Wake up Church: The Kingdom of This World Has Become the Kingdom of Our God and of His Christ

By Praise O. Glory

What happens when a tiny church in Okole arises to question the authenticity of the prophecies they have been hearing? When they gather to ponder on why there seems to be all talk and no fulfilment of promises.
How do they bring back their sons and daughters who have been lost to the grip of unfulfilled prophecies, war and financial pressure in strange land? Will the gospel with which these children have been nurtured work for them in the marketplace of different cultural settings?

An unexpected turn of events unleashes an avalanche of bitterness and joy, sorrow and laughter, despair and ecstasy and of course unending love. All these come together to create a tale you will not forget; as these believers invade their Babylons, stop decay in the nations, receive promises and rewrite history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543405972

Praise O. Glory

Praise, O. Glory (translated from Oluwatoyin Olajumoke Osunneye) is a medical scientist by profession. Her passion is to see Christians become militant in the face of all opposition, challenges of life, and from the demonic forces, to actively pursue their God driven purpose. She is the author of three books, namely, 1) The Lamb of God: Understanding the Victory of Jesus, 2) Wake up Church: a Christian fiction based on real-life experience, and 3) Recalibrating: God’s message for navigating challenging times, is her latest book. Praise resides in Melbourne, Australia, together with her husband, Olaolu, and their two beautiful children, Grace (Iseoluwa )and Beauty (Ewaoluwa).

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Copyright © 2018 by Praise O Glory.

ISBN:               Softcover                 978-1-5434-0598-9

                         eBook                       978-1-5434-0597-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 03/21/2018

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

760243

Wake up church

First published 2017

www.praisejglory.com

author: Oluwatoyin Olajumoke (Jummy) Osunneye Translated as Pen name (Praise O Glory)

Email: [e-mail]

Edited by: Ini Akpan, Uche Wezeali & Nikki Savvides

Subject Spiritual fiction

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1     Christian Believer’s Church – Okole

Chapter 2     Luke – Pera, Kasofo

Chapter 3     Christopher – OFCH Bank, Patamu

Chapter 4     Nancy – Ukraine

Chapter 5     Christian Believers’ Church, Okole.

Chapter 6     St. Xavier’s Anglican Church – Chernivtsi, Ukraine

Chapter 7     Help the police

Chapter 8     America Library in Paris

Chapter 9     Tall poppy cut down

Chapter 10   Classified information

Chapter 11   Divine Turnaround

Chapter 12   Unveiled puzzle

Chapter 13   Joy in the morning

Chapter 14   Confusion in Life Ablaze Church

Chapter 15   Homecoming

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my family, sibling, friends and a circle of the body of Christ who have acted as salt light when things were tough for us as a family. And to my daughters and husband who had been incredibly rugged in the face of tough times and are co-operating with me while we are actively pursuing our God-given destinies.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank God, who through the power of the Holy Spirit gave me the impression to write this book and released the utterance of this expression of spiritual truth.

There is no one who ever writes alone. As a writer, even when working in solitude, my writing is birthed, shaped and inspired by someone, a situation, circumstance or something beyond my doing. Thanks to my husband Olaoluwa and my children Iseoluwa (Grace) and Ewaoluwa (Beauty) for accommodating my writer’s solitude. I want to appreciate my Mummy Mrs A.O. Onamade and my auntie Mrs I.O. Diyaolu, my siblings, cousins, relatives and in-laws for always being there for me.

There are some people l have met who have stuck close to me and become my friends for life. You know yourselves. You are my mighty men and women who are solidly behind me in the good and bad times. The space is not enough to mention all your names. God bless you all.

To members of the body of Christ – churches that have been part of my journey from 1981 until now, l am indebted to you all. I appreciate my friends and brethren who have sweetened and illuminated my life and ministry. Thank you for your labour of love.

Thanks to my co-labourers Uche Wezeali, Ini Akpan of SW Advantage Resources Nigeria and Nikki Savvides of Expert Editor Australia who have copyedited and proofread this novel.

