Monday, 21 August 2023

WAITING ON GOD 4

Over the past few weeks, we've discussed Waiting On God;

From learning patience, to how to engage God when He is silent down, to embracing and leveraging Joy in waiting seasons.

It's been a lot to learn, unlearn and relearn.

I've also found myself having to use the wisdom in these words in the past few days.

Just before I announced the teaching, I had a dream where the Holy Spirit came to teach me exactly on this. I was taught as Word Alive.

So I'm just going to dish out everything in my note, as taught to me by the Lord.

We trust the Lord that it is timely and it touches whole and where it needs to.


The first thing I will speak on is this: 

1. Wait only where God has asked you to

What I see is so many at a bus stop and it feels like their bus is not coming but then I was taken to another bus stop and I saw a bus with their name on one of the seats. But they are elsewhere standing under the sun, waiting for a bus that will never come because that is not the route of their bus.

We've discussed the posture of waiting, we've also talked on the ways to wait, but the question is Where are you waiting? See, you cannot wait for the will of God outside of its enabling environment!

You cannot wait in Sokoto for what the Lord has arranged in Lagos.

Except Sokoto is part of God's design, you will get frustrated in waiting because nothing will happen.

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; Acts 1:4 NKJV

Wait for the promise of the Father but look, the first instruction was where to wait! If they had gone elsewhere instead of Jerusalem, they'd have missed the promise. Not because the father did not promise or changed His mind but because they were at a wrong location.

You must know per time where you ought to be, the same as when Jesus sent the disciples to bring the colt. We all know the story of the triumphant entry;

and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. Mark 11:2 NKJV

If the disciples had gone to a city or anywhere other than this village, they'd have found nothing.

Look at Anna and Simeon in Luke 2,

All of their lives, they waited for The Promise.

The ultimate promise of God!

In fact, for Simeon, God expressly told him that he would not die until he sees the Lord.

The Bible says that he went to the temple on that faithful day as led.

He needed to be in the location of the promise.

Anna on the other hand had been stationed permanently in the temple.

That's where God asked her to wait for the promise.

So when they brought Jesus, she was right there.

Tonight, I will need us all to pause and ask ourselves; Am I waiting in the right place?

And for those that are not, I pray for you that the Lord redirects.

 

2. Wait only on what God has asked you to wait for

Some of us are waiting for our wishes. Lol

I do not say it is a bad thing to wish or desire o, but see, your wish will not override the will of the Lord. We are waiting for what God has not promised. And we believers have scriptures to back these things up.

"But God said Ask for anything in my name and I will do it"

"Bible says God will give me the desire of my heart"

Who am I to say the bible did not say? But pause,

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4 NKJV

The message says to keep company with God.

What this scripture is saying is to spend time with God first. Familiarize yourself with Him.

Stay with God!

And oh, God does reveal to His children!

First, Keep company with God until your heart desires what His heart desires, and then the Lord will give you the desires of your heart.

So my question to you is this: What do you desire? Are you waiting for the Lord's will or the desires of your heart?

I have a sister that'd randomly make jokes that she is marrying a man with a British accent πŸ˜‚

If anyone desires this, if it is not the will of God for you to marry a British accent man, your Ilorin accent husband will pass your front a hundred times and you won't know it is him.

Why? You are waiting for what God has not promised.

Take a step back tonight and ask yourself: This waiting season has stressed my head. This thing I'm waiting for, Is it the promise of God or my heart's desire?

As we move, I will need us to be taking out the key points. Write them down somewhere accessible. Make sure to go back to them. I see God opening eyes and giving redirection to many.

See, we cannot be bitter at God for not doing what He didn't promise in the first place.

If God did not promise it, it doesn't mean He withholds good things from you.

He has seen the future,

He knows what is ahead.

If that is not in His will, it is because it is not the best for your destiny at that time. So why wait for it? Why put yourself through such a traumatic experience?

Proverbs 13:12 says that Hope when deferred makes the heart sick

It is natural for your heart to break. For you to be tired when waiting for too long. So again, why put yourself through that traumatic experience.

The sad part is that when your heart gets sick, the believer's response is the word the Father has given. But this one that you have conjured your own desire as the will of God, which word will you use?

Situations respond to the word of God.

 

3. Waiting, outside of God

When the Holy Spirit told me this, I first didn't understand it. I searched online tire, and found nothing. So I went back to the person that gave the word to explain. You can be waiting in the right place for God's word, yet, you are not waiting in God.

You can be waiting on God but not in God.

