Prophet Elijah Ireti Ajanaku of Christ Revival
Victory Chapel International, Ipaja, Ayobo, Lagos is one of the few men of God that have
taken up the job with all the attention it deserves. He may not be one of your
everyday televangelists or celebrity preachers, but Ajanaku's ministry is
characterized by miracles, healings, breakthroughs and successes, and he is
sure a man of God. Those who know him as a true servant of God troop to his
programmes regularly in large numbers and God has used him to turn many
hitherto shattered lives around.
We can confidently refer to this
refined preacher as the Moses of our time, present day Elijah, apostle of
Christ and a dynamic messenger of God. His childhood was as mysterious as his
adulthood and even his wife is yet to come to terms with his unique spiritual
talents.
Last week, our publisher, Dayo
Asaju, took a trip to the office of this gentleman prophet and he did not mince
words in talking about his early life, ministry, relationship with God and why
people believe so much in his ministry.
What makes you different from other prophets
What I discovered is that the
Bible says, 'we are the light of the world,' naturally it will not sound well
for the light to bring darkness, that means the power inside the bulb is blown,
when the power inside someone's life has not been destroyed by the course of
the power carrier, automatically he will still have an impact with his caller.
So, I just believe it is the Lord's doing and he is still continuing His
assignment on his own just to allow his name to he glorified.
What actually prepared you for this calling, from the information
available to us, you didn't attend any school and secondly from what we
gathered, you don't read the bible, yet you learn the scriptures inside out
Though I struggled with the Lord,
when he called me to do this job, the only thing I can say is that when God
is calling you is that God has fallen in
love with the person and when you're in with someone you need to work with you,
even if the person is trying to be dragging you, you'll give the person an
audience because you need the person though according to you, am not learned,
no academic or Bible school background, I actually tried to enrol, I went to
Winners Chapel Bible School, myself and my wife some years ago. I told my wife
she must not act like a pastor's wife, I removed the clergy sticker on my car,
we just put Mr. and Mrs. Ajanaku on all our documents like an ordinary people
in bible school. All of a sudden, the first thing the lecturer said that day
the moment he mounted the podium was that; 'Mr. and Mrs. Ajanaku, your
attention is needed in the office,' when we got there, they told me that Papa
called them that they should tell me that my work is not under them. I said
they should call Papa back that anybody can come to the Bible school, that why
should they reject people, that anybody, even a bricklayer or mechanic, who has
interest in the scripture can come, why
should they say my work is not under them. I told them to tell him that I will
not leave and I must sit for the lecture and understand the scripture more, why
should they reject me, I said they should tell him that 'am going nowhere, I
will not leave, the workers also told me that their hands were tied and that
they couldn't do anything about it. I said I won't give them their document in
my possession, that if they liked they could return my money. Fortunately for
me, they returned my money, I didn't return what they gave me, to show the
world that I went to the Bible school, but they didn't allow me to stay, when I
was about to leave their compound, God asked me, why did you come here, did I
tell you to come? I now told God that is it a crime to learn more about the
scripture? He replied that did I need more and I asked Him and He didn't give
it to me?
Since that year, I stopped
regretting not having an academic background, wherever I go to preach the word,
the words just come, I just open my mouth and the words will be coming, I don't
prepare, I don't write notes on what to say on the podium, I just get to the
podium and the words will be flowing. I don't know where it is coming from, I
only know that my caller have never departed from me.
Can you share some of your past experiences with us
Some of these can be traced to my past, my
background, because when I just started, I couldn't read nor write and God was
interested in me, the gift was there, the spiritual opportunity was there, that
was why I decided that until I am capable to standout, I would not try to
spread out the branches of my ministry so that people will not exploit or take
undue advantage of the ministry, that was my personal opinion. Now, God has
rebuilt me so, I can start having branches now, now whatever they write, I can
read and can go through papers.