And finally, thank you to you, my readers, for choosing to read Wake up Church

CHAPTER ONE

Christian Believer’s Church – Okole

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It was a solemn meeting. Everyone sat with their heads bowed. The air was so heavy, you could cut it with a knife. Intermittent murmurs emanated from different corners, disrupting the silence. The creaking noise from the ceiling fans was rhythmic, its repetitive sound seemingly echoing the unspoken words in the hearts of the seated worshippers. There was movement as someone walked towards the front of the hall to address them. This was Pastor Richard, the senior pastor and the founder of the Church. He was a humble and passionate shepherd whose heart was with God, and he was a respected and valued member and past president of the nation’s Pentecostal body. Pastor Richard had worked with three of the largest churches in the nation before God called him to start the Okole Christian Church. He was married with three wonderful children, two girls and a boy.

We have called this meeting to remind us of what God has been promising us as a church, and to encourage us not to faint.

There was a shuffling of feet and a chorus of deep sighs from the congregation. Pastor Richard waited for quiet before he continued.

I have noticed that some of us have started drawing back from prayer meetings and church services. We have stopped giving our time to evangelism and charitable deeds like we used to. It looks as though the hardship some of our brethren are experiencing has started affecting everyone. He sighed. I understand that things are not so rosy right now, but let us keep in mind that the scripture says that anyone who puts his hands on the plough and draws back is not worthy of the kingdom.

These were the opening words of Pastor Richard Anderson of the Christian Believers’ Church (CBC), a growing church in Okole with the belief they had a mandate from God to dedicate themselves to Him in teaching His holiness and practising His teachings. In its 11 years of existence, the people of the church saw the raw power of God move unhindered. Miracles beyond explanation had happened and people had mysteriously received answers to their prayers. However, recently an unusual trend had arisen whereby most church members who placed great hope on the promises of God for their lives, and on the prophecies, that they had received in church, were disappointed. They had been told that they would be part of an end time army for the Lord, and would have a worldwide impact. But instead of these promises having been fulfilled, challenges arose that resulted in the breaking up of the church. Many members left, and the congregation decreased from more than a thousand committed people to merely five hundred.

Kenneth raised his hand to indicate he wanted to speak.

Bro. Kenneth, you have something to say?

Yes, he responded, standing up and adjusting his necktie. Kenneth had been a member of the church since its inception. He had served as youth leader for four consecutive times before he got married and had handed over to the past youth leader, Luke, who had since left the church and was yet to be replaced. Kenneth was known as a firebrand for the Lord.

Pastor Richard, I don’t know if you really understand how the members of the church feel in these times. You have been telling us to hold onto God for the past seven years, and you have expressed prophecies from God concerning us as a church and as individuals, but instead of things getting better, they’re getting worse. Or can’t you see it? The Bible tells us that God is not the author of confusion, but there has been confusion with the recent happenings in this church. We are asking questions as to whether God really spoke or not. We have lost people to sicknesses when before we had clear prophecies of permanent healings. We had hopes that many of our dedicated brethren would become great instruments in the hands of God, but their families have prevented them from staying in church. Some even took these brethren away, out of the country, against their will. Do you remember Sis. Nancy, how she waited on God to marry a faithful believer in the church, which never happened?

Sis. Grace, sitting towards the back of the hall, chipped in. Yes. Instead, her family insisted on her marrying a family friend in Ukraine. She was forced to travel and live with this so-called Christian man from an orthodox church. All prayers to return her to us have been ineffective.

A sob broke out somewhere at the back of the hall. Everyone turned to look. It was Mercy, Nancy’s closest friend and prayer partner. Kenneth raised his hands in frustration and sat back down as though he had more to say but lacked the words.

