Sonlight Devotional

[Printable version]

Omega Message – June 1991

Ikpe Fellowship

The following testimony, written recently by our Sister Eno in Nigeria, is included here for we believe it will be a blessing to the Body.

In compiling some of these testimonies we take cognizance of the fact that the battle was the Lord’s and is still the Lord’s.  We are only His vessels whom He chooses to use.  Of our own selves we can do nothing.

In times past, we refused to give testimonies of things like this because we have learned from Babylon what happens thereafter, but as the Lord gives the liberty, so do we write.  Our constant prayer is that the Lord would make us to be that which He wants us to be, and as it fits with His eternal purposes.  The attached testimonies are minute to that which He desires to do in and with His people in these last days.

We rejoice in the fact that we are called by His Name, and even in thick darkness He watches over His own, because even the darkness hideth not from Him.

We shall rejoice the more as we become totally conformed to His image and as this mortality is swallowed up of immortality, and we become even as He is at His appearing.  Hallelujah!  Beloved, may this testimony bless you and may it stir you to pray for us in Ikpe that His will be done in us and in this land.

May His love abound in you always.  This testimony, which is given to the glory of God, is not a normal feature of the fellowship, but was only given in Ede in April 1990.  It was given to encourage the brethren in some localities like ours (that is to say, “a village”) to be united in prayer and to stand together in unity of spirit to do that which the Lord has given them direction to do by the Spirit

As a fellowship, we began to seek the face of the Lord concerning ourselves individually and co-operatively, having come to the knowledge that no living fellowship has ever survived in this Clan.  The Lord began to make some things known to us concerning why this condition persists, namely:

1. The strong power of witchcraft.
2. Ancestral spirits/marine spirits.
3. Occultic influences.
4. The blood of the innocent crying for vengeance—used in human sacrifices to appease the gods of the land and in some wicked yearly rituals.

We were made to know that ancestral spirits bound many of us and that the power of Marine was strong upon many, and we have to be delivered.

Pythons are worshipped over here, though not in the measure as in years before, because people kill them now.  However, I must say that the people of Ikpe, as a whole, do not kill pythons.  About 20 years ago or less, I remember as a little girl that I used to see about two or three very long pythons of about eight to nine feet long in my grandmum’s room.  There were right behind her water pot or in between the rafters of her thatched house, or just crossing the veranda.  I would scream and ask my mum for us to go back to Lagos.  I was born and brought up in Lagos, until the outbreak of the civil war, which brought us to Enugu in Anambra State.

(NOTE: I cannot write all things, but I shall be brief and put them in a nutshell, believing the Holy Spirit to help us as we read.)

As we waited on the Lord, He gave us a signal in the Spirit as to how to go about destroying some strongholds in our personal lives, and in our families and Clan.  First, we had to repent of our sins, and then those of our fathers and forefathers, asking the Lord to forgive us and to cleanse the land of wickedness.  This was needed in order to release us from the invoked influences of ancestral spirits, which brings many to tumble down from their spiritual walk with God.  History abounds with many in this Clan who at the first came on strong and holy upon the scene, but after a while fell due to adultery, etc.

The Lord then gave an indication to wait upon Him every other weekend, and this we continued to do, from the last weekend of July 1988 to 31 December 1988.

We then fixed a ten-day program in December 1988 running from 22 December to 31 December.  The brethren that came stood with us in prayers against the forces of darkness in the land and the atrocities of the armed robbers that made life unbearable to visitors and inhabitants of the land alike.  This situation was at its worst in that part of the land where we lived.

The Lord had signified to us that He is a God that answers prayer, and in a short while things would begin to happen in the land.  Beginning in February of 1989, the government (through the police force) swooped down upon the armed robbers day and night until they were completely rooted out.

The village chiefs bound themselves as one man, and caused every father and mother of these armed robbers to produce them or be handed over to the police.  Fathers signed off their robber sons to death, denying ownership of such sons and giving authority to the village council and court to do whatever they pleased with their armed children.

