; he wasn’t consistent at anything”; he couldn’t “stay long
in any church”…he couldn’t…oh she had listed so many things he couldn’t do
consistently, and she was probably right.
He had changed jobs twice
already this year alone…but Damilola knew what he wanted and in what direction
he wanted to go…it wasn’t that he was an inconsistent person…it was just that
he believed life was full of choices…he simply chose the best of his options at
any given time…at least that was how he liked to think of himself…
He missed his parents,
especially his mum very dearly! She wouldn’t have been disappointed in him like
his older sister…his mum had always told him “he should never have to take what
he didn’t want to accept from life because there always would be options”…so he
had lived his life according to his mother’s dictum.
Both his parents had died in
a tragic car accident while on their way back from a second ‘honeymoon’.
Damilola was a banker and
had resigned his job as a banker at a previous and better paying bank. He had
never explained his reasons fully to his sister except to tell her about
constant humiliations from his female boss…she had told him to “endure it for
the sake of a brighter tomorrow”…what he had not told her about were the secret
and subtle advances his female boss had been making towards him that he had
always rejected…why would he report that to his sister, he wasn’t a kid
anymore, he could deal with his own affairs…so when he heard of this other job
opening, he grabbed it instantly even though it paid 20k less than what he had
been earning previously.
“Mr Damilola Olotu, you may
go in to see pastor,” announced the gum chewing receptionist.
Pastor Taiwo Abayomi stared
thoughtfully at Damilola after hearing his own side of the story.
“So if I understand you
rightly, the issues between you and Titi were caused by divergent views on the
doctrines of the church and how the church is run?”
“Something like that sir,”
said Damilola, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn’t sure where this was
leading to, but he was certain the pastor would try to convince him
differently.
But what he kept reading in
his bible was a far cry from the things he heard constantly from the pulpit,
and the life style of his pastors was quite different from those of Jesus and
his apostles…for instance, he didn’t see any of the apostles being protected
from the sheep they were supposed to protect…what were they afraid of anyway?
Why was there so much fuss and so many body guards in the guise of protocol
officers around and about the pastors? Were they supposed to be celebrities or
servants like Jesus had taught?
Why was there such a large gulf between the
rich and the poor in a church of Rising Star’s calibre and yet everyone seemed
not to notice or just studiously ignored it? He wondered what Paul would have
said and done about it, Paul who went from church to church collecting
offerings and donations for the poor from those who could ill afford it, yet
gave joyfully anyhow…Paul the great apostle himself…not his ‘lackeys’ if he had
any!
Whenever Jesus was pressed
by the multitudes he simply retired for a while…once, his disciples wanted to
act like body guards…protocol officers…and shield him from the little children
who wanted to come to him even though he was so tired, but Jesus forbade them
from doing so…he never turned anyone away…were these pastors greater than the
Lord?
“I cannot blame you for the
way you feel about the operations of the church Damilola,” began Pastor Taiwo
Abayomi gently and with a kind smile on his face.
“You have spoken a lot about
the differences you have noticed between the life style of Jesus and his
apostles and those of the pastors of the present day. You have spoken much
about the differences in the messages you read of in the Gospels and Epistles
and those coming from the pulpit and I am happy that you are such an avid
student of the Scriptures.”
“But you may not have
understood the fact that the realities of the 21st Century Church
differ greatly from those of the early Church. The kind of problems, issues and
challenges that we face in the modern world are quite different from theirs.
The early Church consisted of very simple people that didn’t have to deal with
such low levels of immorality that we have today for instance.”
“Pastors are not being
protected by protocol officers, they are simply being ushered to their next
event as quickly as possible otherwise they could stay there the whole day and
minister to people till other engagements suffer. This is the reason why we
have reception offices where people can come in and see their pastors on a one
on one basis for counselling. They didn’t need receptions in those days because
the local churches simply weren’t large enough to warrant it. Imagine a
multitude and each person in it wanting to see Jesus on the same day, surely he
couldn’t possibly attend to everyone! Would he give each of them appointments?
I don’t think so; church wasn’t that yet organized even in the days of the
early church.”
“It is difficult to manage
so many people who come from just as many divergent backgrounds, so we try to
find a mid-point. Some people are coming to church for the first time so we try
to make things as easy as possible for a smooth transition into the body of
Christ. We teach holiness and self-denial too, but maybe not in terms that you
would find in the bible, because language has developed…idioms of expression
have advanced far beyond that of biblical days.”
Damilola looked
uncomfortably at the floor…maybe he had misjudged them after all…maybe they
knew things in the bible that he didn’t know…maybe he shouldn’t drop his
bombshell yet…but he didn’t see any way around his broken relationship with Titi…church
doctrines or not, Titi was not the kind of woman he wanted in his life.
“Pastor, it is not merely
about the doctrines of the church, the bottom line is that Titi’s behaviour is
something I cannot live with for the rest of my life. She is very bossy, she
nags a lot and she seems to think she is somehow superior to me, so she talks
down to me like as though I was a child. I cannot accept that from a woman and
that is the real reason. It was only made much clearer by our differences of
opinion as regards the church. She likes to hold threats over me. For instance,
I wasn’t the first to broach the topic of a break up, she has been threatening
me with a break up if I didn’t conform to church doctrine and join a department
actively. These are the real reasons why I have broken up.”
“Hmmm I see…so it wasn’t
really about the church?”
“No sir”
“Did you explain these
things to her parents when they came over to see you?”
“I tried to but they kept
pleading on her behalf, and after a while things went out of control when I
refused. They left angry and even cursed me, saying that what I have done to
their daughter someone else will also do to me.”
“Hmmm…I see. Well I can’t
blame you either. I believe that one should go into marriage with the eyes wide
open and I can see that you know exactly what you want in a woman. Love does
not have to be blind. Once you have noticed faults that are irreconcilable in a
woman that you love, it is better to get out of the relationship before it is
consummated than to remain in it till you long for a divorce which will be
unacceptable by any local church. I will talk to Titi about everything you have
said and give her some advice myself. But let me ask you this; are you in love
with someone else?”
“No not at all sir” said Damilola,
quite taken aback.
“Then I am satisfied that
you are doing this for the right reasons,” said Pastor Taiwo Abayomi, standing
up to indicate that the meeting was over.
“There is just one more
thing sir” said Damilola hesitatingly.
“Yes?”
“I will be leaving the
church sir. I do not want to remain in a place where I would have to behave
like a hypocrite pretending to believe in what is taught when in fact I do
not.”
“I understand and I do
admire you for standing by your convictions. Please feel free to pop in any
time you may want to. Like I always tell people, we may disagree, but
disagreements do not signal the end of relationships.”
“Thank you sir,” responded
Damilola, taking the pastor’s hand that was offered to him in friendship.
Chapter
5
Remi
dreaded her free times in between lectures…she was never left alone by boys who
tried to look and behave mature in order to woo her…they were always coming
around and showering her with compliments which she always accepted with a
‘thank you’ and a smile.
But
then they always wanted more…they wanted to take her out on dates and that was
her cue to decline. She couldn’t afford any relationships yet…at least not
until she was done with Dr Adekoya…she couldn’t risk him knowing about any
boyfriend and quite often he ‘played’ with her phone, presumably listening to
her choice of music…but she jolly well knew what he was looking for and he would
never find a boy’s number on her phone.
“So
how are you doing today?” asked Seye, pulling up a chair opposite her in the cafeteria
where she had come to have lunch.
“Fine”,
responded Remi, she didn’t need any frivolous conversation today…she had things
to do and she had to get ready. The doctor was coming over to spend the night
with her and she had to prepare his favourite meal among other things.
“It’s
like you don’t want to talk to me today,” persisted Seye.
“I’m
just kind of busy today ok?” replied Remi a trifle impatiently.
Seye
shrugged, stood up and backed away.
“I
guess I came at a wrong time but no problem, there will always be other days.
See you around then.”
Remi
hissed inwardly…of all the guys that chased her on campus, this Seye guy was
the most persistent! He always wanted to speak with an affectation instead of
with his normal voice…actually they all tried to sound as though they were
born, bred and raised up in the United States…so childish!
She
opened the notebook she had closed as Seye was approaching her and continued
checking through the list of items she had to buy. To be fair to him, the
doctor was a really nice guy, but he was married and even at that, he was a
little too old for her…
She
finished her simple meal of rice and stew and downed a chilled bottle of Pepsi,
slowly she scanned the cafeteria to see if she could recognize any more of
those annoying boys…but none was in sight. She got up and left the cafeteria
keeping her head down to avoid recognition…she knew she was hot cake on this
campus…even the girls whispered about her and their envy and jealousy prevented
her from having many friends.
It
was well past 3pm as she walked briskly to the line-up of campus taxis, aware
of the ‘second glances’ being thrown her way by almost every boy that passed
her. She didn’t notice two boys following her at a distance and entering the
taxi just a few moments after her. They pretended not to know each other and
studiously avoided eye contact with her.
Yemi
and Dayo had a mission to find out where Remi lived and had trailed her to the
cafeteria and from there to the taxi park. The taxi drove off to the main gate
and unloaded its passengers.
Yemi
and Dayo walked away in the opposite direction from Remi but surreptitiously
kept observing her.
“It
looks like she is chartering a taxi, we’d better be fast, at least to hear
where she is going,” said Yemi to his accomplice.
They
crossed over quickly and moved to parallel the taxi by which she stood haggling
the price with the driver.
“Eees
very far madam, ah! We go reach almost Ajah, den I go carry you inside estate
again.”
“Your
money too much o” pleaded Remi.
“OK
how much you wan pay last?” asked the driver.
“Na
2k I get o” said Remi.
“Madam
give me 2.5k make we go” said the driver, jumping into the taxi as though it
was a done deal.
Remi
hesitated then opened the door and stepped into the back seat.
Yemi
looked at Dayo doubtfully…
“Do
you have 2.5k?” he asked.
Dayo
shook his head disappointedly.
Together
they walked back to the main gate of the campus…they had hoped to follow Remi
home and give her just a little beating to warn her…well at least they knew how
far away she lived now…they would report back to the Confraternity…next time
would be different…they would be prepared…she had snubbed Seye, one of their
top leaders…and it wasn’t going to go away.
Yomi
Adeleye dragged the cigarette smoke deep into his lungs and followed it with a
swig of beer. The music was exhilarating and his friend ‘Dewale was rich, they
both got along well together…Yomi the son of an erstwhile pastor and ‘Dewale
the son of a business tycoon/Baptist Reverend.
They
had been childhood friends till Yomi drew away because of the smoking and
drinking habits of his friend…his father was still a pastor then and his
teachings made a continuous impact on his life, till his father resigned suddenly
and took up a job as a secondary school teacher.
That
was when Yomi slowly began to lose his faith…he couldn’t reconcile the
differences between a God who had asked his father to start the church and
brought it to this level, and a God that asked him to pull down everything he
had built…it just wasn’t right!
It
had hurt Yomi a great deal and his friend ‘Dewale had used the opportunity to
draw closer to him, for he had missed his childhood friend a lot…at first he
took him out to restaurants…then started taking him to the movies…one day while
they were at a restaurant, ‘Dewale asked permission to smoke and Yomi gave him
the go ahead…ten minutes later, Yomi was smoking again and his friend ‘Dewale
was only too glad to have his friend back.
They
had left the restaurant and headed to a joint where ‘Dewale usually killed
time, but not after Yomi had asked permission for a ‘sleep over’ with ‘Dewale
from his mother…he rarely spoke to his father these days. Literally overnight
Yomi had returned to his old ways and his childhood friend…he had lost his
faith in God…
“I’ve
never done it before” said a really frightened Precious.
Fred
stared at her aghast for a moment.
“I
don’t believe you, how can you say you’ve never made love to a boy before at
your age. You’re at least 17 years right?”
Precious
nodded…she couldn’t even tell him that she had never had a boyfriend before
him…he wouldn’t understand…her upbringing had been centred around a real God
that she had believed in…her dad had been a pastor and a wonderful teacher of
the Word…her faith had been rock solid…until her father did the unthinkable and
resigned from a church that God had told him to start in the first place.
“I
can’t do it” repeated Precious.
“Wow!”
said Fred, still flabbergasted at the piece of information he had just
received. He was used to having his way with girls easily, and for four months
he had been dating Precious…four months was way too long! Usually he took a
girl out on a date and by the third date he was already sleeping with her…but
in Precious’s case he saw something different in her.
She
was a real lady with high moral standards…she was not like any other girl he
had met before…for the first time in his life he had thought of getting serious
with her with a view to eventually marrying her…well that part hadn’t quite
crossed his mind yet…but the truth was that he felt a powerful feeling for her
that he had never felt for any girl before…this wasn’t just lust…this could
only be love…
“Okay,
I really understand…we’ll take it at your own pace…I won’t rush you…but I want
you to know that I really love you.”
“Hmmm
isn’t that what all boys say when they want to get a girl in bed?” scoffed
Precious.
“No
seriously,” said Fred, drawing closer to her…they were in a restaurant and
almost alone for it was just barely past noon on a Saturday.
“I
meant what I said. Of all the girls I’ve dated before, you’re just different.”
“Really?”
said Precious, it came to her at once that she was dating a prolific
womanizer…one who was a bad choice for a first boyfriend…at least she knew
now…he had played himself unwittingly into her hands…she would have to break up
as soon and as nicely as possible.
She
wanted to be taken out and enjoy herself…enjoy the worldly things she had
denied herself of for so long because of her vibrant faith…she wondered now at
how she had been able to cope…she had been so ‘otherworldly’ then…always poring
over books and the bible…trying to get deep revelations just like her dad then.
Even
now, she could enjoy a little alcohol and a cigarette or two…but she would
never give her body to any man until marriage…at least that part of her
upbringing still remained firmly in place…
“I
want to go home” she said suddenly.
“Hey
I hope I haven’t offended you Precious?”
“Not
at all, I just have things to do at home.”
“So
when will I see you again?” asked Fred anxiously.
“Never!”
said Precious as she picked up her bag.
“I
am not a ‘left over’, so I don’t date men who already have a line of girls
under their belt!” she said very coldly, and walked out.
The
cold anger and disgust that had arisen in her suddenly began to melt away and
relief took its place…it would be a long time before she took her friend’s
advice again and date another boy…
Chapter
6
Pastor
Abayomi sat up on his bed and smiled weakly at his two sons. He had summoned
them for a heart to heart chat. They had chairs brought in and sat directly in
front of him, eager to hear from their dad.
“How
do you feel now dad?” asked Taiwo anxiously…a summoning from a very sickly
father might mean…but he didn’t want to think of that…quietly in his mind he
rejected the thought and bound the spirit of death.
“I’m
fine, not as strong as I ought to be though”, replied their father.
“I
called you here to discuss some things that have been on my mind lately”,
continued Pastor Abayomi.
Taiwo
and Kehinde exchanged worried looks. They hoped it wasn’t what they were
thinking…
“A
man can make several mistakes in life, but the moment he realizes them and
starts to make changes, those acts of making changes is called repentance, but
I’m sure you know that already,” he paused for a while.
“Only
two things matter in our Christian walk; are we walking on the path of life or
the path of death”.
“Dad
what exactly are you trying to tell us,” said Kehinde fearfully, unable to take
anymore.
Pastor
Abayomi smiled and patted them both on their backs.
“I’m
trying to tell you about the biggest mistake of my life. It was in establishing
Rising Star Church.”
There
was silence for a while as both Kehinde and Taiwo stared at him in astonishment.
Dr
Adekoya knew there was still hope of at least slowing down the spread of the
cancer eating away at Pastor Abayomi’s colon, but how to put it across to his
sons without it looking like he was supporting their mother. After all, they
were the ones paying his huge retainer fee that ran into millions every month.
He
joined them in their home for every family prayer meeting they had…it was
necessary for him so as to show solidarity of faith. Still as a medical doctor
he needed to put all the cards on the table.
At
length he decided that Pastor Taiwo might be the more approachable of the two.
As he sat in Pastor Taiwo’s living room, he couldn’t help but wonder how he had
risen so fast in life.
He
had started out as a fresh graduate medical doctor in a small hospital until he
had joined Rising Star Church where he had heard of a job vacancy as resident
doctor in a new hospital that the church had just established. He had been
smart enough to book an appointment with Pastor Taiwo and earnestly ask for the
job.
Pastor
Taiwo always had a soft spot for those he perceived to be the downtrodden and
had instantly agreed to give him a chance. Over and above other previously
submitted applications, Pastor Taiwo had given him the job.
To
show his appreciation, he had become one of the most committed members of the
church, serving in any capacity given to him and as the years went by and the
hospital expanded and had several branches, he found himself becoming the Group
Medical Director of Rising Star Hospitals.
That
was when he began to think smart and play his cards well…he had bought land and
quietly started building his own hospital.
Then
Pastor Abayomi Snr had asked his advice concerning having a family doctor that
would come to the house to attend to his family personally, to which Dr Adekoya
had readily offered his services.
Pastor
Abayomi mistook his offer for humility coming from a Group Medical Director and
immediately accepted and gave him a retainer ship worth N300, 000 monthly at
that time, in addition to his salary as Group Medical Director.
The
rest was history…he ingratiated himself into the family and became a regular
visitor in the home coming and going as he pleased.
Today
he was the Group Medical Director of By His Stripes Hospitals…his own group of
hospitals, and still personal physician to the Abayomi family.
He
had invested his accumulated wealth wisely and had not let on even to his wife
just how much he was worth…as far as his wife was concerned, his only business
was his group of hospitals…but Dr Adekoya had far much more than that…
Pastor
Taiwo cleared his throat as he came down the stairs to attend to his visitor.
“Good
morning Pastor,” said Dr Adekoya rising to his feet immediately.
“Good
morning doctor, please sit sir,” said the pastor after a warm handshake and a
beaming smile. Pastor Taiwo liked Dr Adekoya to a fault and did not refrain
from showing it.
“How
is your wife?” asked pastor Taiwo, acutely aware that the couple still were
childless after 7 years of marriage.
“Oh
she’s fine. She sends her regards.”
Pastor
Taiwo leaned back in his seat waiting for the doctor to broach the subject for
which he was visiting.
“Pastor
I’m here because I think that as both a medical doctor and a believer I have a
fairly balanced approach to things when it comes to sicknesses. I know that as
a pastor you know far more than I concerning the spiritual side of things and
how sickness is first spiritual before it can become physical as you have often
taught us. But in the case of your father, I would like to suggest that you
heed your mother’s advice and let both prayers and treatment run side by side.
The reason is that the treatment will help in no small measure to slow down the
spread of the cancer and enable enough time for the prayers to begin to have an
effect.”
Pastor
Taiwo stared thoughtfully at the floor for a while…
“Thanks
for your concern doctor. Incidentally, it is actually our father’s decision not
to go for treatment, but just to rely on the healing of God by faith. Between
you and I, just yesterday my brother and I had another long chat with him in
which he was still insisting on God’s ability to heal him and we are standing
with him in faith. Our mother is not in agreement, but if that is what our
father wants then we will stand with him and by him.”
Dr
Adekoya sighed inwardly with relief…at least he had played his part as a
medical doctor and warned them of the consequences of ignoring medical
treatment. He would not be blamed therefore if their faith did not work.
“Then
I am glad sir,” he said, getting up to his feet.
“I
will join my faith with yours, knowing now that God’s hand is in this.”
“Thank
you so much doctor,” said Pastor Taiwo as he shut the car door and watched him
drive off.
Dr
Adekoya wasn’t part of the family so he didn’t need to know the whole truth…the
truth that his father had thrown himself on the mercy of God rather than seek
for medical help. His father’s argument had been that if truly God had forgiven
him for going against his instructions back then not to establish a church but
rather a fellowship, then God would heal him…and with the miraculous healing he
could go the church and tell them the whole truth…that Rising Star Church had
never been meant to be…
That
had been their father’s confession to them yesterday and Taiwo was still
reeling in shock.
Their
father had deliberately disobeyed God’s explicit instructions to start a home
fellowship and instead, because he had the money, had started up a church.
God’s instructions to him had been clear enough…he was to build according to
the pattern of the early church…believers meeting in each other’s homes.
Pastor
Abayomi had indeed started like this, but when the fellowship had started
spreading wildly, he had conceived the idea of a church to bring them all
together…he had done this without consulting God.
Now
he was mandating his children to do what he could no longer do…to dissolve the
church, since he was now completely bedridden and could not come to church
himself to do it.
He
had even requested for a recording of himself confessing to the church about
his disobedience and conveying God’s instructions. According to him, it could
be the only way for him to receive God’s miraculous intervention concerning his
health.
But
both his sons had been against the idea…they couldn’t bear for the church to
see their father in his pitiful condition…a once vibrant, strong pastor, full
of faith now reduced to a shadow of himself…no…it might be too much to bear for
the church.
They
could lose their faith in God like that, Kehinde had said and Taiwo had agreed
with him. They had eventually concluded that they would call a meeting of the
most trusted of all the elders and break the news to them. In that way, at
least some of the leadership of the church would be aware of the confession and
God’s original instructions to Pastor Abayomi. Then they could begin a series
of intercessory prayer meetings on behalf of their father.
So
far, both Taiwo and Kehinde had not yet agreed as to who among the church
elders should be made privy to the sensitive information they had and they were
running out of time…
Chapter
7
Titi’s brother Gbenga,
stretched his huge frame across the settee and stared at the ceiling
thoughtfully.
“But I don’t want it to be
you,” Titi was saying.
“I could mask my face,”
countered Gbenga.
“He would still recognize
your frame,” returned Titi.
“Does it really matter?” asked
Gbenga sitting up in annoyance.
He
was a body builder and a professional bouncer at an exclusive night club. He
was the black sheep of the family and his parents could no longer control the
twenty five year old big boy. He lived alone in his own two bedroom apartment
and made a lot of money at his SPA during the day and ‘bouncing’ at night
clubs.
“I’m
worried that he would identify you and then report to the police, I don’t want
to get you into trouble. Besides, if mum and dad got to know about it, they
would feel that I put you up to it and I still live with them, dad would make
things hot for me.”
“You
worry too much Titi! You should know that I just can’t allow anyone to jilt my
sister and get away scot free! As to dad and mum getting angry…so what? They
can’t beat you at this age! But if you are still scared, don’t worry I will get
some of my buddies to do the job. In any case if I did it myself I would
probably let my anger get in the way and overdo it…maim him most likely.”
“Exactly!
I don’t want him permanently injured, I just want a little revenge…just a
little beating, but he is not to know that it is from me.”
“No
worries, so when do you want it to happen and where?”
Titi
frowned in concentration and pursed her lips as she thought it through…
“I
want it to happen in his house and I want it at a weekend.”
“You
got it! Anyone who messes with my baby sister messes with me.”
“Just
don’t injure him too much please Gbenga, tell your friends, I’m almost even
regretting it now.”
They
held their meetings inside a bush on the outskirts of the university…but this
was a top level meeting and the only low level members that were there were
Yemi and Dayo…
“What
were you thinking that you didn’t take any money with you? You were supposed to
follow her home and you went empty handed?” asked Kokonsari a belligerent
looking fellow that held tightly to a bottle of Ogogoro – (some kind of native gin).
“For
that, lie down and receive 3 strokes each!” commanded Tarkwar who seemed to be
the highest authority for he sat in the centre between Konkonsari and Seye.
Kokonsari
himself rose up to administer the punishment…the two prostrate figures didn’t
dare scream out loud as the strokes fell.
“You
would have been punished more severely but Seye the Commandant begged for you.
You have one more chance. You will follow her home tomorrow and you will
administer 6 strokes of the cane to her behind as you yourselves have just
received, then leave this message:
No
one defies the Confraternity and gets away scot free; she has one last chance
to accept the boyfriend chosen for her by the Confraternity or face the
consequences for her disobedience. Do I make myself clear? The name of the
Confraternity must never be mentioned.”
“Yes
sir,” responded the ordinary members with subdued voices…they had only recently
joined the confraternity…a Confraternity that had over 50 members as far as
they could see…their initiation had been fearful and bloody…but they were glad
they had joined…they received a lot of free booze and cigarettes and sometimes
even free food. They wondered how the Confraternity managed it.
They
stumbled out painfully from the bush, making sure no one spotted them; but
there was no need to fear, it was an isolated area.
