Primate Akinola – Advent Cable Network Nigeria

FULL TEXT +VIDEO: A Sermon at the Funeral Service of Chief E. A. Shonekan By Archbishop Peter Akinola

ACNN ADMIN — Sat, 05 Feb 2022 16:40:58 +0000

February 04, 2022. 11 am at Christ Church Cathedral, Marina, Lagos.

Prayer:

Give us grace O LORD, not only to hear your Word with our outward ears, but also to receive it into our hearts and show forth the fruits of your holy Word in our daily life for the glory of your great Name, Jesus Christ our LORD, Amen.

Greetings:

We greet you dear people of God who have come from far and near to be part of this glorious service of thanksgiving to God for the wonderful and fulfilled life of Chief Ernest Adegunle Shonekan. We thank you for coming and pray that as you have come in peace and safety, you’ll return to your places of abode safely and in peace; in the peerless Name of Jesus Christ.

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Text:

Please turn with me to 1Thess 4:13-14

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

Little over two thousand years ago, through the missionary efforts of Apostle Paul, Timothy and Silas, a church was planted in the city of Thessalonica, which at that time was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. Though the young church was fairly well grounded in the doctrines of the Church, members were not so sure of what would happen to them at the end of time and at the second coming of Christ; more so that some of their fellow members were dying. These new converts were part of the Greco-Roman society in which not a few believed that death was the end of everything. But they had left their old ways and religion and were now part of the new community of Christ. They believed Jesus was coming back; but what would be the portion of the dead members. So, whenever they lost any of their loved ones, they grieved endlessly and hopelessly.

This was what occasioned the writing of the first Epistle to the Thessalonian Church by Apostle Paul not only to inform and educate them, but to strengthen their faith and to encourage the church.

By using the metaphor of ‘sleep’ (which ordinarily is temporary) and not death; Paul helped the people to realise that their loved ones they thought had died and for whom all hope was lost would rise again, for they were but merely ‘asleep’ in the LORD. For the believer, death doesn’t have the final say. What is the Bible saying?

It’s simple. The Bible is saying to us all that when a true believer in Christ Jesus has come to the end of his earthly pilgrimage, he falls asleep in the LORD and at the Parousia, he will rise again but to a new life, a life that has no end in the eternal kingdom of God. In that Kingdom, Saint John tells us in Revelation 21: 3-4

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

People of God, that’s where Ernest Adegunle Shonekan is now. He has left this world of thriving wickedness and the Church militant and is now at rest in the Church Triumphant. Praise ye the LORD (3ce)

So, Auntie, Mrs Shonekan, the children and all the people, do not grieve endlessly and hopelessly like those who are without Christ. Rather, rejoice and be thankful to the LORD that after this dark world of sin, better things await those who know, love and serve the LORD. Thanks be to God.

A word or two will be appropriate at this point about the life and times of this great man of faith, man of prayer who was utterly committed to the things of the LORD. He was ever humble and totally unassuming. His love for God was easily visible in his relationship with people around him. To his dear wife and children, he was the best husband and father anyone could ever wish to have.

In the Church of God, he was a great pillar and shining example of authentic Christianity. In spite of his enviable high position in the society, he served as a church steward. His virtuous footprints are discernible here in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Ekpoma and many more. He would spend and be spent in service of the LORD. Regardless of whatever was going on, he remained steadfast and in so far as we know didn’t compromise his Christian faith and virtues.

In the world of business, he was a noted captain of industry and guru of the boardroom. As the head of the largest business conglomerate in Nigeria and West Africa, (UAC) he was not only very resourceful and successful, he was well established and contended. (See brochure)

He was not a politician. But, as he journeyed on in his life pilgrimage, at a point without thinking, planning or asking for it, he found himself in the ever dark and dreary and murky waters of Nigerian politics. Following the infamous annulment of the 1993 Presidential elections, the aftermath of which threw the country into chaos, he was invited and persuaded to head the Interim National Government, ING. Those were not the best of times for Nigeria and certainly not for any political leader. The situation was tense.