Those who could not bring back their children were locked up, but when their children were produced, they were freed.  Some fathers are still jailed until today because stolen goods were found in their possession.  I cannot expatiate on all that happened in that direction because it is too much to write.  I will not fail to mention that their hideout, which was towards my side of the road, was set ablaze, and some of them were shot and arrested.

It was a nightmare in those days to live in Ikpe.  Beginning at 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the evening and continuing until dawn, you could virtually hear the gunshots and the screams of the victims begging for life.  Some they killed, some they badly wounded, and some women they raped.  It was a sorry and most pathetic story.

They have targeted us many times, but each time the fear of God fell upon them and they could not come to our habitation.  Right now, there is no such case.  All the villages administered an oath upon their inhabitants to swear if they will ever steal.  None of us from this Body went to such a thing, and we thank God for His covering.  I do not know why I started with this case concerning the armed robbers—maybe because their executions are still taking place till now.  So far, many have been executed and very few remain.

Let us return to the main issues that caused us to begin to seek the face of the Lord:

1. Retardation in spiritual growth.
2. Fellowships would start and then crumble in Ikpe.  There is no living body as of now, except ours.
3. Very serious and zealous brethren start off well, and then fall like a pack of cards—mostly through adultery and fornication.
4. The need to know what He will have us do as a body.
5. The armed robbery issue, though it was secondary and it came at the latter part of the year.  The Lord then so burdened us to pray about it.
6. Spiritual bondage in the land.

The following are the reasons for the above conditions, indicated by the Lord speaking to us in the Spirit:

1. Strong power of witchcraft.
2. Ancestral holds and power upon many lives.
3. Marine spirit influences.
4. Occultic influences.
5. The land cannot respond to righteousness because of the above, and the blood of the innocent crying out for vengeance.

When the Holy Spirit indicated these things to us, we asked the Lord for a direction of praying.  He led us to compile the very strong marine / shrine / ancestral names in each village, and to represent the villages, repent on their behalf, and ask for a release of the souls and the souls of the villagers from the bondage and oppression of these demon spirits.

I want to mention here that most of us are normally presented in birth by our parents to the shrine (either that of marine or ancestral spirits) asking this spirit for care, protection, etc.  Libations and shedding of blood is a normal feature (the blood of goats and fowls mainly).

Living directly under this influence worsens matters.  As long as you live in cities, the effect is not strongly felt, but the moment you return home, hell is let loose.  This is because they welcome you in the spirit, and they expect you to recognize them and be as them in word, action, deeds, etc.  But were you to revolt spiritually, then be ready to do spiritual warfare (and that a steady and steadfast, continuous one) until you know you are above them in everyday life and activities.  Beloved, it has not been easy, but blessed be God who causeth us to triumph in Christ in this place and everywhere!  Amen!  Amen!

We did compile the names, and every other weekend we treated a particular village.  And we then interceded for brethren from that village, and for the lives of the people that they be released from the working of these demons and into the knowledge and worship of the true God.

One thing the Lord stressed to us was this, “Fight the spiritual battle and release souls from darkness, so that, at the appointed time when the Word shall be ministered, they will receive the Word.”  We know that there is a time appointed for the ministry of the Word in this land.  We are waiting for an indication, and until then we pray for the release of their souls from wickedness.  We did rush out once, and we missed God; so we are not in a hurry anymore.  We must first hear definitely from God.

The first two weeks in December was a daily affair of praising God and worshipping Him, and of surrendering the whole land to the knowledge of God and His will.  It was a most refreshing year, and Beloved, we await Him Who answers prayers.  Meanwhile, other events followed:

1. The henchmen behind occultic practices, who said we had come to trouble the land and to bring confusion to the land, began to die one after the other.  Their death never took normal cause:

a. The one from Ikpe got swollen and died.

b. The one from Ebe Ikpe got swollen, and has yet to die though he is dusty looking in appearance now.

c. The one behind my house (who was a witch doctor, occultist, and a necromancer) went to bed and never woke up again.