“Let
‘Dewale supply them with enough funds tomorrow,” said Tarkwar.
Seye
nodded his head.
“So
what’s the position with ‘Dewale and his friend?” asked Kokonsari.
“The
friend is not quite ready yet to be brought in. ‘Dewale says he needs more
time.”
“Do
we really need this guy?” asked Seye taking a drag from a hefty roll of
marijuana.
“We
do o! He comes from a wealthy family, although the wealth is not as much as
before. His father was the one in the news a few years ago who resigned his
appointment from the church he had established. He was one of the richest
pastors back then. I’m sure he probably has a lot of investments.”
“OK.
We could do with a few more rich members, we may be stressing ‘Dewale too
much,” said Seye.
“Yeah
I agree,” Tarkwar nodded.
They
smoked and drank steadily as the fading rays of the sun passed over the
horizon.
Mr
Adeleye (for he had dropped his pastoral title) pondered on how he could
reunite his family back together with him…it was a problem that was always on
his mind, but as the weeks passed, he grew more desperate…he sensed his
children drifting back into the world…once he thought he had caught a whiff of
cigarette smoke as his son Yomi breezed past him.
He
was gradually building up courage to speak to his wife privately…but he knew
his wife still hurt and was filled with anger…all her friends in higher social
circles had deserted her…she felt scorned, shunned and humiliated…she too had
therefore had no choice but to retreat into her shell…she rarely went out these
days except to the nearby supermarket to buy provisions. She had grown a little
fat and dumpy.
The
children were out and his wife was watching TV…it was all she did these days…a
woman that once abhorred TV watching…his family had truly fallen and he was to
blame!
He
summoned up courage to go to her in the living room and sit on the chair
besides hers, but she ignored him completely. Mr Abayomi became confused…yet he
had prayed before coming out to her…
“I
wanted to talk with you,” he began.
“Talk
about what,” she responded coldly at length.
Mr
Abayomi licked his lips wondering how best to broach the subject…he hadn’t
really thought this through at all…he asked the Holy Spirit to give him wisdom
to speak…
“Do
you still believe in God?” he asked tentatively.
“What
sort of question is that? Please if you don’t have anything better to talk
about just leave me alone!”
“I’m
sorry…I just feel bad watching my family fall to pieces. The children do what
they want…they don’t talk to me anymore…they don’t even talk to you as before
except to ask about their food…you and I live in the same house but we are like
strangers to each other…how long will we continue like this? We are destroying
ourselves slowly…I know I am to blame and that is why I’m reaching out to
you…if I can win you back then together we can win back our children.”
Mrs
Abayomi stared steadfastly at the TV…she was determined to make him pay for all
the years of humiliation and shame she and her children had had to go through.
Did he think he could just walk back into their lives just like that with a
simple apology? Apologies didn’t take
away hurt and shame!
“Listen
to me. Whatever reconciliation you want to do is coming too late and is not
appreciated. After two or three years you now want to reconcile?”
“I
tried several times before but it just didn’t work.”
“And
what makes you think it will work now? Please let me enjoy the movie I’m
watching ok?”
“Do
you still love me?”
“Why
do you ask?” she answered angrily.
“Because
in spite of everything I still love you, I know that a lot of water has passed
under the bridge but I can still make amends.”
“Really,
And just how do you hope to do that?” she asked sarcastically.
“
Well I know that if we started praying together as a family God can still
restore us and the wealth that we seem to have lost will come back just as
Job’s wealth came back many times more than what he had before.”
“Right
now, prayer is not one of my concerns.”
“What
if I told you that Yomi has started smoking?”
She
turned to him suddenly…he had her attention now.
“How
do you know that?”
“He
passed by me yesterday on his way upstairs and I smelt a whiff of cigarette
smoke…at first I thought I was imagining things but as soon as he went
upstairs, I climbed a few stairs and the smell was unmistakable.”
She
sat silently for a while, wondering how she had never suspected anything…what
if her daughter had also been getting herself into immoral things like sleeping
around with men? She should have seen this coming! She berated herself.
“So
what do we do now?” she asked quietly bowing her head as she switched off the
TV.
Mr
Abayomi breathed a prayer of gratitude to God for helping him break through to
his wife.
Chapter
8
Remi
didn’t like the fact that she had failed the test…she suspected it was because
she had snubbed the advances of her lecturer, but she consoled herself with the
fact that in a few more months she wouldn’t even need a certificate.
She
was quite proud of the two houses she had finished building and leased out to a
company for three years. Already she had bought more land though not in the
same place as she had hoped, but what did it matter? As long as she built
houses, she had good investments…she had deliberately refrained from buying a
car though she could well afford it…it would attract too much attention to her…
The
doctor had called to cancel his weekly appointment with her for this week…he
had been extremely busy but would make it up to her next week for two days.
She
took her plate to the kitchen and started washing up, singing softly under her
breath…she had the whole night to herself and began to think of a good movie to
watch…she had just been buying them up but had never had time to watch any…well
tonight was as good a time as any.
The
traffic had been really heavy and she hadn’t arrived home till after 7pm.
There
was a knock at the door…that was odd…she wasn’t expecting anyone…
“Who
is it?” she asked cautiously as she approached the door.
“Ayo”
said a muffled voice from outside.
Ayo
was one of her course mates…a quiet, gentle type…what was he doing here at this
time of the night and how did he know her place?
“Ayo,
what are you doing here at this time and how did you-“ she didn’t get any
farther as the two masked men for whom she had opened the door pushed her back
into the living room. One immediately began gagging her mouth while the other
locked the door and brandished a long knife.
“If
you so much as make a sound, I’ll cut that pretty face of yours to shreds…do
you understand?”
Remi
nodded, her legs buckling under her out of shock. Together the two men dragged
her into a bedroom they spotted and shoved her on the bed.
“This
is nothing personal,” one said in a guttural voice in true Hollywood style.
“We
are only here to deliver a message…you will not be hurt if you behave yourself.
I will remove the gag now but it won’t take me one minute to stab you if you
even make a sound. Do I make myself clear?”
Remi
nodded again, her eyes brimming with tears as a cold clammy fear began sweeping
through her body like a chill.
“You
have been snubbing one of the leaders of our Confraternity”
“Who,
Please I don’t understand!” stammered Remi trembling uncontrollably.
“Maybe
I did it out of ignorance, I’m sorry…can I still make amends? Please!”
“Tie
her hands behind her back,” ordered the taller of the two men.
As
Remi began to weep, she was gagged again and turned over on her stomach.
“He
will come to you again, but this is just a warning…if you snub him again you
will face very severe consequences. You have been chosen by the Confraternity
to be his girlfriend.”
The
taller masked man removed his belt and lashed out at Remi.
Pastor
Abayomi Snr lay on the bed and ruminated on his past…how he regretted
disobeying God’s Will! How different it had been with his friend whom he had
strenuously tried to convince ‘not to destroy a good thing’…but the good pastor
had gone ahead and obeyed God’s will…true, his life materially appeared to be
in shambles…but at least he was still in the Will of God, unlike him.
Money
corrupted people…he knew that now…it made them so contented they forgot about
God…well not entirely...they would lost their fervency and simply become
lukewarm Christians because there was so much money could do…it was such a huge
distraction…money!
He
would have sent for his friend but had learnt that he was struggling to keep his
family together…still maybe he should send for him, considering this was a life
threatening situation…his friend may have some counsel for him or even a word
from the Lord since he was still in the Will of God.
At
the slightest opportunity he would ask one of his sons to speak on his behalf
to Pastor Adeleye his friend of over two decades…perhaps he could be persuaded
to come and visit him…
It
was her friend’s birthday bash and she had to be there…it was a way to pacify
her for ditching the boyfriend she had gone into so much trouble to arrange for
her…Tola was her best friend and she needed her…she could confide in her and
best of all, Tola was exceptionally brilliant. Precious knew she couldn’t be
getting the kind of grades she was getting were it not for the time she spent
studying with Tola…now Tola was angry with her for ditching Fred.
Precious
had forced her mother to give her money from her failing supermarket to buy a
birthday gift for her best friend in hopes that she would be forgiven…she
depended a lot on Tola for many things.
It
was almost midnight and the party was still rocking…she knew she had taken too
much alcohol but only because Tola kept refilling her glass with wine and how
could she refuse? She was only too happy to have her best friend back
again…perhaps closer than ever, for Tola dragged her everywhere she went in the
party to introduce her ‘best friend’ to literally everyone.
Suddenly
Fred loomed before her beaming at her…he took her by the hand and she giggled
like a silly girl as he wound his way out of the back door. Precious glanced
behind her wondering where she had left Tola, but the alcohol haze was too much
for her to care…all she wanted to do was sleep.
She
felt Fred’s hot kiss upon her lips and suddenly warning bells began ringing in
her head…she gave him a half-hearted slap and stumbled back towards what she
perceived was the backdoor…but Fred loomed in front of her again and carried
her.
“Where
are you taking me? Put me down!” she slurred…but she was fast losing
consciousness.
Fred
lay her down somewhere soft…she smelt flowers as he began fondling her…that was
when she became aware of an intense scuffle somewhere around her…someone seemed
to be raining blows on Fred and people had started coming out of the party to
intervene…
Someone
was yelling her name…his voice sounded so familiar…then lots of cold water was
splashed on her face and her blurred vision cleared up instantly…she saw Fred
walking away with a bloodied mouth…then she saw her brother Yomi standing over
her and breathing heavily…Precious passed out.
Chapter
9
There
were questions that were being asked in church…members of the church had begun
expressing anxiety…even fear at what could be happening to their ‘father in the
lord’ as they fondly called Pastor Abayomi Snr.
As
Pastor Kehinde Abayomi mounted the huge stage, he knew he had to address those
concerns as he had discussed previously with his twin brother. Two protocol
officers stationed themselves behind him as he began to speak.
Pastor
Taiwo Abayomi looked at him thoughtfully…maybe Damilola Olotu had been
right…after all, the two protocol officers that stationed themselves behind
preaching pastors were not there to ‘usher them to another event’…they appeared
to be standing on ‘bodyguard’ duties…he would make sure that stopped whenever
he wanted to preach…he might even broach the matter with his brother.
“Our
father in the lord – Senior Pastor Abayomi sends his greetings. As you well
know, he has been indisposed for a quite a long time, but prayers are going on
round the clock for his healing. He wants me to tell you that he covets your
prayers and that not too long from now, you will see the manifestation of your
prayers.”
“Amen!”
chorused the church in a deafening response.
Titi
scanned the church looking for Damilola, but she couldn’t find him…her brother
had come home a few nights ago to tell her the deed had been done…he had taken
his friends to Damilola’s house and unfortunately against his initial wishes,
had got involved in the beating…they left him half conscious and bloodied. They
had made sure his phone was placed beside him so he could call for help.
Titi
had felt pangs of regret that night and was sorely tempted to call him that
night but that would have implicated her as well as her brother…Damilola would
have known instantly that she was behind the attack…so she wallowed helplessly
in her remorse and pain…why couldn’t she have just let it go! She had thought
she would feel satisfaction from her revenge but there was only pain and
regret…she began to wonder about her Christian life…was she indeed a real
Christian…how could she go back to God and ask for forgiveness for something as
evil and deliberate as this?
“My
text this morning is taken from Rom 12:20 - Therefore
if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing
thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Titi’s
head reeled…God was going to punish her! This was a message directed at her and
Pastor Kehinde obviously didn’t know what had happened, but God had directed
him to preach this message because of her! Titi began to weep softly…she was
frightened at the judgment that would soon come upon her…
“Enemies
in the modern world are not people who come at you with swords or bows and
arrows…they are simply people who hold opposite views from yours…people you
have quarrelled with and have decided to keep bearing malice with…people you do
not like for one reason or the other….people who have hurt you and you are not
willing to forgive…these are your enemies…but God says to do the opposite of
what human nature would naturally do…instead of pushing them away, feed
them…meet their needs as much as you can…instead of sending them away give them
something to drink…satisfy them with whatever they ask of you without
contravening the laws of God…”
Titi
wasn’t listening anymore…she knew what she had to do…she had to go and look for
Damilola and find out just how badly he was hurt…she had to take care of him
without necessarily implicating herself…she could say she heard he had been
attacked…but where could she have gotten the information from? Better still,
she could go to his house and say she came to apologise for her unacceptable
behaviour then she could feign surprise at seeing him wounded….Titi slipped out
of the choir stand…she whispered into the music director’s ear that she wasn’t
feeling too well and had to go home…the music director nodded and whispered
something back.
Dr
Adekoya waited impatiently for the Service to end…he knew he had a Building
Committee meeting right afterwards and had been trying to find a way to boycott
it…but as chairman it seemed impossible…he would have to give his wife some
excuse and come home late…he just had to see Remi today…it had been two weeks
already! His wife always complained of tiredness, so he had to relieve himself
somehow…but really he knew that was no excuse…his wife couldn’t even begin to
know the kind of pleasure he derived from Remi…
As
long as he kept her supplied with money, she never missed him…she always played
the part of a dutiful wife to the hilt whenever she was around people…wanting
to hold his arm…leaning on his shoulder…the whole works…yet in bed at night she
would feign tiredness or pretend to sleep…it was no wonder they didn’t have
children…not that he cared…he wasn’t the ‘fatherly’ type of person anyway and
besides, he had too many responsibilities and cares to look after…
His
mind suddenly recalled a scripture from a parable Jesus had taught…something
about the Sower who sowed seed and some fell on stony ground and thorny ground,
but the seed was choked up because of the cares of this world…yeah that would
be him…he knew that one day he would fully surrender his heart and life to
Christ…but for now…there were too many things occupying his mind…and too many
pleasures to enjoy…
“I
can’t come home with you” he said to his wife beside him.
“I
know, the usual building committee meeting abi?”
“Yes,
but after that, I need to go to the hospital at Ikeja…the resident doctor there
is having a difficult time diagnosing a disease in a new patient.”
“Oh,
ok…but you will please be careful right? I mean you will take precautions and
not get yourself infected…like it might be some new virus like Ebola?” she said
anxiously as she patted and rubbed his back lovingly.
Dr
Adekoya laughed and gave her a peck on the cheek…he knew she always loved that
kind of thing in public.
“What
should I prepare for you dear?” asked Mrs Adekoya, as though she ever prepared
any food in the house…what were the house maids there for?
“I
will send someone for food, don’t worry, I just hope I won’t need to sleep
over,” he hinted, planting a seed in her heart already, so that when the time
came he could call her and let her know he wouldn’t be coming back tonight.
“So
how will you get there since we brought only one car?”
“You
can drive yourself home can’t you?” asked Dr Adekoya.
“Sure,”
“Then
let me send Segun home for another car so that by the time he gets here we
should be rounding up the Building Committee meeting.”
“Okay
dear,” replied his wife returning the peck as she stood up, waving at a friend
she had spotted a few rows ahead…she would go and spend some time ‘gisting’
before she finally went home…it was the same routine every Sunday…
Dr
Adekoya breathed a sigh of relief…that had gone well…now he was free to spend
the night with Remi. By now she must have recovered from the beating she had
received almost two weeks ago.
She
had called him on the phone and he had immediately sent an ambulance for her
and brought her straight to his hospital and attended to her personally,
claiming she was his niece to his junior doctors.
After
her discharge the following day, he had booked an exclusive hotel for her and
assigned a car and driver to take her to school and back to the hotel for three
whole days…it could have been more, but she had told him she was fully
recovered and would like to go back home.
Dr
Adekoya had promised to get to the bottom of the matter and inform the police
about it…he had some clout with the police and knew that they would soon fish
out the culprits…fortunately, she had mentioned the name of the one guy she
could think of…one Seye, a course mate of hers…that was a good place to
start…if he was in a cult then he was the most likely suspect…but then the
police always had ways of extracting information from suspects and they usually
didn’t fail…
Chapter
10
For
the first time in two years, the Adeleye family were gathered together in their
living room for a family meeting. The previous night, Mr Adeleye had knelt
before his wife in their bedroom and asked her forgiveness. She was already in
tears as a result of what could have happened to their daughter Precious but
for the quick intervention of her father and brother.
Precious
was supposed to have arrived back home not later than 8pm according to her mum,
but when she didn’t, her mother immediately reported to her dad. Mr Adeleye had
asked Yomi to call Precious’ best friend to find out what was going on, but
Tola – Precious’ best friend appeared to be a little drunk…she wasn’t coherent
and kept giggling on the phone.
Yomi
knew her house so he and his father had driven there with great speed and were
just in time to prevent Fred from having his way with Precious. Yomi had made
short work of Fred in his anger and had carried Precious on his broad and muscular
shoulders back to the car.
As
Mr Adeleye knelt before his wife, she too had knelt down also, asking for his
forgiveness…all she had cared for was the material possessions, money, position
and status in life that she was giving up…she hadn’t cared about God’s Will…she
knew that her husband was probably right…which man in his right senses would
deliberately give up so much material wealth and possessions unless under
strong conviction from God?
They
had cried on each other’s shoulders, then made up and made love. Afterwards
they had planned far into the night how they would bring their family together
again and return back to God…that was their first priority…God would then take
care of the rest of their needs and problems.
“I
hope he didn’t have a chance to tamper with you?” Mr Adeleye asked his daughter
anxiously by way of starting off the meeting.
“No
dad, Yomi got there on time,” replied Precious…she sat awkwardly, wringing her
fingers, not knowing what was coming next…somehow dad and mum had gotten back
together again…something was going on…something good she hoped…still, she had
to be reprimanded for drinking alcohol…or wasn’t that what this meeting was all
about?
Yomi
flexed his huge muscles that rippled underneath his Tee shirt…he didn’t know
what dad was up to yet…but the fact that he was ready to race to the rescue of
his sister without anger or bitterness at the cold treatment he had been
receiving from them for two whole years meant something to him…he at least
deserved to be heard today…
“I called
for this meeting to make amends…to beg your forgiveness for taking you out so
unceremoniously from the comfortable life you were used to…I didn’t understand
then the shame and stigma that would follow you and do irreparable damage to
your self-esteem, your mind set and your faith most particularly.”
“I
only thought of obeying God’s Will and even at that, I ought to have asked for
his wisdom in carrying out his instructions, but I didn’t…I just thought I
should resign immediately and that was all.”
“During
these past couple of years, I have had ample time to commune with God and find
out where I went wrong…I now know that I could have left more honourably than I
did if I had exercised wisdom…I now know that we could have been better off
than we are now if I had exercised wisdom. It is one thing to obey God, but it
is quite another thing to obey him using His wisdom and according to his times
and seasons…if I had waited on God long enough, I would have known that God
wanted me to prepare my family first before resigning…to put things in place so
that their still growing tender faith would not be damaged…that…” Mr Adeleye’s
voice faltered…suddenly he began weeping quietly.
He
stood up to leave the room, not wanting his family to see him break down utterly…but
Precious intercepted him, throwing herself into his arms…weeping profusely.
“Oh
daddy, my daddy!” was all she could repeat.
Mrs
Adeleye also stood up to comfort her husband and this was Yomi’s cue to stand
up too…he wasn’t as emotional as his sister…but at least he understood things
better now…man was not infallible…his father had made a terrible
mistake…yes…but hadn’t he too made terrible mistakes with his life…like going
back into the world? Did his dad not deserve another chance with his family?
Yomi
moved suddenly towards his dad…slowly some kind of emotion that he wasn’t used
to was threatening to overcome him…Precious still clung to her dad, half in his
arms and half off the floor as Yomi knelt before his father his eyes brimming
with tears.
“Forgive
us father,” was all he could say before the dam burst.
Half
an hour later, the Adeleye family were repenting and praying, asking God for a
new lease of life for the family…re-consecrating their lives to him…mourning
for sins with profuse tears of repentance.
Precious
seemed the hardest hit of them all…she couldn’t stop crying even when everyone
else had stopped praying…she sat on her father’s laps and he cradled her head
in his arms softly crooning to her.
Mrs
Adeleye wrapped her arms around her son and spoke to him softly about how
things would begin to change from now on…how God was going to restore them and
heal their hurting…
It
was a glorious breakfast they had that morning for Mrs Adeleye pulled out all
the stops as she raided her supermarket for everything that was edible.
“The
restoration and forgiveness of God is worth to me more than a thousand
supermarkets,” she had remarked as she came back with Precious, laden with
things, when she saw the amazement written on the faces of her husband and son.
“Dad
are we going back to church or what do we do now?” asked Yomi at table as he
helped himself to some more Frankfurters and eggs.
“No
son, we cannot return…the reason why God asked us to leave in the first place is
because every large church at some point in time begins to rely consciously or
unconsciously on organisation…structures put in place for the smooth running of
things…and slowly, the power and authority of the Holy Spirit is being eroded,
because the traditions of men who may be sincere but sincerely wrong, are
taking over. Mega churches have never been God’s pattern for the Body of Christ…the
family is…and I almost lost mine completely out of ignorance.”
“Then
what about that scripture in Ephesians that talks about the gifts of the
Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher and Evangelist…how will that apply if we do
not have large enough churches to accommodate such gifts to the Body of Christ?”
“We
must not spoil your mother’s perfectly good breakfast with questions,” laughed
their father.
“Then
we must talk about it right after breakfast dad… I’ve missed your teaching”
said Yomi staring affectionately at his dad…
Mr
Abayomi looked at him fondly and then at his sister…”I’ve missed my whole family,”
he said quietly.
Chapter
11
Mrs
Adekoya finished handing out instructions to her serving maids…today was a big
day for her. She was hosting her monthly Thanksgiving Party and she had themed
it GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
Her
cousin’s catering service staff were all over the place, canopies littered the
vast compound and as usual her husband was nowhere to be seen…he hated her
parties, he was too introverted for her liking…but she couldn’t change her
nature she supposed…she had asked God for a quiet loving and wealthy man and
that is what we got…well the wealthy part didn’t come till much later…still, he
was such a charming man who never seemed to get angry…just the occasional
expression of annoyance when things didn’t go his way.
She
didn’t have to work thank goodness, nor did she have the slightest inclination
to start a business or anything like that; but she did have projects that she
occupied herself with such as visiting motherless babies’ homes monthly to
distribute gifts and donations…but her pet project was the Orphanage which she
had started…she believed in charitable programs, for she always remembered her
humble beginnings.
She
herself had been an orphan adopted by a middle class family and brought to
Lagos from Ibadan.
She
hated seeing poor people in distress and every Sunday evening, scores of people
gathered in front of her gates for money to purchase a meal. Her husband had
warned her that it was a security risk that could attract armed robbers to
their home, but she had ignored his warning.
Her
PA had been assigned the task of distributing the funds, but Mrs Adekoya
watched her very carefully unnoticed from her bedroom window to see to it that
the money was actually disbursed.
She
saw her husband getting into his car and driving off…she felt guilty every time
she saw him driving off…they hadn’t made love for several weeks now and the
last time they did, she remembered she actually slept off on him…yet he had not
complained…
She
had often wondered if he just didn’t like making love or he just didn’t like
bothering her for fear of her reactions which were usually irritable…but now
that she thought about it…what if he was satisfying himself somewhere else…but
she dismissed the thought immediately…for one thing, he was too busy, and for
another thing he held a highly respectable position among the elders of the
Church…she knew her husband, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the trust of
the church.
The
Building Committee meeting had been postponed till later that evening because
the pastors had called for an Elders Meeting…it was to the Building Committee
meeting he was headed for now…at least she was sure of where he would be now…
She
turned slowly from the window and went to sit on the bed…two years into their
marriage she had begun to get very jittery when she children hadn’t started
coming, but he had assured her that he loved her unconditionally with or
without children…
She
had had two abortions before they had met and she knew somehow deep in her
heart that the abortions were the reason why she could possibly never have
children…
Even
if he was satisfying himself somewhere else…how could she blame him…she blamed
herself and her irresponsible life style of the past…that was why she felt she
needed to make up for it with lots of charity work especially towards
children…for hadn’t she murdered two of her own before they were born?
It
didn’t take the police very long before the extracted the truth…the whole truth
from Seye Makinde…he had been behind the beating of Remi Daramola…all that was
left was to get the whole truth about the cult and names of all the members…so
torture began...
