When I was pursuing my Master's at ABU Zaria, my friend, Timothy Awoleye & I, the leaders of Rhema Chapel Campus Fellowship had a daring idea:
Let's invite Rev'd Sam Adeyemi @sam_adeyemi for a campus program!
We ran the idea by the other leaders, they thought we were mad!

That day, we understood how Caleb & Joshua felt when they were the only ones with a contrary opinion about the Promised Land.
They were like, "Are you guys crazy? We can't afford him ooo! Abeg let's invite someone else, biko. How could you even THINK of inviting Rev'd Sam!

Well, what's the worst thing that could happen? He would turn down the invite, shikena.
Better to try & fail than not try at all, no be so?

But Rev'd Sam accepted our invite!
He was a much younger guy then, (a year older than me) but already turning the world upside down...

We were very excited to host him.
But the evening he was to preach, everything that could go wrong went wrong!
The hall was packed full, many students had heard about him but had never seen him live.
They all came to see the quiet young man with the unexplainable anointing...

Reminded me of Job: "I'd heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you"- Job 42:5.


The program started well- praise & worship, prayers...
As Rev'd Sam was invited to the stage amidst cheers & applause, NEPA struck!
Woah!

"Be prepared" is the Boy's Scouts motto...

We the Four & Twenty Elders rushed to set Plan B in motion: generator!
And for whatever reason, the generator just refused to work!
Wish kain nonsense be dis nau?

We were all so embarrassed & frustrated!
But then, Rev'd Sam wasn't perturbed.
He told us not to worry...

He didn't need NEPA to preach.
We lit a few candles & Rev'd Sam started preaching:
His message was about the Holy Spirit.
He raised his voice to be heard by everybody. He explained the working of the Holy Spirit in very simple terms.
The hall was charged, the anointing was HEAVY!

Then he took off his agbada & threw it into the congregation.
Pandemonium everywhere!
People were falling like a pack of dominoes, people were crying, laughing, dancing...
I watched, amused: I wasn't one given to these "excesses".
Kilode? Can't you worship God with dignity?

Just then, a lady fell beside me. I stretched out my hand to stop her from falling. That was the last thing I remembered.
I experienced what it meant to be slain in the spirit for the 1st time in my life!
I had no idea what was going on again for the next hour...

Me, the advocate of dignified worship became the most undignified worshipper that evening.
It felt like I touched a bolt of electricity.
Perhaps like I just sniffed cocaine or something (I'd never done that before, I have no idea what that felt like- but you get my point)...

It was an experience like no other. I felt at peace, I saw things, I heard things, I sensed things that evening.

And that changed my trajectory as a Christian.
It's one thing to be a Christian, pray, read scriptures, go to Church, serve in Church, preach to the unbelievers...

It's another thing to experience the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul wrote, "My teachings & messages were not delivered with skilful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."
1 Corinthians 2:4.

The power of the Holy Spirit!

Now, I don't know if Paul also threw his own agbada into the Corinthian church , but his point is, he did not just preach the gospel using WORDS & motivational speeches.
He demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit.
Not the staged miracles we see these days in our churches...

We need to see more of the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit if indeed we're really keen on spreading the word of God on this planet.
If you heal the sick or raise the dead, your message can never be ignored even by the greatest cynic
That is what we need to do today:

Demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit!
Enough of motivational speeches.
Enough of "Wisdom Keys"
Enough of "Desire to perspire to acquire".
Enough of the Armani suits, Prada shoes & Gucci ties.

Jesus said, "unless you see signs, you won't believe"- John 4:48

Your packaging doesn't convert the unbeliever: the power of the Holy Spirit does.

Too much emphasis is on the ephemeral these days- the physical church: the comfort, the ambience, the seats, PA system, rug, air conditioning, lighting effects, musical instruments, etc...

But Rev'd Sam Adeyemi made me realize that evening these things don't matter.
He preached to a packed hall under very uncomfortable circumstances, with devastating results.

At the end, nobody remembered there was no electricity:
The power of the Holy Spirit made the difference.

As we go on in our Christian walk, let's not major in the minor & minor in the major.
The anointing does not come by effizy & drama.

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance (packaging), but the LORD looks on the heart.- 1st Samuel 16:7

Shalom!