He was found stone dead on his bed.  This particular man withstood us day and night in the spirit.  He gave us no rest, and we gave him no rest also—Our God prevailed for us.  A most wicked man.  He died September last year.  Two skulls and many other human parts, occultic items, books, etc.  were recovered from under the ground, and from his room.

d. The other occultist, who got rich overnight and bought three cars in 1988, has lost all of them and he has fled the land.  He is now so wretched and in hiding, and except he repents the hand of the Lord is upon him.  This particular man so challenged the fellowship, but God nullified all his devices and plans against us.  This man is known as a preacher in the Methodist Church, but also as an occultist.

2. Worshippers (or rather “priests”) of the Ekpo Masquerade are now in judgment.  This is a very wicked feast normally held during the months of August to October every year.  This is the ruling force in Ikpe Annang—Ekpo Masquerade.  This was one of the strong prayer topics we lifted up to the Lord, and which He answered speedily.  The force and the power of Ekpo has dwindled in Ikpe Annang since 1988-1990.  We want to see the abolition of it this year by the government.  We do not want bans anymore, but a complete abolition of this wicked craft.

As we prayed in 1988, sometime around the month of September the government gave a warning that it should be off the roads.  In 1989, as we prayed, they went into violent actions and the government banned it that year.  Last year (1990), just towards the close of it, it was announced on the radio that it should cease.  It came rather late, but somehow it lost its power since 1988 in Ikpe, because some villages have completely stopped since 1988.  This culture is very wicked, sometimes they kill or maim people and even set people’s houses ablaze.

1990 saw an end to the death of five of their principal priests.  One of them is a sister’s father.  This sister is a faithful sister and shall be finishing her secondary schooling this year.  We believe God for an open door for her.  She stood steadfast in her faith, even with all oppositions.  Praise the Lord!  Her name is Maria Uruah.

3. In Mbiabet Ikpe, there was a tree which was a powerful shrine called Ukong Ikut (which means, “Hanging of tortoise”).  I cannot elaborate on the rituals that are involved with this wicked shrine, but the government made a way through it, it is now a byway.  The destroying of this shrine brought great fear upon their priest so that they refused to walk through that way for a very long time.  Upon this tree, human beings were sacrificed, and twins thrown to it.

This particular village is noted for very wicked shrines.  There is a tree now which is guarded day and night, for fear that what happened to the tree mentioned above will also happen to it.  But we know that there is no watch night or watch day against God.  Christians from this village backslide a lot, so please pray for those from this body who are from that village.  This tree is called Ikpeke Abang (which means “a cut pot”).  The father of our sister Maria was also a priest of this particular tree worship.

In this particular village, there is also one of their caretakers.  He is one that watches over the Ekpo masquerade heads.  He sold one to some white men who came from the Camerouns, and ever since then there has been terrible trouble in their rank and file.  We are made to understand that this is because this was the oldest masquerade head in the land, and also a very powerful head.  It is presented only once in two years.  This head is called Iyion Ekpo (which means “crippled ghost”).

We understand through our brethren that the missing masquerade head has caused the death of the five Ekpo priests, and more will die.  They believe the head will have to be found, or else they will all be dead men.  We know that it will not be found, so we prayed that they repent, or die as they believe.  Meanwhile, the house of the caretaker (who sold this missing Ekpo masquerade head) was destroyed.  Also his farmland was cut down and curses were pronounced upon him by all of the masquerade from all over Annang in the State.  Feces were spread all over his house, and many of his livestock have been destroyed.  This happened in September of 1990.  This worship will end in the land by the Right Hand of God’s power.  Amen.

4. A tall smooth tree by the name of Etoafia was rooted out and thrown down by an unseen wind in my village, Ikpe Ikot Ntuen.  This tree is worshipped in the Clan.  It was a very notorious tree.