On the aspect of spiritual
challenges for the ministry, may be it is because of my personal understanding,
I believe it is normal because 'am not Satan's friend, when I fight him, I know
he'll not be happy, when men of God gather to pray for some people, the people
rising against those men of God are praying for automatically will also not be
happy, so, I always believe that the war is not of the man, but it is of God
and God is capable of handling the assignment of the war that can be rising
against any of His servants on assignment, especially when you know within
yourself that God really sent you. If you know God really sent you,
automatically, you'll be calling on him whenever there are challenges and
generally, the challenges will be coming down until it is cancelled, it is not
every problem that fasting and prayers can handle, when you pray and fast and
you cannot see any answer, then you start tasking the person who called you
that 'God unless you did not send me, unless 'am the one that called myself, so
that storm or tribulation will now start coming down gradually.' I've had
several encounters during crusades, challenging encounters, I can remember
some. I remember once, a masquerade came deliberately to disrupt it all because
of me, when the masquerade came, he looked and told the people around him to
give him chair, they gave him a chair, it happened in Ipaja area of Lagos . He sat down, we
concluded the crusade, I went home and the masquerade too went home. I also
remember when my wife was pregnant and was about to deliver; the Lord told me
that some witches were trying to torment my wife with the situation. I can't
remember the number of people I've assisted to deliver. So, why should mine be
different, I now said, okay, 'am not even going back to the hospital again,
that 'am taking my wife back home that my house is even better than the
hospital. I got home, spread a wrapper down and told my wife, deliver your baby
there, God had mercy on me, by His grace, she delivered her baby, but once she
delivered, I remembered 'am not in the medical line and now I started wondering
how to handle the post-natal. I don't have the experience, God now started
ministering to me on what to do, how to measure, how to cut, what to tangle. I
did everything perfectly well, but since 'am easily irritated by nature, I told
her to pack everything, she retorted that she was very weak. God now said I
should ask for breath, which I did and I now gave to her, she received it and
got the breath and strength. She stood up and cleaned everywhere. Later, I gave
her baby to her, after the whole thing, God now asked me that 'after all I did
for you now in order not to shame you, over-confidence killed you, and also for
people not to mock you that why didn't you take your wife to the hospital, that
is it because you are a man of God? What will you now call me for what I did
for you?' I said God, I give you another name today that I shall be calling you
God Omni-glory round, I said you're more than a father, so I added that name.
God has never betrayed me for any
reason and I don't think I have any reason to betray Him.
You certainly are strange, give us a peep into your background
I have a Muslim background, my
father was a staunch Muslim, I was never a serious Muslim, learnt nothing about
the Quran, but when God started troubling me that he needed me it was a strange
thing to me, I was curious, I said how could the God of the whole universe be
talking to an individual, a human being, an ordinary person, what is the
connection, myself dealing with the owner of the whole world?
According to what I gathered from
my grandmother, some two or three years back when she came, she said that
when I was born, a prophet came to my
family, who were Muslims and idol worshippers without any relationship with the
Christian religion, she said that the
prophet just appeared from nowhere, he wore two clothes and carried one
big, tall rod. He told them that
their child would be a servant of God,
that scared them, he now told them to go and bath for me at a particular
river, they call the river, Akinyele. As they were bathing for me, a very big
python suddenly appeared, they now dropped me by the riverside and ran home,
when they summoned enough courage, they came back in the evening, they were
afraid that the python would have devoured me, they now met me all dressed up
in white garment and placed on a white shawl and the python was still around me
maybe monitoring me so that I would not be harmed. But the moment he sighted my
family, the python left and they now carried me, this story is quite a mystery
to me and I also discovered that sometimes, I sound mysterious, do mysterious
things, even my wife always ask me; 'who are you?' She has even asked me this morning
after nine years of coming into my life, she is yet to come to terms with me.
She said I should reveal who I am that she won't leak the secret. I always tell
her one thing, that 'am Pastor Ireti Ajanaku, why are you, of all people asking
me this question, that even if others are asking me, you should be in a
position to answer them and defend me. She's always scared, I even thank God
for her life that she has not run away. There is no woman that can stand the
kind of things she is seeing and will not run away, she is always encouraging
me.
I've not been on the television or radio for
several years, but just last year, I started reaching out, even when
journalists come around and witness anything, I appeal to them not to write
anything about the miracles God performed through me. Even if they are
relevant, I tell them, it is not yet time but now, there is no reason for me
not to talk or for the world not to know, I think the time is ripe for my
ministry to come to the fore to win souls for the kingdom of God .
