Report From the Jacobs' Trip to Nigeria
Category: Prophetic Reports, Africa
This trip was planned by God from beginning to end.
How do I explain Nigeria? It is a nation of contrasts. I was told that there is a population of about 50% believers, however, corruption is rampant. As we drove in from the airport with our extremely gracious hosts, we were struck by the volume of traffic that completely filled the roads. Traffic doesn’t travel in neat rows; if there is a space, there is a car.
We were hosted by the City of David Church. It is a large church filled with some of the most influential people of the nation. City of David Church is a marketplace church in many respects.
Nigeria can be a dangerous place and the leaders of the church understand this problem. They provided a driver, an escort car with soldiers carrying automatic weapons, and other security as well. The beautiful, three-story guest house where we stayed had guards too. A wonderful cook named Emmanuel made us delicious food, which, by the way, kept us from possible parasites.
I taught principles of spiritual warfare and reformation. The people listened intently. The church building is around two years old and holds about two thousand people. The worship team had written songs for the services that are based on scriptures from the book of Revelation.
One morning as I prayed, I felt that I had the revelation that corruption, so systemic in Nigeria, was not simply cultural; but the affect of a demonic principality. This Ephesians 6:12 principality has blinded the eyes of many of those who could transform Nigeria. Underneath the ruler of corruption is the spirit of death and then underneath death is an unclean spirit.
The unclean spirit manifests in the natural according to its name. Trash was on the roadside and almost everywhere on the community streets. The people of the church also see this as a problem; along with stealing, lying, and generally breaking God’s law as a result of a seared conscience.
As I prayed I felt that I should address this head on and taught from Romans chapter one. I spoke on how these strongholds have led to many a debased mind. I then asked them to make lists of the ways they had transgressed against God’s laws. They were to list every way from driving on the sidewalk to darker things like taking kick backs or paying bribes. A deep spirit of repentance fell among us over the days we were ministering.
Mike taught the business leaders on Saturday. He preached on reformation and how to disciple nations with a business slant. We met with a group of business leaders who are major influencers with the presidents of British subsidiary companies, like Virgin Atlantic, and Cadbury’s Chocolates. We also met with others involved in major telecommunications projects.
I felt to challenge them to write a code of ethics and form accountability groups to set standards that they would adhere to. They are going to work on this in a small group of leaders with Pastor Eskor’s blessings. He really has caught the vision we shared.