Here's what the Lord said to me: I am the place you wait. I am your waiting position

Where are you standing? In Christ?

For some of us, it is that we take a word and run out. We follow the instructions of that particular word but we are not exactly living in the Lord completely. 

So you will say to yourself: But I went to where God said. I did everything. Yet!

The promise is NEVER greater than the God of the promise. Never above Him.

Isreal suffered this. They delayed their process because of this. 

Wait! And do so, In God.

 

4. Stop Waiting in Unbelief

I think these 2 words should not even coexist. 

By faith only do we receive. "I know God said it o. I believe God o, but I am not sure"

See, you must see the promise. You must see it with your eyes.

Abraham saw the promise ahead. You cannot afford to move in unbelief while waiting. It is distrust for God and a recipe to not receiving the promises of God.

Partial belief translates to unbelief by the way. It's either you believe or you don't.

Do you really trust God to do what He has promised? Especially considering everything you can see is not looking like it

Do you really trust God?

Answer that to yourself. Please make sure to answer.

 

5. Magnifying the promise more than the God of the promise

A lot of us are so engrossed in the promise that we stop focusing on God. We sit with you 5 minutes and it is God said this. I'm waiting for that. Your life now literally revolves around that promise, so much that you can't see any other thing that God is doing

You can't see God Himself.

Pause and live. Pause and live!

That's what the Lord says to tell you tonight.

It's okay. Just pause and live inside of now

Abraham did not get engrossed in the promise,

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:8-10 NKJV

He never lost sight of God so what He got instead was the ultimate promise. A promise bigger than the land flowing with milk and honey.

He received something greater because he saw beyond what was shown.

A lot of us are living lives marked by bitterness, worry, anxiety, etc.

One minute you are full of Joy, the next minute you are completely down because you remembered the promise.

See, in this kingdom when we remember the promise, we shout Hallelujah. We jump in joy. You should not be remembering randomly and thrown into sadness.

Fix your gaze on God. The God of the promise is bigger than whatever promise you are frustrated about.

Live while waiting. Don't put your life on pause because of that one thing. Don't let everything around you revolve around that one thing so much that you can't see God. God is doing so many other things in your life while you are waiting. The disciples though gathered in the upper room waiting for the Spirit, were focused on God. They were not checking every minute:

E don come?

Where Him dey?

Him never arrive?

 

Face your front, please

Face your God!

Fix your gaze on Him!

Let the God of the promise be magnified more than the promise in your waiting season. That promise is just a means. In fact, it is only one of many means. Why have you built a monument around it?

For the people that own this particular word, please take heed to it.

Ask the Lord for help,

I hear You've been delayed because of it too.

The Father wants to open your eyes to so many other things.

He is waiting to tell you

But you can't listen. You can't hear because the only thing your ear itches for is news about that one promise.

Hmmmm

I pray for you tonight, that by the mercy of the Lord you are redirected. Your gaze is fixed on your maker.

Amen.

 

6. Stay in the leading of God while waiting

Don't run off with that one instruction when only thing you have with you is the destination.

What if Google Maps says to pass Ikorodu to Ibadan instead of Lagos Ibadan Express because the road is blocked?

What you have with you most times is a destination. Stay and allow God to lead you there Himself. He knows all the nooks and crannies, He sees beyond what you can see.

You cannot afford to not be led per time! What was the last thing God said about that promise? When was the last time He told you anything about it?

Examine

Know if you are still hearing His voice on it or if you are running without the instructions in between

“You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Psalms 77:20 NKJV

The shepherd never tells the sheep to just be going. He never says:

We are going to Zamfara o. That's our destination, be going we will meet.

In fact, it is the sheep that doesn't want to get to Zamfara that will leave the leading of the shepherd and walk alone. You will not make it to the junction before everything scatters. 

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:17-18 NKJV

I teach you to profit. I teach you how to get results with the word I've given. We've somehow limited this scripture to material blessings. Finances!

I am God who teaches you to get the gain and profit in my word. How?

By leading you! But the condition is for us to follow. Listen and follow every instruction.

Even when it doesn't make sense. Just follow.

“And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” Exodus 13:21-22 NKJV

See how God leads

Actively!

Not one minute did He leave the children of God.

Morning, night!

Stay in the leading of God,

There is no bliss anywhere else.

Also, obey the leading of God,

Obey the seemingly tiny instructions in between, especially those ones that look like they can be ignored.

Allow God lead you, step by step.