5. A mighty tree with such a terrible large trunk caught fire from the top and burned nonstop for three days.  The people went out to behold such a miracle—a tree burning from the top to the bottom.  In the middle of the trunk, people’s clothes, basins, shoes, brassieres, menstrual pads, etc.  began to fall out.  Some people who went recognized things that belonged to them.  This happened in Ibam Ikpe.

6. Another of this type of tree caught fire also in Mbiabong Ikpe.  This time, the fire burnt from beneath, and people’s clothing, shoes, basins, small pots, etc.  fell out of the tree.

7. A general revolt against fetish worship is noticed in the land, and a general withdrawal from sacrifices.

We know that it shall increase in tempo as the days go by.  There are so many testimonies to give God all the glory, but we cannot put them all down, neither can we expatiate in writing the little that is so far written.

We pray the Lord to help us to stand in the place of prayers.  Sometimes it is like a heavy weight upon us.  Sometimes dreams are frightening, but our God is greater than these things.  More so, He has not given unto us the spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.

In all of this, I will not fail to make mention of some brethren, whose parents used might and power and some means of wicked force to stop them from coming to the fellowship.  Some continued, but some feared their parents and went back to them.  Some were almost macheted, some were disowned by parents, and some parents ceased to pay fees for them to continue with their school.

Some ran to distant relations in distant places.  Some returned to their parents who had lost interest in sending them to school.  Some are left like that to do nothing, and they are not bold to come to the fellowship.  Some fell out because of the persecution of their parents, and began to live worldly lives.  Some feared the curses that their parents threatened to pronounce upon them.

Some today are sick.  One died early last year.  Some are living careless lives, some also have been initiated into Ekpo masquerade by their parents.  Some, we found a way out for them to go out to cities to take minor jobs outside the area so as to continue in their Christianity.  Some (without parents or a parent) are with me here, and we are believing the Lord to open doors for them to learn a trade for their future.

In all the Lord is good, and none that is given to Him will ever draw back.  It is not a pleasure to talk about those who draw back, but it is a part of the testimony that not all who started in earnest are here today.

Even in our midst, some trouble us because of some ancestral roots that makes them hard and stubborn, but we are persuaded that He that has started a good work in us will surely perfect it.

Beloved, Pray for us always, and do not fail to visit us in this village as you come.  It strengthens us and it comforts us that we are not left alone in this place, but that our brethren also share with us and lift us up.

One thing is sure in this land, that Dagon must give way and the Lord will be worshipped in this place.  Though sometimes it looks bleak as if nothing is done, and sometimes I do cry and say, “Lord, are all these labors in vain?”  But the Lord does comfort us in such moments, especially the few of us who cry day and night for His fulness and for His mercy upon the land.  We look unto Him with tear stained face and pain in our hearts, and He lightens our countenance.  He is FAITHFUL.  Beloved, rejoice with us for the Lord will do great things.  Hallelujah!

In this writing, we made mention of the bondage the Lord said was upon many.  For this reason, we asked brethren to come who have a strong emphasis in the ministry of deliverance, and from 1988 to 1989 deliverances were ministered to all of us, and that individually.  These brethren came and blessed us with that ministry.  Today, some in this local body are blessed with this gift to the body.

The strategy the Lord gave us as we waited concerning each village is not written in detail.  It is sufficient to mention just the bit mentioned.

This testimony is for publication for no other reason but to give encouragement to the brethren far and near.  Especially those in like environment as ours.  Beloved, with all glory to the Almighty God we close this testimony.  May it bless your heart and stir up your faith.

Your brethren in the Lord,

Ikpe Fellowship

That song from Joel 2:21, and Psalm 118:29 comes to my heart now.  It goes like this:

Fear not O land, rejoice and be glad
For the Lord will do great things
O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good
For His mercy endureth forever
So be it to us, Oh Lord.