Seye’s parents had gone to Dr Adekoya’s
hospital after prevailing on Remi to give him the name of the person behind
their son’s arrest, and grovelled at his feet with tears…his mother had rolled
to and fro on the ground much to the doctor’s consternation till the doctor
could not but have compassion on them…if their son could only mention the names
of all the members of the cult, especially their top leaders, and write a
confessional statement, he would get the police to release him immediately…
In
less than two hours the parents had prevailed on their son to give out the
names and so his release had been secured. Swiftly they whisked him out of the
state to their village where they could lick their wounds and plan for their
son’s future; for he had been rusticated from the university along with the
other cult members…they had made big news.
Dr
Adekoya was now beginning to realize he had made a terrible mistake…for now
that the scandal was public…the question on everyone’s lips would be…what was
his relationship with Remi Daramola in the first place?
He
paced up and down his large office trying to think of a solution…then the call
came in…it was Remi!
“Hi
dear,” she said in her usual quiet voice.
“I
told the journalists that I have visited your hospital several times for
treatment before and that was where I copied down the phone numbers of doctors
in the hospital…and that I just called one at random and it happened to be
yours…they seemed satisfied.”
“Really?
You did all of that for me?” asked the doctor collapsing on the sofa with
relief.
“Yeah,
but it’s up to you to get your doctors and nurses to corroborate my story
because they are sure to come over to confirm my story.”
“Leave
that to me…can I ask you a question Remi?”
“Sure”
“I
know that this whole thing was an arrangement…to satisfy my pleasures…but for a
long time now I’ve had feelings for you that I cannot explain…do you have
similar feelings for me?”
“Hmmm…let’s
just say…what you did for me after the beating I got when I called you…it made
me see you in another light…I felt that you truly cared for me…you really
pulled out all the stops like I was your own daughter or something, and you
wouldn’t have stopped if I hadn’t put my foot down…I guess that counted for
something…I knew immediately that you would be in deep trouble with your
wife…with your church…with society in general if I didn’t do something…I don’t
know if I have feelings for you a married man…all I know is that you are a good
man…and you’ve been good to me…and one good turn deserves another.”
After
the phone call, Remi looked around her new apartment…the doctor had relocated
her to another apartment but still in the same estate…this one was even bigger…he
had said it was for security reasons…he had also assigned a taxi driver to her
to take her to school and bring her back every day.
She
stared at the CCTV cameras that she had packed into boxes, for she was still
unpacking…she had destroyed all the evidence she had hoped to use to blackmail
him…she couldn’t possibly do that now…the doctor was just too good a man…she
envied his wife…perhaps if he wasn’t married she might even have considered him
though he was at least fifteen years older than she was.
What
was even more wonderful was that he had stopped taking his perverse pleasures
with her…he had said he didn’t feel comfortable getting pleasure while she got
pain, and though she tried to explain that the pain was no longer an issue, he
refused…he said he wanted normal love making…so she believed him now when he
said he had feelings for her…the question was…what kind of feelings did she
have for him…for she knew now that she certainly felt something for him.
Chapter
12
Mrs
Abayomi looked affectionately at her sick husband as he struggled to drink a
cup of juice which the doctor had permitted…she had lost weight and walked
about with a stick, not because she was physically handicapped but because she
was weak as a result of prolonged fasting.
Her
two sons had been very alarmed as her health deteriorated and had resorted to
forcing her to eat, but they were only just realizing just how tough and
stubborn their mother was…she had vowed to herself and to God that she would
not eat till she began to see improvement in her husband.
Pastor
Abayomi upon learning of this began to fake improvements in his health by being
cheerful whenever she was around…he even asked for food, though he was being
fed through a tube.
His
wife expressed much joy and finally acceded to her husband’s plea to eat some
food…so there she was eating pounded yam while her husband sipped juice.
“So
what are your plans when you recover dear?” she asked in high spirits, for she
sincerely believed God was already working his miracle on her husband.
“Aren’t
we getting ahead of ourselves? When I recover, I would like to spend some time
with God thanking him and seeking his face for his plans for me.”
“That’s
good”
“I
have invited Pastor Adeleye over to visit me.”
“Yes
you said so the other day. You aid you wanted him to pray for you.”
“Yes,
but much more than that…he is the only pastor I know now that genuinely follows
the Will of God…I want him to intercede with God for me…maybe God might speak
to him about me.”
Mrs
Abayomi nodded her agreement as she tore at a piece of chicken. There was a
knock on the door and Pastor Taiwo walked in.
“How
are you doing today dad?” he asked cheerfully, seeing his mother eating.
“He
is fine and getting better by the day,” replied his mother.
“Mum
thank God you are eating o! Only dad could have worked that magic!”
Mrs
Abayomi chuckled and drank some water.
“Dad,
pastor Adeleye has been contacted, he said he would be happy to visit at your
convenience, so you just let me know when you want us to pick him up.”
“As
soon as possible, why not tomorrow?” asked Pastor Abayomi eagerly.
“No
problem dad, I’ll see to eat. Mum, see you later, I hope I won’t have to call
dad tonight to get you to eat dinner o, Kehinde is still cross with you for not
eating breakfast today.”
“Don’t
mind Kehinde, he is too fussy. How can I eat when my husband isn’t getting
better? But now that he is, I can relax a little,” she looked up at her husband
who smiled fondly at her…he wasn’t about to let the tremendous pain he was
feeling show up on his face…it was important for his wife to eat…
Meanwhile
he didn’t want anyone to know that he had been seeing things…hallucinating…he
had been seeing angels trying to keep demons away from him…horrible, scary
looking creatures…but he had also seen something else…his eyes had opened to
see a bottomless pit…huge, extending far out of his vision and brimming with
flames…twice he had felt himself being tugged towards the flames and then he
had woken up.
Was
he going to die? He was scared…he wasn’t sure he had lived an acceptable life
before God…he had at some point allowed comforts, and the pleasure of material
things…status and position…he had allowed them to overwhelm him…he had lost
touch with the reality of denying himself…too many people surrounded him to do
his bidding…he didn’t feel like a servant of Christ but rather like a boss of
his sheep!
Maybe
that was why he was receiving such awful visions…perhaps he wasn’t going to
make it after all…
Chapter
13
Damilola
stared at the ceiling then propped himself up on his bed…the pain was always
constant asleep or awake and notwithstanding the painkillers he had received
from the hospital. He didn’t watch TV so he had been reading a book he had
downloaded to his phone…Practical Christianity by Arthur W. Pink.
His
tongue kept finding the sore spot where his tooth had been broken by the
beating he had received and eventually the pain distracted him from his
reading. His mind kept going back to the beating he had received from the three
masked men.
He
had only had the presence of mind to dial his sister before he lost
consciousness and awoke to find himself in a hospital bed with his sister
sitting anxiously beside him…he had needed five stitches around his head and
had only been discharged three days later…the doctor wanted to be sure there
was no internal bleeding.
His
sister had immediately whisked him off to her house and there he had remained
till now…till Titi had visited rather timidly yesterday, for she was not sure
what kind of reception she would receive from Damilola’s sister…but Damilola’s
sister had been surprisingly warm and cordial and encouraged her to go in and
see him.
Of
course Damilola knew that his sister probably nursed hopes that he and Titi
would get back together again…but she was mistaken…this show of Titi’s
affection would not lead anywhere…she just wasn’t his type.
There
was a knock on the door and Damilola’s heart sank because he knew who it would
be…
“How
are you my love” whispered Titi as she came quickly to his side…she kissed him
softly on his cheek and squeezed his hand. She had brought three varieties of
fruit drinks and a container that she now opened to reveal pounded yam and
vegetable soup…evidently she had taken permission from his sister the previous
day to prepare a meal for him.
He
chose not to answer her question and sighed deeply as he shrugged his shoulders
to show he wasn’t sure how he felt…
“How
did you know I was hurt?” he asked suddenly turning his face to stare directly
into her eyes.
“I
didn’t, I came to beg you one last time to forgive me…I’ve not been myself ever
since you broke up with me…I wanted to ask you to give me one more chance…you
don’t usually go out on Sunday evenings but when I came you weren’t there and
everything was in disarray, there was a broken glass on the floor and chairs
were turned upside down and you are always neat and tidy, so I was worried and
came to your sister’s place to find out where you were,” Titi replied without
batting an eyelid…she had practised her reply to this question for so long, it
had become second nature…for she knew he would ask sooner than later.
She
knelt down beside his bed and held and squeezed his hand looking hopefully up
hopefully into his eyes, her own eyes already brimming with tears.
“Please
can we not do this right now, you are taking advantage of my situation to play
on my emotions,” said Damilola a little too harshly.
“Okay
I understand…I will wait…can I serve you now?” she asked and opened the
container without waiting for a reply.
Damilola
sighed again…he knew she would not go away till her food had been eaten…she had
been smart enough to cook fish rather than meat or chicken because of his
broken tooth.
The
bandage around his head was causing him great discomfort especially when he
turned in bed so he tried to adjust it just a little by attempting to loosen
the edges a little…he would have to complain to the doctor tomorrow.
Titi
knelt down again as she offered him a plate of pounded yam and soup filled with
an assortment of fish and shrimps.
“There
is no need to kneel down Titi please!”
“I
want to…I have learnt my lesson and I just want to be respectful and obedient
to you for the rest of my life, if only you will give me a chance to prove that
my remorse and repentance is genuine.”
Damilola
ignored her and ate as quickly as he could…not because he felt hungry, but
because he just wanted her to leave as soon as possible…she was beginning to
nauseate him. Did she really think that he was going to be fooled by some
crocodile tears and some sudden lovey dovey affectionate behaviour that was
meant to show that character that she had consistently displayed over a
prolonged period of time had suddenly changed? Can a leopard change its skin?
He hissed inwardly as he sipped some cold Berry Blast making sure to keep it
from the hurting side of his mouth.
“I
love you Damilola, why won’t you let me prove it to you?”asked Titi laying her
head on his chest and caressing his arm.
Suddenly
Damilola knew what to do to get her out of his life for good.
“Listen
to me Titi, it is over between us. I don’t love you anymore and nothing can
ever change that! Move on with your life as I have moved on with mine,” with
that he leaned back into his pillows and waited for the anticipated tantrum
that would usually come…but he waited in vain…she simply lay there caressing
his chest.
“I’m
not going to go away Damilola, no matter what you say or do to me. You are my
life, my very heart beat, just have mercy on me one more time please!”
Damilola
felt trapped…his ploy hadn’t worked…she wasn’t going to leave him alone. Finally
he finished his meal and drank some more juice.
“Thank
you for the meal, it was wonderful,” he said, more out of courtesy.
“I’m
glad you liked it,” smiled Titi as she cleared away the plates.
“I
would like to sleep now,” said Damilola politely as he adjusted his pillows so
he could lie down.
“Of
course, I will come again tomorrow. What would you like me to prepare for you?”
“Nothing”
“Oh
but you must eat Damilola!”
“And
I will, just not your food,”
“Why,
I thought you enjoyed it!”
“Truly
I did, but now I don’t want to see you anymore…I don’t want to come off
sounding rude Titi, but the truth is I just don’t love you anymore and nothing
will ever change that, don’t you understand? So the sooner you move on with
your life the better for both of us.”
Titi
looked at him with a smile playing on her lips…
“I
know you like food that you can swallow, so I’ll prepare Amala for you tomorrow. Bye
darling, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She
left the room humming softly to herself…Damilola stared at the door for a long
time after she had left.
What
did he have to do to make her leave him alone? Why couldn’t she just
understand? She was displaying strange behaviour…the Titi he knew was proud,
arrogant, impatient and irritable…yet she had displayed nothing of her natural
qualities so far…he had hoped to catch a glimpse of the real Titi if only to
assure himself that he was right to keep her at arm’s length…but instead the
more he tried to bring out the real Titi, the more humble and self-effacing she
became.
He
however felt confident that the new Titi wouldn’t last a month with him before
she returned to her old ways…almost, he was persuaded to give it a try just to
prove a point to her…except for this nagging thought at the back of his mind…
The
attack on his person didn’t add up…it didn’t make sense…they hadn’t stolen
anything, they hadn’t said anything to him…just the beating…but one of them
looked strangely familiar in size and stature…he had not been able to know why
before…but the picture was suddenly becoming clearer now.
He
remembered a day some months back when Titi had asked him to drop her off at
her brother’s place after church instead of at home. They had arrived there
just as her brother was stepping out of his apartment…he had smiled at her then
and had come to give her a hug as she stepped out of the car…that was the same
green Tee Shirt he had worn that day…the very same Tee Shirt he had worn when
he came as a masked man…it was Titi’s brother! Titi had most likely sent him!
Chapter
14
“You know, my son asked me a
question the other day…if there are no large or mega churches, how would
Ephesians 4:11 be fulfilled…how would there be a need for apostles, prophets,
teachers, pastors and evangelists in the Body of Christ?” Mr Adeleye was saying
to his old friend Pastor Abayomi Snr with a smile of amusement playing on his
lips.
“Well I hope you told him
that in the days of the early church, there were apostles like Peter and Paul
and all the others, and there were also prophets like Agabus…there were also
evangelists like Phillip…not to talk of pastors like Timothy…and there weren’t
any mega churches in those days,” chuckled Pastor Abayomi Snr.
“Indeed I told him, but he
seemed to think of the churches back then as one large mega church…for instance
he referred to the Corinthian Church, the Ephesian Church and so on, till I
disabused his mind and showed him how the bible talked about the church in
Corinth and the church in Ephesus…meaning the entire body of Christ in both places
that met in homes not in a big place every Sunday like we do today.”
“The boy knows his
scriptures, I’m sure he would have argued about the great meeting in Solomon’s
porch where the apostles gathered all the brethren together to discuss issues
of feeding and the like?” asked the still amused Pastor Abayomi Snr.
“Exactly, but he finally
understood…more importantly he began to understand a little about why I
resigned as pastor of the church I established…why God asked me to resign.”
“Hmmm…and this is probably
why you asked me here today?” asked Mr Adeleye soberly.
“Yes my old friend…we were
in the same predicament, except that you chose the Will of God and resigned,
but I chose to ignore it and here I am with a terminal illness. Do you think
that this is God’s judgment on me?” asked Pastor Abayomi earnestly.
“Who
knows? Disobedience could bring about so many things…it could lead to a
lowering of the hedge of protection round you…but it could also lead to
incurring the wrath of God.”
“Oh
my friend…the truth is that I’m so afraid to die…at least not without assurance
that God has forgiven me!”
“But
you know he won’t till he sees full repentance Joshua! What steps are you
taking to show you have repented before him?”
“I
asked my sons to record my confession of disobedience to God and play the video
back in church, but they refused. I want them to dissolve the church, but they
are not willing to do so…they kept giving me all kinds of reasons why it will
not work…the faith of the people would be badly shaken and many may go back
into the world, and all of that.”
“Insist
on it Joshua before it is too late, then you can go and meet your Maker in
peace if indeed that is God’s Will!” said Mr Adeleye passionately as he placed
his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“I
fear it is too late. I feel my end approaching very quickly and my sons have
taken over and have a mind of their own…not surprisingly, a faithful elder in
church secretly warned me of rivalries and differences of opinion that have
begun to rear their heads between them…I have had loving chats with them, but
they act like they are in one accord each time we speak.”
“Let
us pray,” said Mr Adeleye falling to his knees…it was a prayer for mercy…for
forgiveness…for the grace of God…by the time Mr Adeleye was finished, Pastor
Abayomi was sobbing softly.
“You
have attempted to make amends my friend, you’ve made genuine efforts to undo
the mistakes you have made in the past…you may have left it too late but still
the genuineness of your repentance has not gone unnoticed…be at peace my
brother…this is the Word I have received for you…be at peace…you are forgiven…
Pastor
Abayomi was still weeping profusely when Mr Adeleye left him with red eyes,
knowing it might be the last time he would set eyes on his friend ever again.
That
evening, Pastor Abayomi sent for his sons…
“Do
you truly love me?” he asked them, looking from one to the other.
“Of
course dad,” they both chorused immediately but with some apprehension.
“I
want you to do something for me…a favour if you like…”
“Sure
anything dad, just mention it,” responded Pastor Taiwo Abayomi without
hesitation.
“How
about you Kehinde, I didn’t hear any response from you.”
“Dad,
I didn’t feel I needed to reply, you know your wish is my command anytime.”
“Good.
Then I want you to transfer the sum of fifty million naira to my good friend Mr
Adeleye from my personal account to which you are both of you are now joint
signatories ever since I came down with this illness.”
“If
that is your wish dad then it’s as good as done,” replied Kehinde looking
towards his brother who nodded his head vigorously in agreement.
“Dad,
there is also something we need to tell you…” Pastor Taiwo looked towards his
brother inquiringly and Kehinde nodded once.
“Dr
Adekoya has become increasingly worried about your deteriorating health and has
warned us in very strong terms of the urgent need to take you abroad for
further treatment.”
“But
you already know my answer to that don’t you?”
“Yes
dad, but on this one occasion, we are forced to override your wish. Dad, we are
taking you on the next available flight tomorrow. Mummy will be going with you
and we will join you the day after.”
“No!
If it has come to that, then my wish is for both of you to remain with the
church. Let me go alone with your mother…at least honour me in that one thing.
Stay with the people that they be not unduly alarmed or saddened.”
“Okay
dad,” mumbled the sons of Pastor Abayomi…they were careful to keep their heads
down as they left the room, for fear that their red eyes brimming with tears would
be noticed by the house helps and other resident staff.
Chapter
15
‘Dewale
knew immediately that something was wrong when he offered his friend Yomi a
cigarette which he refused, and ten minutes later a bottle of beer which he
again refused.
Okay
spit it out, what’s bugging you man?” he asked a little alarmed…Yomi was a fun
guy, he wouldn’t behave like this…unless something bad had happened.
Yomi
frowned…he had been thinking of the best way to break the news to his friend
and had still not come up with the right words…but now that the question had
been popped…he would just believe the Holy Spirit to put words in his mouth. He
cleared his throat…
“My
family is back together again,” he began.
“Yeah
you told me about the incident with your sister and how it ended in this family
meeting where you all cried on each other’s shoulders,” confirmed ‘Dewale.
“Well…we
are all back on track with God…most especially me…you know how my faith back
then did not allow me to do these things…smoking and drinking? Well it’s more
than that now…’Dewale I want to talk to you about Christ.”
“Are
you serious man?” laughed ‘Dewale.
“’Dewale
I’m not joking!”
“Have
you forgotten that I go to church and that my father is also a Reverend father?
Have you forgotten that I’ve given my life to Christ same as you long time ago?
What more do you want to tell me about Christ that I don’t already know? Come
off it Yomi!”
“Listen…we
both have given our lives to Christ I know…but we haven’t really lived that
life for him…it was just something we did…for me, I knew it was more of an
intellectual thing…my father is a very powerful and persuasive teacher of the
Word…and I was convinced and convicted about the truth of the Word…and for a
long time I stayed rooted and grounded in the word…but look what happened to me
the moment a storm blew and my dad left the church and our finances dwindled…my
faith literally collapsed, revealing that I was not relying wholly on God but
also on material things…God took them away, to show me how much I was dependent
on them…and my faith failed.”
“Me
on the other hand, I answered the alter call because I knew it would please dad
period!” said ‘Dewale.
“And
that is why you are not born again ‘Dewale!” replied Yomi.
“What
do you mean I’m not born again, didn’t you hear me? I came out for the altar
call and surrendered my life to Christ! I‘m born again just like you!” shouted ‘Dewale,
he was beginning to get irritable.
“You
came out yes…but for the wrong reasons…you were motivated to come out not out
of conviction but out of a mere desire to please your dad. You only get born
again when you genuinely are sorry for the way you have leaved a life of
self-pleasing and now have a genuine desire to please Christ to whom you are
surrendering your life ‘Dewale…not for any other reason.”
‘Dewale
blew out his cheeks in bewilderment…
“So
what you are trying to tell me is that I’ve been living a lie all these years?
Is it because I still smoke and drink? You yourself have often told me about
people who backslide into sin very often, but are forgiven because God knows
our weaknesses…something like that, haven’t you? If it is a matter of asking
God for forgiveness I don’t have a problem with that, but please don’t say I’m
not born again.”
“We
will talk about this again ‘Dewale…you know you are my best friend…I won’t lie
to you, but I can see that you are upset and confused right now so let’s talk
about something else.”
“You
know something Yomi? I want to visit your church and see what it is about their
teaching that is so different from what goes on in our church!”
“We
don’t go to church, we have a fellowship in our home…two other families join us
and my father teaches from the Word of God.”
“Then
I will come this Sunday,”
“And
I shall be delighted to receive you ‘Dewale.”
‘Dewale
stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, leaving his unfinished bottle of beer.
“Hey
I can wait with you till you finish your drink, you don’t have to waste it!”
said Yomi a little startled by his friend’s reaction.
“No
I’m good. Your words have rattled me today and I’ve lost interest in the rest
of my beer.”
“Not
my words my friend, but the conviction of the Spirit of God,” Yomi smiled
gently, patting his friend on his back.
“Whatever!
I think I want to go home Yomi…see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah
tomorrow in school.”
Yomi
walked away…he was puzzled about his conversation with ‘Dewale…he hadn’t known
the circumstances surrounding his conversion till now…come to think of it, it
was only recently that he too learnt that it Salvation wasn’t just a simple
matter of answering an altar call…what was most important was what impelled one
to come forward…was it godly sorrow for sin…or was it an emotional response to
the preaching of the word…worse…was it emotional response to the emotional
songs that choirs were wont to sing whenever an altar call was given?
He
was reminded of the Parable of the Sower and of the people who received the
word joyfully but soon lost it, because they had no root in themselves…the only
true Root…the only true reason to come out was Christ…if one was not compelled
to come out because of a sincere desire for a change of life…then one had
deceived himself…he would endure…but only for a while…the seed had not been
planted in good ground…because the ground itself had not been properly
prepared…it had been coaxed, persuaded, begged, appealed to, until it caved in
under emotional duress…that was the lie that his father had often warned him
about…
‘Dewale
walked away upset…his theology had just been upended…he didn’t know what he
believed anymore…he didn’t even know what to pray for any longer…he tried to
remember when last he had prayed, but it was so long ago…he would go and hear
Yomi’s father teach on Sunday…maybe things would make sense to him…maybe he
would learn the truth about what he believed or didn’t believe…maybe at last
his life would be straightened out.
Chapter
16
“I’m sorry,” repeated
Precious for the umpteenth time; “ I didn’t know they would come looking for me
now!”
“See how my party was ruined
and you too now went and got yourself drunk!” spat out Tola angrily.
“But you too were tipsy now,
my brother said when he called you, you were just giggling on the phone,”
replied Precious, beginning to get weary of begging her friend. It was now
beginning to look like she would have to find some other time to discuss what
she had actually come to see her for as her friend was obviously very angry
right now.
Tola
hissed her annoyance and stared out of the window. She was sitting on a stool
in her small living room. Tola lived alone in a small two bedroom apartment
that she shared with her older sister who was currently away on some training
program sponsored by the company she worked for, so Tola had the place all to
herself.
“I’m
sorry my dear,” said Precious one more time, going over to Tola and wrapping her
arms around her shoulders, giving her a peck on both cheeks one after the
other, then rubbing her forehead against Tola’s forehead.
“It’s
ok,” said Tola, finally calming down; “What will you eat now? I have beans o,”
said Tola rising to her feet to go to the kitchen. Precious followed her like a
puppy, her hands glued to Tola’s waist.
She
wanted to be sure that she had made up with her properly and thoroughly before
she began to talk to her about Christ…she knew she couldn’t talk today…time was
far spent…she would play and laugh with her today…put her in high spirits
again…then let her know the truth that her own lifestyle had changed…she
couldn’t live the way she used to live anymore…
“Fred
is still asking after you, you know?” said Tola as she opened the sack
containing the beans.
“I’m
not some cheap girl Tola, any boy that takes advantage of a girl the way Fred
almost took advantage of me doesn’t deserve any respect at all,” answered
Precious coolly as she lit the gas and placed a pot of water on the fire.
She
knew that Tola’s morals were quite loose…she slept with boys without
discrimination and she often wondered how she could have befriended her in the
first place.