 

Monday, 14 August 2023

GET AWAY WITH ME 2022: THE WAITING ROOM

August 14, 2022

I was in church and while my pastor was preaching, I heard 3 things clearly, (totally unrelated to the preaching at hand):

The Waiting Room

The Day of the Spirit 

The Call

I quickly went to the back of my note and scribbled it down to avoid distraction.

We had begun praying about the Retreat at this point but it didn't even drop in my mind that the word was for the Retreat. 



We headed to Ibadan the next morning with a couple of friends and then on the 16th we went to Ori Oke Ikoyi, Osun state to pray and get a clearer direction concerning 2022's Retreat.

As we prayed, we began to get words and see certain things in the spirit, and suddenly I heard again THE WAITING ROOM

I remembered I had heard that before so I quickly checked my book and the word I got in church 2 days earlier made sense. 

As we continued to press in the spirit, the Lord showed me the church building close to the foot of the mountain and He said to me "That is the waiting room". This is where it will happen. Gather men here and wait.


Now, this is the church Baba Ori Oke had given to us to use in previous years for our vigil so the word felt normal, but as I progress in this story, we'd come to understand exactly why God emphasized on it being the waiting room.

As we continued to pray towards the Retreat, we recorded some of the words we got;

CLICK HERE TO READ

Now, I will need you to read it carefully. Don't rush this part because when we get to testimonies on the retreat, you will see these exact words play out. You will literally see God do exactly everything He promised and even beyond; the graphic manner in which these things played out.

God truly amazes me

He keeps me in awe every time.


PLANNING THE RETREAT

Thinking about it now, I don't know how we planned 2022's Retreat. 

I know we went back to Lagos from the mountain and set up a team. We called for volunteers and we started praying. 

One thing I have learned is this: Every move of the spirit is sustained by prayer. In fact, it doesn't start without praying men. Men who are ready to know God's agenda and birth it from the place of prayer.

Prayer has always been my go-to.

Not the scout for a venue,

Not the finances,

Not the people coming,

Prayer!

So we started here.

This Retreat was also quite different from previous ones. Before now, we had an admin member in Ibadan. We would stay at his place and plan together there. Some members of the main team would also be in Ibadan 3 to 5 days before the Retreat to seal up planning and ensure all goes well.

We were also using his car to move supplies and for market runs, so that had made planning so easy for us over the years.

This admin member (Ayodele) left Nigeria in August 2022. In fact, 2 days after we got a direction concerning the Retreat.

So here we were, planning a Retreat to Osun state, a city we knew no one, with no money also. 

But I had something, it was God's word.

We put out the registration form and over half of the 70 people that registered at that point were not members of Word Alive (God had told us that many new people will come with hunger). 

The instruction was also to make the Retreat completely FREE.

Food, accommodation and transportation down to the Retreat ground was to be free for every camper. 

How we were going to feed and accommodate over 70 people in Buhari's economy, I didn't know. The only thing I knew was that I had God's word.

Oh! How I rested on the word (I didn't have a  choice by the way πŸ˜‚)

A few days before the Retreat, we had over 80 people registered with a budget of about #3,000,000. 

We didn't have up to a million naira at this point. 

I remember some of the people on the planning team constantly calling because they were worried and I had to jokingly tell one of them to not call me until after the Retreat.

God always funds His project!

I have seen Him come through different times, this wasn't going to be any different.

How God would come through, I sincerely didn't know. But I knew for sure that He would.

The Journey to Ikoyi

A day before the Retreat, we set out for Ibadan from Lagos so we could get major supplies.

A friend of mine had helped us with a driver that agreed to take the main team and stay with us in Ibadan for running around and throughout the retreat as well at a subsidized rate.

At that time, the money we had at hand was just a little over a million naira with about a hundred registered attendees. Out of what we had, we paid the private driver, general transportation for everyone coming (to alone) and 60% of the accommodation fee. 

I had nothing left in my pocket.

I remember the driver asking for #7000 to get fuel on the road, I looked at him blankly and called my friend to the side and told him:

"Guy, I don't have any money on me. There is nothing left"

He asked "And you are travelling to Ibadan? What of feeding and all?"

I just looked at him as I had no words.

He smiled and told me God will come through, then sent the money to the driver.

I probably looked like a fool at that point because here I was, heading to Ibadan without a "plan" πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚.

But that is just it! 

Those who will see the wonders of God will have to learn to follow Him blindly, even when it doesn't make sense.

The disciples literally had tiny cuts of bread in their hands but moved towards thousands of people to share, at the word of God!

