By Pade OLAPOJU
Retiring Primate of The First African Church Mission (Worldwide), His Eminence, The Most Rev. Sunday Oludare Matilukuro, JP, has debunked the notion of the church being the assembly of only the holy ones when he declared that witches and wizards have infiltrated the Body of Christ.
Matilukuro dropped this shocker at a media briefing to announce his impending retirement later this year and to review his ten-year stewardship as the Primate of the church.
He declared: “To stay long and succeed in this office, it is either you give your life completely to God or you fortify yourself by devilish powers because you’ll be confronted and tempted by these people. There are witches and wizards parading as Christians in the church and they will try you.”
“For me, I made up my mind a long time ago to be on God’s side; if you put a gun to my head asking me to denounce Jesus, I’ll ask you to shoot! One thing I’ve learnt is this: One with God is a majority. When you are with God, He will defend you. But you must be ready to pray when it is convenient and when it is not. Some members will deliberately hate you without any reason”, he said.
“Some members would want you to consult them before taking decisions and when you don’t, they take offence. We have gone through all these. But we thank God for keeping us standing”, he said.
The Primate warned those aspiring to work in God’s vineyard, especially in leadership positions to stand with God. “It is not an easy office. But the Bible says on the judgement day, judgement will start from the Chancel, from the altar”, Matilukuro said.
He advised clerics or aspiring ministers of the gospel to be patient, be honest and serve God with their hearts. “Do not consult with evil powers. Maintain your integrity. In the church, some people may want you to compromise your integrity, and if you are not God-sent, you’ll lose out at the end of the day. Don’t mortgage your conscience. Be on God’s side. The Bible commands us in 2Timothy 2:15 to Study to show yourself approved.”
Primate Matilukuro said Jesus had warned in John 16:33 that in the world, there’ll be tribulations and persecutions. These, he said, exist more in the church than outside the church. “As the head of the church, if you are not born again or have a strong faith in God, you may be tempted to drop your resignation earlier than your time”, he warned.
In retirement, the Primate said he’ll be devoting more time to his siblings and family engagements. He said he is looking forward to enjoying the comfort and company of “the wife of my youth.”