But
then she always remembered that it was Tola that had saved her from being raped
about a year ago in the university…she had been caught up in her thoughts and
not realized she had strayed so far from the hostel…she was on a rarely used
route by students…it was a route that vehicles passed to lead out of the back
gate of the university when the front gate was congested.
There
were bushes on either side…like magic three boys had appeared…two in front of
her who were chatting…they appeared not to be aware of her presence behind
them…but it was all a distraction, for another boy had appeared behind her whom
she wasn’t aware of…in a moment he had covered her nose with a handkerchief and
chloroformed her, and in seconds the three of them had whisked them away to the
nearest bush where Tola was relieving herself…what she was doing there all alone,
Precious never found out…but today she attributed it to God’s protection over
her.
Tola
was a big and brawny girl who had grown up on the streets…she had seen the
whole scenario and raised an alarm while at the same time fighting off the
boys…it dragged on till they were at the edge of the bush in full view of the
very few passing vehicles…a taxi slowed down and several boys stepped out
including the driver…they had seen Tola bravely fighting off the boys and
another girl lying on the ground apparently unconscious…the boys had gained the
upper hand and were administering a full beating to Tola when the newcomers
arrived on the scene…at once, the miscreants fled into the bush.
That
was how Tola had saved her from being raped and possibly from losing her life…only
God knows what they would have done to her after having their way…who was not
to say that they were ritualists?
She
had become fast friends with Tola and often helped her with money since she at
that time her father was still a wealthy pastor. They had been friends for over
a year now, not because Precious really liked her…but she felt obligated to her
for saving her life…also back then she had nursed the hope of turning her heart
towards Christ…but then her father had resigned and her own faith too had
failed…and the obligated friendship she had with Tola turned into a
full-fledged, firm friendship.
As
they sat down together eating beans and garri, Precious listened to Tola’s
stories of how the rest of the party had gone after she had left. Fred had
stormed off home in anger, refusing to allow the wounds inflicted by Precious’
brother to be treated by the girls.
Almost
everyone had got drunk…Tola’s current boyfriend had taken care of the supply of
alcohol and other drinks while Tola had taken care of the food, which consisted
in Jollof rice and small pieces of meat.
“The
funniest part of the party,” said Tola; “Was when a girl had shaken her booty
so hard in front of her man that she accidentally farted out loud,” Tola
laughed.
Precious
looked away in disgust…she had to break off with her fast…but something deep
within her resisted…What about the woman
with the alabaster box…and the drunkards at the pub whom Christ ministered
to…should Christ have turned away from them in disgust….hmmmm?
That
was the inner voice she kept hearing whenever she made an attempt to break up
with Tola…yet Tola had saved her life…maybe it was God wanting to use her now to
save Tola’s life too…from perdition…
She
would have to find the time to come again, and pray that the Holy Spirit would
convict her of sin and win her into the Kingdom of God.
“You
aren’t even listening!” chided Tola.
“Sorry
dear, my mind was miles away,” responded Precious guiltily.
“And
what were you thinking about?”
“Well
to tell you the truth, I was just remembering how you had saved my life almost
a year ago. Remember?”
“Hmmm,
I remember o…it was God sha,” said Tola dreamily as she cast her mind back.
“Tola,
it is also God that wants me to talk to you today,” blurted out Precious,
unable to hold back any longer. She wasn’t going to wait for another day, she
was going to talk about Christ now!
“God
ke! What about?” Tola was all ears.
“Do
you believe in God?”
“Sure,
doesn’t everyone?” responded Tola.
“Yet
you don’t think you ought to have a relationship with him?”
“Precious
are you actually trying to preach to me?” asked Tola incredulously.
“What
is wrong with me telling you about the one single Person who can save you from
a life that is being programmed for certain disaster both in this world and in
the world to come,” said Precious…something or Someone was beginning to stir up
within her…
“Okay,
I’m listening,” said Tola meekly.
Precious
hesitated…that was so uncharacteristic of Tola…she wasn’t the kind that would
just lie low and submit meekly to something she didn’t want to hear.
“Everyone
has their life to live…to please themselves with it or to please God with
it…but you can’t do both…you can’t please yourself and please God at the same
time. God knows that we are helpless to do any other thing but please
ourselves…that’s why he sent Jesus Christ to live our lives for us the way God
would want us to live it…then die for our lives, so that we no longer have to
live our lives to please ourselves…am I making any sense?”
“Plenty,”
said Tola, genuinely intrigued; “I thought you were going to say I should give
my life to Christ and quote some scriptures to me, which many have done in the
past but this is an entirely different approach…I have never seen Christ in
this light before.”
“It
is the sin of living our lives to please ourselves that Christ came to die
for…and spiritually, God made that self-pleasing life to die on the cross with
Christ. Now anyone that no longer wants to live that self-pleasing life only
has to accept Christ’s life…the life that pleases God and he or she will find
him/herself living the life of Christ…the life that pleases God.”
“Hmmm…I
don’t see how that can happen to me… I love my alcohol and parties and boys so
how can I change just like that?”
“Who
said anything about you changing yourself? When you receive Christ’s life
sincerely, that life does all the work of changing you inside you,” said
Precious, wondering where all this was coming from…she hadn’t planned what
words she would speak…she hadn’t even planned to speak at all today!
“The
new life inside you now begins to make you willing and able to please God.”
“Yet
you came to my party and got drunk abi?” said Tola chuckling.
“Yes,
my faith had failed at that time…I was going through things at home that you
yourself were aware of…but now things have changed. I’m back in Christ Jesus.”
“Yes
I remember how you used to bless me with money anyhow back then…then one day I
found you crying all alone in the park beside the cafeteria. You told me that
things had changed…your dad had made a mistake and all the money was gone…you
were poor now and you wouldn’t be able to help me financially anymore. But
before then I remember that you were this quiet, godly ‘sister’…you used to
politely decline my parties and keep away from my friends as much as
possible…but when the money finished, you went back to living that
self-pleasing life, right?”
“Right!”
responded Precious moving closer to Tola.
“So
that means you can easily cross over from the God pleasing life to the
self-pleasing life anytime you like?” asked Tola frowning a little as she tried
to understand.
“Yes,
because one must always be stronger than the other…I allowed myself to lose
focus on Christ and my self-pleasing life gradually tempted me back.”
“So
if I want this God pleasing life…how can I get it?” asked Tola, still looking
thoughtfully at the ground.
Precious
smiled…it wasn’t her words that had got to Tola…it couldn’t have been…she
hadn’t rehearsed any such words and she wouldn’t have known how to assemble
them the way they had come out…Thank you
Holy Spirit! So this is how you work!!!
Fifteen
minutes later, Tola was on her knees singing the few worship songs she
knew…Precious knelt beside her, a lump in her throat…she wanted to sing too…but
she feared she would begin to cry if she even opened her mouth…she had never
been used by the Holy Spirit to lead someone to Christ before…now she knew that
she didn’t need her own words…her own wisdom…she only needed the Holy Spirit…
Chapter
17
Mrs
Adekoya was not a spiritual person in that she didn’t understand what it meant
to live by the Word of God…but she was deeply religious…she felt it was her
duty to show up in church every Sunday and be a part of a department such as
the Women’s department and do charitable works.
She
loved her husband…he always supplied her with money for all her projects…she
wondered what she would do without him…but she had also noticed that unlike
when they first got married, he no longer troubled her for lovemaking…she had
long since known that she wasn’t interested in that…ever since the abortions
she had had, she had developed a dislike for lovemaking…somehow she knew deep
within herself that she could never bear children again…and yet she had been
denying her husband the pleasure of it…for it wasn’t just for child bearing
alone…she knew that…it was also to keep him from temptations outside…
She
wondered what her husband truly thought of her, but he was not much of a
‘talker’…she could no longer remember when last they had made love and anytime
she thought about it, which wasn’t often…she felt guiltier than ever.
She
had to bring herself to like it…she had to bring herself to seduce her
husband…she had to try! She still had a very good and shapely figure…tonight
she would make her husband make love to her…it was the only way she could make
sure he wasn’t tempted from outside…she was angry at herself for not realizing
much sooner that she could easily lose her man to someone outside…no one was a
spiritual giant and her husband certainly wasn’t one.
She
watched him drive through the gates and stole a glance at the wall clock…it was
past 9 already…swiftly she went into the bathroom to change into something…more
suitable…they were the only ones at home, the servants had their own
quarters behind their duplex.
Dr
Adekoya was in high spirits…not only had he just successfully bought off major
shares in a large bank, but Remi had actually expressed feelings for him over
the phone tonight! Tomorrow was a date with her…she had said she would
deliberately skip the only class she had so she would be at home for him all
day.
Dr
Adekoya didn’t have to be at work tomorrow…or any day at all if he chose not
to…he would be there tomorrow and they would spend the whole day together…he
wanted to hear more about her feelings for him at which she merely hinted,
promising to tell him more tomorrow.
Remi’s
beauty was a sight to behold…not only that, she spoke well, was well mannered
and gentle…her humility was what surprised him the most though…as educated as
she was, she still curtsied to him whenever she served him…he had noticed it
was an unconscious thing, probably inbuilt from her background, but still…it
spoke volumes about her. Not that he cared about the curtsying…but he was
amazed that educated young ladies still showed that kind of respect…would she
still be doing that if they somehow got married…he wondered.
He
turned his thoughts towards his wife as he parked the car…he had to behave
normally…give her a smile and a peck but also appear to be tired out from the
day’s work…she would sit with him at table as he ate the meal prepared by some
house help…they would make small talk together…she would praise and flatter him
a little then they would go to bed…that wasn’t hard…except that it appeared it
was going to be a different scenario tonight…
Dr
Adekoya walked into his living room into the warm embrace of his wife and was
welcomed with a long, lingering kiss. She was dressed differently
tonight…apparently she had other plans for the night…
Warning
bells went off madly in Dr Adekoya’s head…he hadn’t planned for any lovemaking
tonight, but thank God he wasn’t so ‘tired’ he couldn’t perform…what suddenly
brought about this change of heart anyway?
It
had to be money…she needed money for some exceptionally big project…well she
would get it…anything to keep her from suspecting he had extra marital affairs.
All
through dinner Mrs Adekoya sat close to her husband rather than on the opposite
side of the table as she usually did…she rubbed the back of his head lightly
every once in a while, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.
“Hmmm…I
wonder what exactly is up darling,” said Dr Adekoya, raising an eyebrow
suspiciously as he turned to his wife after another head rub.
Mrs
Adekoya giggled like a school girl…
“Not
telling,” she said as she poured another glass of chilled fruit wine for her
husband.
“I
see…some unresolved issues perhaps?” probed Dr Adekoya, trying to get a hint of
the enormous amount of cash he would have to make available to his wife.
Upstairs
in the bedroom, Mrs Adekoya lay across her husband’s chest and began by
apologising for having denied him the pleasures of her body as his wife and how
it would never happen again.
“Apology
accepted,” said Dr Adekoya, feeling a little disappointed…he had thought she
wanted money…but apparently she only wanted a reconciliation…a return to life
as it was at the beginning of their marriage…well…it only meant he had two
‘playmates’ now…he had long since disabused his mind of any love he might have
felt for his wife…she was a selfish, self-centred hypocrite of a woman who was
only interested in his money.
He
poured all his frustration and anger into his love making not caring whether he
hurt her or not…but the more he did, the more she seemed to enjoy it…
He
had found true love now…and no one was going to take that away from him…if he
had his way he would certainly marry Remi…already plans were beginning to form
in his mind…
He
could take her out of the country and marry her secretly…but he knew these were
just desperate plans…he had to find something more practical…more plausible…now
that he had found true love…he would have to find an excuse to separate from
his wife since divorce wasn’t permitted.
Once
they were separated, he could do just about anything he wanted…she would never
be able to gain access to him again and Remi could move into his house…he would
cut off suddenly from the church…he didn’t need them anymore…they used him as
much as he used them, and now they could go their separate ways…
His
wife sighed as she fell asleep, cradled and curled up in his arms like a little
child...almost, he had pity for her…but pity wasn’t the same thing as
love…tomorrow he would transfer a hefty sum into her account and watch her
reaction…he still wasn’t convinced that this wasn’t about money…she may just be
trying another approach…tact…
Chapter
18
The Abayomi twins had been
the subject of discussion for weeks in Rising Star Church, one of the largest
independent mega churches on the continent with a one hundred and twenty
thousand membership.
Rumour had it that he was
dying but not even the other pastors were in the know about what exactly was
happening.
Both Taiwo and Kehinde had
been holding fort for their dad in taking turns to preach at Sunday Services,
for the other in-house pastors were only allowed to preach during midweek
services or on invitation to one of their several satellite churches that
littered the entire country and continent.
The church was in a sombre
and apprehensive mood, for they loved their senior pastor like the father he
truly was, having built the church over a thirty year period and watched and
nurtured most of them spiritually and financially.
But of the twins, easy
going, amiable and generous Taiwo was more popular among the congregation
because he was so easily approachable even with all his protocol officers
surrounding him at any point in time, anyone could easily approach him for an
appointment and not be turned away.
Kehinde, fondly called ‘the
dark one’; not because of his skin colour but because of his reticence and
reserved nature often misinterpreted as pride.
Both were good teachers of
the Word, but Taiwo made them laugh and raised their spirits, while Kehinde was
all gloom and doom in his sermons. They said he took life too seriously. Then
Kehinde showed a live stream video of his mother in tears, urging the church to
pray for their beloved father in the lord…there had been no Service that
Sunday, only desperate and tearful prayers.
Kehinde sat across the table
from his twin brother that night…they both knew that one of them was to take
over the leadership of the church and the other be in a subordinate position…
The only problem was their
dad’s message to them on the phone as he spoke weakly in what could probably be
his last conversation with them…
My sons, there are things you
should know about the Church…things I regret going into as a result of peer
pressure and ambition…but I know you must find your own paths in life, and I
know you are waiting for me to name a successor…it will not happen! Go to
elders who are not pastors…go to the fathers of the faith who are not seen yet
are known…let them tell you about the Conspiracy of decades…my advice to
you…dismantle the church structure that I have built over thirty years…send the
people away…or it will drag you to hell!
Taiwo replayed the message
over and over again…they both knew their dad would not likely survive the
night…they would have loved to be with him alongside their mother…but he had
refused…they were to stay with the church and comfort them…
What was this terrible secret
that their father had hidden from them for years? What was so powerful about it
that could lead to the destruction of their souls in hell?
Yet Taiwo and Kehinde both
knew that neither was going to relinquish their hold on the church…it had
established its roots too deeply…besides, they were both full time pastors
earning fantastic salaries and equally fantastic benefits…what would they do if
they dismantled the church?
“So since our father has
refused to name a successor, which of us will lead the church?” asked Kehinde.
“They love me more than
you…but you know that already don’t you?” replied Taiwo, aware that this was
the beginning of the conversation he had so dreaded…he had never been too close
to his ‘silent’ brother…never even known if he had a girl- friend…they lived
miles apart in home and heart…but tried their best to keep up appearances in
church.
“Then maybe God will decide
for us,” smiled Kehinde…his eyes glinted in the moonlight streaming through the
open window. They had both agreed to spend the night in their father’s vast
house praying all night for his recovery…
“You heard what dad said,
the church will drag us to hell if we don’t dismantle it…” bantered Taiwo,
returning the smile.
“But we both know that isn’t
going to happen…so let’s just put our cards on the table shall we?” said
Kehinde.
“Well then, I propose a
rotational leadership of the Church…you lead for a year and then I take over…or
vice-versa.” Taiwo placed both elbows on the table and stared earnestly into
his brother’s eyes…he saw a ruthlessness there that he had never seen before,
and knew that nothing would stop his brother from achieving his purpose…
A faint glimmer of
understanding crept into his heart…were they actually fighting over the
leadership of the Church…was it about the power and the money and the fame and
the prestige of leading the nation’s largest independent church? Why couldn’t
he just let it go?
Because
like the rich young ruler you are its slave…Mammon’s slave!
It was just a thought…but
nonetheless it was the truth…he was powerless to walk away…too much of his life
had been invested in this…where would he begin again…would his fiancée still
marry him if he walked away?
Wait…
Am I the slave of Mammon or of the Church…or both? Is it even possible to be a
slave when I’m in a major position of authority?
The thoughts seemed to
pursue themselves relentlessly in his mind…Taiwo held his head between his
hands trying to clear his mind…
“I disagree,” said Kehinde
breaking into his thoughts…
“I will lead permanently and
give you all the support you need to start again on another continent of your
choice…name your price Taiwo…I will even give you people support…you have
nothing to fear from me…I am stronger than you and will do anything…you have no
idea what I am capable of, and I have no wish for you to find out the wrong
way.”
Taiwo gaped in surprise at
his brother’s words…for the first time in his life a cold clammy fear gripped
him…it was not in his nature to be confrontational…yet too much was at stake…
He recalled a conversation
they both had had with their dad about a couple of years ago…
“If I had been wiser, I
wouldn’t have set up church back then…” his dad had said, after a meeting with
the church accountants.
He hadn’t understood the
import of his father’s words, nor his regret then…but now he was beginning to
understand…it is quite possible to think one was in control, whereas one is
merely a pawn…quite possible to think of one as the owner, whereas one is
simply the property…and where was the Lord in all this?
His mind drifted back to his
father’s recent words…
Go to elders who are not
pastors…go to the fathers of the faith who are not seen yet are known…let them
tell you about the Conspiracy of decades…my advice to you…dismantle the church
structure that I have built over thirty years…send the people away…or it will
drag you to hell! Go and see my friend pastor Adeleke, I beg of you!
“So what is it to be Taiwo, dear brother?”
asked Kehinde…
Taiwo knew he was
trapped…starting over again was not an option…it would take him thirty years to
build such an empire as this…he didn’t have thirty years to waste…
“I disagree…so we shall have
to see how things turn out…” responded Taiwo at last.
“But I think we should at
least honour dad’s request and go and see his friend as he asked us to do.”
“I agree…I will set up a
meeting with him,” responded Kehinde as he stood up to go to his old room in
his father’s house. Taiwo watched him go, wondering how things had deteriorated
into a battle for pow3er between him and his brother…were they still doing
God’s work, he wondered…
Maybe…but
certainly not his Will…Taiwo shook his head…he would have to
get Dr Adekoya to prescribe some pills for him…his mind was beginning to think
by itself…it was an indication that he was severely stressed…
Their
father had been gone for almost a month now and the church had been left
entirely in the hands of the twins…not that it wasn’t before, but they still
had to go to their father for approval and signatures…now things were
different…they were now the sole joint signatories to every check that was
issued from the church.
The
taste of absolute power was beginning to make them heady…Taiwo had begun to
change…he became bolder and less gentle…more secluded and less open to the
public…he suddenly felt that ‘familiarity would eventually breed contempt’, and
the people would no longer benefit from his ‘anointing’ if he was too ‘close’
to them…he who had formerly discarded protocol officers around him, now
surrounded himself with several…
Kehinde
became more arrogant and proud…in one week he dismissed three of his office
staff because they greeted him ‘nonchalantly’ as he came into the office…they
remained seated as he walked past them into his office and he felt that was
rather rude!
Oh
yes…the Abayomi twins had changed subtly…and they didn’t even know it…
Chapter
19
Mrs
Adeleye opened the door for the early morning visitor…it was Yomi’s friend
‘Dewale. She greeted him with a hug as he tried to prostrate as was customary.
“Yomi
said you would come,” she said, beaming at him as she ushered him into the
living room.
“Daddy
will soon be down,”
“OK
ma,” said ‘Dewale. It wasn’t his first time coming to the Adeleye home, so he
made himself comfortable.
A
few moments later, Precious came down.
“You’re
early guy!” she said.
“I
thought it was at 9am like most churches.”
“Actually
it is, but we generally like to wait till everyone has come. We are still
expecting two other families from the neighbourhood. They will be here soon.”
“No
worries, where is Yomi?”
Yomi
came downstairs with speed. He exchanged pleasantries with his friend who he
was genuinely pleased to see.
Soon
the other two families arrived and ‘Dewale watched the genuine affection they
shared among themselves…the children were a little younger than he or Yomi or
Precious but somehow Yomi and Precious related to them as though they were age
mates and the younger ones were delighted.
Mr
Adeleye came downstairs and shook hands with everyone. They started with songs
of worship and anyone could start a song and others would join in. Then Mr
Adeleye called for prayer requests which everyone seemed to take personally.
“I
would like you to pray for me too, I want God’s protection over my life,” said
‘Dewale timidly.
After
prayers were over, Mr Adeleye opened his bible and read from the Word of God…
“Hebrews 5:12 For
when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such
as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
They ought to have grown
spiritually to the point where they were able to receive strong meat, yet the
reverse was happening in their lives…they were still only able to take in the
milk of the Word.
For this reason they were
labelled ‘babes’…
HEB 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in
the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
They were not exercised in
righteousness; hence their spiritual senses were far from being developed…they
had no discernment in their spirit.
HEB 5:14 But strong meat belongeth
to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.
What senses? Certainly not
the five physical senses! There are spiritual senses that are used to discern
between good and evil, these are only developed by prolonged use…it is a follow
up to verse 13, hence by inference skill in the word of righteousness has to do
with the discernment of good and evil.
It is not a theoretical
KNOWING of what is good and what is evil…it is not a mere MORAL KNOWING of what is good and what is evil…these senses
are developed by a STRIVING to love righteousness and hate iniquity…it is these
two principles that are referred to here as good and evil.
We are to follow the pattern
of Christ:
HEB 1:9 Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
So this goes beyond the mere
KNOWLEDGE or EXPERIENCE of Good and Evil…it is dependent on a genuine love of
Righteousness and a genuine hatred of Iniquity…until we arrive at this point,
we are still mere babes in need of milk.
We do not have our senses
exercised to discern both good and evil…righteousness and iniquity.
The love of Righteousness is
not possible wherever there is a love of self…neither can there be a hatred of
iniquity except there first be a hatred of Self.
This is the reason why we
are asked to mortify the deeds of the body:
ROM 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
“A life of self-pleasing is
a life lived after the flesh…it leads to spiritual death…it is a life of
sin…sin is not mere disobedience to God’s Will and Word; it is a life of
Self-Pleasing! We shall die spiritually if we pursue a life of self-pleasing as
believers. We must therefore begin to follow Christ’s injunction when he said
in Matthew 16:24; if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me. We must turn our backs on a life of self-pleasing,
and then through the help of the Holy Spirit we must kill the deeds of the
body.”
“Colossians 3:5 puts it this way: Mortify
therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: We
must continually set our affections on things above rather than on things on
the earth.”
He
closed his bible and looked around with a kindly smile at everyone.
“Does
anyone have any questions?” he asked.
“I
have a problem sir and I don’t know how to get out of it,” said ‘Dewale,
utterly convicted by the Word he had heard and received.
“I’ve
never heard the Word preached like this before and all along I thought I was a
Christian because I came out for an altar call…but now I see that I’m not born
again. Yomi you were right the other day when we argued about this. But my
problem is that I have put my hands into things that may not allow me to
receive Christ whole heartedly into my life, and I don’t know how to escape!”
ended ‘Dewale sorrowfully as everyone gathered around him to pray unbidden…for
there was only one Spirit within them all…the Spirit of God.
‘Dewale
confessed about the cult he had joined and how he had joined it because of
threats against his life if he had refused. He had taken a blood oath never to
reveal the names of its members nor the secrets of the cult. They used him
merely as their financier because he came from a wealthy family…but he had
hoped and prayed for a day when he would be set free.
Fortunately
the leaders of the cult had been arrested a few weeks ago but were later
released and expelled from the institution…now a new crop of leaders had arisen
who appeared to be worse than the former…they wanted to dabble into occultism
and get their members to use charms to protect themselves…already, arrangements
had been concluded to bring in a traditional medicine man who was well known in
the interior at their next meeting to prepare charms for them.
It
was with a holy anger that everyone began praying earnestly for ‘Dewale’s
deliverance from the cult and soon after the prayers were over, Mr Adeleye led
him to Christ…at last…’Dewale truly found peace with God…
Chapter
20
Pastor
Taiwo Abayomi sat in his living room with his fiancée and watched as she set
down a tray of food that she had come over to prepare for him. It was something
she had decided to do every Saturday and Sunday…
“I
can’t be your fiancée and not ensure that you are well taken care of, you
probably don’t eat well in the office,” she had once chided.