Nigerians demanded that General Babangida should leave office but for reasons best known to him, he was reluctant. But when it became clear that the political imbroglio if not quickly resolved could lead to violent agitation and mass bloodshed the Maradona of Nigerian politics created the transitional government to help usher in a new political arrangement. In the unfolding dangerous political drama, I remember that Chief Shonekan declined the offer to head the ING. Time was running out as Gen Babangida had fixed a date for himself to step aside.

As pressures mounted on Chief Shonekan from many quarters at home and abroad; he then said that he would to think about it. At this stage I remember vividly how his very good friend late Alhaji Dr Shehu Idris, at that time the Emir of Zazzau and this creature here addressing you were pleading with him to think of the pros and cons of not accepting the call to stand in the huge political gap. He was reminded that nationwide, tensions were running high and that anything could happen in the military barracks.

In addition, we also knew that from the very beginning of its journey to political nationhood (which it is yet to attain) Nigeria since Independence has been a blood- letting country. (Remember the western region operation “wet e”, the pogrom in northern Nigeria, the military coups and counter coups, the devastating 30-month civil war; hitherto unknown reckless armed robbery attacks and numerous political assassinations all of which sniffed precious life out of millions of innocent citizens.)

We were quick to realise that once violence broke out again, we would have no idea who would be consumed and who would remain. It was from this perspective that he was persuaded rather reluctantly to save the situation. He then decided that it was better, though equally risky to stand in the gap and avoid unnecessary bloodshed so that somehow, we would avoid a repeat of the 1963 dismal fiasco; and hopefully navigate through the political land mines to restore normalcy and democratic governance.

While some hailed him and breathed a deep sigh of relief, others did not welcome that decision. I still remember that the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Lipede called Chief Shonekan on phone repeatedly to come back home. Ironically, even some parts of the Church refused to give him benefit of the doubt. Pity.

Meanwhile, the political gladiators and the news media had a field day. They vilified and demonized him. To my utter consternation the same people who called him unprintable names in day time, would troop in to Akinola Aguda House Nicodemusly begging for all sorts of favours and political appointments. What a shame. (Aiye!) Some of those agitators claiming that on June 12 they stood were mere political opportunists and they made the loudest noise. I put it to you people of God on June 12 such people were feeding fat. Just as it is today, when we are suffering from the consequences of systemic failure, political opportunists are feeding fat on the present chaos. Nigeria has never had it so bad, (I reserve details for another occasion).

From our standpoint, Chief Shonekan put his life on the line for sake of this country. When Abacha struck, it was a fellow Yoruba man who put the gun on his head ordering him to sign his resignation. It may interest you to know that Chief Shonekan was not completely unaware of the possibility of the palace coup. Those close to him advised him to retire Gen Abacha and his clique and simultaneously announce the appointment of their replacement.

He wouldn’t. He reasoned that if Abacha was fired, the next in rank to him for appointment was a Yoruba man. If appointed, it would create a new problem as he, Shonekan, would be accused of tribalism and nepotism. And so, he not being a typical ambitious Nigerian politician refused to do anything to preserve himself in the office of Head of the Interim National Government. He would say to me, let us just continue to pray for God’s guidance and divine resolution to the challenges we were facing. In truth, we spent time praying and the LORD spared his precious life and came back home safely. The rest is history.

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Conclusion:

Say what you like about him.

We’ll thank God that Chief Shonekan has done what he was able to do for his family, his church and his country. He has finished his own race. He is now asleep in the LORD. When he wakes up at the end of time, at the second coming of Christ, it will be in the glorious eternal Kingdom of God and with all the saints reign with Christ.

How about you brethren? Are you today in the LORD Jesus Christ and He is in you? Jesus is your only guaranteed hope for gaining access to eternal life after this increasingly terrible world has passed away.

