THE MINISTRY EXPLOITS IN CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH
This renowned prophet was born on April 25, 1904, Odo-Owa, Oke-Ero Local Government Kwara State, in Nigeria; In the family of Pa David Lawani Rotimi and Madam Martha Talabi Rotimi. He died on July 26, 1959 (aged 55) Ede, Osun State, southwestern, in Nigeria.
Apostle Babalola's only mistake was his choice of wife. History has it that the woman he truly loved was a single mother. But since he was a respected Christian leader, the elders of CAC considered it an embarrassment for their leader to marry a single mother.
Hence, they misled him to marry the spinster who later became the thorn in his flesh. There was a time she poured palm oil on the white garment of the man of God on his way to a crusade ground. Another time after returning from the mountain after long days of prayers and fasting, the wife served him a delicious meal to break his fast.
He had only taken about 2 or 3 morsels when the wife told him, "I thought you were a true prophet because you should have known by the revelation that the chicken in the food was stolen." The great man of God gently left the remaining food and returned to the mountain to ask God for forgiveness.
One of the days, he was expected to preach in an open-air crusade but suddenly his wife locked him inside the room and ran off. The man just looked up and cried. "Oh Lord, see what my wife has done." The Lord instructed him to lay his hands on the wall and immediately he found himself in the crusade ground. He usually floats on air while preaching. He can also pray for 3 months on the knees without standing up.
Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola once told his fellow ministers during a prayer meeting to kneel down for a SHORT prayer. After about 2-3 hours of kneeling down, the ministers became frustrated and sat down, leaving only Apostle Babalola still on his knees praying for about 5-6 hours. The following day, they asked him, "Baba, if you ask us to pray a short prayer with you which took almost 6 hours, how many hours will your LONG prayer last?"
A very popular prayer mountain that still exists to this day is the Ori Oke Aanu (Mountain of Mercy) Praying Ground, Erio-Ekiti in Osun State Nigeria. This mountain of prayer was founded by this same Apostle Babalola. There is a spot on top of that mountain rock where he knelt down to pray and his knees pierced through, leaving a giant hole in the rock due to his long hours in praying. That hole is still over there till to date.
He was the only man that traveled overseas for missionary works without airplane or ship. He traveled abroad with his ministers for missionary work neither by air or water but by supernatural translation. He only gathered his ministers for prayer and instantly they disappeared into thin air. Sometimes, when preaching the angel will lift up his two legs and he will begin to move and float in the air without his feet touching the ground.
APOSTLE AYO BABALOLA MINISTRY CALLING
Babalola was born of Yoruba parents at Odo- Owa, Kwara State, Nigeria. He was brought up as an Anglican. He was registered at an elementary school at Oto-Awori on Badagry Road, Lagos State, in 1914. He got to standard four before he became a blacksmith's apprentice and he learned it for two years, before he became a steamroller operator under the PWD (Public Works Department), then under the control of Great Britain, learning to become a steamroller driver.
After 15 days of learning to drive the Caterpillar steamroller, he was able to drive it without any assistance. After nine months, he became a master in his class. A steam-roller was first given to him on 1 April 1928 to work on the Osogbo – Ilesha road. On June 14, 1928, he was transferred to Akure – Ilesha road.
On 9 October 1928 at about 12 o'clock, he was by his steamroller by the river Ariran. It was here he heard a loud voice from above like the roar of thunder which called his name thrice saying "Joseph! Joseph!! Joseph. Leave this job you are doing; if not, this year you are going to be cut off from the earth."
Again On 11 October 1928, while trying to repair his machine, he heard an audible voice from the Lord to abandon the job and start preaching. That is how he received the call and he went into fasting and prayer. The watershed in his early ministry came when he was commanded by God to go to his hometown to warn his people against idolatry, fetish practices, and evil works.
According to him, "The Spirit told me to go to my hometown, where I was born. The Lord said I should rub my face with ashes and to carry palm leaves in my hand and to buy a bell, which I was to be ringing the moment I entered the town and I obeyed. The voice told me, 'Tell My people that unless they repented, evil beasts would enter the town to destroy them.' "
"On that same day, I entered the town with a bell in my hand. The entire town was moved and there was great stir and consternation as people fled as they saw me. The moment they set eyes on me they fled. The Voice told me to ring the bell in my hand round the town and I obeyed."