Back to my story...

We heard that morning that there was a tanker explosion on the road, it was still burning and you know what that means in this our Lagos abi? Traffic!

People started calling us to turn back and take Ikorodu. I just quietly prayed and told God I didn't want to be stressed. I needed my strength intact for the Retreat.



So I just told the driver to take the normal route, the same one the tanker exploded on and was blocked because that was how I was led.

For the first time in my life, I travelled to Ibadan for less than 2 hours. There was no stop whatsoever on the road, it was completely free! Considering the explosion that had happened (we passed the burning tanker), one would expect to get to Ibadan really late but somehow the traffic had cleared up before we got there.

God had gone ahead!

Ibadan, Our Multiplication Story

We got into Ibadan and reworked our budget seeing as we barely had any money left. We reduced things from the budget as much as possible as we waited for "provision" (almost 2 million Naira) from God.

Provision eventually came and it was a little above #200,000.

We had to go to the market and at least buy supplies for Friday and Saturday morning. God would sort the remaining days till the end of the retreat.

I transferred #150,000 to one of the People with me (Wale). We were able to withdraw just #100,000, leaving #50,000 in his account.

We got to the market and started buying things from the #150,000

Note that the list we took to the market had prices attached to every item, so for items whose prices had gone up or were less, we wrote them down as we paid.

We started moving from shop to shop until we had bought general supplies and food ingredients to last us till Sunday evening (save a few items) before it dawned on me that the money we initially had couldn't cover supplies for more than 24 hours. 

I checked my purse, I still had money.

I called Wale, and he still had part of the #50,000 left.

I had to calculate from what I wrote down as I paid 

I had made payments around #500,000 from #150,000 and still had over #50,000 left 😭😭😭😭

It looked like a film trick.

I kept calculating yet it didn't add up.

I couldn't keep it to myself so I called everyone that went with me to see what was going on.

God literally did a multiplication of the money in our hands.

We were buying and paying for stuff, but the money in our purse wasn't going down 😭😭😭

We calculated what was left in the bag in awe (this was when the money started going down sha πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚). 

I have seen God provide so many times but in this manner? I was shaken.

Today, I bless God that we didn't get provision.

If we had gotten provision the usual way, how would we have had this kind of testimony?

Plot twist, God actually told us this while we were preparing for the Retreat but we didn't understand it then (Read Here). He said: "E ma bu, ko ni tan" (you will just keep taking and it will not finish)

This was exactly what happened.

We were taking but the money in the purse never went down.

What a God!!!



Friday, Oct 21, 2022

The Retreat Begins....

We had the first batch of Retreat attendees come in same time as we did. While registration was going on, I got word that Baba Ori Oke was around so I quickly excused myself. 

If you read the words gotten concerning the retreat posted earlier, you will remember that God had shown me the church and told me it was the waiting room right?

So I went to Baba Ori Oke (Prophet Odewole) to get the keys to the church so we could clean ahead. 

Back Story

The church was built by the former prophet in charge of the mountain who is now late. No one uses the church anymore (there is another church used by everyone at the mountain). 

It's basically just an abandoned building now. However, baba had given us access to it in previous years so we could have our meetings uninterrupted.

I met with baba and to my shock, he mentioned I didn't tell him we wanted to use the church. Note that I had seen him that week and mentioned it all through the months of planning.

According to him, the family of the late prophet had come around, changed the lock and handed it to someone else. 

I just knew the devil was at play.

I asked if we could speak with the new person in charge of the key but he said the key was with someone else and he wasn't someone they could call. He didn't live in Osogbo too.

I begged that he be called.

They called and everyone spoke with him but he told them he couldn't drop the key as he had strict instructions.

A couple of people in the community also called and begged him, same result. 

After a while, Baba offered me another church Closer to the hostels. Immediately I told him no. God had specifically showed me the church we are to use, "Look, that is the waiting room" 

At this point, the ploy of the devil was just so glaringly obvious. 

I told them to call the man with the key again but no one was willing to because he had blatantly said no, was angry already and stopped picking calls. They also couldn't give me his number to avoid provoking him further.

I told them to please just call him and give me the phone. We will use the church and he will release the key to me.

I remember someone in that gathering asking who I was to speak with such confidence. "Do you know who the man is ? He is very strict and fearful..."

At that point, all I knew was that the man had the key to where God had shown me and except he is not created by God, he will release the key to me. I don't care where he was at that time, I will access the church. That was all I knew strongly.

