ATTACKED

Praise the name of Jesus. I bring you greetings from Nigeria. I come from Lagos, Nigeria. The testimony that I'm going to share today is the testimony of my conversion. It's a wonderful experience to know the Lord. It's something good to be in Christ.

I want to go back to my early days.
Way back in 1993, actually I was on my way here to the United States from Lagos. I was at the airport I checked in my luggage. You know in Nigeria facilities are not really too good. Things were sure hot at the airport. My flight was supposed to be at 1:30 am in the morning. I checked in around 7 pm in the night. It was so hot I decided to go back home freshen up and come back later. About 11 pm I came back to the airport only to hear the announcement for the last boarding of my flight. To cut a long story short, I missed the flight. I had to go back home, there was another flight to the United States leaving on Friday, which I hoped to take. The following day I went back to the office where I received a call from my colleague around 6 pm. We had a lot of exchange problems in Nigeria; it was difficult to obtain US dollars, which we normally use for international trade. So around 6 pm I had a call that I should come somewhere at Victoria Island, that there's a man who had an account here who's willing to exchange some money for me. On the way back from this place I ran into a gang of armed robbers. It was a moving experience. Up to that time in my life God has no place. Even to tell you I mean how bad I was then. I'm not trying to give glory to Satin, I thank God. I've been into all kind of things I'm someone who's given to reading. I read all kind of things. I've read about and practiced Yoga. I practiced astral-projection and read Veda and Buddha. I read anything you could think of about the occult. It was only the grace of God that stopped me from going over.

I remember in my room in my undergraduate days I read electronic engineering. You know I had some Christian friends in my room and they would gather together in the evening praying. And I mean to my shame today I know more about scripture today then to criticize. I would tell them how the ministry of Jesus was only for the Jews. You know when I read about the history of the blacks there was something that questioned me, "Can this God be universal you know a God who did so much against the blacks could He be the same God that we should all worship?" So it was difficult for me to accept Christ or Christianity. You know I spent the whole 4 years of my undergraduate days preaching against the gospel everywhere I could and everywhere I could stand up. But I remember a prophecy in my first year. One of my roommates, Wilfred took a look at me, people were hailing me. You know I was quoting from the scriptures. Christians didn't know as much as I did. He told me, "You know what Femi, you will preach the gospel." I said, "Wilfred take another look at me. Bring Jesus come down from heaven. I mean that is wishful thinking." He said, "You will preach the gospel." Wilfred forgot about it, I remember in my final year he asked me to call on Jesus. I said, "I don't need any Jesus." I thought it was my part; I came out with the first class. I thought it was all by my part. I took to life; I thought I had the whole world in my pocket. So it was at this point that I worked for a couple years in an oil service industry. I incorporated a company with some colleagues. Two of them were Muslims. One of them was a very fanatic Muslim. You know it really didn't matter much to me, I mean the scripture about being unequally yoked. But the hand of God was upon my life. I was youngest. In fact the person I was next to graduate the year I was just getting admission to the university, but I was his boss in the office. So it created conflict and jealousy. After all what's so special about this young guy. I was sort of the technical storehouse of the company. So this fateful day as we just left Victoria Land on our way back to the office a car just crossed my way. I slammed on the brake and before you could just say Jesus I had a gun pointing at my head. And just as that scene was going on about 20 km away, my wife was just passing through the living room and her eyes fell upon our wedding picture and she heard a revelation. I know there are a lot of women here whose husbands are not here. I don't want you to loose hope; I want you to keep on praying. God is about to move in your life, God is about to move in the life of your husband. I normally took my wife to church, but I just dropped her by the gate of the church and headed for the sports field or office. But she kept on praying. Just at that time she herd a voice that I was gone. God quickened her spirit and she rushed into the room and started interceding for me.

When this car crossed my path I didn't know that the men were armed. I thought it was just a drunken driver so I slammed on the break. When I started starring at the gun I knew it wasn't a joke. He asked me to get down from the car, which I did. My briefcase, my passport, and my driving license were in the car; everything that could identify me was there. The car was just four months old. He made me lie in the street while he and his three colleagues zoomed off with the car. A kind of peace descended upon me which I could not explain.

Later when I was listening to my wife's testimony it was exactly at the time that the gun was pointed at my head that she heard the voice. She was carrying a seven months pregnancy and this was around 10 PM. She had to request a neighbour's assistance to go and look for me; that something has happened. And to give you little background I work very hard. I work very late; sometimes I don't get home till maybe around midnight and this was just 10 pm. My neighbour told my wife, "I know your husband, it's not unusual this is still early". My wife insisted that something has happened. When I left my office that fateful evening I didn't lock the door of the office, I just put on the security gate. My laptop was still on my table running because I thought it was going to be a quick transaction and that I would still come back to the office. When my wife got to my office her worst fear was confirmed. They searched the whole road, no sign. They started searching the hospitals. It wasn't till around 3 am in the morning that I was able to put a call through to my house and of course she wasn't in. She was still busy searching for me. It wasn't until around 3:30 am that she finally came to the police station where I went to report.

