God Has Blessed Us With A Baby

There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil – Exodus 23:26

Recently, Charismatic Signs was at the Watchman Fellowship Centre, Jakande Parish, Lagos, to witness the dedication to the Lord of a lovely boy, Nzubechukwu Gideon Obioma, born to Bertrand Obioma Chikezie, the Watchman pastor in-charge of Jakande Parish, and his wife, Chika.

During one of the Empowerment Programmes, Chika had impressed the General Overseer of the Watchman Charismatic Renewal Movement, Pastor A.C. Ohanebo, and indeed, the entire jubilant congregation, with her ability to memorize and recite three long chapters of the Bible (John Chapter One, Hebrews One and Two).

Pastor A.C. Ohanebo Praying For Chika Chikezie

This prompted Pastor Ohanebo to ask her to state the things she wanted to be accomplished in her life. Prominent among the three items she listed was her desire to be blessed with the fruit of the womb. Their marriage of five years was at that time yet to produce any fruit.

But not long after she was prayed for by the man of God, she took in, and today, she is a happy mother of a lovely boy.

And so, on that pleasant Sunday morning, it was a happy husband and wife that marched out with their child to share the testimony of God’s blessing to their family. It was the joyful father that testified:

BRETHREN, to start with, I want to give thanks to God for this wonderful day on which many people, including my elders in the Lord, have assembled to witness what is taking place today. I want to also thank all the people from various places who have found time to come here today to rejoice with me and my family. I am highly honoured.

Now, the testimony is that my wife and I got married in 2002. We have lived happily since and we have been thanking God for what He has done, to bring us together. The desire of every couple is to have their own children after the consummation of their marriage, but in our case we had some delay. We had gone into prayers and kept believing God.

We also visited some specialist hospitals for medical examinations. Some of the doctors explained a number of things but gave us a clean bill of health. Going by what they said there wasn’t any reason my wife shouldn’t have taken in, yet there was no conception.

I remember discussing this matter with one of our elders in the faith after one of our vigils. After he had listened to me, he let me into his personal experience in this regard and told me how he had argued in his prayers by saying that in the Bible, we usually read where it is said that somebody begat another, so, why should it be different in our own case? 

Betrand Chikezie And His Wife, Chika, Sharing Their Testimony After The Dedication Of Their Son At The Watchman Fellowship Centre, Jakande Parish, Ojo, Lagos.

 He then counseled me in a manner that got my eyes opened the more. And so,  we never allowed our faith and belief in God to dwindle; we continued to pray for our own miracle.

The turning point, however, was in April 2007, during one of the Empowerment Programmes in April 2007 when the Servant of God, the General Overseer,   encouraged everyone to form the habit of reading the Bible regularly and developing deeper acquaintance with its texts to the extent of being able to memorize and recite some chapters.

 Though my wife and I have been reading the Bible every now and again, my wife took up the challenge and started to memorize some chapters.

Some time later, she told me she could recite at least five chapters and when I asked her to demonstrate that before me; she was able to do it word for word.

And so on Sunday, April 30, 2007, during the Empowerment Programme, she faced the entire congregation and recited three chapters of the Bible which drew loud ovations from the appreciative and lively congregation. Her performance thrilled our Daddy, the General Overseer, so much so that he called her out and asked her to request whatever she wanted accomplished in her life, and they would be done for her.

She said she wanted the full measure of the Spirit of God in her; the fruit of the womb, and a good job. The Servant of God then prayed fervently for her and prophesied that all that she asked for would be granted her. Later, at the instruction of the G.S., a job was offered to her. We went home after the programme with joy in our hearts that God has remembered us.

Sometime in February last year (2008), I noticed that something good had happened to us and I began to watch the development as it progressed.

My wife was very healthy throughout the period of the pregnancy though the enemy tried to show its ugly face; but the Lord took over and frustrated all the plans of the enemy and on November 17 last year, she delivered this bouncing baby boy (Nzubechukwu Gideon Obioma) whose dedication you have all come to witness this day.

Praise the Lord!