After some time, baba eventually agreed to call the man, he gave me the phone and the funniest thing happened.

Follow our conversation:

Me: Good evening sir. I'm Olúrèmí. I'm calling about the church.

Him: Oh yes, I know. When do you need to use the church because I'm not in town right now.

Me: Immediately

Him: Okay, get a carpenter to break the lock. Then tell him to replace the lock with the exact type of lock when you are done. Your program will go well. prayers

This was same the man that had outrightly said no, refused to pick up calls, and kept me waiting on the spot for over 2 hours.

He did not ask me a single question nor was there any sign of anger.

He even came around the next day to check on us.

I just laughed because God is a keeper of His word. 

The enemy will always try to frustrate what God has said, he will tell you it is impossible, it is your job at all times to insist on what you've seen.

No other outcome should be acceptable.

No other outcome!

Note that while all of this was going on, we still didn't have money to sort transportation back to Lagos, accommodation had only been paid halfway, and instead of the 70-plus people that had pre-registered, we had around 120 in attendance.

A whole lot of new faces at that.

Who told them about the Retreat?

How did they travel outside of Lagos with someone they've never met just to find God?

How?

We got back to the hostel and realized the accommodation available couldn't take everyone so we got a new place which was still not enough.

Campers had to put up with each other. We got mats for people to join in rooms. Everyone was content with the arrangement and there were no grumblings about space.

After settling in and eating, we gathered together at the hostel to fellowship. 

As we started worshipping, it felt like water was waiting to just break. People were eager for the experience. Eager for God Himself! There was such a heavy air of expectation. I knew at that point that we were about to have an experience we would never forget.

At some point, I looked at everyone and I just told God: We are in Your hands. Do with us as You wish. Make a name for Yourself with this crowd. They've all come for You. Just look at this hunger; all for You. 

Saturday, Oct 22, 2022

We woke up very early and headed to the church to clean up and prepare for our meeting at night.

Getting there, the church was a mess.

Apparently, it had not been used for a year (since the last time we came for the Retreat in 2021). 

There was bird poo everywhere,

The electricity connections we made had gone bad,

The floors were dirty, etc.

The most challenging part of this for us was finding that a large portion had been ripped open (about 4 large rows )

It had apparently come off some months before we came for the Retreat and it was really bad.

We got in and started cleaning. 

We went to the village stream to fetch water and were having prayer walks inside the church even while cleaning up. We literally scrubbed the church till it was looking brand new. A number of people volunteered happily to help with this process which helped reduce our work hours.

We finished up and left it to dry then headed to the hostel to freshen up for the day.

Our First Mountain Session

We had gotten an instruction earlier to read Psalms 24 at the foot of the mountain, pray with it then process up the mountain right after.

We did this and climbed the mountain.

We started worshipping as soon we got to the mountaintop.

The program of the event was literally scrapped by the spirit. God demanded worship and that was exactly what we stayed on.

Right there on the mountain, while worshipping, people were baptized with the Holy Ghost, and new tongues broke out.

A complete atmosphere shift.



I could literally see fire pouring out on everyone as Heaven opened up.

The Glory of God stood still and covered us on that mountain.

And I just heard these words:

- I have not even started. 

- These people don't know what I am set to do. They don't know. 

- Their lives are about to change. 

- I am showing myself anew

- Revealing myself in a new way

- Open up

- Open yourselves up!

People were literally drunk in the spirit. 

I have seen God move a lot o, but every time is a whole new experience.

I'm literally left with my mouth open every time.

We had to carry people down from the mountain when it was time to leave (we had a time allowance from the mountain management for personal meetings)






We also could not go to the church because it wasn't dry yet, so everyone went back to the hostel where we proceeded with the word.

The rest of the day was mostly used to bond (This happened in 2021's retreat also)

It came as an instruction.

The Holy Spirit tends to have us bond before the vigil.

This time it seemed we had even more time.

We played

 Oh, we played, all sorts of card and board games; ludo, monopoly, whot, Scrabble, Jenga, etc.







One would look at us as unserious, after all retreat is supposed to be a time of being completely solemn and serious with God.

But at our retreats, I have found there is no rule book, the Holy Spirit wants us to play? We will play!

At first, some people were hesitant; why should we be playing? Aren't we playing too much? Shouldn't we be praying? πŸ˜‚

But the Holy Spirit was not having it, whether you like it or not you will play. In time everyone joined in to have fun.

I've found it's also an intentional thing.

