As the 10th Ministers’ Fire Conference of Nigeria’s premier church – Methodist Church Nigeria rounds off in Otukpo, Benue State, Methodist Ministers have been challenged to examine their lives, hearts and to cultivate integrity to rekindle their passion for God’s kingdom to expand the frontiers of the Gospel and Methodism in Nigeria.
The fire conference which herald the National Convention of the Church involving all Methodists in Nigeria and Diaspora kicked off on Wednesday, February 5th.
The Bishop of Ado Diocese in Benue Archdiocese, The Rt Rev Dr David Ogwuche Job gave the charge in a ministration during the Ministers’ Fire Conference.
He tasked Ministers and all Methodists to actively seek revival through prayer, fasting, and the use of their spiritual gifts.
With the theme, “Revive Thy Work, O Lord”, the cleric impressed the urgency of the message on his audience and called for action.
Drawing from the story of Lazarus as recorded in John chapter 11, Bishop Job painted a vivid picture of spiritual transformation, contrasting the “house of affliction” with the “house of peace.”
Similarly, he likened Bethany and Jerusalem to two sides of the same coin.
Bethany, he explained, represents “the struggles, the pain, the sense of hopelessness that many experience. It is a place where sickness and death seem to reign. But Jerusalem, ah, Jerusalem! That is the place of peace, of wholeness, of God’s manifest presence. It is where we long to be, where we are meant to be.”
He bemoaned that many of the clergies are still “kilometers away from Jesus,” living in a spiritual Bethany of our their making. “We have become insensitive to the things of God, our hearts growing cold and lifeless. “Many are dead to integrity, holiness, and sincerity,” he declared, his voice booming through the hall. “We are coming back to life!,” he stressed.
He concluded that the fire of revival is burning, urging all Methodists world over to key in and experience John Wesley revival of this age.
Bishop Job, a man known for his fiery passion and unwavering faith, ignited a flame of revival that is spreading like wildfire through the hearts of those in attendance at the Convention.