After praying, she put the
first morsel of pounded yam in his mouth…it was always her ritual to show that
her “husband was her head and would always be so”, she had said once.
Lolade was a very pretty and
quiet lady whose grace and charm had endeared her to many in church especially
among the youth who often invited her to speak at their programmes.
She was fair in complexion
and had a pretty dimple every time she smiled. She had met pastor Taiwo Abayomi
in church where she had been serving both as an usher in church and also as the
chief editor of the church’s monthly news bulletin.
Their official engagement
had only been announced by Pastor Abayomi Snr about six months ago, with great
pomp and to the delight of the entire church for they loved the couple dearly.
“So
have you decided what to do?” she asked quietly after the meal was over.
“I
must confess, though I have given it much thought, I still haven’t arrived at a
decision yet. I can’t see myself going to court with my own brother or fighting
him over the leadership of the church in some other way…yet he is determined to
take it all away from me and he doesn’t seem to care if he causes a scandal!”
finished pastor Taiwo.
“I
am surprised that uncle Kehinde could turn out to be so selfish and vicious, he
has always been so nice and courteous to me,” said a baffled Lolade as she sat
on the arm of Taiwo’s chair, absent mindedly playing with strands of his hair.
“I’ve
been praying about it though, but somehow I don’t think God will answer my
prayers,”
“Why
do you think that?” asked Lolade, recoiling in disbelief. She knew her fiancée
to be a man of faith, so where was this coming from? She stood up and knelt
before him in order to see his face closely…she looked worried as she entwined
her fingers in his.
“What’s
going on honey?” she said softly with a worried look on her face.
“I
guess I’m just a little scared as to what lengths Kehinde will take this thing
to. Already he has started making alterations in the church structure without
consulting me.”
“Alterations,
such as what?” Lolade prodded further, concern written all over her face.
“Well
last week he changed the sign on his door from PASTOR as it is on my door to
OVERSEEING PASTOR. I challenged him about it, but all he had to say was that there
cannot be two masters in a ship.”
“And
how did you respond?” said Lolade.
“I
was completely speechless with surprise, but later, I also got the sign on my
door changed to OVERSEEING PASTOR.”
“Hmmmm…I
don’t like this at all. I won’t say you should just leave him to do what he
wants, but at the same time I won’t encourage you to just leave him be either.
I think you ought to get your dad to take a decision as to who will run this
church in the event that your dad does not return any time soon.”
“Dad
has said he isn’t going to appoint a successor,” said Taiwo.
“Why
not?”
“Well,
I haven’t had a chance to talk to you at length since the last time we spoke
with our father, but he asked us to dissolve the church. We resisted and he
asked us to go see the elders of the faith who are not pastors, or go see his
friend Mr Adeleye who was once a pastor but resigned on God’s instructions.”
“Dissolve
the church...why would he want that?” asked Lolade more to herself.
“That
is what I intend to find out. I have a scheduled appointment with Mr Adeleye
tomorrow. My brother and I were supposed to go together, but as things stand we
are barely on speaking terms now. When he is ready he will book his own
appointment.”
“And
what about your mum, what does she think of all this?” asked Lolade, dragging
herself into a chair.
“She
always sides with dad no matter what, except in the matter of his health. She
had wanted him to go for medical treatment from the very beginning.”
“So
she supports the dissolution of the church does she?”
“I’m
afraid so,”
“Then
there is only one thing left for you to do. You must win the support of the
majority of the elders of the church in case it comes down to a tussle between
you and your brother. How I hate to hear myself say this!” said Lolade wearily.
“That
is too late. My brother already has almost all of them in his pocket. He has
instructed that they be put on the payroll of the church each with rather hefty
salaries. They of course refused but he insisted, saying a labourer is worthy
of his wages.”
“So
he has bought them over then?”
“All
except Dr Adekoya who refused till the end; it was through him that I got to
know. I do not know how he got around our joint signatories clause, unless he
is paying the elders from his pocket and he can very well afford it.”
“Then
maybe you should go as you plan to see Mr Adeleye your dad’s friend and try to
prevail on him to persuade your dad in naming you his successor, then all your
brother’s plans would come to nothing.”
“God
willing, that is what I intend to do,” said Taiwo. Lolade stood up and patted
him on the back and went towards the kitchen to get some fruit juice for the
both.
“Don’t
worry my dear, God will work things out in our favour”.
“Amen,”
replied Taiwo …what he had not told his fiancée was that he suspected Kehinde
was making even more threatening moves…twice his car had almost been knocked
off the road…deliberately…they obviously didn’t want to hurt him…just to scare
him off, for as soon as his car started losing control they sped off and slowed
down again to see if he would regain control…then when they were sure he was
back in control they sped off again. He knew immediately what he was up
against…this wasn’t a case of armed robbery or even assassination.
Someone
was monitoring him…someone who wanted him to know that he could easily be
assassinated on a whim…he knew no other person who was that desperate than his
brother…
Chapter
21
Kehinde
had called a meeting of the elders in his house and they had started to arrive.
There were six of them, including Dr Adekoya.
Kehinde
watched from the window of his upstairs bedroom as two more cars entered his
compound. He saw Dr Adekoya exchanging pleasantries with the very powerful
church administrator – Mr Obinna.
He
watched Dr Adekoya thoughtfully with a frown creasing his brow…what would it take to put him in his pocket,
he asked himself yet again.
He
had invited the elders over to deliberate on the way forward…he had decided to
tell them the truth…that the doctors were saying his father only had a few
months to live at best and a few weeks at the worst.
Dr
Adekoya had asked if Taiwo would also be at the meeting since he was also the
only other co-pastor of the church, but Mr Obinna had immediately dismissed
him.
“Pastor
Taiwo does not need to be here, obviously what pastor Kehinde says here must
have been agreed to previously by pastor Taiwo. Are you insinuating that there is
no trust among them any longer?”
Dr
Adekoya had blanched at such a blatant lie and had been rendered speechless
with surprise. His loyalties towards pastor Taiwo were for obvious reasons…his
breakthrough in life had come as a result of pastor Taiwo’s magnanimity in
giving him the job that began his meteoric rise to great wealth…what amount of
money could pastor Kehinde offer him that would make him sway that loyalty?
Absolutely
no one else knew what he was truly worth…they could only see his group of hospitals
but would never see beyond that , because he was very careful.
Kehinde
watched as the last of the six elders arrived…he had pondered on how best to
broach the matter of succession to them. He was growing very impatient…his
father was not showing any signs of dying soon and many projects were on hold
as a result of on-going prayers for his dad.
He
still took it in turns with his twin brother to preach in church, but all that
was about to change now…he had discovered his brother’s weak point…he hated confrontation…and
Mr Obinna’s reply to Dr Adekoya’s question that had silenced him, had given him
a brilliant idea.
Now
that he thought about it, he realized it had been a silly and premature move he
had made to change the sign on his door…he had not expected his brother to
follow suit…now every worker in the office would know that there was a rift
between them…
But
tonight all that would change; for all the elders would take a vote and the
once esteemed Dr Adekoya would be out voted…it was his turn to preach the
following day…that was when he would drop the bombshell that would place him
firmly in the driver’s seat.
A
long time ago, he had come to realize that power was meant to be used to
control people. He had once been zealous for the faith till he realized that he
wasn’t the kind of person to seek his reward in heaven…he had really tried back
in those early days to live a godly and holy life…but time after time he failed
repeatedly…and yet his brother kept on steadily…
That
was when he began to liken himself to Esau whom God hated and his brother to
Jacob whom God loved…or Cain whose offering God rejected and Abel whose
offering God accepted…who was he to question God as the Apostle Paul had said?
Shall
the pot now say to the potter why have you made me thus? Since then, he had
accepted his fate and destiny…he was Cain and his brother was Abel…he was Esau
and his brother was Jacob…God’s beloved…for God had indeed proved time and time
again to him that he loved Taiwo more than he Kehinde…or how else could he
explain his constant failure at working out his salvation even though he did it
sincerely and whole heartedly…yet it was clear that his brother was far closer
to God than he was…
It
was obvious from the deep revelations and anointed messages his brother kept
receiving from the Lord whereas his own messages were always contrived…he had
never received any word from the Lord by inspiration as his brother so
regularly received…
He
let down the corner of the window blind and walked slowly out of the bedroom…he
only needed the agreement and support of the elders tomorrow…
The
congregation stood to their feet as was their custom whenever any of their
senior pastors was ushered to the stage by one of the assistant pastors. They
applauded wildly as usual as Pastor Kehinde coolly waited for them to calm
down.
He
had deliberately selected his message…it was about Jacob who stole his
brother’s birthright…Jacob the deceiver whom God loved more than the rightful
owner of the birthright…Jacob the trickster, and yet God loved him more…why?
God did what he did by election…he had chosen Jacob in spite of the sin of
deception…of deceiving his father and impersonating his brother Esau, God still
loved Jacob and hated Esau…Esau the one who had been wronged…at least that was
how Kehinde perceived it.
He
rounded up his message with prayers and an altar call…those who thought they
were so bad that God could never forgive them should remember Jacob the
deceiver…Jacob the usurper…as Jacob found grace and favour in the sight of God,
so also would anyone who stepped out to receive it from God.
For
the first time in his life, Kehinde found himself ministering to scores of
people who had come out in answer to his passionate call. His brother and the
assistant pastors came alongside him to assist and together they laid hands on
the people and prayed for them…then it was time for his bombshell.
“I
have a huge announcement to make,” he said as he walked to the front of the
stage.
“My
brother and I have reached some decisions in view of our father’s prolonged
absence from the church. We believe that God is working a work of healing in
our father and he who has begun it shall perfect it.”
“Amen!”
chorused the church loudly.
Pastor
Taiwo sat rigidly on his chair trying hard to keep his face blank…he was
confused and puzzled…he did not recall when he had sat down to talk with his
brother let alone reach decisions with him…
“We
realized that things would be clearer and better organized if there was only
one person overseeing everything. My brother…well you know him, he is always
thinking about other people first…he didn’t even allow me to talk, he immediately
suggested that I should take charge…you will probably have noticed that both of
us have changed the signs in front of our doors to OVERSEEING PASTORS…well it
was my brother’s idea that it was wrong and only one person should be in
charge.”
The
applause for Pastor Taiwo’s humility was deafening…
“How
I wish I can be a little more like my brother…you love him don’t you?”
“YEEES!!!!”
was the deafening response as with one accord the entire congregation stood to
their feet in honour of their pastor…
Pastor
Taiwo sat rooted to his chair in shock at the blatant lie his brother had just
fabricated…he was speechless…there was no way he could stand up and tell the
congregation that his brother had lied…it would literally turn the church
upside down…his brother had succeeded in wresting the leadership of the church
totally from him in one fell swoop.
Chapter
22
Mr
Adeleye listened patiently as pastor Taiwo tried to explain reasons why the
church should not be dissolved according to his father’s instructions, and why
he ought to be his father’s successor. He didn’t mince words or pull any
punches back as he spoke about the
planned attempts to rattle him through near accidents, his brother’s ‘buying’
of the church elders, and the blatant lie he told in church that put him firmly
at the helm of affairs in the absence of their father.
“It
is a sad state of affairs indeed,” began Mr Adeleye.
“Your
dad is a very close friend of mine and I have been to see him to discuss things
with him based on his invitation. He sent you to me for a reason, but I fear it
might be too late to do anything about it.”
“How
do you mean Sir?” asked Taiwo Abayomi.
“There
are certain things you need to understand about why God gave your father an
instruction to dissolve the church. Today we have celebrity pastors and mega
churches…they form the majority of believers…believers who know nothing of the
true nature of the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles…a new
generation has arisen who have no idea what the true gospel is all about except
what they hear from the pulpit…they have no habit or culture of studying the
bible for themselves, so they rely wholly on the messages from their ‘men of
God’…that is the generation that spawned you Taiwo.”
“Don’t
you know that Paul teaches that the more we look or focus on material things,
the less we will see or discern spiritual things?” continued Mr Adeleye.
2CO
4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which
are not seen are eternal.
“Do
you not know that this is the very sin that the Laodicean Church committed that
made Jesus want to vomit them out of his mouth? They were rich in material
things but poor spiritually…you cannot have both! God is not mocked! The
Laodicean Church were naked, poor and blind, but the sad thing about it all was
that they didn’t even realize it…they were too full of themselves…they had lost
touch with the reality of spiritual things. That is why your local church as
with other local churches the world over are not making any more impact than an
ant that hits against a metal door…yet only twelve apostles of Christ changed
the world of their day. Today we have millions and millions of believers the
world over, yet unrighteousness and darkness reign…where is God? He left a long
time ago, you just haven’t figured it out!” Mr Adeleye sat back to let things
sink into Taiwo’s heart.
“You
cannot serve God and Mammon, you must choose Taiwo…you cannot have the riches of
the world and have room in your heart also for the true riches of Christ. You
think you receive revelation by inspiration from God, but it is mere
intellectual knowledge that cannot change the heart of any man, for the Holy
Spirit’s conviction is absent…you are merely making acolytes and converts to a
church that has turned fully to the world…you aren’t making disciples of
Christ, but you are cloning yourselves, hence all your assistant pastors and
workers want to dress like their pastors and talk like their pastors…but the
judge of the world is coming, and his reward is with him.”
Mr
Adeleye had more to say, but by the time Taiwo left, he was a humbled young man
whose eyes streamed with tears as he walked out of the door.
He
stumbled blindly towards his car and allowed himself to be driven away by his
PA, not caring about the profuse tears he had begun to shed…his PA asked him
respectfully if everything was alright, but Taiwo was too deep in godly
sorrow…Mr Adeleye’s words still burnt into his soul like acid burns the skin…
Later
that night, his fiancée would call, but Taiwo didn’t pick her call…he was flat
on his face still weeping…Taiwo wept all night long…
Dr
Adekoya was puzzled…it was the fifth day since he had had intercourse with his
wife and she had still not demanded money. She had really gone out of her way
to please him with no thought for herself…but it only further aroused his
suspicions…for the harder she tried, the more he thought about the enormity
of the amount of money she was going to
request for…her niceties were always proportional to the amount she always
requested for.
They
had had a heart to heart chat that night almost till daybreak and the good
doctor had been too tired to go to work the following morning…that was when she
had sat on his laps after breakfast, like a little girl…at last! She was
finally going to mention some indecent, vulgar amount of money…the doctor had
thought…
But
she had other things on her mind…
“I
made your breakfast this morning honey…did you know?”
Dr
Adekoya shook his head, not daring to breathe…what exactly was she up to this
time? What could she possibly want?
“I
didn’t realize you made my breakfast; honestly I don’t know what to say! But
seriously, what has come over you my dear?” murmured Dr Adekoya, perplexed but
genuinely surprised.
Mrs
Adekoya grinned from ear to ear…she laughed with pleasure at her husband’s
surprise.
“I’m
sure you’re thinking…what do I want this time abi? And how much money will I
ask for,” she turned towards him and held his face in both hands.
“Honey,
I’ve had a change of heart…I just suddenly began to feel very bad about the way
I’ve been behaving towards you…my selfishness…I’m even wondering how on earth I
could allow house maids to cook for my husband, I mean; suppose they poisoned
him or something? It feels like scales just fell off my eyes and I’ve come back
to my senses…do you believe me sweetheart?”
“Absolutely
darling,” affirmed Dr Adekoya, vigorously nodding his head…he wasn’t convinced
yet…they had been married this long and he felt he knew his wife well enough.
No one could possibly change overnight…maybe it wasn’t more money she
wanted…maybe it was something else…perhaps a house of her own or a
shop…something that could earn her an income of her own…if so, he would be glad
and only too willing to assist her…she would then become so occupied with it
that he would have a bit more leeway with his beloved Remi.
He
shifted his legs slightly but she leaned back on him, snuggling on his chest…
“I
want us to be as we used to be when we first got married darling…that’s all I
want…I’m not asking for any money or anything else…I just want you to forgive
me and accept me back into your heart. I don’t know how you got along without
any intimacy in bed all these years, but if you have a girlfriend outside then
I don’t blame you at all…neither do I have the right to tell you to leave her
just because I want to come back into your heart…all I ask is that you give me
a chance to win you back from her…I won’t question you if you keep late nights
but just give me a chance darling…I’m so so sorry!” Tears flowed freely from
her eyes as she turned to give him a kiss, and for the first time; Dr Adekoya
let down his guard…could it possibly be true…surely she wasn’t faking those
tears, she wasn’t capable of that! She was for real! She really had changed…and
now he was truly in a dilemma…for how could he love two women at the same time?
The love he had once had for his wife had died years ago…was it even possible
to rekindle it?
Chapter
23
They
had come for ‘Dewale as soon as he was leaving the university premises. Four
men surrounded him chatting and laughing with him, but the one behind him
prodded him unseen with the muzzle of a gun…’Dewale knew it was a gun because
the first time he had been abducted to a meeting had been under similar
circumstances.
He
began to sweat, yet he felt so cold in the scorching heat of the sun…he felt
his knees begin to tremble violently as a familiar cold fear began to wash over
him…it increased his heart beat and his throat ran dry.
Mr
Adeleye had quoted a scripture over him as they prayed for him in church the
previous Sunday…but he just couldn’t remember it anymore…they had turned back
from the main road to the gate and went back towards the hostel…the last men’s
hostel after which was nothing but bushes…there was a bush path that wound its
way deep into a thick forest…on either side, the forest seemed to stretch out
for miles…it was easy to get lost in a place like this…someone blindfolded
‘Dewale and slapped him on the back of his head…by now they had begun to chant
certain words that ‘Dewale didn’t understand, as they propelled him off the
well beaten bush path into a deeper part
of the forest with closer knit trees and thickets.
‘Dewale
prayed under his breath…he had only just been baptized in the Holy Ghost barely
a week ago but Mr Adeleye had told him to pray in other tongues whenever he
didn’t know how or what to pray for…this seemed like a good time…so he began
praying haltingly…only a few words came out…then he found himself repeating the
few words over again…but it did nothing to calm him down….
ISA 54:17 No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in
judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
That
was the scripture Mr Adeleye had quoted! It just bubbled up in his mind
unbidden! There was nothing else he could do other than pray it for
himself…they had entered a large clearing now filled with several men singing
and dancing, dressed in black robes and red hoods…
“No
weapon formed against me shall prosper,” repeated ‘Dewale over and over again
in panic as they thrust him into the centre of the gathering.
No! the other part! ‘Dewale
was sure he heard someone speaking to him above the noise…yet it was louder
than the noise around him…
The other part! Repeated the voice urgently…
“Every
tongue that rises up against me in judgment I shall condemn…”
Condemn them…now!
“In
the name of Jesus, I condemn you whose tongues now rise up against me in
judgment! This is my heritage, my right as a servant of God, I condemn you! I
judge you!” ‘Dewale closed his eyes as he repeated his words over and over
again…he didn’t know for how long he kept going…but he was brought back to
himself by the silence that contrasted the loudness of his voice…he opened his
eyes and found himself alone in the forest…there was not a single soul anywhere
as far as he could see.
He
stumbled out of the forest deeply shaken and blinded by tears…God was real! He
talked to people! He had heard his voice! He had saved him…he didn’t know
how…but everyone had fled as a result of his words…the words the Holy Spirit
had given him to speak…God actually lived in him! The words that he had heard
had come from within him…that explained how it was louder than the noise of the
singing, drumming and dancing around him!
He
couldn’t bear to sit with other people in a taxi for fear that they would
notice how emotional he was, so he chartered a taxi…not to his home…he went
straight to Mr Adeleye…he had to be the first person to know…to know that for
the first time in his life, he had experienced the power of God on his behalf.
Now
he was beginning to understand why Mr Adeleye had resigned from his church as
pastor…it was obviously very easy to be caught up in running the organisation
of the church with all its structures and no longer have a deep personal
relationship with God…then all one had left was the piecing together of
scriptures to form a message that has popped into the mind, or came about as a
result of some perceived deficiency in a certain area of the lives of
believers…
He
now understood that you can’t give your full time to God and yet give your full
time to the running of programs and activities and conferences and accepting
invitations to travel globally…
Only
one thing was needful…to sit at the feet of the master…with or without Man’s
running around presumably to ‘help God spread the gospel’; God was sovereign
and what He will do is what he will do…he didn’t need more than 12 disciples to
change the world…he didn’t need more than 300 of Gideon’s soldiers to win a
battle…he didn’t need anyone other than a choir without physical weapons to win
a war against a combined four or five armies…He only needs a David to defeat a
Goliath because…HE IS GOD!!!
Remi
cradled his head in her arms and chest, an embrace she knew he loved…she smiled
as she watched him shut his eyes tightly and a slow smile broke out across his
face…truly there was a little boy in every man…she thought to herself.
“But
you know it isn’t going to work don’t you?” she asked softly, bending to give
him a peck on the cheek.
“I
will not break up with you…you are just right for me Remi. I only told you
because I love you so much that I don’t want any secrets between us…after seven
years of marriage she now comes back to her senses? Well I have moved on,” said Dr Adekoya.
Remi
sighed deeply…she had always known that this day would come…it had started with
her deep desire to get out of poverty at all costs, and she had ‘landed’ a
billionaire as her boyfriend…a married man whom she had eventually come to love
deeply…now his home was being mended and that was a good thing…he didn’t love
his wife any more, but with time the old love would be rekindled…this was the
time for her to bow out…but he wouldn’t let her…she had made money beyond her
wildest dreams, thanks to him…but it was time to leave…she had to do what she
had to do…
Chapter
24
“You
know, I almost believed you…this change of heart thing,” Damilola was saying as
he paced thoughtfully around the room, around a weeping Titi…she sat on the
floor and frequently turned from side to side, crooning to herself through her
tears.
“I
almost believed until I remembered that I
took you to your brother’s house after Service one day a long time ago, and he
wore a green Tee Shirt. It was the same green Tee Shirt he wore to my house
with his friends to give me the beating of my life. He looked familiar then,
but because he wore a mask I couldn’t really say…and besides, I was so
terrified I didn’t have time to think…but his size…I mean, he is too big to be
mistaken…so I added one plus one together and your guess is as good as mine…he
didn’t act on his own…you sent him…didn’t you?”
“Okay
I did, but that was way back then when I was still hurting from the humiliation
of the break up…I hadn’t changed then, you’ve got to believe me Dami, please!
That was the real reason why I came back a day or two later… to check on you…I
lied to you, I didn’t come back to beg you, I came back because I was
remorseful…I wanted to make sure they didn’t hurt you so badly!”
“Yeah
right! More likely you wanted to make sure the job had been done thoroughly!”
said Damilola viciously.
“Why
am I even talking to you? You know what, please leave my house. As you can see,
I have fully recovered and returned to my own house but I don’t need or want
you anymore.”
Titi looked tearfully into
Damilola’s eyes as she sank to her knees.
“Can I just say one thing
Damilola?”
“Go ahead, as long as you
leave right afterwards,”
“I’ve always known you to be
a God fearing person…all those things you used to say and feel about the church
derailing? I too began to feel the same way…and all I want to say is, I am
ready to do anything to prove to you that I’ve changed Damilola as God is my
witness…I’m leaving the church too. I have
already resigned from the choir and pastor Taiwo has asked to see me.
When I go to see him, I will let him know officially that I am leaving the
church. I will leave now…but please in the name of God and the bible truths you
used to expound to me then…by the mercies of God and his forgiveness…Damilola
please find it in your heart to forgive me and accept me back, knowing that it
Christ always gives second chances and much more…please I beg you!” Titi stood
up slowly and walked out.
Damilola
watched her go with disgust…yet deep within him, his conscience bothered him.
She had made a couple of comparisons between Dami and Christ and that was
something that always arrested Dami’s attention, even if it was being used to
someone else’s advantage…the truth was still that Christ always gives second
chances and more.
How
would God forgive him if he still remained adamant…she only asked for another
chance, it isn’t as if we are getting married…another chance to prove that she
was sincere…that she had genuinely changed, and truthfully apart from this
beating he had received from her brother, he himself had almost believed
her…she seemed to have repented deeply…her submission was total almost to the
point of humiliating herself before him…
He
would pray about it tonight…God alone knew if she was sincere or not…God
couldn’t be deceived…so he would wait on God for an answer…he forgave her
now…but accepting her back was a different thing…he would wait on God for
that…if the Holy Spirit gave him peace within and a sense of reassurance as he
had done so often in the past, then he would accept her back…with that,
Damilola heaved a sigh of relief and turned his thoughts towards work the
following day.