There's so much going on in the Spirit in the course of our playing and bonding; a lot of heart and spirit alignment for what God is set to do at the vigil goes on while we play.

Our Roof Miracle

On Saturday evening while the campers were having lunch and general conversations, the clouds changed.

That completely changed my mood because the first place my mind went to was the open roof in the church. If it rained, we would definitely not be able to use the church and the instruction was clear: That church over there is your waiting room.  Gather everyone there

I started praying to God to hold the rain.

I kept saying "This rain must not fall"

The rain did not listen to me of course, it fell πŸ˜‚. It rained heavily and for long.

I just walked to the kitchen area where I saw Omotola, Omolola and Bolu, and with a straight face, said these exact words:

I told God to hold the rain but He did not. He should send His angels to stand on the ground and receive the rain so water doesn't enter the church

Then I just went into my room to prepare and sleep before our night session at the church.

I woke up later and the first thing I heard was that the electrician is not available. No way we were holding the vigil in a church located inside a bush, with an open roof and no light.

At that point, I just laughed because it looked like even the devil was scared of what was about to happen in the church.

God so good, we had a lady at the Retreat who was quite knowledgeable about electrical connections. 

I asked to follow them for the electrical fittings just so I could check the church as

I didn't even know what to expect.

We obviously couldn't use the church considering the rain. 

But my faith was up there,

God had said it.

We got to the church and immediately the light came on, I saw a miracle: The roof was completely closed and there was not a drop of water on the floor

😭😭😭😭

I'm not sure I can explain this with words.



The roof that was open for months until that afternoon was now completely closed with no leakages whatsoever.

Someone was with us that didn't see the open roof in the afternoon because he had just come in, he couldn't believe the roof was once opened.

Even if it was fixed, it couldn't have looked like that. The rusted part would have holes and the fixing could never have been that perfect.

God literally fixed the roof for us

Gave us a new roof

I cried, laughed, jumped

I couldn't explain how I felt

Now this is a lesson that was reiterated during the Retreat:

Sometimes, God doesn't answer certain prayers because He wants to give us a new name to call Him. A new perspective to Him

If God had answered our prayers and the rain stopped, I had seen that happen before (a lot), how would I have known that He could fix new roofs?

How?

If He had answered our prayers for provision, how could we have known that He could multiply money in our hands?

 I'm also reminded of the death of Lazarus.

If Jesus had come early and healed Lazarus, how would they have known that He could raise a dead of 4 days?

How?

The Vigil!!!

I'm not sure I can think or talk about the Vigil without having goosebumps.



Actually, thinking about it makes me start praying.

You see, at previous Retreats, we've had the most miraculous and wondrous things happen at this session so I wasn't shocked when I noticed that expectations had built up towards it.

I didn't even know what we were expecting,

Or what will happen exactly (I think people assume that I know these things beforehand)

I was as blank and expectant as everyone else.

We went in, shut the doors behind us and it began.

Before I start..

I need you to understand that everything you are about to read from here does not fully capture all that happened that night. I doubt any of us will ever have the right words to describe what we experienced.

Back to the vigil

We got in and as I walked round the auditorium, I saw a people ready for God.

I saw petrol/fuel everywhere and in my head I knew it will take just one match for the whole room to go up in fire.

We started worshipping.

If there is one thing we don't joke with on Word Alive, it is Worship.

Everyone was lost in reckless abandon, focused on nothing else except The Lord of Hosts Himself

I saw a spirit of worship that I had never seen before.

At some point, God told me some people wanted to move to the "dramatic" part of the night, the jumps, shouts and prayers,

"Tell them, in this moment all I delight in is their worship."

We quickly redirected all hearts, and I saw the most beautiful vision.

I saw all of Heaven

Angels

The elders

I saw animals of different kinds, all gathering in that room with us

Everyone worshipping 

I was shocked because who would have thought animals could worship.

Then as we worshipped, I saw all of our collective worship go up and formed into a horse.

 Then I saw the Lord

I saw the Lord sit on this Horse of Worship and ride on it round the room

I have seen the Lord a number of times but the Joy on His face this time?

I didn't want to stop worshipping 

How could we stop?

When our king was delighting in us and the worship we brought?

When even all things created and the hosts of heaven had to join us in worship of this King

We worshipped for hours nonstop (Note that we didn't have any instruments, a set choir or musical aide, just our voices and shekere)

We stayed here in reckless abandon. I didn't even know for how long, what others were doing or who was leading.

I sha knew we were all goneeeee in the spirit.

