A US-based world renowned miracle apostle, Dr. Morris Cerullo has warned Nigerians and indeed Africans not to hand the continent over to the devil. Speaking recently during one of the services at Faith Tabernacle, headquarters of the Living Faith Church Worldwide in Ota, Ogun State, the octogenarian global Evangelist who has been in the ministry for 68 years, reiterated the need for Africans to take this era seriously as God was ready to manifest His divine powers on the continent.
According to the 84-year-old who got born-again at age 15, his mission to seven nations in Africa was clearly delivered to him by God Almighty before he embarked on the journey. “When God asked me, at my age, to spend these few days in Africa, I asked Him why, because I have been coming to Africa for many years. And God said to me, “Son, I want you to tell my people in Africa that Africa is now ready for the greatest manifestation of the force of God,” he told Winners at the 50,000-seater auditorium.
Speaking further on his African mission, the man of God who was raised in an orphanage maintained that in God’s agenda, Africa was on a very critical season and that toiling with it was not an option at all. He therefore enjoined all and sundry not to let go of the victory of the continent. “The two things God asked me to tell Africa is first, don’t forfeit your victory; don’t turn it over to the devil. You are at a very critical season when God is about to manifest His power in Africa like never before.” “The second thing is,” he continued, “God said don’t turn Africa over to the devil; there are forces in Africa that want to take Africa but God says Africa belongs to Jesus.” According to him, God doesn’t do anything unless He first reveals it to His prophets, in line with Amos 3:7 which he said was his favourite scripture.
BACK IN TIME
The Jewish-American whose first journey to Nigeria was in 1968, took the congregation down memory lane as regards his sojourn in ministry and the turning-point in his life. “My mother died when I was 2, my dad was a drunk, I was raised in a Jewish orthodox orphanage,” he stunned the congregation. “At fifteen years of age, God came to me; I saw the presence of God that Moses saw. God said to me, ‘Jesus is your Messiah. And a little Jewish boy was born-again,” he continued. “God took me from that orphanage and began to send me to the nations of the world. I didn’t know anything about preaching, didn’t go to any Bible school or seminary. I started when I was 15.”
THE SPECIAL 100 PERCENT VICTORY FORMULA
Delving into the sermon of the day, the man of God who recently celebrated his 63rd wedding anniversary with his wife Theresa, revealed a 7-step formula for believers to have 100 percent victory over 100 percent of the enemy’s power. According to him, any Christian who takes the 7 steps will never know failure. Reading from the book of 2Chron. 20:2ff, he shocked the congregation by revealing that fear could be harnessed to achieve better results. “If fear will drive you to a place where you have to seek the face of God, I pray that God scares you really good,” he said.
Taking a cue from what Jehoshaphat did in the same scriptural reference, he launched into the 7-step formula for total victory which includes: Praying the unusual prayer by first recognizing who we are calling upon and acknowledging that He has the power to do it; coming before God with His promises with the conviction that He is not a man that He should lie; focusing fully on Him when we are in a helpless and hopeless situation; acting on the promise of God as it doesn’t do any believer any good to just have the promise without requisite actions. According to him, faith is a fact as well as an act.
He unveiled the remaining part of the 7-step winning formula to include not being afraid when God has been invited into the situation as the battle is really not ours; the realization that we don’t even need to fight in the battle since the battle has been between God and the devil since Lucifer rebelled against God many years ago. Quoting John 3:8, he quickly added that the devil was already destroyed otherwise Jesus came here for nothing.
THE PRAISE FORMULA
He ended the 7-step all-round victory formula with the prophetic focus of the month, the all-important issue of praise in spiritual warfare. He asked, “How do you destroy an enemy if you don’t fight?” The answer was found in 2Chron.20:18-20. “When the Levites stood up to praise the Lord, leaving all natural things behind them, they praised the Lord. The enemy had swords and chariots, but Israel had singers,” he noted.
As it turned out, the subject of praise can never be exhausted in the body of Christ because of its inherent powers especially in spiritual warfare. The man of God ended by re-echoing the line “100 percent victory over 100 percent of the enemy’s power,’ with a shout of ‘Praise the Lord, for His mercies endureth forever.