Seven Years Childlessness Ends With Lovely Twins

Blessed is she that believeth: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord — Luke 1:45

In June 1998, Timothy and Chidinma Uchechukwu were joined in holy matrimony. Like most newly wedded couples, their expectation was that before the first anniversary of their wedding, friends and relations would again gather in their Lagos home to rejoice with them and welcome their new baby.  But this was not to be. They waited and waited.

Months passed and years followed. Yet, the cry of a baby was yet to be heard in their home. In the midst of this long waiting, as they continued to worship the Almighty God at the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, the Lord continued to promise them that He had them in His programme and that He would surely bless them and grant them the expectation of their heart. And now, at His appointed time, He who had promised did as He said and gave the Uchechukwus a beautiful set of twins.

So, it was a joyful Chidinma Uchechukwu that faced the lively, joyous and jubilant congregation at the Watchman Fellowship Centre, Aguda, to share the testimony of how the good Lord had visited them. Her testimony:

Timothy And Chidinma Uchechukwu With The Lovely Babies


“I GOT married on June 13, 1998. Since then we’ve not had any baby. Yet, my husband and I  maintained a strong faith and trust in the unfailing ability of God our Father, and ceaselessly called upon Him ‘whose ways are past finding out’, to intervene in our situation.

Our pastors and the entire church also prayed for us and a lot of proclamations and prophecies came out on our behalf. In one of the Charismatic Hour fellowships in 2000, our District Pastor, Pastor Mike Iheanacho, was led by the Spirit of God to come to the Choir Stand where I was to congratulate me with a handshake, because of what the Spirit of God had revealed to him that God would do in my life and circumstance.

Also, in the course of presenting our matter to the Lord in prayer, I had a dream one night and saw myself carrying a child placed on my hands by the General Superintendent. This revelation boosted my faith greatly, and I was assured more strongly that very soon, the Lord would remove the reproach of childlessness from me.

 Again, during one of our December Retreats, the Servant of God, the General Superintendent of the Watchman, Pastor A.C. Ohanebo, while ministering on the topic “Granting Us The Miracle Of The Hour” told of a revelation that came to him while he was ministering at another location. In the revelation, he saw God’s mighty angel ringing a bell and calling on everyone to have their freedom.

He now said that this implied that all the persons that attended the programme would not go the way they had come. As the ministration progressed, he was moved by the Spirit of God to come near the Choir Stand where I was, and pointing at me, declared: “You have all this while been sorrowful and crying unto the Lord to visit you, but just wait …you will see something soon. I tell you by the word of the Lord that you just wait”. This statement caused many people to rejoice on my behalf and to congratulate me. Indeed, my faith was lifted, because, it dawned on me that very soon, God would visit me.

Later, also, a sister shared with me a revelation she had where she saw me carrying a set of twins. I was encouraged by all these, knowing full well, that God was using them to assure me that He would surely visit me.

Not long after this, I went to our GS for prayers during one of his visits to Surulere District. While he prayed for me, he exclaimed, I see a miracle, I see a miracle! I was glad to hear this, and believed the Lord our God and His servants the prophets as we were commanded in the Scriptures. As the IGMC 2004 (International Gospel Ministers’ Conference of the Hour — sponsored annually by the Watchman), drew near, while promising the Lord that I will pay a certain amount to support the programme, I also told Him to reward me by giving me the child He had promised me.

The Twins At Four:  Glory (Left) and Victory(Right)  In July 2010



By the September of 2004, the Watchman national pastor in Liberia, Pastor Ekechukwu, called my husband and told us that while he was praying in the morning, the Lord led him to make some prayers on our behalf, and while he did that, the Lord told him that He had stepped into our matter. He said he was led by the Spirit to sing the song, “Got any rivers you think are uncrosssable…God specializes in things thought impossible…”

After sharing this with us, he prayed for us and declared that God was going to do something shortly. And we believed it.

Before this encounter, during one of our Sunday services, our District Pastor, while praying for women looking for the fruit of the womb, suddenly plucked two flowers from the flower pot on the altar and gave them to me. This was a sign to tell me that I should expect double blessing, which in this case means I was going to have a set of twins.

Indeed, not long after this, I took in. Although the wicked one fought hard to terminate the pregnancy, our God, as we all know, always has the final say, and so, by His intervention and protection, the pregnancy stayed.