After some time, I heard the Lord say to me: Before the fire comes the deliverance 

Then I began to see chains all round, bound people who were walking freely but I could still see the chains connected to them, and because they were walking freely they had no idea there were chains tied to them.

Ancestral chains

Chains that had been passed down from generation to generation

I literally saw God destroy them all

I saw people loosened and set free,

Demonic influences coming to an end,

People brought out from systemic oppression of the devil,

And it happened exactly as I saw,

In fact, not too long after, the deliverance broke out all over the room

In different magnitudes, God was attending to everyone individually.

As I was praying for a group, I would hear shouts from another group praying for someone else

All over the room

I just knew the leaders had gotten the same instruction because they knew what to do 

I cannot explain the heavy weights and burdens that were dropped at the vigil

The cobwebs cleaned off people completely

Healing from long-standing emotional hurts and disappointments

Physical healings

My God 😭😭😭

Every time I remember how light people became after this session, it humbles me and makes me teary-eyed

God was intentional

God is intentional 

I saw the weights and chains lying on the floor and I just kept asking myself how these people would have left with things heavy as this if God had not been Gracious.

My God!!!

After the deliverance, we began to worship again. I mean, how could we not worship considering everything we had seen. As we worshipped this time, I saw the roof go out and I saw a huge fire covering the entire roof being fanned.

Coals of it began to drop in the church auditorium and on people.

As it dropped, they began to manifest in the spirit.

Nobody could keep calm

All of a sudden, the weight of that fire from the roof started coming towards me.

I remember shouting and telling God I couldn't possibly have all of that.

That was too much fire even for us collectively, how much more one person.

Something happened when the fire dropped on me

I can't explain it with words

I really wish I could

My whole body went up in fire, yet unburnt

I know I just kept shouting that this was too much.

I got out of that trance and landed on someone's legs (Wale). 

I opened my eyes to see him flying to only God knows where.

According to the people in the room, they actually heard my conversation with God and I grabbed Wale's leg after

I knew exactly what to do with that fire

I knew it was for everyone

It was time to share food and impart

I think the next person I touched was Bukky

And it began there

It felt like the laying of hands ignited something inside everyone even while depositing.

I knew all that happened from there wasn't me

God had taken possession of my body completely 

I was speaking as Him

I laid hands on 120 people in that hall (I didn't know where that strength came from)

Child to Mother

My mum attended the Retreat for the first time too.

I remember getting to her and as I ministered, she prophesied for the first time!

It was such a Joy to behold 

I have prayed for my mum a lot of times before, but that night was different πŸ˜ͺ

I saw a side of my mum I had never seen.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting it too

The fierceness

The fire

The eruption

I am absolutely grateful to God for the privilege/honor. Even more grateful that He withholds not Himself from neither young nor old.

PS. My mum recounts the retreat story to everyone she has met since the Retreat and has so many people on her invite list for this year's Retreat.

I could go on and on about the vigil but words still won't be enough.

We finished the vigil at past 8am

Over 8 hours of just worshipping, praying, prophesying and birthing in the spirit.

No sermon in between (I didn't even know where I threw my notes with the message in it the minute God took over)

No special number or activity to keep people awake,

No instruments to aide our worship,

Just men with a hunger for their God and a burning fire they couldn't explain.

We got back to the hostel and even as I tried to sleep, I kept hearing people praying.

I woke up and thought it was people around.

I asked but no one was praying and I was the only one hearing the voices.

It later dawned on me that it was in the spirit.

Up to date, I still hear prayers

When I'm in my room worshipping alone, I hear voices that are not mine CLEARLY worshipping with me

Even when I'm in public, the same thing and I know the voices are not from here on Earth.

We rested after the vigil and spent the rest of the day retrospecting, meditating, gisting, etc.

Next, we had the Spiritual Pool scheduled for that evening.

PS. The spiritual pool is a meeting where we gather to just sit and hear from God. Each person, one on one with God. We sit calmly, listen and write down whatever the spirit reveals. We hear the will of God concerning our lives; what to do, when to do and How to do

We are not praying or jumping or anything. Just stillness but this time with ears and eyes opened, ready to hear God share immediate and long-term plans and instructions with us

We were meant to just sit still and write all through o, but what is a word alive meeting without Worship? 

We started from the only place we know and I heard God say: Did you think I was done? I am just starting 

😭😭😭

Before we knew it, The Spirit of God started moving

He finished what He started the previous night

I saw people leave their usual temperaments and go off in spirit!

