Covid-19: The vision I shared with Buhari- Pst. Tunde Bakare
Serving Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare in a live online broadcast March 25, has assured that Nigeria will survive the deadly coronavirus.
He also related the vision he saw last year on the plan of God for Nigeria and how he shared the vision with President Mohammadu Buhari.
Bakare who preached for over one hour online also talked on the biblical implication of the dreaded virus and how people should respond to it.
On the vision, he said, “the Lord showed me a vision late last year of a rainbow covering Nigeria with the word reset written on the rainbow.”
He said he was sure that the rainbow he saw in that vision is now at work saying rather than panic Nigerians should put their faith in God and look unto God more than ever before.
He said, “When I saw the vision I shared with my church members and we produced a sticker with the word reset on it. We shared it to all members free and I took that same sticker and went to see President Buhari. I gave him that sticker and told him about the vision I saw. He was excited about the revelation.”
While reading extensively from the Book of Genesis, Bakare explained that what is currently happening in the world is akin to what happened during the time of Noah.
He said, “This is not the first time we will have a lock-down in history. The first lock-down was during the time of Noah. He was locked in the ark God asked him to make. God was the one who locked him in the ark. The rain fell for 40 days and night but he was in that ark for about 150 days. Noah had to follow instructions from God concerning the ark.”
He said Nigerians have a responsibility to follow instructions being handed down by government noting that the instructions are for the good of all.
“We need to follow instructions concerning covid-19. It is for our good. I cannot imagine how we will cope with the disaster if it breaks on a massive scale in Nigeria. We can’t contain it. Nations that are better than us are groaning. So we need to follow instructions.”
He said this is the time to look on God and plead for his grace declaring that only those who come to that understanding will be saved in this dispensation.
“It is the prerogative of God to protect people. May God envelop you and protect you in this season” he prayed.
Time to reset Nigeria
While calling on God to arise and His enemies be scattered, Bakare said God was using covid-19 to reset the nations. He assured that God will not destroy the wicked with the righteous adding that it was not by accident that Noah offered burnt offering to God after the flood.
“It was after Noah offered burnt offering to God that the Lord established his covenant with Noah that as the earth remains seed time and harvest time will not cease.”
On how to escape the pandemic, he said, “What distinguished Noah from the rest of the world was grace. It is grace that will distinguish we all from the disaster that is gripping the world. The Bible says Noah found grace before God because he was righteous.”
He explained that the righteousness of Noah was what saved him and made him found grace before God. Today we find grace through Jesus. Our own righteousness cannot save us. It is the righteousness of Jesus that we need. No matter who you are, no matter what faith you belong, no matter the sacrifices you have made, it is Jesus’ righteousness that counts. We are saved by grace through faith. It is the righteousness of God that we need” he said.
He said further, “God knew that this day would come in the history of the world. I pray that those who have tested positive for this coronavirus will be healed and those who are not will be saved. But if we don’t learn from this plague, when are we going to learn? Buhari needs courage to reset Nigeria now. This is time to do the right thing about restructuring Nigeria.”
Bakare however lamented that the fear of God has left many people. “God did not send his son to condemn the world but to save the world. This is not the time to joke with what is happening. This is the time to go back to God. Blessed are those who choose the Lord. The condemnation of the days of Noah will not get to them. We must realize that we don’t have any weapon against coronavirus. Those who are better and bigger than us have not been able to curtail it. So we really just have to return back to God.”
He said he would administer the holy communion between 11 and 12 on Friday March 27 @ live.thecitadelglobal.org stating that all those who connect with the broadcast will eat the communion along with him trusting that the plague will not come near them.
He took a swipe at church leadership declaring that the church leaders have misinterpreted the instructions that we should not forsake the gathering of one another. He said, “The gathering can be two or three and it can be anywhere. It can be in the air, it can be in the market place. It does not have to be in a large cathedral. Jesus did not die so we go on to build cathedrals but to make disciples of all nations. I hope birds will be singing in our cathedrals now. I am not against building because I am also building. But the truth is that we have not done what we are supposed to do. We have concentrated on building structures rather than building men. I have been pastoring for 31 years now. We need to go out of the four walls of our churches and mix with the people. We need to influence the society around us. The church must go on to influence every sphere of human endeavours.”
Bakare said church attendance is not the only way the church can impact the world adding that the time to impact the world is here.
“As it is, nobody is missing the church now because we have not impacted the world enough. We must seize the opportunity of the moment to affect our world. If the pandemic continues I hope the churches will make available their cathedrals to accommodate the sick.”
Story by Gbenga Osinaike