From
the moment Yomi had invited ‘Dewale to their home for Service, Precious too had
begun to nurse the desire to bring her own friend who had newly received Christ
to her home.
‘Dewale’s
awesome testimony last week about his encounter with the cultists in the forest
had so motivated her, that she had not given Tola any breathing space
throughout the week till she had promised to come…
Precious
came down early…she wanted to be the first person Tola would see when she
opened the door. This home church thing was still new to her and she would need
reassurances…Tola had argued for so long that the church building was the only
acceptable place to worship God, and Precious had showed her from scripture
that the church was the people not the building…but certain deeply ingrained
‘theologies’ are pretty hard to break even when they are wrong, so Tola out of
a deep love and affection for her friend had eventually given in and promised
to come.
Precious
sat by the door waiting for her friend, already ‘Dewale had arrived and so had
the other two families that worshipped with them. ‘Dewale had had some problems
getting away from home because his father insisted that they should all worship
together at the Baptist Church as usual, but ‘Dewale had prevailed on his mum,
reminding her that he had stopped his secret smoking and drinking that she
alone knew about, and the reason was because he had found Christ in the home of
a former pastor…it was ‘Dewale’s mum that had prevailed on his dad to allow him
to worship wherever his spirit led him.
Laide
took both praise and worship because Precious still wanted to wait for her
friend.
There
was a timid knock on the door and Precious’ face broke out in a wide grin…she
exchanged glances with her mother who returned the smile, knowing who it was at
the door.
Precious
hugged her friend and ushered her to a seat right beside hers, just as the
message began.
“The
heart holds a central place in Man…it is the seat of Man’s affections, it is
also the place that reveals Man’s sincerity, integrity, genuineness, or lack of
them all. It is the place that God uses as a ‘thermometer’ to gauge how alive
(or hot); or how dead
(lukewarm
or cold) a person is.The heart is the Life Centre of Man;
it is from it that the issues of life proceed. The issues of
life are the
thoughts, imaginations, desires,
lusts, feelings, plans
and intentions, all of
which proceed from
the heart; which as we
continually think on them…imagine them…desire them…lust after
them…create relationships, situations and circumstances, through which they
thus come to reality one way or another.
They
come out of the mouth as spoken words, for they are
spirit…spoken thoughts, imaginations,
desires or lusts…they are energies of the soul, released and received as we
think, speak, desire, act on them and act them out.
It
is the reason why the bible asks us to guard our hearts with all diligence (i.e.
with all carefulness and vigilance), because out of it flow the issues or the
plans and intentions of life.
Pro
4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
It
is the heart that Christ reveals to be the chief faculty of worship…
Matt
15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with
their
lips; but their heart is far from me.Christ acknowledges the effort made by the
Pharisees to draw closer to him in
worship and prayer, and to praise him with their lips, but the one important
thing they needed to do to make their worship and praise sincere was to
involve the heart, from which proceeds the issues of life; the heart
which is either hot or cold or lukewarm…
Rev
3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert
cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I
will spue thee out of my mouth.
In
the above scripture, Christ was not referring to the person himself but to his
heart.
It
is the heart that is either hot or cold or lukewarm, not the Man. We see here how
Christ
regards the heart as the Man. The Man is what his heart is…
Pro
23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to
thee; but
his
heart is not with thee. In all things, it is the heart that the Lord looks upon
to determine the spiritual condition of a person.”
At
the end of the Service, Precious escorted her friend to the bus stop…
“I’ve
never had scriptures speak to me like that before…I never knew that my heart is
the real person…I didn’t know that my body only obeys my heart, that it doesn’t
originate actions of its own. I learnt a lot today,” said Tola happily.
“Me
too… I learnt that one can get revelation from the word that is being shared
that is not even mentioned in the word that is being shared…that is what happened
to you today you know…how did you know that the body does not originate actions
of its own, that it obeys the heart?” asked Precious, still wondering at the
change in her now very dear friend.
“I
don’t really know…all I know is that every time he said something, it seemed to
link to other truths that my eyes opened to,” replied Tola.
They
had reached the bus stop and waited together…
“I
want to come tomorrow and every Sunday,” blurted out Tola suddenly…then she
looked at her friend shyly.
“You
are more than welcome my best friend,” said Precious.
“So
I’m now your best friend abi?” said
Tola coyly as a bus approached.
“The
‘bestest and only sincere one,” answered Precious fervently, hugging her friend
quickly before she boarded the bus.
As
she strolled back home, she wondered at the miracle of salvation…she mused at
the Tola that had been, only a few months ago…and the Tola that she was
now…truly her life had changed…she remembered hearing testimonies of people
coming out for altar call in her former church where her dad had been senior
pastor…some ‘slain’ by the anointing…but were their hearts changed…like Tola’s
or ‘Dewale’s?
Life
just seemed to go on…the same old way of dressing…the same old way of
talking…the same old way of behaving…nothing had changed…they only came out
because of the strong appeal to emotion through a combination of songs and
appeals…many craved attention and special treatment, and they were royally
regaled with both…others loved the songs and wanted to enjoy them the more…she
remembered several of her age mates who had come out for altar call back
then…they were still the same…some came out periodically because they wanted
special treatment, then they disappeared from church for a long time.
She
thanked God because she took to heart the messages of her father back
then…there were other pastors who preached ‘exciting’ messages to motivate
people…but in the end…it was only excitement…when the euphoria passed
everything would return to normal…like new year resolutions that always were broken…one
thing she had learnt was…the message of Christ was a sober one…it could only be
planted in the good ground of a sober heart…not a heart that had been
stimulated with the excitement of the flesh…singing songs that apparently
glorify God when the heart itself is far from God…
Chapter
25
It
obviously wasn’t a bribe…nor was it payment for simply visiting a long standing
friend…still; Mr Adeleye was caught off guard when he received a check of fifty
million naira from the Rising Star Church…it was delivered by pastor Taiwo
Abayomi’s PA with deep apologies from pastor Taiwo for being unable to deliver
it personally as instructed by his father.
His
friend Pastor Abayomi Snr was trying to make amends…restitution, any way he
could…he had sensed that death was near…as also Mr Adeleye knew…he was closing
his account finally, and giving the money to one who had obeyed God where he
had failed, in some way hoping that it would count in his favour when he stood
to give account before his Maker.
They
had discussed it previously and passionately, and Mr Adeleye had resisted it
with all his might…he didn’t want his money…but when his friend had broken down
in tears begging desperately sand asked a simple question…”How do you know that
the sincere restitution of my heart will not count in my favour on Judgement
day? If truly you have been my friend these long years, please don’t deny me
this last request…it is a strong impression I have in my heart…something I just
feel led to do!”
Mr
Adeleye’s heart had melted then…it hurt him to see his friend so heartbroken…so
he had reluctantly accepted, and prayed and interceded for his friend with
fasting…but he knew that his friend had already received forgiveness…there was
a peace that witnessed in both their hearts as Mr Adeleye departed in tears.
He
fervently hoped that his talk with Taiwo Abayomi would yield fruits of
repentance and cause him to repent and do his father’s bidding. Kehinde had
still not come to see him…he probably wouldn’t…from Taiwo’s report about him,
it seemed he had gone the way of apostasy…
Wealth
was a terrible distraction…he knew that now from experience…once you attained a
certain level of worldly or ‘spiritual’ success, the invitations would start to
come…to preach…to join some laudable cause…to ‘empower’ people…busy about
nothing, like Martha…anything and everything except the ONE THING that was
needful…to maintain the heart in a true and pure relationship with God…
He
found himself wondering when the church derailed and started buying into the idea
of a social gospel…’feeding the poor’, yet the lives of the poor were not
changed…it was a mere, pitiful substitute for the power of God that was
manifested in true holiness in the days of the early church…Peter’s shadow
healing the sick…Paul’s handkerchiefs healing the sick…Phillip being
transported to some other country by the Holy Spirit.
The
apostles and evangelists of this generation seemed not to have ‘signs’
following their ministry…so they had to rely heavily on ‘signs’ produced by
wealth and messages calculated to draw in the crowds, as Paul had prophesied
that the Church of the last days would merely heap up to themselves teachers
after their own itching ears…it was not going to be an exception…it was going
to be the norm…a major characteristic of the worldly wise church of the last
days…they would not be able any longer to endure sound doctrine…and we have
entered into those days now…thought Mr Adeleye as he closed the door of the
study and went up to bed…it was well past midnight…
Titi
lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling…she had been depressed for days,
since she had walked out of Damilola’s room, humiliated again…but it wasn’t the
humiliation that depressed her, it was the fact that she had been blinded to Truth
for so long!
She
had never read or studied the bible for herself…she had always relied on the
sermons in church…but as she studied the books of Romans, 1st and 2nd
Corinthians, as well as Galatians which she had begun just yesterday, she saw
how the word of God emphasized Mortification and Sanctification…she saw clearly
that carnality had ruled her life…she had then begun to wonder how the
inspiring sermons about “You are a walking miracle waiting to explode!”; and “What
is in your hand?” and “The Egyptians you see today, you will see no more”; and
“The wealth of the wicked shall be converted to the righteous,” and so many
more…she wondered how she had become so caught up and wrapped up in the hype of
those ‘messages’ that she almost believed she was indestructible! Alas…it was
only Self in manifestation…
She
had filled her mind with so much hype and worldliness, it was no wonder that she
had felt somewhat ‘superior’ to Damilola…she had accused him of not having
faith…not being motivated…not excited about the Kingdom of God, as though God
required excitement or motivation from believers! Such fleshly manifestations
masquerading as spiritual fervency!
She
recalled that she had been one of the worship leaders who believed that in
praising God, everyone had to really dance their hearts out, otherwise their
praise would not be acceptable to God…but she saw now that it wasn’t the
physicality of their praise that was acceptable to God…it was the very life of
the heart living a praiseworthy life unto God that was acceptable…for of what
use is verbal praise that does not flow from a praise giving life?
It
was like Jesus had said; these people worship me with their lips but their
hearts are far from me…her eyes had been opened as a result of her crisis with
Damilola. She had deliberately left her life in God’s hands in prayer…if it
pleased the Almighty, he would reconcile them both together again…and if not,
he would provide her with her own husband.
She
closed her eyes and meditated on the things she had studied in the Word and the
Holy Spirit had expounded to her in an almost half filled note book already.
One thing that had captured her thoughts completely was the teaching of Paul in
Romans 8…it was both a promise and a threat…
Rom
8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
The
first thing that had struck her was the words YE SHALL LIVE! She knew Paul had
written to the Roman Church…born again believers who were already alive in
Christ…so why was there another promise of life?
Then
it hit her! Receiving the new life of Christ was one thing…but LIVING IT HERE
ON EARTH WAS ANOTHER THING! Paul was giving out the secret of living Eternal
Life here on earth! It was as one mortified or killed the deeds of the body
that one would also continue to live; conversely should one not continually mortify
the deeds of the body…that believer would gradually begin to die spiritually.
Her
pastor had once quoted a scripture somewhere…she didn’t remember anymore; where
Jesus said; Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it cannot bring
forth fruit.
Her
pastor had explained it in the context of sowing seeds…that was when she had
sowed almost half of her salary, believing that the ‘seed of money’ would fall
to the ground and bring forth fruit…but she could see the clear meaning in its
true context…SHE was the corn of wheat that had to fall to the ground and die…by
mortifying the deeds of her body through the Holy Spirit.
She
had found a parallel scripture to the one in Romans 8, in Colossians that
talked about mortifying the members which are on earth such as fornication,
uncleanness, evil lusts, and so on…these sounded much like Jesus’ words…for out
of the heart flows evil thoughts, fornications, murders, thefts, and such
like…these are the truths the church ought to have been focusing on in these
last days, for there was no more time…truths that would change hearts…truths
that would make believers strangers and pilgrims on earth, searching for
another country...an eternal country…looking for the return of Christ, rather
than trying to change a world that was condemned already, forgetting that the
Millennium was when Christ’s Kingdoms would come…as it is written in the Book
of Revelation…not now in this present age…
Chapter
26
Lolade
had not recovered from the shock of last Sunday Service…it was Thursday and she
had absolutely refused to go for any Mid- Week Service. She had not been able
to reconcile Pastor Kehinde’s words with the Pastor Kehinde she knew…her soon
to be brother in law.
Somehow
he had changed…he had allowed the lust for power to go to his head…it was
obvious…why would he tell such blatant lies right there on the pulpit and in
God’s presence?
Wealth
had a way of pampering the flesh…it produced cravings, desires and lusts for
‘things’ that the common man could not afford…for things that are not necessary
for the survival of life…for gadgets and toys that bewitched a man and charmed
him deeper into the world systems… wealth sowed seeds of pride and elevated
Man’s ego so that he thought of himself more highly than he ought.
She
sipped her cold drink and turned on the TV as she waited for her fiancée to
arrive…she of course watched only Christian channels…but these days they too
were becoming too stereotyped and less focused on the Gospel…
“Five
Steps to Greatness”…that was the message this preacher was preaching…she
wondered what sort of greatness and as she listened she suddenly began to see
how totally different the message was from the doctrine of Christ.
“You
have to believe in yourself and know that within you dwells a Greater than that
which is in the world,” the preacher was saying.
“Your
attitude will determine your altitude,” Lolade switched off the TV wearily and
rubbed her eyes…she felt like she was just waking up from deep slumber…the
messages seemed to be hypnotic…they were repeated over and over again in so
many different ways, but always the same message…it was always about Self Esteem
or Self Confidence or Self Fulfilment…the very Self that Christ went to the
cross to crucify…the very Self that Christ taught us to deny…is the very Self
that had enthroned itself in the Church and enslaved believers.
There
was a knock on the door and she rose swiftly to open it, knowing it was Taiwo.
She led him by the hand to a sofa and sat beside him, holding his hand in both
of hers…he looked tired and haggard…he obviously wasn’t eating well…
“How
was work?” she asked gently, trying to feel him out.
“I
could hardly concentrate on anything…I’m confused Lolade…I don’t know what to
do,” said Taiwo.
“Oh
my baby!” said Lolade framing his face in her hands, her eyes filled with
concern.
“What
did Mr Adeleye say you should do?” she asked.
“He
asked me to do my father’s bidding and dissolve the church, but I can’t do it
single handedly…in any case, I am not willing to do it…I feel like I’m throwing
away a major part of my life. I’ve invested 15 years of my life into this
church, what will I have to show for it, if I just let go.”
Lolade
watched him struggle inwardly, like the rich young ruler who was unwilling to
part with his wealth…
“Should
I just give up everything to Kehinde…should I just leave the church empty
handed?”
“That’s
the real problem Taiwo…it’s what I was thinking about before you came,” said
Lolade gently, wondering how to explain things to him.
“The
church seems to have become a source of income and other things to you, that’s
why you can’t leave Taiwo,”
“What
do you mean?” asked Taiwo, raising his head questioningly.
“It
has become a struggle for power between you and uncle Kehinde, and it doesn’t
look like it is to the glory of God…it is only in the interest of Self. Why
don’t you leave it and let it go Taiwo?” Lolade begged passionately.
“I
know” said Taiwo, sighing deeply as he leaned back into the deep cushions.
“I
too have sensed something wrong…this is no longer about serving God or
ministering to God’s people…it never has been…this crisis has squeezed the
truth out and revealed my brother and I for who we really are…we are not worthy
to be called ministers of God…and still, in spite of this knowledge; I find I
am unable to tear myself away from it all…from 15 years of my life..” ended
Taiwo.
“I
don’t believe you Taiwo…I don’t believe you can’t just walk away!” Lolade’s
opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
“When
you control tens of millions every day…and so many people look up to you, and
you have become a voice in the land…” Taiwo ended lamely.
“I
see now that I’m no son of God…I’m just the slave of Mammon…I don’t deserve you
Lolade,” he stood shakily to his feet and began walking towards the door.
Lolade
sprang to her feet and blocked his way, wrapping her arms around him…
“I
won’t give up on you Taiwo, neither will I leave you…I know you want to do the
right thing, but you are trapped and in need of deliverance…please don’t
despair my dear, we will go back to Mr Adeleye, he will know how to help us,”
she hugged him as his body began to tremble, wracked with deep sobs that came
from his soul.
She
led him back to the sofa and hurried to bring the meal she had prepared…
“I
have no appetite, Lolade”
“I
know, but you will eat my food and not let it waste, won’t you?” she coaxed as
she put the first spoonful of fried rice into his mouth.
“We
will go and see Mr Adeleye tomorrow, he will pray for you, and then you will
come back and tender your resignation from the church just as Mr Adeleye
did…just as your father wants you to do. You can start a business or
something…after all, you studied Business Administration and I know you have
more than enough money to start. I’m not going anywhere dear; I’m going to
stand by you until everything works out. The most important thing is to obey
God no matter the cost, and this is what God wants you to do Taiwo; resign and
walk away!”
Chapter
27
Kehinde
Abayomi sat alone in his living room upstairs and watched the endless stars
winking in and out of the dark moonless sky. He had opened up the curtains and
the windows so the breeze blew over him soothingly…sometimes he preferred the
wind to the AC…it was more soothing, and he needed comforting right now…
He
had never gotten around to having a girlfriend like his brother who had a more
likeable personality…and recently his desires had begun playing havoc with
him…he felt lust stirring within him every time one of his female staff came
into his office dressed in their usual provocative way.
At
first he had resisted it violently even to the point of using his PA as a
front…they didn’t have to come into his office…his PA could get whatever he
wanted or tell them whatever he wanted them to know.
But
as the days, weeks, months and years wore on, he began to feel the need to have
a woman to be with. He hadn’t seen any young woman of interest to him in church
as a wife and that disturbed him.
Yet
it was mostly ladies who booked appointments to see him, knowing that his
brother was already engaged…they came for various reasons…but he saw through
them all…they wanted him to take notice of them and consider a relationship
with them…it was obvious from the way many of them dressed and the way they
fawned over him…trying to appear as submissive as possible…some even went as
far as bringing gifts…not expensive ones…just little things that would be
remembered…
“I
brought a bottle of chilled fruit wine for my pastor,” one had said to him the
other day as she dropped a parcel on his table, curtsying deeply and walking
out before he could refuse the gift.
“Pastor,
I hope you won’t be angry with me, I travelled to Dubai and bought some shirts
for you,” said another.
He
had thought a great deal about marriage and knew that he literally only had to
snap his fingers and most girls would come to him…so why didn’t he just choose
one of them and minimise the risks of temptation…but even as he thought about
it, he realized that his work was his whole life…the truth he had uncovered
about himself in his heart was that he had no interest in raising a family…he
didn’t want the responsibility of going through a pregnancy with a cantankerous
woman or squabbling little babies…it was a different thing when they belonged
to some other couple…he could carry them for a few minutes to be polite…but to
live with them at home and watch his wife change diapers and arrange to go with
them sometimes to the hospital for what was it again…antenatal or
something…no…he just wasn’t cut out for such a life.
He
knew what he wanted from life…if he had to work so hard to sustain what his
father built…then surely he was entitled to some moments of fleeting pleasure
to relieve the stress…he had backslidden a whole lot, this he knew, but even
before he did, this had always been his disposition to marriage, pregnancy and
screaming babies…he wanted none of it!
He
sipped some of his wine and toyed with the note in his hand…someone had slipped
a note under his door after the cleaners and come and done their work…he read
it again…
Dear Sir, I know you are going through a
lot, taking care of a church as large as this. I also know that there is no
woman in your life right now, but sometimes it can be very lonely. I want you
to know that I am here for you and NO STRINGS ATTACHED! I cannot reveal myself
for obvious reasons as I do not know what your reaction will be; however should
you need me at any time then please wear a red shirt next Sunday. If not, then
you will never hear from me again…I just want you to know that for me this is a
calling…please don’t be offended, it isn’t something I do…I want to do this…but
only for you…only if you want me…I’m not looking for marriage unless you want
it…I am merely looking to help my pastor go through the stress of life. God
bless you sir for work you are doing.
This
was the kind of temptation single pastors faced all the time…he had never been
with a woman before…but he could no longer endure…he finished his wine and felt
the alcohol seeping through his body and relieving tension…after all, Paul had
told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach’s sake…it meant wine was
therapeutic…Paul probably didn’t know at that time that wine was also good for
stress…he possibly didn’t have the kind of stress that pastors of mega churches
have to deal.
He
would wear a red shirt on Sunday and see her next move…the girl was cautious
and that was a good thing…but was she desirable…was she attractive…was she
refined or just some cheap slut coming to church to hustle?
He
turned his thoughts towards his brother…they had not exchanged words since he
had installed himself publicly as Overseeing Pastor. He chuckled at the
speechlessness of Taiwo…he was now beginning to understand the power of what he
called ‘shock treatment’…shock people in a way that would render them
speechless and by the time they recovered, it would be too late for them to do
anything!
It
was time for his next shock treatment…it was better not to give him any
breathing space, that way he would never recover fully enough to challenge
him…but then Taiwo never liked confrontations no matter what…he would simply
let it go.
They
had never been having Workers Meetings except when the church had to plan for
major events…but he was going to change all of that now…he would initiate a
Workers Service, compulsory for all workers to attend…from 8am to 9am when the
proper Service would commence.
The
Headquarter Church had no less than 150 workers…he would establish his supreme
authority over them and indoctrinate them in such a way that they would begin to
see him as more powerful…more influential and more to be feared than his
brother…
“Come
in,” said Dr Adekoya, looking up with a smile as Damilola entered his office.
“Good
evening sir,” said Damilola bowing as he took the proffered hand in greeting.
“Do
sit down. Can I offer you a drink and some biscuits?”
“No
sir, I’m good,”
Dr
Adekoya waited a few moments and then looked into Damilola’s face.
“I
heard about your recent break up with your fiancée. I have only met you a
couple of times I think, but I always see your fiancée up on stage leading
worship. So it was when I heard at an elders meeting of the break up that I
decided to find out who her fiancée was. They mentioned your name but it didn’t
ring a bell so I asked the chief usher to ask you to see me either in church or
in my office at the weekend.”
“Thank
you sir,”
“I
didn’t ask to see you to try to reconcile you both, but I was prompted to tell
you something about my own life…somehow there is this strong impression within
me to tell you, even though I’m only making your acquaintance formally today.
I’ve been married for seven years and without children.
My wife has always been the selfish kind of
woman, though she has changed now, but I had to endure so many things and
eventually whatever love or feelings or affection I felt for her died. But
recently she has been putting in every effort to change and to please me. She
literally goes out of her way to do things that she has never done before all
in a bid to please me. So I began to have second thoughts…for weeks she has
been begging for forgiveness, but it is so hard to forgive offences that span
several years…one tends to get bitter.”
“Wow,
Sir I am overwhelmed at your words! You just opened up your life to a complete
stranger and it has given me much food for thought,” said Damilola, admiration
writted all over his face.
“I
always used to think that it was impossible to see any of the wealthy people in
church because of their busy schedules, but you sent for me just to tell me
this…Sir I don’t know what to say!”
“Well
for what it is worth, I think you should give your fiancée another chance…I
don’t know what led to the breakup…but if she is remorseful and still loves
you…you should give her another chance to prove herself…I just did too…and my
wife is so appreciative of me now…she never used to cook for me before, but now
no housemaid is even allowed into the kitchen when she is preparing my meals…give
her a second chance.”
When
Damilola left Dr Adekoya’s office he knew he had his answer from God…there was
a lump in his throat as he quietly thanked the Lord. God had cared about his
personal life…not just his spiritual life…he had cared about the things that
mattered to him…only God could do such things…as he eased himself into the
traffic he began singing choruses to thank the Lord, but he thought better of
it, when tears threatened to break out…God had spoken…he would call Titi
tonight…he couldn’t go to her house for fear of her parents…so he would call her
instead…
Chapter
28
“He
needs your prayers more than ever…he is dying!” sobbed Mrs Adeleye…the video
played on the giant media screen of the Rising Star Church showing a hospital
room in which Mrs Adeleye knelt before the camera and sobbed. In the background
was a bed and a figure lay on it…it was obviously Pastor Adeleye Snr.