Gifts!

Heaven came bearing gifts

New tongues

Interpretation 

A breakout in the prophetic

Residual birthings from the night before

God made sure nobody left the same way. None came as spectators.

The Spiritual Pool

We commenced the spiritual pool proper and one testimony that stands for us is that nobody attends this meeting without hearing God.

Nobody!

Everyone got direction

Everyone got answers

We had moved from the jumping and filling to the still voice of the Lord saying:

This is the way to go, walk in it.

We had older people in our midst and even though the practice was strange (because who comes to church and just sits for hours writing), they also heard God and wrote down.

I am still living out the things the Lord shared at that meeting today.


Monday, 24th October 2023

Final Retreat day before everyone left:

We gathered on the mountain where we began.

And oh! I finally got to share the word πŸ˜‚

My sermon note was completely shut for other sessions.

God imprinted His words in people's hearts and they confirmed it.



Everything He had shared with me, people received directly.

Who am I to teach when the Lord had done the teaching?

So this final day was my first sermon and it was the one I actually didn't prepare a note for.

The instruction came during the Spiritual Pool.

God has a huge sense of humor

The Lord gave us direction on what next after such an experience because it felt like people were wondering that.

Would they go back to the lives they lived?

What do they do with all of that fire?

How do they move from here?

But God was very clear with us:

There was no normal to return to!

Our lives had changed!


Answers

While ministering to the people, we were led to lift up our requests before God

This was the first time we were bringing out requests for a 4 day meeting on a mountain 😭

This didn't happen until the last day while preparing to leave.

Again, God has a huge sense of humor.

As we prayed

Jummy spoke from the crowd that Answers are here

Immediately the Holy Spirit told me, "Yes, they are."

I shared with everyone that as we climbed down the mountain, people will receive physical manifestations of these answers.

Lo and behold, the testimonies started pouring in as we left the mountain.

Up until this moment, the testimonies haven't stopped!!


Overflow  

The retreat ended with us having leftovers

We had money left

We had foodstuff left

So many things that we had to share with the planning team

How all the money came in, I still don't know

We literally didn't have transportation fee back to Lagos (this was hundreds of thousands), the balance of the accommodation fee, and some other money as of Saturday (Day 2)

Yet, here we were having leftovers.

One thing I keep learning in this walk with God is that He funds His own projects.

For every time and everywhere I have ever been sent my testimony after it is all over is always that God showed up completely.

When God guides, He provides.


Post Retreat

You never have this kind of meeting and think it is over.

The experiences never end, instead, they flow from here.

I am grateful to Abba really.

We had 120 people travel with us to Osun state from all around Nigeria.

Half of them were people I was meeting for the first time.

Some even heard about the Retreat a day before but knew they had to be there in person.

120 men

120 lives changed forever!

It dawned on me after the Retreat that there were 120 disciples at the Waiting Room also.

Lol. God has the best sense of humor!

Writing this, I am grateful to God for the experience,

For the manifestation of His power,

For always gracing us with Himself

I have seen God move before now

I have seen the hand of God,

but this last Retreat topped every experience of God I had.

God blew our minds!

Again, everything shared here does not even do justice to what God did.

We took down some words and recorded prophecies from the retreat. You can find them attached to this testimonial.

Although we are unable to share all that happened at the retreat here as words can’t properly express all, I am hopeful that even as you read through all we shared, you will experience a revival in your corner/home. 

You will encounter God as we did.

Your own testimony is birth too.

The breath of God is upon these words of testimonies and they birth your own encounter.

My heart is full.

On behalf of the planning team and Word Alive’s Admin, I say thank you to everyone.

Thank you for attending the retreat

Thank you for giving towards it

This fire that has begun,

It doesn’t stop 

We continue to fan the flames

You spread it to your immediate sphere of influence and they continue to pass the torch too.

Keep the fire burning, till we gather again at our next Retreat: Oct 13 - 16, 2023



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If you read this and you are yet to accept Christ or you received your own testimony, kindly reach out to us on these numbers: 07035953059 or 07031123361.

We are also open to answering your questions about faith. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

Thank you once again.

God bless you.

Love eternally

Your sister, friend and Pastor,

Olúrèmí Akinfaderin

Founder | Word Alive Ministry


READ PERSONAL TESTIMONIALS OF THOSE THAT ATTENDED THE RETREAT

LISTEN TO THE PROPHECIES HERE

SEE GENERAL PICTURES HERE 

WATCH GENERAL VIDEOS HERE