 I was carrying a set of twins, and the Lord preserved the children in my womb until the appointed time of delivery when they came forth. The Lord was with me throughout the period of labour, and His hands were mighty upon me, until I came out from the labour room with my set of twins safe and sound.

I am happy today because of the Lord’s faithfulness in my life, for He has rolled away my reproach and sorrow and has made me a mother of twins, after about seven and half years of waiting. Indeed, when all hopes seemed to have been lost, God, who alone is God, did it for me. He indeed confirmed His words through the mouth of His servant, our General Superintendent, and that of his under-pastors.

 Now, I am rejoicing and praising God for what He has done for me. To God be all the glory, for the great things He has done.

Praise the Lord!”



============================

From Charismatic Signs No 014 (2007) 
editors@ymail.com

wccrmeditor@gmail.com

============================

Saved From Wicked Ritualists

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.  — Job. 5:12.

It was a normal Sunday morning. The day was June 24, 2006. Beatrice Emelogu had looked forward to another exciting and soul-lifting Sunday Light Fellowship at the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Mushin District, Lagos. She had left her house early, and had boarded a bus at Cele Bus Stop on the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, intending to stop at Ilasa Bus Stop, in order to go to the Watchman District Fellowship Centre at Mushin. But unknown to her, what she entered was a bus manned by kidnappers/ritualists.

But, her case was, however, different: She was a Watchman!                      

 And God had, through the mouth of His Servant, the General Overseer of the Watchman, declared that all Watchmen are “Sacred Cows”. And so, as the evil men blew some powdery substance on them to induce her and the other passengers to sleep, she remained awake, while the others dozed off. This was a surprising and unexpected development to her captors. When they tried again, and the spell could still not overwhelm her, they decided to drop her, and by then, they had travelled several miles outside Lagos, far beyond Ikorodu, a suburb at the outskirts of Lagos.

Beatrice Emelogu: Kept Wondering, After Her Deliverance, 
Whether She Was Still Allive Or Dead


But finally, they stopped and allowed her to disembark. They also threw out the items they had collected from her and sped off. Of course, the fate of the other passengers who had been overwhelmed by their spell, and who they had taken away, is anybody’s guess. So excited by what God had done for her, by singling her out for favour and deliverance, Beatrice was at a Special Combined Fellowship held recently at the Watchman Fellowship Centre, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, to tell the jubilant crowd of Watchmen and their visitors, how she was miraculously saved from certain death. Her testimony:  

“BRETHREN, if you are the one that experienced what I am going to share now, you will be jumping up and down and praising God the way I am praising Him now. I am persuaded that as you listen to my testimony this morning, you will be blessed in Jesus’ name. The day I shared this testimony in my district, I was weeping and asking myself whether I was still alive, whether I was still in the land of the living? But today, I am giving it with great assurance, because the Lord has made me know why He did that.

This testimony happened on June 25, 2006. On a Sunday like today, I was on my way to worship our great God, the God of heaven, the God of the IGMC, the Immirimious (deep,  profound, unfathomable) God of the Watchman. I arrived the Cele Bus Stop as early as 6.30 am, as I usually did, and boarded a bus that was calling for passengers going to Oshodi/Ilasa. But unknown to me, the enemy had perfected an evil plan to take me captive, but unfortunately, he was not aware that the great and mighty God was there with me, by my side. As the bus approached Ballet Bus Stop, one of those with us in the bus, a man, suddenly turned to us, and told everyone to say his or her last prayers. By this time, I was already contemplating bringing out money to pay my fare.

I raised my head, looked at this very man, and told him that I would wish to disembark at Ilasa Bus Stop, because I was going to church. They paid no attention to me, and continued to speed along. As they got to my bus stop and sped past, I began to mutter some silent prayers in my heart, saying, ‘God, this will not happen; remember that I am going to Your house; I am not like the other people who are going to some other places; indeed, I am not going to a club house; You cannot allow this to happen because I am a sacred cow.’