Let us be careful the life we live. Be weary of judging others especially when you don’t have all the facts of the matter. Take heed that you don’t spend your today in any way that may ruin your tomorrow. (Repeat the TEXT)

And now to the King Immortal, Invisible, the only wise God be all honour, glory, dominion and majesty now and forevermore. Amen

+Peter J Akinola.

How Western Anglican Homosexuals Nearly Destroyed the Anglican Communion

ACNN ADMIN — Sat, 21 Aug 2021 22:13:39 +0000

If there are lessons to be learned for the Anglican Communion from the collapse of Afghanistan to Taliban forces it is this; if orthodox Anglicans surrender even the tiniest bit of ground to a small, shrill, strident minority of homosexualists, those same homosexualists will, in time, run over the whole Anglican Communion and destroy it.

Make no mistake about it, western Anglican pansexualists including American Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, aided and abetted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other western pro-pansexual Anglican provinces and archbishops are pushing this vile behavior onto the communion with one intent, to turn the Anglican communion away from its God given mission to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19) and into a minefield of sexualities that will ultimately destroy it.

One has only to read Peter Akinola’s biography, Who Blinks First? to realize how dangerously close the whole Anglican communion came to being overrun; facing complete moral collapse.

The story of the Nigerian Archbishop Primate is that one man with God is still a majority. History will record that Akinola stood in the gap like an Old Testament prophet, waving his arms calling down God’s wrath against Satan’s power.

Just as the Taliban closed ranks with tribal leaders and formed a cohesive force to overturn the Afghani government, so to archbishops Williams, Welby, Griswold, Jefferts Schori, Michael Curry and many others aided and abetted by money and organizations like Integrity, Changing Attitude and the Ozanne foundation, have united to bend, twist and distort the Bible’s clear teaching on human sexuality. [The Rev.] Colin Coward of Changing Attitude dismisses the Bible’s clear prohibitions on homosexuality calling them “clobber verses”, thus mocking the authority of Scripture.

C S. Lewis stated it with complete clarity, “Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it: the old Christian rule is, “Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.”

That clear biblical stance has now been mocked and destroyed by most western Anglican provinces. The serpentine evil of homosexuality, ‘did God say’ has woven its tentacles around the communion with satanic like power, strangling those who disagree, using money to bribe, mocking and browbeating fence sitters into acquiescence.

It has been a painful three decades to watch, with still no letup in sight.

The Taliban took less than two weeks to overrun the government. Now we will watch retribution with hangings, forced marriages, abductions, rape, and the possible total destruction of the fledgling Christian community.

In the Anglican communion we are watching the evil of deviant sexualities pushed initially by Louie Crew, Susan Russell, John Shelby Spong, Frank Griswold, Gene Robinson, Mary Glasspool and a whole host of episcopal bishops slowly destroy a once proud denomination. For their sins the ACNA was born.

Instead of beheadings, revisionist bishops have used their ecclesiastical toolbox to inhibit and depose godly clergy and bishops, propping up their drive to destroy them, tossing them from their parishes, reducing their pensions, forcing them to start again, while using money from the national church to keep remnant dying dioceses afloat.

History will surely reveal that the queen of episcopal evil was Katharine Jefferts Schori. In her efforts to destroy the faith once for all delivered to the saints, she spared no quarter to those who disagreed with her. She was on a mission to destroy and she did it brilliantly.

In his page turning, chilling take on his decade as primate of Nigeria, sitting on the councils of the Church, and globetrotting from one conference to the next, Akinola reveals just how devious and demonic were the forces arrayed not only at him personally but in efforts to undermine the Anglican communion from within. If he had given any ground to people like Rowan Williams, the game would have been lost. Without Akinola, Satan could have used liberal and revisionist archbishops, as the Taliban used proxy war lords, to coalesce around a small group of homosexuals and literally taken over the communion. Mercifully, it did not happen.