Let's have an insight into your family and how you met your wife
About nine years ago, some people
in our ministry started saying I didn't want to marry, that maybe I had
skeletons in my cupboard which was why I hated women and didn't even know how to
talk to them.
They complained that people
always embarrassed them that their pastor was not married, so we now sat down
one evening, about 10.15pm, God now said, 'tell your people that your wife is
coming tomorrow morning at 10.15am to the house. So, many of them didn't go
home they stayed to witness what was going to happen in the morning, they slept
in my house, in the morning, they all woke up and started the waiting game.
All of a sudden, I just saw a
woman, she came into the house with a lady, walked up to me and God now said to
me, 'that is your wife,' I thought probably the elderly woman brought the lady
along for counseling, but later she told me she brought her for me that she had
already talked to the lady, remember God told me my wife was coming that day
and told me the time. He even told me her name is Funmilayo, so when I saw her,
I didn't know how to talk to the woman, or know what to say, (prolonged
laughter). I now summoned up courage, I said to her “have you ever had it in
mind before to marry a man of God, she said no!, I now said what if the man of
God talked to you, she said if it is the will of God, I said, well, it's okay,
that was how it all started that morning.
God now said I should not
organize a marriage ceremony, I said why, that even an ordinary church member
would feel ashamed not to organize a marriage ceremony, why must it be me, a
pastor, if it is money, people are ready to do it for me, so why? God didn't
say anything again, I insisted I must have a marriage ceremony; I called people
to prepare for my wedding.
Some planned to buy the suite,
gown, they ran up and down, there was a particular sister, Margaret, who
already placed an order from France
for all the wedding things we were going to use. There was also a particular man,
a doctor God used us for, he now said we should not dwell alone on the
spiritual that my wife should come for a check up, I said no problem they now
took us to the hospital, put my wife on a machine and the machine scanned her
and came up with a startling discovery that my wife didn't have ovary. I said,
'ah God, you know that you have already removed the ovary. I now said okay,
back to sender, I didn't even need her again. 'So, if not that the machine
leaked your secret that is how you would have given me an ovary-less woman.'
God now said that it is because I'm
trying to be disobedient that I must have a marriage ceremony, that he would've
put me to shame, that for sixteen years and eight months, I would be childless,
that people would mock me, that I would still have a marriage ceremony at the
appointed time. God has been faithful, we have two children now.
What is the problem with Nigeria
We are a praying nation, but we
lack good attitude and character towards God. Notwithstanding the fact that
we've big time pastors and preachers in Nigeria , even if we pray till
eternity, and don't change our attitude, we will get nothing. If the people of
this nation can genuinely come together and give thanks to God, God alone not
gods, the God of the gods, the maker of those gods, but we fear these gods more
than God because of the anger of those gods, and God does not get angry
easily. When you hurt 'Sango,' he gets
angry immediately or 'Ogun,' he gets angry immediately, but God keeps silent
allowing you time to atone. Nigeria
is extraordinarily and highly blessed beyond any other country in the world. We
have resources that are even sustaining other countries today, but the
suppliers of these resources are suffering, why, because they are worshiping
what God gave to them and neglecting God, the giver. Nigeria is worshiping oil, gold,
etc. but what about the giver, we ironically neglect him, I can say this
emphatically. So many countries are robbing this country because they know the
way to seek the face of God other than shouting, we pray aggressively when
going through tribulations, but when the situation improves, we give thanks in
a non-challant manner, when you hurt
your father, you will now be looking for someone to beg your father for you,
the bonafide son, when you don't hurt your father, he'll do your bidding
automatically. God said; 'before my servant ask I shall answer, you'll open
your mouth, I shall fill it up.' So, let us all come back, I tell you, no
country will compete with us.
How many acclaimed men of God does America have, a few
like T.D Jakes, Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, but in this country, my God,
uncountable, yet we are suffering, if only it is possible for these spiritual
fathers, in one voice, to gather and pray against the giant troubling this
country, his name is not any president or governor or Boko Haram, the name is
Satan.
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