By Bolaji O. Akinyemi
I’ve had a tiring week, paying scant attention to social media!
As a content developer, not just a lazy creator preying on people, I’m expected to stay updated on social media, drawing inspirations to craft balanced opinions that feed minds following my writings.
As one of the highest-paid writers in modern times, though my earnings are none of your business, I must confess, it pays much more than you can ever imagine in dollars!
I received a brief about a pastor who allegedly pulled a gun on someone on the streets of Lagos from inside his Range Rover Autobiography!
I was tasked with delivering my opinion via an article, with details to be provided later.
I outlined my direction: “a street boy and a gun-throttling pastor.”
Upon returning to my family apartment in Abeokuta, where my sons and their cousins, all young adults, were gathering for the Salah vacation, the trending gun episode became their focal point.
When they mentioned Pastor Paul Adefarasin, I became interested due to the earlier brief and my privilege contact with Adefarasin’s ministry’s wing man.
I thought it wise to reach out to the respected Revd Adegoke Coker. A man with whom life has tossed the privilege of a relationship at me.
This piece can’t do justice to what I share with him, so I will leave it out for an exclusive on that.
I made a voice message, which he responded to through 3 deleted messages. The deletions got me worried!
Later, I discovered Pastor Paul Adefarasin’s message online promising to address the incident during their 9:00 AM service at the Rock Cathedral, so I joined online.!
The Bible is God’s word, an historical record of his spoken words and inspiring thesis and stories through his inspired emissaries of Prophets, Apostles and Scribes.
The Bible is written in the context of time, tribes, culture and languages. The original is in Aramaic, Hebrew, and the four Gospels are in the mix of Hebrew and Greek, while the Epistles are in Greek.
In Ephesians 6, Paul, the Apostle outlines a protocol for life, teaching personal relationships with Christ, family relationships, and spiritual warfare!
If verse 17 were to be written in the context of our time and civilisation, it would be something like this:
“Keep in mind, your salvation in Christ, which is like a strong metal helmet to keep your head (mind) safe from bullets; Also, remember what God has said. That you have your gun with you and fully loaded at all times and be ready to put it to use, by God’s Spirit, to fight off your enemies.”
Pastor Paul Adefarasin shoots his gun, not on the street of Lagos but right from the altar of the house on the rock!
In a service well intentional, parading soldier after soldier who shot at the enemies from gun after gun till Pastor Paul Adefarasin will step up to discharge rounds from what I will call a Beretta ARX, a modular assault rifle system known for reliability, accuracy, ergonomics, and safety features.
Here is a feel of the service at the Rock Cathedral on Sunday the 8th of June 2025!
Revd Adegoke hit the target with the right words to bring to the altar a woman, an internet user on the church streaming referred to as E-Fine!
The first lady and Co-Pastor with her husband, Pastor Mrs Ifeanyi Adefarasin, double the hit on target to raise the house in excitement of the coming programme!
In a show of mother’s love, she said;
“There’s truly no place like home.
Just in case you didn’t know, I missed you all big time. And I’m so glad to be back!
She went on to share the testimony of her older sister Jane.
In her words, to the request of her husband about Jane; “we are just at the grave, the mouth of the grave. No movement, nothing. All manners of tubes, you know, and we thought we’d come out and then we were struggling.
And honestly, but for God, you feel hopeless and you feel helpless”!
“And he prayed that night, (referring to her husband) and he said”, “We’ve been praying.” And he said, “We’ll continue to pray.” And he stopped what he was doing and prayed for about maybe 3 minutes from here.
And then yesterday evening he asked me, “How is Jane?” And about 5:30 my mom had gone to visit with her. I know what I feel as a younger sister. I can’t imagine what my mother goes through when you see your child like that. To every mother who’s ever been in that place, God truly has been your strength.
And she would normally do video calls to be able to see because you need to see because you want to see regardless.
So whether it was tube feeding, oxygen, 15 things hanging from whatever it was, you just wanted to see as lifeless and hopeless.
And I was with another family member and the person said, “Oh, hello Auntie Jane. This is so and so.
How are you?” And from nowhere we heard, “Hello, my darling.”
Oh my God. Oh, thank you Jesus. Oh, Father.
She hadn’t opened her eyes in how many weeks?
Sometimes the entire conversation would not be more than 6 seconds of — if you heard that at all.
A few days ago I was with her and from nowhere I rushed and I came back ’cause I needed to rush back because you just don’t know.
Now she’s not married, no husband, no children. So we’re the only people that can be there to ask the doctors what’s going on.
And there she was. And my mom said, “Say hello to your sisters.” And her eyes were open.
It was like meeting someone for the first time. I could see her face.
No tubes hanging from everywhere. But her face was clear. Everything taken away. And then she smiled. And mom said, “Are you going to smile?” And she smiled. And then we continued. And next thing I said, “Jane, are you feeding yourself?”
And there she was trying to do what?