The
church broke out into sobbing and wailing as many fell flat on their faces
while others knelt beside their chairs…but all mourned and wept as intercession
such as had never before been done in Rising Star Church began.
No
one directed the prayers…all the pastors on stage were on their faces on the
floor including Pastor Kehinde the Overseeing Pastor…but Pastor Taiwo was
conspicuously absent.
The
Service didn’t end at the usual time, instead it dragged on for a couple more
hours until Pastor Kehinde stood up and came to the pulpit and rounded up the
prayers.
“We
must put our trust in God. That means that whatever God decides to do with our
father in the Lord we must accept it in good faith. Our prayer is that God will
perform a miracle that will astound the world and renew the faith of His
people. We strongly believe He will in his mercy restore our father back to sound
health,” he paused as a chorus of ‘Amens’ rumbled loudly throughout the vast
fifty thousand seater auditorium.
“However,
His ways are not our ways…His thoughts are not our thoughts…if He decides to
call our father home, who are we to question He who has numbered the hair on
our heads?”
A
murmur of agreement rippled through the auditorium as Pastor Kehinde looked
around him.
“It
is the doctors report that he is dying, but we know God’s Word on that. What
the world calls death, God calls sleep for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is
to this end that I call for more commitment and dedication from all of you. The
time is short…age is no guarantee that any of us won’t be called home at any
time…children die every day, there is no guarantee that any of us will see
tomorrow…it is only by faith that the just shall live. I am therefore
instituting an additional Service beginning from next Sunday. It is a Workers’
Service and if you are a worker in this church it is mandatory that you be
there. It will begin at 8am so that the usual Service begins at 9am.”
Pastor
Kehinde said the benediction and people huddled tearfully in groups, not yet
willing to go to their homes.
Pastor
Kehinde was surrounded by people who came to him for comfort, weeping…
“It
is well,” said Pastor Kehinde repeatedly, as he hugged everyone who came to
him. He wondered why his brother hadn’t shown up in church but concluded that
his brother was trying to step down from the church in stages.
Pastor
Kehinde waited until all the congregants had left the church…a thing he never
did, for he usually left first in the company of his entourage...he waved them
off except his PA and walked straight to his car in the special underground car
park that had been built for him and his brother.
He
sat in his armoured Hummer Jeep and was driven home by his driver accompanied
by his PA…Pastor Kehinde was wearing a red shirt under his jacket…
“In
worship, we fulfill the desires of God and God alone…we cannot fulfill our
desires and then fulfill the desires of God, any more than we can serve God as
well as serve Mammon at the same time…
Matt
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot
serve God and mammon.
It
is in fulfilling the desires or affections of our hearts that we know who our
true master is…it is in the fulfilling of our loves…or lusts that we know whom
we truly obey…
Rom
6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?
Worship
is the fulfilling of the desires of the Spirit of God; why would Moses choose
to be among his enslaved race, rather than opt for the once in a lifetime
opportunity to be the adopted son of the most powerful monarch on earth?
Why
would Joseph spurn the advances of his Master's wife and lose a golden
opportunity for worldly advancement?
Why
would a murderer and an adulterer like David, be named a man after God's own
heart despite his atrocities?
One
could of course advance many reasons, but perhaps the one single one that
connects all the dots is the deep love, awe and respect they all had for God.
There
must be something strong enough to keep us in check whenever temptations of
worldly or fleshly gain or advancement come knocking at our doors...
There
must be Someone whose influence over our lives far exceeds our own...
That
is; when our power to overcome temptation becomes weaker than the power of the
temptation...then another Power kicks in, far greater than the power of the
temptation...hence a way of escape is thus provided.
It
is never a power we can develop... it is a power belonging to Someone who must
be loved absolutely...by risking all...like Moses and Joseph...not in blind
assumption...but by loving the way Love loves... like David alone, in the
wilderness with his harp and God, against the lion and the bear...
We
cannot please God and man simultaneously...nor can we please God and self...
hence it is termed the Narrow Path, and very few are those who find it... yet
it isn't hidden...for there it is in plain sight to those who have eyes to see
and ears to hear...
You
can choose to be Pharaoh's adopted child today...or choose to be a son of
God... not in mere name... but in truth and in deed...”
Mr
Adeleye closed his bible and bowed his head for prayers…in the far left corner
of his living room in a corner, sat Pastor Taiwo, weeping silently and
uncontrollably…Lolade squeezed his hand and rubbed his back alternately, trying
to give him some measure of comfort.
Precious
stole a sympathetic glance at Pastor Taiwo…she knew him from the various
pictures she had seen of him on Facebook and his sermons on DSTV. She watched
her father stride over to where he was, then she felt a tug on her arm…It was
Tola. Together they went upstairs to Precious’ bedroom…Tola was family now…and
so was ‘Dewale…and the other kids from the two families that joined
them…together they all made their way upstairs to have their own ‘fellowship
after fellowship’…Mrs Adeleye went to the kitchen to bring out refreshments.
“So
what have you decided to do?” asked Mr Adeleye after giving Pastor Taiwo time
to calm down.
“”Your
sermon has given me clear direction sir…I cannot please my Self and please God
at the same time…tomorrow, I will tender my resignation and leave…this is where
I want to be fellowshipping from now on…today, I drop the title of Pastor…it
isn’t used the way it was used in the days of the Early Church, I see that
now…today it has become merely a title…a rank…a status symbol…I see things more
clearly now sir, and I am grateful to you,” said Taiwo.
Lolade
sank to her knees to thank Mr Adeleye but he swiftly pulled her up, back into
her seat.
“We
must never thank Man for the work that God has done,” he said earnestly, as his
wife came out with glasses of fruit juice and biscuits.
Chapter
29
Titi
was beside herself with joy as she prepared to leave for Damilola’s
apartment…she had changed her dress thrice already and it looked like she would
do it again as she stared at herself in the mirror, not impressed at all…
“Titi,
just make up your mind and go!” she chided herself, as she picked up her
handbag and made for the door…she remembered the food she had made and returned
to the kitchen to pick up the cooler.
It
was only a thirty minute ride by bus to Damilola’s place and she couldn’t wait
to get there! She wondered at God’s way of doing things…it had taken a crisis
to open her eyes to see herself as she truly was…to see the errors she had
believed in and practised with all her heart…now she knew that God always
worked through crisis situations to arrest the attention of his people when
necessary.
When
she had told her father about the new development, he had been angry at first
and ordered her not to go…but she was his only daughter and child…she knew how
to twist him around her fingers…by the time she started crying…he melted like
butter…she smiled inwardly…it had been her father that then persuaded her mum
to allow them to reconcile…the man had seen the error of his ways and wanted
her back and she still loved him…after all, he was a peaceful, well-mannered
young man and had not shown any aggression towards her.
“Then
why can’t he come here and beg?” Titi’s mother had asked.
“Because
he is afraid that you will send him out ma, please mummy! He really loves me
and to be fair to him, I am the one who harassed him, not the other way round!”
replied Titi passionately.
“Okay
go, but if you come back crying I will just ignore you, do you understand me?”
“Yes
ma,” Titi had said, trying to keep the note of triumph out of her voice.
Her
thoughts were dragged back to the present by the harsh voice of the bus
conductor calling out her bus stop.
O wa o!
“You
dey sleep before?” asked the conductor nastily.
Titi
gave him a withering look as she stepped out of the bus and waited to cross the
road with its busy traffic…her anger at the bus conductor quickly dissipated
like a dark cloud dispelled before the sunny smile that began to spread across
her face in anticipation of the reconciliation between herself and her beloved
fiancée.
Would
he give her another engagement ring? They had not yet gone official by
announcing the broken engagement to their families…Titi’s dad had wanted time
to get over the humiliation before announcing to his relatives.
She
crossed over and picked an Okada and
rode straight down the street with the wind racing through her hair. These
motor bike riders were extremely careless! She held on tightly to her seat as
the bike went over a series of bumps at high speed that threatened to unseat
her…silently she made a vow to walk instead of taking a bike anytime she came
to visit Damilola from now on…it would only take her thirty minutes to get
there, but at least she was sure to arrive there in one piece!
Damilola
opened the door for her and she literally fell into his arms…she had missed him
so much! They exchanged a passionate kiss but kept it short, for they both knew
where it could lead to.
“I’m
so so – “ Titi was saying before Damilola silenced her with another kiss on her
lips.
“It’s
in the past, let’s just forget it never happened my darling…OK?” said Damilola,
framing her face in his hands and looking earnestly into her eyes.
Titi
smiled happily and allowed herself to be led to the only chair in the room,
while Damilola sat on the bed opposite her.
“I
brought some food for you,” Titi said, reaching for the cooler on the floor
beside her.
“And
I bought some fruit juice and chocolates for us,” said Damilola, also reaching
for a parcel behind him on the bed. He handed the parcel to her and she opened
it…there were two single cartons of Berry Blast and two packets of
chocolates…but there was also a smaller parcel wedged in between both.
“What’s
in that?” Titi asked.
“Well
maybe you should open it,” replied Damilola with a broad smile.
Inside
was a little silvery box…she opened it and found a golden ring seated on a
heart shaped cushion on which the words I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER were carved
out.
Damilola
carried her around the room like a baby as she began to sob…it was her new
engagement ring…Damilola meant for them to start over again as though they’d
never been engaged before…a flood of memories suddenly assailed her mind…the
vicious, hurtful words she had spoken to him…the commanding tone she had always
used for him, expecting to be obeyed…she had literally emasculated him…and
now…he just chose to forget everything…he wanted them to forget those years as
though they never happened…and she saw it was Jesus shining through him…for who
could forgive like that?
She
basked in her fiancée’s love and care for her as he carried her around the room
murmuring soothing words to her…they washed over her like a healing balm…she
would never again hurt him…never again speak rudely to him…
“It’s
OK my darling, it’s OK,” hushed Damilola as he gently laid her on the bed and
began busying himself with serving the food for them both…
She
watched him for a while, then stood up to join him…they ate from the same plate
and drank from the same carton of Berry Blast…
Hours
later, Damilola drove her back home and prostrated flat before her parents…her
mother was the first to raise him up from the ground…she hugged him close…
“I
know you are a good man…you will take care of my daughter…I give her to you
whole heartedly.
Her
dad shook his hand fervently, grinning from ear to ear as he saw how his
daughter looked shyly at her fiancée, then at her father…it was obvious they
were both in love…he was delighted and invited Damilola to stay for dinner…
It
was well past 7pm when Damilola finally drove off, his fiancé blowing kisses at
him from the door way.
Chapter
30
Dr
Adekoya read the Whatsapp message for the third time as his world fell to
pieces…Remi had left him…she had packed out and moved to an undisclosed location…
My dear friend, mentor, confidante and
lover, I know what you must be feeling by the time you reach the end of this
message…but it is all for the best. You and I both knew that it couldn’t last
forever…I have to get married someday and you also had to reconcile with your
wife someday…it just happened that the latter happened first…and truly I am
glad…I have loved you sincerely from my heart, though it didn’t start that way
as I once confessed to you…I have left the keys to the house under the pile of tires
in the garage. I would prefer that you do not call me again, for I am going
through much of what you are feeling now, probably worse…if you have truly
loved me, then I urge you to accept your wife back whole heartedly…that means
there can be no room in your heart for another…I know you will still call…but
please not for the next three days at least…and even then, please don’t ask for
my new address. It will be better and easier on both of us if we just make a
clean break of it…I loved you…but now I have to let that love go…thank you for
all you have been to me…and for all you have done for me…I will never forget
you…
Remi
He
reached for his phone but reluctantly changed his mind…she had said not until
after three days…he who had been used to calling her several times every day!
He
stared out of the window of his office unseeingly, trying to suppress his
feelings…she hadn’t given him any warning sign or notice…but then, that was so
like Remi…very unobtrusive and non-confrontational…
Dr
Adekoya had an operation to conduct later that evening, but he knew he was in
no shape to conduct it…Dr Owaga the resident doctor would have to do it…he
placed a call through and set it up, then pressed his intercom and called for
tea.
As
the nurse placed the cup on the table, he changed his mind and ordered her to
take it away…he would take the day off and go home…he called his wife…
“Are
you home darling?”
“Yeah,
just relaxing…any problem?”
“No…I
just want to come home to rest,”
“Then
I will prepare breakfast for you…what would you like?”
“Just
bread…bread and tea…”
“Let’s
make that bread, eggs and sausage hmmm?”
“Okay
darling,”
He
cut the call and slowly began packing his briefcase, pressing the intercom once
again.
“Please
get my driver to bring the car round” he said quietly.
He
would find solace and comfort in his wife’s arms…that was how it was meant to
be…Remi was right as usual…but it hurt…it felt like his heart had been torn in
two…
As
the car drove off, he flipped through the pictures of her that he had on his
phone…smiling Remi with dimples on both cheeks…how beautiful and youthful she
looked…how adorable!
He
couldn’t bring himself to delete those pictures…not just yet…he was still
hurting and the pain wouldn’t go away…slowly in the back of the car he allowed
himself to shed a few tears…it was just to wash away the pain…but the pain was
in his heart…not in his eyes…he raised a newspaper over his face to prevent the
driver from spying him in the rear driving mirror.
He
was crying not because Remi left him…but because Remi had taught him true
love…he had married his wife out of lust for her voluptuous body back then…but
when she turned cold on him he had to look elsewhere and found Remi…again it
was lust for her body…it was Remi who had transformed that lust into love…now
he just craved her companionship…there were days when they just sat together
and held hands and talked…no lovemaking…just the company of each other…now he
had to learn to love his wife all over again…
The
newspaper shook in his hands as the dam burst…Dr Adekoya wept silently…wept
bitterly at his loss…wept because a young girl had taught him the greatest
lesson of life….LOVE!
“My
love!” welcomed Mrs Adekoya as her husband entered the house.
“’Denrele,”
responded Dr Adekoya
“You
haven’t called me by my first name in years!” exclaimed a surprised Mrs
Adekoya.
“I
know…I just felt like calling your name…sometimes one forgets the person behind
the name when you get lost in love names like honey or darling,” said Dr
Adekoya in a subdued voice.
“Are
you alright? Did something happen in the office?”
“No
nothing happened”
“You
don’t sound alright to me…you sound…sad or depressed…tell me what happened,”
Mrs Adekoya wrapped her arms around her husband and led him to a sofa.
“I
lost something that I deeply treasured”
“Was
it a laptop or something?”
“No…just
a friendship”
“Who
was he…a close friend? Do I know him?”
“No
you don’t…we just decided to go our separate ways…but at least we parted as
friends…it is just the pain that aches my heart so bad!” said Dr Adekoya in a
broken voice.
Breakfast
was over and they had moved upstairs to the bedroom…they lay in each other’s
arms…they had made love passionately…
“Do
I satisfy you?” asked Mrs Adekoya meekly.
“Yes,
but I should be asking you that question,”
“No
I meant; am I everything you desire in a woman?”
“And
much more,” replied Dr Adekoya dreamily as he stroked his wife’s hair…
“I
have wasted so many years of our marriage in being selfish and cold, but not
anymore darling…from now on I just want to live to please you. I give myself to
you utterly,” murmured his wife as she rolled over on him and locked her hands
behind his head.
“Then
we must go for a second honeymoon,” said Dr Adekoya hugging her close.
“Honeymoon?
It’s not even the anniversary of our wedding for another six months at least!”
“Who
said a honeymoon has to be on a wedding anniversary…it just says honeymoon and
as far as I can tell, the full moon was out last night,” chuckled Dr Adekoya,
playfully patting his wife on her cheeks.
“So
where will we be going?”
“Somewhere
very far from here…somewhere I can heal…somewhere we can start over again…where
I can forget the friendship I have lost.”
The
night was far spent when Dr Adekoya carefully extracted his arm from underneath
his sleeping wife who snuggled tightly against him…he tiptoed to the toilet
with his phone…it was there that he methodically deleted every photograph of
Remi…then with some hesitation and reluctance, he deleted her phone number…
Thank you Remi! He
said silently…
Chapter
31
Kehinde
bowed his head in silent grief…he had known his father would die but he wasn’t
prepared for the news…how can anyone prepare for such news?
“How
did he die mum?” Kehinde wanted to know.
“He
died peacefully…with a smile on his face…he called my name as I held his
hand…then he was gone,” wept Mrs Adeleye.
“Take
heart mum…be strong for us and for the church…Taiwo and I will come on the next
available flight ma…have you called him yet?”
“Yes…he
is devastated,”
“I
will call him also to discuss our travel arrangements. Mum…dad lived well”
“Yes
my son…it’s just that I miss him so much!” Mrs Adeleye broke into a fresh round
of tears.
Kehinde
waited for her to calm down, murmuring soothing words…before finally cutting
the call.
He
sighed deeply and lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling…he would have to
call an emergency meeting of the elders first thing in the morning to inform
them of the death of his father.
He
glanced at the sleeping girl beside him…she was ravishing and every bit of the
kind of woman he desired…she spoke impeccable English, like one who had
travelled extensively…yet he didn’t seem to remember seeing her in church.
Somehow
she had gotten hold of his number and called him on Sunday night, introducing
herself as the ‘red shirt initiator’…he had instantly known that she was the
one who had left the note for him.
She
was polite and deferential, always referring to him as ‘Sir’…yet her tone
suggested she was polished and intelligent…he had asked why she was actually
doing this…
“Sir,
it may sound unusual to you, but I see this as my own Calling…to make myself
available for the pleasure of my pastor…is that sinful sir?”
“There
is no such Calling as making yourself available for the pleasure of your
pastor,” Kehinde had replied coldly, wanting to know more about her motives.
“Not
in the bible sir…but it is the uppermost desire and longing of my heart, and
has been so for several months sir…I came to Rising Star Church three months
ago and though I didn’t attend regularly; I found that every time I came for
Service, you were always the one preaching…a few weeks later, I saw you in a
dream…you had an argument with your brother and somehow you both drifted apart…somehow,
you became the leader of the church…you wanted someone for comfort…but there
was no one…you were lonely…your brother has a fiancé but you have none…all that
I saw in the dream and much more.”
Kehinde
had gaped at the accuracy of the information…how on earth did she know all that?
She was a stranger to Rising Star Church, that much he knew…so there was no way
she could have gotten so much sensitive information which even the elders were
not privy to…unless…she had been shown by revelation!
Kehinde
had been fascinated by their discussion and the continued wealth of information
about Kehinde and his brother – Pastor Taiwo; and the church that she had
provided over the phone, that he decided he needed to meet her personally…
He
had arranged for his security guards to take the night off and dismissed his PA
early…he would have to go and pick her up himself and lay elaborate plans to
ensure they weren’t followed…
He
had asked her to meet him in a popular supermarket where he had gone to in a
taxi wearing a face cap that covered his face completely and some faded jeans
to avoid recognition…she had identified him and they had chartered a taxi
directly to his home…the lights in his vast home were off, making it possible
for them to take advantage of the darkness and enter in unseen.
For
over an hour he had drilled her with questions, but she had seemed unperturbed,
answering every question easily enough and without hesitation…both her parents
were out of the country and she lived alone…she ran a subsidiary of her
father’s company here in Nigeria.
Kehinde
still couldn’t understand why such a well to do lady would just throw herself
at him so cheaply…but as they spoke…he began to see that for her it wasn’t
about lust or mere pleasure…it was something ‘spiritual’ she had set out to do…she
wanted to be his bond slave so to speak…to serve him in every way…the dreams
she had had…the complete knowledge about him that she had, even down to details
about his assets, preferences, likes and dislikes convinced him that this was
‘spiritual’…maybe God had sent her to him…maybe God was at last going to favour
him above his brother…in his warped and distorted mind, Kehinde exulted in his
new discovery and savoured how he was going to put her to good use.
It
didn’t take long for Kehinde to take her upstairs to his bedroom, where she had
given herself utterly to him in ways that were strange to him, but were utterly
satisfying…by the time they had spent themselves, Kehinde had become addicted
to her…what he had not noticed was the slight redness in her pupils…for had he
noticed, he would have known there was something unnatural about the way she
stared…but the room was shrouded in darkness.
Much
later that night after he had slept, she watched over him with a long forked
tongue that darted occasionally out of her mouth…her legs intertwined together
as though they were fused together…they flailed on the bed as one…but he was in
deep sleep…he didn’t see her writhing on the bed like a serpent…whispering
enchantments and going through hypnotic motions with her body…the glare of her
red eyes became far more pronounced, so that they glowed in the darkness.
Kehinde
stared at her perfectly beautiful body and innocent face…he hated waking her
up…but he had to drop her off somewhere before dawn, then call his brother…he
tapped her lightly on her shoulder and she sat up instantly awake with a smile
on her face.
“Good
morning sir,” she said bowing her head deferentially.
“Good
morning Maureen,” he answered with a smile of his own.
“Get
ready so I can drop you off somewhere,” he ordered gently.
“Oh
not to worry sir, I can find my way,”
“Not
at 5am in the morning, no” replied Kehinde.
Maureen
bowed her head submissively, then got up and went to the bathroom.
He
would drop her off at the nearest bus stop… then drive to his brother’s
house…he had changed his mind…he would visit him personally instead of calling
on the phone…it was high time they came face to face again.
Maureen
watched him drive off with a smile playing on her lips…a smile that eventually
turned into a grimace…and finally a scowl as she walked off into the night…in
the darkness, her skin began to wrinkle as she walked…then her back began to
bend…she walked for a long distance, till the early morning light began peeping
through the curtains of the darkness…men, women and children on their way to
the nearby bus stop greeted her deferentially…they greeted the old woman who
walked ever so slowly with a stoop…her name was Maureen…
Chapter
32
Maureen
was a witch…except that no one believed in witches in the 21st
Century, what with technology and its miracles…but back in the superstitious
villages, Maureen would have been considered a witch…neither was her real name
Maureen…she was Asanke.
She
didn’t live in a small disgusting hovel like witches were known to do…she lived
in a large house owned by her wealthy children who had inherited her witchcraft
by birth right…thus by some uncanny, nefarious spell, she was able to transform
herself into her daughter and her daughter into herself till the deed she
wanted to accomplish was done…they liked to think of themselves as modern day
shape shifters…except that they didn’t change into animals or anything like
that…just an inherited power between mother and daughter. Her daughter was the
real Maureen…
She
opened the door of the house for her mother with a wide smile…
“Welcome
mother…Ugh! I hated being you!”
“Some
things are necessary to get the job done,” replied Asanke.
“So
now it’s my turn next time mother right? You promised!”
“Yes,
yes, yes, daughter,” replied Asanke.
“I
have his semen in my body…now we must go through the ritual quickly or my
youthfulness will not be renewed…where is your brother?”
“He
saw you coming from the window and went to prepare the sacred items for the
ritual.”
“Good,
good,” replied Asanke, allowing her daughter to support her up the long
staircase.
They
were both possessed of a spirit of divination and very often they quoted very
profusely from the scriptures to convince believers of their sincerity.
Maureen’s
favourite scripture came from 1Kings 22:20-22: And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall
at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
And there came forth a spirit, and stood
before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?
And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all
his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth,
and do so.
She
chuckled gleefully, remembering that within her were a legion of spirits that
taught her many things…they were the ones who had showed her this scripture…how
even God had used them to persuade Ahab to go and be defeated…He had needed
them then! They were indispensable to him…spirits could be anything they liked to
anyone…the Almighty had actually had a meeting with them…the so called evil
spirits! She chuckled again.
Their
plan was simple enough…during the course of intercourse with Pastor Kehinde,
her mother Asanke masquerading as her daughter had transmitted several demons
legally into him…now the biggest local church in the city was about to fall…he
would certainly be at their next meeting…
He
had not fallen in love with Maureen’s body…he had fallen in love with the
spirit of Mammon…so now…he could no longer serve God…and if he didn’t…how could
his teeming followers serve God…they could only serve the god that their pastor
worshipped whether they liked it or not…whether they knew it or not…
Every
pastor had his price…all spirits knew that…they were human…they had
weaknesses…when that weakness was exploited long enough…it would eventually
succumb to pressure…smite the shepherd and the sheep shall scatter!
