There is Hardship and Massive Suffering in the Land – Bishop Bank Jefferson

The presiding bishop and the General Overseer of Mercy Tabernacle Bible Church, Ogba, Lagos, Bishop Bank Jefferson, has declared that “there is hardship in the land, and the situation in the country is a defect of governance, and authority leaders must rise to the challenges with a solution in sight.” Our nation and the entire world need to return to God to benefit from His fullness. 

Bishop Jefferson made the declaration while speaking on the church’s annual programme, Manifest, with the theme, “Holiness”. Manifest is a yearly inspired programme to bring people to the full manifestation of the word of God. “We have heard so many words of God in the land, but there are few manifestations of these words. People are not manifesting what they profess, and this meeting is an avenue where they will be instructed, taught and coached on how to manifest God’s word, power and grace. As Paul said, “Our words are not enticing words of man’s wisdom, but the demonstration of the power, the ability of God”, he said.

Anointed ministers of God are expected to grace and minister during the programme, which begins on Wednesday, July 3rd, and ends with thanksgiving on Sunday, July 7th. Among the guest ministers are renowned evangelist Bishop Micheal Amamieye and UK-based Pastor Alex Omokudu.

“To walk with God, you can’t take away holy living, except you want to fool yourself, and walking with God requires that you set apart, and holiness is to set you apart to walk with God, and you can see that holiness preaching is very scarce from the church nowadays”. 

Holiness gospel is not the get-rich-quick, prosperity-propelled gospel. It is what God wants us to walk with, speak on, and teach people during this meeting. “Though holiness is not the type of gospel message that easily attracts people to what they want to hear, like miracles and breakthroughs without holiness. But the root and the secret is, where you gain a set apart life, the power of God moves mightily.”

Holiness is a platform for the power of God to attract other promises for us, be it prosperity, success, miracle, breakthrough and others. “For anyone to experience the full manifestation of God, they have to separate from the world and its attractions. It is why, as individuals, society, nations, and the entire world, we must return to God to manifest the benefit of His fullness. God calls, saying, “Return to Me, and I will return to you.”

Bishop Jefferson laments that the church has not been able to affect society enough because they have messages that are not sent to deliver. “When you are running with what God has not sent you, your message will not be effective, and there will be no impact on society.” 

The church’s ineffectiveness today is because it is not holy or set apart. “Majority of the ministers of the gospel are not running with the message of God, and you can motivate people, anoint them, give them mantle, and do everything possible, but they will not work because it has not been working. That is why despite increasing numbers of churches and ministers everywhere, the church is still not where it’s supposed to be and not doing what is expected”. The church has too many errors, heresies, and deceit these days. Where are the effects of gimmicks, stagecraft, stage-managed miracles, and other unimaginable things they have done? But, if the church, ministers of the gospel, and society would choose the holy path, God’s grace and power would manifest in our lives, culture, and nation.

Speaking of the nation’s state, Jefferson lamented that there was hardship in the land, and a defect of governance warranted this. “There’s hardship and massive suffering in the land due to governance defects. Those holding political positions and positions of authority should think, rethink, and see how they can alleviate the suffering of the people. It’s seriously biting, and you don’t need to be told that people are suffering. It will be kind of the people in leadership positions of this country to think and make policies that will help people and alleviate their suffering”, he appealed.

Citing the example of the Kenya incident, Jefferson said, I pity President Ruto in this situation. He did not create the problem; these are the things he inherited from the past governments, but it is his time for the explosion to burst. People are stuck marking the pain, but one day, it will explode. That was the reaction in Kenya, and I pray it does not happen in Nigeria; it will be more brutal. “It is understandable, being in governance is not easy, the problem in the land is beyond their power, they are wearing heavier caps their head is not enough to carry, but we are praying for the leaders of this country”, he said. 

He charged that the time will come when it will not be fair to seek political office or governance position in this nation; people will not want to go near anything like that because they know they are going to get attacked and face the bullets of the people, which amount of army and the police with other security apparatus in Nigeria will be able to contain. Moreover, they are part of society and have wives and children among the people.

“The people in government should cut down on government expenditure and the bill they are introducing, let it sail through. They should decentralise this country, develop the idea of a regional government, and let it flourish. Through this, people will be closer to their administrator, and it will help fast-track development and good governance. This monopoly of government for eight years and nothing to do about it is not helping the nation; rather, it’s causing setbacks for development and hindered accountability”, he added.

From President Shehu Shagari until the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, no one has called on any of our past leaders to come and give an account of their stewardship and actions while in office. Neither did anyone query or pick them up after their tenure about why certain things were not done or lay the foundation for some things to be done by the incoming government. 

Every one of them is supposed to be queried and should be able to give an account of their stewardship. There should be a reckoning; they shouldn’t have left the government and gone like that. They were there through the people’s mandate, and the people deserve accountability for their mandate. 

Though they cannot be arrested while in office, they should be able to give accountability after leaving. If this system is introduced and implemented, people will not go into the government to steal money and enrich themselves when they know they will give account and vomit whatever they might have stolen. 

“One of the significant problems of our society is no accountability. People do what they like and go free, and they still have the nerve and boldness to parade themselves as an ex-president, ex-governor, ex-this or that because no one queried their past actions.

“Accountability should be part of our system, even in every public office and private organisation. It should stand that you don’t only serve, but after service, you will give an account. Where a fraudulent, corrupt, mismanagement, abuse of office during or towards the end of anyone’s tenure is established, the person should be prosecuted and made to face the law”, Jefferson demanded.

Everything about immunity is nonsense; it encourages corruption when people are in government, and it is destroying the future of this great country. So much money has been creatively stolen, embezzled, stacked abroad, and no one is calling or asking for accountability.

Unfortunately, the whole system has collapsed. It is no longer working, and there is no one to report to. The judiciary is not doing well. It gives conflicting and ungodly judgements, and our security system is compromised and unreliable. The civil service has become the bedrock of corruption and disorderliness, while our legislators are churning out laws that are not beneficial to the people’s best interest but their own selfish interest. 

All we need now is for the church and Christian leaders in this country to sincerely take the lead and return the nation, society, and people to God by starting to prophesy God’s word and promises to the people, preach the truth of the gospel, and live by the example of what they teach.