Oh, I’m sorry. I just have to testify of the goodness of God!
24 hours before, we were in the place of darkness and uncertainty and torment from the enemy.
But we serve a God that is faithful. We serve a God who knows how to answer just in the nick of time.
We serve a God to whom all power belongs. We serve a God who lives outside of time.
So He’s not — He’s not moved by what we go through!
So, though we couldn’t sleep, though we were restless, though we were anxious, I don’t think I would go through an hour without breaking down ’cause I just felt —what did this girl do to be born and at the age of nine be afflicted with diabetes that she survived half a century of being in — injecting yourself every day for the last 50 years?
What does a 9-year-old do to deserve that?
What did she do for the kidneys to pack up? And you’re on dialysis three times a week, 4 and a half hours each time. You come out to get strength to go back for the next one!
And I asked God many questions. And I repented for everybody that had lost — lost someone close that I thought “get yourself together.” ‘Cause I got myself together when my father passed.
But an elderly person passing even though you don’t want it, is different from a person that you feel life may not have been as kind to.
And so please keep praying because we went through this 2 and 1/2 months ago!
She came out and she was okay and from nowhere two and a half weeks ago she went into coma and almost 3 weeks ago and came out yesterday!
To imagine that the man who has to lead the family through this couldn’t entertain a car spotter in his daily hustle is clearly understood!
Many jumped into conclusions, wondering why he wouldn’t just let the poor hustler be!
But a man with such a story told by his wife has more than just a Range Rover Autobiography to showcase!
He is a Priest touched by the infirmities of Jane and several others in his congregation!
On the issue that brought many to Church and several others to join the service online, he has this to say; “this is not merely an attack on a local church or a pastor. It is an organized strategy of the one that we war with!
We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers and principalities, spiritual wickedness in high places. And the enticement of the enemy is always the love of money at the root of all kinds of evil!
What we have had to witness was clickbaiters just looking for more money. I probably wasn’t even their target. Their target was to make more money. And I was falsely accused of bearing a firearm, pointing a firearm at an aggressive content creator who came within personal distance!
The only thing separating me and him was about maybe three quarters of a meter and glass. I do not have a pistol license for a firearm. I do not carry a firearm, and I pointed no firearm at anybody”!
He closed that chapter, but I knew his detractors are just starting. I had the privilege of listening to the Car Spotter’s side of the story on Daddy Freeze’s life, as he was waiting for the service at the Rock Cathedral to be over.
In his account, the Car Spotter’s made no claim to seeing a gun. He said Pastor Paul only said, don’t do that, don’t do that!
Daddy Freeze brought to bear the right of car owners to decline Spotters from filming their cars.
Pastor Paul further clarified his position and that of his family of God to which he is accountable; “it’s our policy not to dignify hate speech, false accusations. We believe that God is bigger than that. And we believe in what is said in Romans 12:19.
If it was over on the road for the Car Spotter and Pastor Paul, it was just beginning with online lawyers and advocates!
“Unfortunately, several people called me and sent me videos. I was shocked. I’ll be candid with you—I was hurt!
I am human. But God is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and He’s able to first give us succour —and what the enemy meant for evil, God works it for good!
Let’s go to Matthew 5:43–44 in the Young’s Literal Translation:
“You heard that it was said: ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
So that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Yes, sir. And trust Him to do what needs to be done!
Learn something in the process and go forward — because the enemy’s objective is to stop you from being and doing what you’re called to do. And I’m convinced that it is in our weakness that His strength is made perfect!
I’m convinced of that because I would normally complain to God, “Take this buffeting messenger away!
I’ll be able to pray better if You take it away. I’ll be able to preach better.” But God says: “Paul, you got it wrong. I’ve never heard you preach like this before. I like what the buffeting messenger is doing to you. My grace is sufficient for you; it will help you to bear it, but I’m not going to take it away because it’s working greatness for the Kingdom.”
He said: “I’d preach better if You take it away.” He said: “No, because I’ve never seen so much depth and insight in your revelatory command of the truth. So I’m not going to take it away, but I will make it like a light affliction by pouring the glory of My grace into you and around you.”
On that note, I will lay that matter to rest. Case closed.
Dressed in a safari, looking unruffled by the attacks targeted directly at him and indirectly at the work of the Lord in his hands. He beats the enemy and his armies to the game by choosing the ground for his fight back; the Church of the living God, the ground and the pillar of truth. In an uncommon trait, he demonstrated accountability to the church!
Firing in knowledge; it is what it is, the hordes of hell through the influence of mammon on a generation to prey on the Church and men of God in the name of content creation to earn a living at the expense of mental health of others, many of these creator of content care less if their victims are pushed to suicide by cyber bullying and social stigmatisation!
Which put to light the insensitivity of Simeon Ekpa who explained away his activities as the spoke person of IPOB as just catching cruise creating content. What is the price of your content creation to others should be the question before earning from the tribulations it might cost them!
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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Phone:+2348033041236