His people, however, refused to repent or change their ways. They instead summarily beat him up and his family was subjected to heavy persecution by the people of the town. In defense against the prophesied invasion of the town by wild beasts the people of the town armed themselves with guns and cutlasses. However, God told His Servant to tell them He would not bring beasts but instead would bring epidemics and it would start within forty-five days.
At the expiration of the prophesied forty-five days, an epidemic of smallpox broke out and within 3 weeks about 300 persons had died. But those who repented and those who came to the man of God after contracting the disease were spared. Ayo Babalola was sent out of the Anglican Church of his village by his Bishop because most members of the Church see visions, speak in tongues and pray vigorously.
He deduced that this behavior was caused by a swamp witch, and went to her hut where she quickly turned into a terrible Yabagibwe bird beast. Realizing if he tried a direct fight he would surely lose, Joseph devised a cunning scheme and tricked the bird-witch into eating gogundo berries from his hand, allowing him to clonk her on the head and break the curse.
This led to his joining the Faith Tabernacle Church in November 1929 where he was baptized in Lagos lagoon in December 1929. Ministry and healing of the revival of his mission began with the raising of a dead child in September 1930. What followed this in 3 weeks was the healing of about 100 lepers, 60 blind people, and 50 lame persons.
This also resulted in the desolation of Churches in Ilesa because their members transferred their allegiance to the revivalist and that all the patients in Wesley Hospital, Ilesa, abandoned their beds to seek healing from Babalola. This divinely kicked off The Great Revival of 1930, which saw people coming from most parts of Africa and Diaspora without posters and TV adverts.
On June 25, 1931, he slew the sinister Abugabu dragon of the jungles of Yogumbo, wielding a holy sword imbued with the fire of the Lord. From then on, with bell and Yoruba Bible in hand, he toured Yoruba land and eastern Nigeria, preaching about repentance, and renunciation of idolatry, the importance of prayer and fasting, and the power of God to heal sickness.
In 1930 Faith Tabernacle affiliated with the British Apostolic Church. Then following a schism in the Apostolic Church about 1940, Bablola went with a new independent church, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), where he continued his healing and revivalistic activities until his death. The C.A.C regards Babalola as an apostle and his revival ministry as the beginning of the church. A CAC retreat center was built at Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State where Babalola was first called in 1928.
THE MYSTERIES ENCOUNTER OF BABALOLA
1. The Mysterious Tree of Usi Ekiti: This was a tree in a forest believed to be inhabited by evil spirits and it was in this forest land was given to him for his revival campaign. This tree had been cut many times but it stood again as if nothing had been done to it. However, the Apostle went to the tree and rang his bell and prayed on the tree and it was cut down forever.
2. The terrible gods of Ifira: There was a god called "egule" worshipped in the Isowo Quarters of the town. This god was so ruthless that no man dares point a finger at it to call attention to it as such acts led to the forfeiture of fingers or death. It is said that a big python coiled around the pot on which the god was placed. This god was situated on a bushy hill and no one dares go there for fear of being harmed by the god or the python guarding it.
When the Apostle got to this town he requested to visit the hill of this god. People were concerned about his safety but he insisted. Then people from neighboring towns and villages came to see what was going to happen. All he took was his bell and his staff and he went to the hill with people watching him.
Immediately he sighted this god and its python. He started ringing his bell as he moved towards it. Immediately the pot on which the god stood broke into pieces and the snake fled. When the people saw this they started singing and rejoicing and the people beheld the python and trampled it till it died and the people abandoned the idols for God.
Other instances encounter include The Forbidden forest of EFON ALAAYE, Deliverance of Oke Luse (Ondo State) from Elephants, The case of Isua, Idols jumping out of the fire while they are being burnt etc. A lot has to be done to document the many great works of this man of God.
The Christ Apostolic Church has not died along with Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola in 1959. In fact, it has grown rapidly over the years, with many churches under the Christ Apostolic Church name but each church with a specific branch name.
The Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) a private Nigerian university located in Ikeji-Arakeji in Osun State, established by the Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C) Worldwide is named after him, located at the place where he says he was called by God in 1928.
He was laid to rest at the Grave Prayer House Mausoleum Effon-Alaiye, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Prophet Joseph Ayo Babalola was the founder of the Christ Apostolic Church, popularly called Aladura in Nigeria. He was credited with healing powers and salvation messages.
C'est Un exemple a suivre
ReplyDelete