Bonnke prayed for criminals to exchange their guns for the holy Bible

The crowd which had eminent men of God in attendance was so massive that the expanse of land beside Sparklight Estate, Lagos/Ibadan expressway, venue of the crusade, could not accommodate millions of worshippers from across the African Continent.

Agreeably the most successful gathering for the evangelist blessed with a benevolent weather for the whole five days, the much talked about and one of the most expected events in the country has come and gone, leaving Nigerian faithfuls still smarting and basking in the euphoria.

In his farewell prayer for the country he has been visiting for his global crusade since 1985, Bonnke said in an emotion laden voice:

“As I bid Nigeria farewell, I pray for the national needs of this country; I say God bless the country Nigeria, I pray for God’s blessings upon the people.

I pray for wisdom for President Buhari to lead this nation and to have the grace to take the right decision concerning this country. I pray for Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo for God to bless him.

I pray for Ogun State’s Governor Amosun that God should bless him, I pray for Lagos State Governor, Akiwunmi Ambode that the Rivers of the Living Waters flow through Lagos and I remove all the powers of the devil from the land.”

Bonnke also prayed for the salvation of Nigeria while breaking the yoke of poverty upon the land, saying poverty is a pain on the people and as Jesus had compassion on the poor and sick, He would equally heal the pain of poverty and have compassion on the sick in Nigeria.

“Look upon the poor, O Lord, and help them to their feet. I pray for unemployed graduates that cannot get jobs proportionate to their certificates; I pray that God should put food on the table of each home and family.

I pray that criminals should exchange their guns for the Bible, I pray against youths unemployment and pray for God fearing leaders for Nigeria and that this society be free of corruption”

In his last sermon titled “The Image of God”, taken from the Book of Luke 20:19, Bonnke said Jesus was being tempted so they might catch Him through His word and crucify Him,

but He asked to know whose image was on the coin, and the tempters said it was Caesar’s. Then Jesus told them: Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

“Human beings are the very image of God and the devil only comes with his big hammer of sin to afflict people and destroy the image of God in them. If the coin was the property of Caesar, then you and I are the property of God.

“The way we protect our property from being stolen is the same way God protects us from the devil. I want to speak about the devil and after hearing me, no one will be afraid of him any more”, he began.

“I see so much suffering in the land as a result of sinful lifestyle of people such as addiction to drugs, alcohol, immoralities among others.

If people can turn from their sinful ways and come to Jesus, He will save them because Jesus is the only Saviour that died for the sins of the world. He came to save people from all kinds of addictions.

“Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and to stop him from using his big hammer to beat us in his mission to wipe off the image of God in our hearts.

At the cross, Jesus spread His arms and grabbed the hammer of the devil in that process that nail went through His hands and the blood was flowing. A new age has begun, the age of salvation”, he said.

The new age of salvation, Bonnke said, is accompanied by a new birth, new life, new spirit, new commandment and new a heaven and earth.

“This is the last time I am speaking to you Nigerians; I don’t want an opportunity to blow my trumpet, I want people to be saved and be on our way to heaven together”, he pleaded.

The sermon moved lots of idol worshippers who came to the altar to surrender their charms and masquerade regalia to the man of God who set them ablaze before the altar.

Bonnke had earlier explained that his choice of Nigeria for the farewell crusade was as a result of the country being the most populous in the African Continent and added that the more the people, the better in winning souls for Christ.

“I am after souls not after money. I can see a ripe harvest in Nigeria because of the large population, also I have top of my best friends in Nigeria and on top of it all, I love Nigerians”, he said.

The septuagenarian and global evangelist announced that he was handing over the baton to a younger preacher because he has clocked 77 years and does not want to get to the peak of evangelism and then drop.

“I have already trained a young man named Daniel Kolenda to continue where I stop. He will take the ministry higher by the grace of God.”

His successor, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda said in an emotion laden voice that they would have loved to pitch their tents in Lagos and never return to Germany but they just have to say goodbye.

“We may not have the opportunity to see this great people again but we believe that on the Day of Resurrection, we all will meet again at the feet of Jesus.”

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High point of the spirit-filled crusade was the “Passing the Burning Torch” conference where willing ministers of God from across Africa gathered to catch Bonnke’s fire for greater exploits.

This is akin to the catching of Elijah’s mantle of ministry by Elisha, who eventually did greater works than his master. Many ministers of the gospel trooped out to receive the anointing for greater works.

Chairman of the Central Working Committee of the Farewell Crusade, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola explained that the crusade was targeted to remove every darkness from the land of Africa because Evangelist Bonnke represents the light of God.

“Many ministers of God had started feeling the Presence of God before the arrival of Evangelist Bonnke. We know that many souls have been perishing in Africa but we believe that through this crusade many souls have been saved.”

Bamgbola said further that the crusade also brought healing for Nigeria from her socio-economic crises, corruption and spiritual pollution.

Other side attractions of the crusade were “small-scale-businesses” which all had a field, selling consumables, from quick snacks, light cooked foods and bread as well as pure water and soft drinks.

One woman with wisdom brought stacks of plastic chairs to the crusade ground, foreseeing that no matter the quantity of chairs brought by the organisers would be enough – and she was right!

She rented the plastic chair for N100 each as a lot of worshippers could not get chairs to sit; she made more money without stress than most of the hustlers who sold customised bags, hats, tags with images of Reinhard Bonnke and his successor, Daniel Kolenda. Christian message and musical tapes and DVDs also had very good outing.

A section of the business community who apparently were not seeking salvation or miracles was the commercial drivers. For the five days stretch they doubled their normal fares as demand outstripped supply.

Musical artistes who performed at the crusade include award winning Nathaniel Bassey, Gbemi Olaleye and Bamidele Eben among others.

Some of the miracles recorded at the crusade include a man who had been crippled for two years started walking and threw his clutches away;

a Muslim woman testified that she got her two children from Reinhard Bonnke’s previous crusades at Ondo and Ibadan and she happily converted her faith to Christianity.

There was a woman also who had lost her memory for 16 years but regained it during the crusade among others.

Among the Nigerian men of God that attended the crusade are General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Supt of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor W.F Kumuyi,

past president of Christian Association of Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Archbishop Ayo Oritsejafor as well as the current President of PFN, Pastor Omobude.

Others are General Overseer of Dumanis International Gospel Centre, Abuja, Pastor Paul Enenche, the General Overseer of The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT), Elijah Oludele Abina, General Overseer of Christian Pentecostal Mission, Rev Obiora Ezekiel and his wife, Rev Mercy Ezekiel.

Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) with his team attended the third day of the crusade and gave award to the world renowned Evangelist at the crusade ground.