You know all through this time I was a bit sober, but I wasn't broken. It was when some friends came over and my wife was sharing what transpired that night that I was moved. But I knew from what I read about the occult that there are powers in the world. I knew there are powers, but the idea of God speaking to you about what is going on somewhere, was a bit far fetched for me then. My father in law too testified of a vision he had that afternoon of a blood bath. He did the only thing he knew, praying in the name of Jesus. He started interceding for me. You know I had a very close friend at work we shared everything together. But when it came to the issue of Jesus I just asked him to hang up. We are very close. But I thank God. He's a member of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International (FGBMFI). Several times he invited me to the fellowship's breakfast outreach meeting. I would promise to attend but I wouldn't honour my commitment. One day he said, "Femi we're having a breakfast and I'm preaching Saturday would you like to come?" I said, "yes" just not to hurt him. Somehow the Holy Spirit knew what He wanted to do that day. He turned to my wife, "Dupe will you be coming?" She said, "We will be coming." Saturday morning came and my wife reminded me that we had a date that morning. I said, "Sorry I won't be able to go." She said, "but you promised." I said, "Yes I know somebody invited me to come and take breakfast, and if I don't feel like it, is that a crime?" I saw the hurt on her face. I believe the Holy Spirit made me look in her eyes and I saw she was deeply hurt. She said, "I should please do this one for her." And somehow the sequence of what happened on the night of the robbery flashed through my mind, and I asked myself in all honesty; if my wife had been in the same position that I was in, would I have really staked my life to go and start looking for her? The answer was no. I said, "OK if this is so much important to you I will go along with you." You know my idea about Christian's up to this point in time was that of a drab looking people. I looked for some of my old clothes that I haven't worn in years just to be able to fit in. This was my thinking. We got to the Sheraton Hotel, the venue of the meeting; even though I wasn't a Christian at that time I could feel something different about the gathering. I felt so odd. I felt something missing in me. When the praise worship started I couldn't believe the kind of ecstasy I felt. It was as if I was in heaven. The man of God came up there preaching the word and we started praying. I didn't know from somewhere tears started welling out of my eyes. I mean I started weeping like a baby. I had to start pinching myself that Femi boy it's you... I mean it's not just someone else. When the alter call came I found myself on my feet. Before I knew it I was before the alter. My wife and my friend who invited me could not hold back their tears. I've been into everything talking in terms of reading. I've read all kind of junk. I've practiced all kind of things. I was prayed for and a great peace descended upon me. There's no way I could describe it.

We left that place and when I got home I slept like I never slept before in my life. Since that day, brothers and sisters, God caused a turn around in my life. Up till that time I was in a partnership. A couple of days after my conversion we were praying in my house, when we received a vision that I had to leave my business partnership. I had been doing practically all the work, but I really had nothing to show for it. It was such a time that it wasn't really right to start a new business. Looking at it from the physical it wasn't really a good time. But it was the word of God maybe because I was still a baby in the Lord I believed. You know there are times you believe without really questioning.

Just to cut a long story short. A situation happened I had to inform the board of my company about my desire to leave. People were sceptical about the wisdom of such a move... I mean some of my colleagues were laughing because they knew I had no money. But God started a series of miracles in my finances. To let you know of the miracles of God, before the end of that year I was able to raise money without borrowing to pay for the present office in Lagos for four years. In the first year of my operation what four of us could do in three years, the Lord did it in one year.
God has not stopped with me. I became a full member of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International. I am currently membership secretary of the fellowship. I want to tell you what the Lord has been doing in my life. I mean I used to be an ulcer patient, and now completely cured by God. I have seen transformation of my life. My marriage was healed; if not for God I would not have any marriage today. I was sharing with my sister a couple of days back, that we go through some experiences in life, we think that we know it all. But one thing I know is that God has a plan for each and every one of us. None of us comes into the world just to be anybody; God has a special role for you. My prayer for you this morning is that you find God's plan for your life. Nothing really matters. I have seen life transformed. There's power in the name of Jesus. I don't want to do anything else. I look at my whole life, what else do I give to God, nothing but thanks. Here I am, picked up from the pit. He has put a new song on my lips. I want to encourage every one of us. I see my coming here today was not by accident. You know the Holy Spirit laid it on my heart as I entered in here that I would stand before you to speak. In little things such as what to eat today and where you are going to go today God is there to speak to you. I want us to bow down before this God. Let's seek Him with all our heart. You know He's a God who hasn't called us to come and serve Him for nothing, He has something for you. He wants to turn your life around. He wants to make things beautiful for you. Like our brother shared, I don't know what experience he was going through in 1993 there are so many things I skipped I was telling my sister 3 days ago I got to a point that year that if I could have taken my life I would have done it. The pressure was so much, I was in debt, my wife had a very difficult delivery, and things were all just falling around me. But I thank one thing for Jesus that was in me I knew this was a test, I knew that this was fallow ground that had been broken, so I wasn't shaken. I know that God is prepared to do something in this place. I know this from God, when next year when I come here this place will be overflowing. This ministry will be empowered by the power of Jesus Christ. This ministry will grow not by the power of man but by the power of the Holy Spirit and we shall all be partakers of that blessing. Praise the LORD.