 As we got to Iyana-Isolo (on the same expressway), the man at the front turned and blew a strange powder on us. It was their charm. When this happened, I cried to God to please save me because I am a Watchman.  When they saw that the spell was not able to affect me, they wanted to know which Church I attended, and I told them I was a Watchman. Then they replied: okay, are you greater than all these other people here?

You will soon be silenced. At this juncture, I could not hold my peace any longer. I called upon the Lord God, the Immirimious God, to intervene.  Before we got to Charity Bus Stop on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, my co-passengers had all dozed off, overwhelmed by the spell that had been cast upon them.

But I just flipped through my Bible, and got Psalm 23 and quickly looked at verse 4 which says: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will  fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. And then I said: ‘God, today, You shall prove Yourself, and as I made this prayer, even in tears, they said: collect those things from them!

They collected both my songbook, and everything, and my bag, but my Bible remained with me. I gave it to them when they requested for it, and they dumped it where they kept other people’s things. As the journey progressed, I was busy making a lot of prayers. I was remembering a lot of things and telling God why I would not die in such a manner, until we got to a place I was no longer able to recognize.

All I heard next was: So, you have not slept? What about these other ones that are sleeping, are you greater than them? Why don’t you want to sleep? Then for the second time, they blew the powdery substance on us. This time around, it was not easy for me. I began to feel dizzy, and continued to struggle with the spell at the back where I sat. I bent my head and they thought that I was already sleeping.

Then I continued to pray and to say: Oh God of Watchman, save me; I shall not die but live; I know that your Spirit is moving! Incidentally, it was within that period that the General Overseer had come to our district and declared that the Spirit of God was moving all over the place. At a time, it looked like I had lost consciousness. I didn’t really know where I was.

All I knew was that after a while, I raised my head again, when they thought my fate was sealed and that I had fallen asleep. Then they looked at me and I looked at them. And they said: let’s drop this lady before she spoils things for us. As they deliberated on the matter, one of them said, let’s push her out! Behold they were on a very high speed. In fact, I was just imagining how these people will open the door and throw me out!

But I still talked to God and said: if You are the One that compelled them to drop me, then You cannot allow any harm to happen to me. They continued to debate the matter. Then one of them said: Let’s leave her! As they argued on this, behold, the driver, who had not said a single word all this while just applied the brakes, and stopped the vehicle. None of them asked him why he had to stop suddenly.

The one that had blown the powder had told the other one sitting by my side to open the door and throw me out, but since the driver had stopped, I had to come down without suffering any hurt. As I came down, I fell on the road there and began to thank the great God. I did not even know that they had dropped my things one after the other as they sped off, both my bible and my bag. I didn’t lose anything.

A Good Samaritan who was nearby and had seen when I hurriedly came down, and fell on the ground to  worship God said he thought I was dead. He came and told me he was there because he had a flat tyre. When he came, I told him to leave me alone that I was going to church. He told me to just thank my God, and asked what church I attended. When I told him it was Watchman, he said: Oh, this God! I know the God of Watchman!

He asked me if I was the owner of the things they had thrown out which he had brought. I looked at them and identified them as mine. It was even strange how they were able to identify the things that belonged to me, because they had packed everything together. We trekked a long distance before we could get to where some buses were calling for passengers going to Ikorodu.

And he then stopped one of the vehicles and told them that this lady had just risen from the dead that they should please help me get back to Mile 12 or Ikorodu. He asked if I would know my way if I got to any of those places, and I just nodded my head.

I was just thanking the God of Watchman for rescuing me from the land of the dead and bringing  me to the land of the living. Although I have read Psalm 23:4 which says: Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, it was that day that it became real and practical to me.

Since then, I now have more boldness to preach to people. I tell them what God had done for me. And when I finish preaching, I don’t ask them to go to any Bible-believing church, I simply tell them to go to where I know God is moving and where God can do this kind of miracle--the Watchman.

Since this happened, it has dawned upon me that the God of heaven wants me to now have again the boldness which I had lost some years ago, and to know truly that He is very real and close to any of His children, and whenever we call upon Him, He is always by our side to save us. May God bless you all in Jesus’ Name”.

============================
From Charismatic Signs No 014 (2007) 
editors@ymail.com

wccrmeditor@gmail.com

============================