Michael took that as a cue and stood up to make his own point. He had discussed this issue with Kenneth before, and had been waiting for an opportunity like this to bare his mind. He had wanted to marry Nancy, but his inferiority complex didn’t allow him to voice his interest in her. He believed that things wouldn’t have worked out between them because Nancy came from a rich home and her family believed that her marriage would make them richer, if they could find a wealthy man for her. Michael began: The youth leader’s case was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Bro. Luke was faithful in church. He was dedicated, intelligent and quite promising, yet he couldn’t get a good job. His family looked up to him in the hope that once he graduated from medical school, he would become the breadwinner of the family. Pastor Richard, you gave prophecies concerning him that never materialised. Instead, his family, who could not wait any longer, contracted a relative in Europe, who said he needed someone to assist in his business and that, in return, he would make direct payments to the family for their upkeep. Pastor, you led the prayers to thwart the plans of his family and cause them to fail like the counsel of Ahithophel. Yet, we all watched as they succeeded with their plans despite all our prayers. Pastor, we are tired. We need to understand why things are no longer working. Is there something we are not doing right? He shook his head and sat down.

His friend Kingsley tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Michael nodded vigorously and whispered some words back to Kingsley. They both sighed and bowed their heads. There was a lull in the atmosphere. Pastor Richard had his head bowed and did not say a word.

Mama Faith stood up. She was officially known as Mrs Deborah Kolahdeh, mother of Christopher Kolahdeh, but was nicknamed Mama Faith because of her devout faith in God. She was a widow in her mid-sixties, dark, lovely and elegant, and a very kind and dedicated deaconess who was in charge of the Elder group and village evangelism. She did this despite the fact that she had lost her husband unexpectedly during the war. She brought up her only son Christopher in the way of God.

Mama Faith untied her wrapper from around her waist and tied it back up again. While tucking the end of the wrapper with her left hand, she cleared her throat. My mind is made up. I will leave this church and find another where there are solutions to problems. I know it sounds like faithlessness, especially from someone who has served as a deaconess in this church for the last five years, but what would you have done if you were in my shoes? I know God is true and I have no doubt about that. I know He answers prayers but nothing like that happens in this church anymore. My only son, Christopher, was my only hope. I brought him up in the ways of God and he is a special boy, endowed with a unique gift. When he sings, he brings forth Heaven. Pastor Richard even said that whenever Christopher sang before his ministration, the word flowed easily from his lips. Since his father died, we have been dedicated to this work of the Lord, with me serving as a deaconess and evangelism wing leader and him serving as choir leader and church keyboardist. We were always there when they called for any program or event in church. My husband owed a lot of money before his death, in case some of you did not know. He had some investments that were destroyed during the war and we eventually lost him to that war. Her voice shook as she said the last sentence. She had to pause for a while to steady her voice before she continued. I read about the widow, how her creditors wanted to take her two sons, and how the true prophet of God intervened and the debt was paid. I then came to Pastor Richard. I told him that the bank was after us and had insisted that if I was not able to make the payment, they would take Christopher to work with them and that with his qualifications and salary, he would have to work for them for ten years before he could pay off the debt. I did not have any means to pay back the money. Pastor Richard told me to hold onto God and His promises and that that was the only solution he could offer, until the bank took Christopher from me. Now he works for them for free. He cannot even send me any money and I cannot see him either. He has been taken to a strange nation that I don’t know anything about, and he will have to stay there until he has paid off the last of his father’s debt. She ended her statement with deep sobs and untied one edge of her wrapper to wipe her tears. Some of the women sitting next to her stood up to console her and helped her to sit down while they patted her back to calm her. A great sorrow enveloped the worshippers. Some people cried, while others whispered among themselves. It was obvious their hearts were discouraged.

Pastor Richard cleared his throat. He had wiped a tear during the interlude. Please, if anyone has anything else to say, kindly pour out your heart. I am short of words now.

Praise stood up. Her face was streaked with tears. She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

Okay, let’s hear your own pain, Sis. Praise, said the Pastor.

Sis. Praise was a teacher by profession, a very beautiful sister with a unique, pretty face and a pointed nose, fair in complexion, and tall, slim and elegant. She could be referred to as beautiful both inside and out. She was like Caleb in the Bible - having a different spirit as if she looked at things through spiritual eye glasses.

"Pastor Richard, thank you for the opportunity. I have witnessed all the events that have been mentioned today. Truthfully, they have made me question the authenticity of the prophecies we have received in this church, but I took my confusion before the Lord and He reminded me of the woman here at this very church who was barren for 10 years, and who is