They
entered the room that had been designed like a shrine…an African shrine…and her
mother Asanke began to invoke the old gods in an ancient Yoruba tongue…long
forgotten…for it was the language of incantations too lost in antiquity to be
remembered…hence its potency…
Things
began to stir…things too old to be remembered…mighty things that responded to
the worship of Asanke…Asanke who had disguised the name of Mammon as
Maureen…for Maureen was possessed by Mammon…the same Mammon that also possessed
Asanke…
They
didn’t need businesses…a lying spirit within her had easily put that in her
mouth…Kehinde had been persuaded…that was the job of lying spirits…to convince
people beyond any shadow of doubt…
The
sacrifice was Pastor Kehinde’s semen which Asanke offered as incense…she had
extracted it from her body using occultic means, she poured the thick, oozing
fluid into the flame created by a concoction of things too awful to be
mentioned.
Slowly
the flame fanned out, shaping itself slowly into two hands of fire…they clasped
themselves together in a parody of the Benediction…Asanke’s sacrifice had been
accepted…
As
mother and daughter finally left the shrine…she felt her skin begin to
tingle…her youthfulness would return to her by degrees over the next few
days…it would be like she was Maureen’s twin sister…for a few weeks…till she
found another victim…it always had to be a wealthy and influential pastor…that
was the essence of the pact…
Asanke
was tired from her long walk…and hungry…she had eaten sparingly with Pastor
Kehinde…for food was not good before a spiritual exercise…especially one that
involved the extraction of the seed of a man…for in the seed was the life of a
whole generation…the next generation…and now they had been sold out by their
father…for a mere mess of pottage…a few minutes of erotic pleasure…
Chapter
33
Mrs Abayomi had calmed down
considerably as her sons stepped in through the door of their home in London.
“We’ve
made all the arrangements mum,” said Kehinde in a low respectful tone. Taiwo
stood beside him a little to the side…he still had mixed feelings about the
whole thing.
“The moment we get back, I
will announce the dissolution of the church,” said Mrs Abayomi in a soft but
firm voice.
“You
can’t do that mum, where will fifty thousand people go?” asked Kehinde coming
to sit on the sofa beside his mother.
“It
is what your father wanted…it was his last wish…he must have known something
that we don’t…perhaps it was what caused his death, I don’t know,” she took out
a handkerchief to dab the fresh tears that were brimming in her eyes.
“Dad
wanted to dissolve the church because of a mistake he made, for which he has
repented, he himself said so,” argued Kehinde.
“Repentance
means a change of heart…doing the exact opposite of the root of the
disobedience that led to the sin in the first place, and that was what Dad was
trying to get us to do, seeing he was too weak to go to church and do it
himself,” said Taiwo, striding forward decisively to sit on the other side of
his mother on the sofa.
“So
you agree with me Taiwo?” asked Mrs Abayomi, she turned to look at Taiwo
hopefully.
“Yes
mother, we should dissolve the church,” Taiwo responded, fixing his gaze on his
brother steadily.
“Be
careful brother,” said Kehinde very softly…his right eye twitched as a
dangerous glint came into his eyes.
“Call
a meeting of the elders for me as soon as we arrive back home, Taiwo…I will do
it next Sunday in church,” said Mrs Abayomi, rising up to go to her bedroom.
“This
is your idea of revenge isn’t it?” said Kehinde, a reddish tinge was beginning
to creep into his eyes.
“You
have backslidden Kehinde, and you don’t even know it,” Taiwo said, not taking
his eyes off his brother.
“And
who are you to judge another man’s servant, God is able to make me stand even
if I fall a hundred times!” Kehinde raise his voice and stood up…he was visibly
angry.
“I
do not judge you, I am merely exposing you to yourself…but I’m sure you know
that already. You have let the money and the power go to your head, so much so
that they have both corrupted you. I see the glint in your eyes and now your
eyes turn red…why my brother…what have you been doing to yourself lately…have
you been drinking…or smoking unmentionable things?” asked Taiwo, his voice full
of pity and concern for his brother.
When
Kehinde had come to his house the previous day, they had spoken without any
confrontation…Kehinde had been peaceable…they talked only of memories of their
father…Kehinde had even apologised for the blatant lie he had told in
church…but there were certain lies that had to be told in order to become the
truth…he had said to his brother…and now, his words were truth…by Taiwo’s
silence he had tacitly supported his brother and stepped down into a
subordinate position.
Taiwo
had studied him compassionately, wondering what had come over his brother…he
had been disturbed then by the slight reddish tinge in his eyes…
“It is
stress; I haven’t been able to sleep for days. I’ve been praying and thinking
about dad…I didn’t want him to die,” Kehinde had explained easily and Taiwo had
been persuaded…he had believed.
But
now the reddish tinge had become even more pronounced even as Kehinde got
angrier still…
“Is
it really the people you care for Kehinde…or the money and power you will lose
should the people be asked to leave…and what will happen to the huge fifty
seater auditorium…those are the things that really bother you Kehinde…isn’t it”
“Even
if that were true, isn’t that a source of legitimate concern…so you tell
me…what will we do with the building…what will we do with the more than eighty
members of staff we employed here…and what will we do with all our branches
world wide…can you imagine the chaos that will result when it is announced that
all our branches be dissolved…can you imagine the scramble for power by the
assistant pastors who would want nothing better than to pick up the pieces like
the scavengers they truly are?” Kehinde was yelling now, so much as that their
mother came out again anxiously.
“The
foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of the wisest men Kehinde…and that
is what we will rely on…if God wants this to be done as restitution as my
father knew…then God will take care of the people…we cannot do it by the arm of
flesh Kehinde,” Taiwo stood up and walked over to his mother and put an arm
around her.
“This
is neither the time nor place to quarrel over this issue my sons…you ought to
honour the memory of your father better than this!” chided Mrs Abayomi.
Kehinde
looked at his mother and then at his brother, and strode out of the living room
angrily.
“You
have to be very careful about your dealings with your brother now Taiwo…he has
changed a lot…I don’t even recognize my own son now…only God knows what has
happened to him,” sighed Mrs Abayomi.
“He
is going to try to enforce his own will on us…but we won’t let him…will we
mother?” asked Taiwo rhetorically.
“No
we won’t my son,” said Mrs Abayomi…she suddenly felt tired and put her son’s
arm around her shoulders, leaning heavily on him. Taiwo led her back into her
bedroom, alarmed at her sudden frailty…his mother had been a very strong and
agile woman…but the stress and emotional duress of the past few weeks had taken
their toll on her…she had lost a lot of weight, and the white hair on her head
was more pronounced…Taiwo inwardly resolved to take better care of her…spend
more time with her…he would get Lolade to do the same too…his mother had
suffered a great deal…he had to be there for her now…
He
covered her up with a blanket and returned her weak smile…
“Thank
you my son…you too have changed…suddenly you seem detached from the church…from
the fiery ambition you once had…what changed you? Yet this is not the time for
questions…there will be time enough when we arrive back home,”.
Chapter
34
The
entire leadership of the church were there at the airport to receive the body
of their father in the lord when the family arrived on Thursday night…the
church hadn’t been informed of their arrival lest the airport be besieged by
thousands of Rising Star members.
Taiwo
had decisively taken his mother to his home where she would stay for a very
long time…that night, Lolade slept beside her mother in law to be, in the
master bedroom, to attend to her needs…Taiwo slept in one of the several other
rooms in his house.
“Mummy
I think we should go and see Mr Adeleye first before announcing to the church
on Sunday ma,” pleaded Lolade.
“You
think he might have a different opinion?”
asked Taiwo.
“I
just want to be sure that not only are we doing the right thing, but we are
also doing it the right way and at the right time,” said Lolade.
“Hmmm…Lolade
is right…we need a second opinion from one who truly walks with the Lord. We
should go and see him.”
“Mummy
I would really appreciate if we do not go to church on Sunday but instead, we
go to Mr Adeleye’s home fellowship,” pushed Lolade.
“Are
you envisaging any problems?” asked Mrs Abayomi.
“No
ma, but uncle Kehinde is not himself now and one can’t be sure what he will do.
He might take a stand that would be confrontational and to which you might be
forced to respond to prematurely,” answered Lolade.
“Again
you are right…thank you for this wisdom,” said Mrs Abayomi.
“It’s
her spiritual gift mum, she has blessed me so often with the Word of Wisdom,”
said Taiwo proudly.
“I
will call him to let him know we will worship with them this Sunday,” Taiwo
said as he gave his mother and fiancé a peck on the cheek each.
“Are
we going to let that happen…do you know how much chaos will ensue if we let
that happen…the thousands of our members all over the world who will become so
confused that they will simply go back into the world? They will lose their
faith altogether! So that is why I have summoned this emergency meeting…you
have the floor…table your suggestions now,” concluded Kehinde, as he looked
deliberately at each member of the council of elders, his gaze lingering the
most on Dr Adekoya…
Mr
Obinna the church administrator knew that it was his place to set the
tempo…there could be no question about what to do, other than to proffer a
solution…and there was only one…the church must be made aware of the subversive
moves to dissolve the church…they had to see that Pastor Taiwo had derailed along
with his mother and that Pastor Kehinde alone had the interests of the church
at heart…he had been thoroughly schooled by pastor Kehinde over the phone
earlier that morning.
“I
think it is pretty obvious to me what is going on, just because our father in
the lord has passed on we shouldn’t give in to grief and then dissolve the
church…it wouldn’t honour his memory…I fail to see how the dissolution of a
church this size will glorify God…is it that the size of the church constitutes
sin in God’s eyes or the doctrines of our church in particular…and if so…what
has been preached that hasn’t consistently been backed by scripture after
scripture?” asked Mr Obinna looking directly at Dr Adekoya as though
challenging him to speak.
“I
do not think either, that the solution is in taking sides with this or that
pastor, for the moment we allow that to happen, we have permitted the spirit of
strife and division to enter the church
and from then on, that will be all we can expect at various levels of the
church hierarchy…just strife and division,” replied Dr Adekoya evenly, keeping
his gaze steadily on Mr Obinna.
“So
what do you suggest?” asked Mr Quadri coldly…one hundred and fifty thousand
naira monthly was not an amount to be trifled with…especially when it did not
come from his full time job as an engineer…just a token of appreciation from
Pastor Kehinde for the sacrifices of leading and praying for the church at
various vigils and meetings…and this idiot wanted to throw it all away because
he had refused it.
“I suggest
that we allow the family time to resolve the matter amicably among
themselves…they only arrived two days ago…whatever argument ensued between them
before was probably under duress…the pressure and pain of the death of their
father and husband…there is no need to rush…there will be ample time to address
the matter once they have all been given a chance to rest,” replied Dr Adekoya
in a firm voice.
“My
mother’s decision is to announce the dissolution of the church this
Sunday…tomorrow…so how do you answer to that, since we have supposedly ample time?” spat Pastor Kehinde
sarcastically.
“She
is the now the matriarch of the church, we always have an Elders’ meeting
before Service…she will obviously bare her mind there, then we can take counsel
together…she has never despised the counsel of the Elders…nor did our father in
the lord…I don’t expect she will now,” finished Dr Adekoya.
An
uneasy silence followed as no one knew how to answer Dr Adekoya…but the silence
was filled with hostility and cold anger towards him…Dr Adekoya remained
calm…he had known that this matter would come up and he had thought things
through…God had begun to show him how to answer the questions he had
anticipated…Pastor Taiwo had briefed him on the brief argument they had had
before they left London.
“I
can tell that we are not in agreement here…but can we form a quorum…if any two
or three of you shall agree as touching anything, it shall be done by my father
in heaven…how many people are in favour of announcing to the church the
intentions of my mother and brother towards them?” asked Pastor Kehinde
theatrically with both hands raised.
No
one dissented, except Dr Adekoya…the Elders had decided…the alignment was now
very clear…they had all been bought by Pastor Kehinde…they would now go ahead
and plan the coup d’état that would see and affirm Pastor Kehinde as the
supreme head of the Rising Star Church…
Dr
Adekoya took his leave…he wouldn’t be welcome for the second part of the
meeting…he would be seen as a spy for their
enemy…better he left quietly and in dignity…he didn’t need to spy on anyone…God
would foil the plans of his own enemies…
Chapter
35
“It
is neither by power nor by might, but by my Spirit says the Lord,” began Mr
Adeleye after welcoming Mrs Abayomi and her family after the Service had ended.
They
were sitting in the living room, the children having gone upstairs for their
usual ‘fellowship after fellowship’. Mr Adeleye had escorted their parents out
of the front door then returned to attend to his guests.
“Your
husband desired to make restitution for his disobedience to God by dissolving
the church…we had that discussion, and he would have done so had he been strong
enough…but now that he has passed on, God has taken the intent of his heart as
been as good as done…I tried to convince him of this but he was too overwhelmed
to listen to me. Someone else cannot now offer restitution in his stead.”
“God
has seen the intent of his heart and accepted the intent for the restitution.
What we ought to focus on now is the deliverance of Kehinde from the grip of
evil…for I fear he has already been possessed spirit, soul and body. Of what
use will it be if the church is dissolved and Kehinde remains in the grip of
the enemy? It would be better to intercede for him till he is delivered, and
then the true doctrine of Christ can be preached to the thousands who are
currently being led astray by the preaching of the letter of the word.”
“Please,
let us leave the dissolution of the church alone for now…unless God has spoken
expressly otherwise?” Mr Adeleye turned to look at Taiwo and then his mother in
turn, but they shook their heads…God had not spoken expressly to them yet.
Taiwo
now realized he hadn’t given the whole thing much deep thought…he had been so
concerned with what he supposed was God’s will that he hadn’t given his
brother’s tormented soul a thought…his brother was no longer himself…he was
under the control of evil spirits…that was obvious now…they were the ones that
had hijacked their father’s good intention to dissolve the church and made it
their own agenda for the destruction of God’s people.
“What
do you suggest we do now sir?” asked Mrs Abayomi.
“I
would suggest regular periods of prayer and fasting corporately for him…in my
spirit I feel that this kind of spirit or spirits will not go out but by
fasting and prayer, they have too strong a grip on him” replied Mr Adeleye.
“We
shall do as you ask sir but we would like to beg you to join us sir,” said
Taiwo.
“No
need to beg, Pastor Abayomi was my bosom friend, this is my duty to him”
replied Mr Adeleye.
Mrs
Abayomi stood up to leave and Mr Adeleye’s wife escorted her to the door
followed by Mr Adeleye and Taiwo and Lolade.
“One
thing I must warn you both about is that you may likely begin to experience
various supernatural manifestations or attacks against you or your property…it
is a trademark of evil spirits,” cautioned Mr Adeleye quietly, out of Mrs
Abayomi’s hearing.
“You
need to put on the whole armour of God at all times if you are to succeed.
Study Ephesians 6 as soon as possible…may God grant you both revelation and
spiritual understanding.”
“Amen
Sir,” responded both Lolade and Taiwo.
As
they drove off, Taiwo recalled the reddish tinge he had noticed in his
brother’s eyes…they were not natural…and now that he thought about it, they
didn’t look like the effect of alcohol or drugs…he had smelt neither on his
brother…the reddish tinge looked like a cold hard stare without the eyes
blinking…then he remembered why they were unnatural…it wasn’t the irises that
were red…it was the pupils themselves! They were no longer black…they had
turned to red…fiery red! They had started changing colour when he started
getting angry and the angrier he got, the redder they became…
Later
that night when his mother was fast asleep, he and Lolade pored over Ephesians
6…praying softly under their breath in the Spirit for revelation and spiritual
understanding…
The
Scriptures outlined their weapons of warfare and defence…in the wielding of the
Sword of the Spirit, they instinctively knew that it was not to be wielded the
way they had always been taught…by merely confessing the word…there was
something deeper to it…Mr Adeleye had whispered to Taiwo as he entered the car,
not to take that particular verse lightly…
Christ used IT IS WRITTEN to answer the
temptations of the devil…but now you must use THE TRUTH THAT YOU KNOW…to fight
this battle…what Truth has set you free…what Truth have you lived till it has
been woven into your Spirit?
Taiwo
was taken aback as these words pierced the depths of his soul…he reeled in
shock from the revelation that he had only stored up an intellectual knowledge
of the word…the letter of the word…no…other than quote scriptures and form
messages from fragments of truth gathered together to make one whole…no…he
hadn’t lived any…for the Truth was ONE…not fragments of a whole…he saw that
now…
“Darling
are you alright?” asked Lolade, worried at her fiancé’s moaning…then she
realized that he was not moaning in pain…but in the spirit…he had seen or heard
something…he was being rebuked…or he was travailing…she bowed her head and
began to pray…
She
had never been one to pray for prolonged periods of time in the spirit…they had
been trained with ‘prayer points’ in church, each of which lasted no more than
five minutes…
It
had been more of a routine…she hadn’t felt any connection with the Spirit of
God…it had merely been regular Tuesday prayer meetings…they prayed for various
things routinely…they had prayed the same prayers so often, it had become
routine without fervency…now she had to learn to be fervent in her prayers…for
only the effectual and fervent prayer of the righteous could avail much…
She
suddenly felt a strange ‘disconnect’ from Christ and the Holy Spirit…all her
life had been built around the quoting of scriptures and positive confessions …Greatness is in me….I am a miracle going
somewhere to explode…I am a conqueror…
Now
she saw that it was all empty hype…words without power because the life of the
Person within was not being lived…Power never had to be boasted about…it would
always manifest itself in the life of its carrier…Paul didn’t have to boast
about his power, for he knew it wasn’t his power to command…the handkerchiefs
contained no power belonging to Paul…
Yet
we boast about ‘what we carry on the inside of us’ as though it belonged to
us…her eyes were gradually opening to the arrogance and blindness of modern
Christianity and the vanity of their profession…she realized she was devoid of
true power…all she had were great swelling words of vanity…having a form of
godliness yet denying the power of it…that described the Christianity she had
been living…fleshly excitement and emotionalism had always been the chief
characteristics…but all that was going to change now…
She
realized that she was not prepared for any battle right now with evil
spirits…she was weak and still a babe…she had to spend time with the Holy
Spirit not just in studying the scriptures, but in obeying them and learning
how to grow once again…for obviously she had not grown with all the accumulated
knowledge of the scriptures…
From
Mr Adeleye’s sermon today she had learnt that the living of Eternal Life here
on earth was hinged on denying self…it was the one thing that they had not been
taught in church…on the contrary they had been trained to embrace
self-fulfilment…self-esteem and self-confidence.
Self
had taken the place of the new man within…she had never put off the old man…she
had been taught to embrace it…it was the path to greatness they said…use your
talents for God they said…no one talked about spiritual gifts…it was always
about talents…
Join
a department in church and work for God they said…as though the sweeping of a
building, or the singing of songs by the choir was what the bible referred to
as the work of the Lord…Mr Adeleye had taught on the work of the Lord today and
she had seen her life for the vanity it was…she had thought she was a
believer…but she was barely better than a nominal Christian…
She
heard Taiwo moan again, but he was on his face on the floor…he was in deep
repentance…she followed suit as a wave of godly sorrow overwhelmed her and she
threw herself flat on the floor.
Chapter
36
Pastor
Kehinde closed his bible as he ended his message and the musicians struck up a
familiar song for altar call…he was wearing dark glasses as he had long since
discovered the slight reddish tinge in his pupils which got pronounced when he
got angry or upset.
A
steady stream of lies had been flowing through his mind since the early hours
of the morning, instructing him on what to say during the service…teaching him
convincing body language to use…showing him how to whip up emotional support
for himself and his agenda…he was ready…
“My
dear family…it is with great reluctance and sadness that I am forced to reveal
certain things to you this morning…I had thought about concealing it from you
for as long as possible in order to shield my family and try to reason things
with them…but the Holy Spirit warned me that to conceal truth from you would be
to sin against you…so it is with great sadness in my heart that…” Pastor
Kehinde paused here for a moment and brought out a handkerchief to dab an eye
hidden under his dark glasses…his voice had sounded subdued and broken.
A
ripple of alarm spread through the church…they hoped that no one else had
passed on in the Abayomi family…or what else could cause their pastor to weep
again? He had already informed them of the passing of their father in the lord
at the beginning of the Service…had waited patiently for them to grieve for a
few minutes before proceeding to spend almost the entire Service in consoling
them…
“Many
years ago, my father told my brother and I about how in his zeal to teach men
and women the word of God and to care for them spiritually; he had ignored
God’s word in not starting a church but rather a home fellowship. Indeed our
father obeyed the Holy Spirit and started a home fellowship, but when the home
fellowship began to spread all over the city into several more home
fellowships, my father felt it was time to bring them all together under one
fold…his error was that he forgot to ask the Holy Spirit’s approval.”
“As
you know, my father fell terminally ill recently, and he couldn’t help but link
his terminal illness to his perceived disobedience…but he actually didn’t
disobey…he started the home fellowship as he was instructed, but became
overzealous for God and started a church without consulting God…that was his
error…an error he repented of with many tears before he passed on, so much so
that he wanted to dissolve the church,” he paused to allow the ripple of
concern to have its full effect on the church…they obviously didn’t want their
church dissolved from the concern and alarm that showed up in their voices…
“My
father as you know, was a man full of faith…so he couldn’t reconcile how he was
able to heal people in the name of Jesus and yet not able to heal himself…that
was why he attributed it to his error in being overzealous to start a church…all
attempts by my brother and I failed to change his mind, and so he called for a
dissolution of the church…but we could see that he was no longer himself…he
knew he was dying…he wasn’t making sense any more…” Pastor Kehinde began to sob
quietly…his body shook…he knew he had to make it real…
The
congregation began to mourn afresh…the sound of tears and sobs filled the
church auditorium as many felt for their pastor and felt their loss keenly
afresh.
“That
is why it grieves me so much to have to be the one to break this news to you…my
brother and my mother seem to have been so overcome with grief that they want
to follow my late father’s instructions to the letter and dissolve the
church…they feel that somehow, God will forgive our father if they dissolve the
church…but as you and I well know, it is appointed to man to die once, after
that is judgment…I loved my father dearly…but the bible says he cannot be
forgiven after death for sins he committed in this life…that is heresy! And
that is what my dear mother and brother are trying to do…to get God to forgive
our father in the Lord for starting a church, by dissolving the church he
started as a means of restitution.”
“So
I decided that this was a matter beyond me…I decided that I would table it
before the whole church…this message is currently being viewed by all our
satellite churches all over the world…and so I ask you…because it is for you to
decide…not me…I ask you…should we dissolve the church? If you say yes…then so
be it…we will dissolve it, and everyone will regrettably go their separate
ways…but if you are against it, then we must resist the move of my mother and
my brother who have refused to listen to reason and have labelled me the black
sheep of the family….so once again I ask you…should we dissolve the church?”
The
response was deafening…it was unanimous…no one wanted the church to be
dissolved…the church was a second home to many…for many, they could easily get
help…especially financial help from the church…they only had to ask their
neighbour in whatever department they were in…somehow they wouldn’t go home
empty handed…for others they had grown so used to this church and its Services
that they just couldn’t conceive of starting afresh in some other church after
spending years of their lives here…it was settled…
Pastor
Kehinde bowed his head and contemplated, waiting for the murmuring to subside…
“So
you want me to resist my mother and my brother in this move to dissolve the
church…do I have the support of the elders?”
Again
the response was deafening as the elders lent their support…all but Dr Adekoya
who remained silent.
“As
you can see, they are both conspicuously absent from church today…they are
probably making some legal moves already…but I don’t blame them…it is grief
that has pushed them to this point…they are still my family and I love them
both very dearly…but I love God, the truth and his people more…it breaks my
heart to go against my own family…but such is the cross that the Holy Spirit
has demanded that I bear…so when you see them…do not be angry with them…instead
pity them, for you do not know the kind of pain and agony my mother is going
through right now as a result of the loss of her husband…anyone who thinks it
is easy to lose a husband does not know what grief can do yet…”
Pastor
Kehinde closed the Service and stood to receive the consolation and sympathy of
his people…he stood for over an hour as people flocked from all over the
auditorium to pay him condolences…his protocol tried to block them, but Pastor
Kehinde waved them away…he would stand for as long as was necessary…for he had
won a great victory over his family today…he had won the hearts and loyalty of
the entire church world-wide…his next assignment would be to reduce the input
of his mother and brother in administrative affairs to a minimum.
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