Today, even with Akinola gone and GAFCON formed as an alternative to the Lambeth Conference, the snake of sodomy lurks in the Anglican Garden ready to pounce on vulnerable bishops.

There are three classes of bishops a former Anglican bishop noted.

There are Affirming Catholics, Anglo Catholics and evangelicals.

Affirming Catholics not only affirm women to all ecclesiastical levels of the church they also have no difficulty affirming homosexuality.

Anglo Catholics oppose the ordination of women and homosexuality, but there are many in their ranks who are closet homosexuals who may or may not practice the behavior. You would be hard pressed to find a true Anglo Catholic announcing he was a homosexual, but the truth cannot be ignored that they have many in their ranks who are homosexuals, but for the sake of the gospel remain celibate.

Evangelicals stand by scripture and declare any sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman to be sin. But there is a steady drumbeat by aggrieved homosexuals to pick through the weak evangelical armor points. First, they invite understanding, then felt pain followed by acquiescence, they begin to make headway. The Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) were forced to put out a pastoral statement after hearing reports of varied application among ACNA leaders and some progressive evangelicals regarding the use of language about sexual identity, especially within provincial events. It was a knife at the throat of the bishops.

The Church of England’s LLF report draws in evangelicals to listen, (a much-favored word of the left), then recognize that God might be doing a new thing. They want evangelicals to roll over to the idea that God not only loves homosexuals but allows them freedom to sexually express the full understanding of who they say they are, and then be accepted. This, at least, is the hope of Justin Welby.

Consider the soft language of fudge and obfuscation; “This church-wide learning together, listening to one another, and listening to God is part of discerning a way forward for the Church of England in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.” No mention that Scripture is the only authoritative source to “discerning God’s way forward;” one must be conscious of cultural attitudes.

Weak-willed TEC episcopal evangelical bishops like Greg Brewer and George Sumner are little more than useful idiots in the house of TEC. They are bent on keeping their pensions, staying under the church’s official radar, while knowing in their hearts that homosexual marriage is wrong. With smiles for all, they stay in TEC.

Globally, the picture is mixed. Only one African province is pro-homosexual — The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, no other Provinces are pro homosexual.

The tragedy is that the majority of Bishops in Southern Africa are orthodox. They are under two strongholds that keep them from standing up. First, when they decided to fight apartheid, they decided that they had to be united in order to fight the apartheid government. That was good. The downside is that they took up the mantle “unity is more important than anything else.” (Where have we heard that before!) Second, they only have courage when they are able to claim 100% unity (like against apartheid). Otherwise, they refuse to speak up or stand out, staying silent until the overwhelming majority position is established. Then they say, “Me too.”

Other African provinces have individual Bishops who are tied to Western liberals for money, but very few are actually pushing that agenda out of conviction. Most think they can use the Western liberals’ money without falling under their spell.

The way that TEC works is to identify the weakest, most financially vulnerable bishop in a province. Then they pump in money. At first, they don’t even ask for anything, but then they tell the bishop that he is going to host such-and-such a conference or promote a certain candidate for CAPA General Secretary, etc.

TEC has amazing insight into whom to target. If that bishop later does not do their bidding, they attack viciously. An example of this was Bernard Ntahoturi Bishop of Burundi. They smoked him when he was not moving fast enough and he started to hang out with GAFCON. There have been others, like Johannes Angela in Kenya. Before he retired, Angela hosted “Rainbow” conferences. I don’t think the liberals orchestrated it, but after he retired, he had a huge scandal about sexual misconduct and could not get any support from the liberals.

Today, after a decade holding the Anglican communion together, Akinola’s place in history is assured. He left in place faithful bishops to counter any possibility that the liberal west could take over the communion. They have been permanently thwarted.

Archbishop Akinola is a prophet for our time. While western pansexualists snarl and rage against the night, the forces of darkness have been pushed back and with GAFCON a new day has dawned.

END

By David W. Virtue, DD