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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Obadare's Grave Will Become Miracle Center-Family


Obadare’s grave’ll become miracle centre – Family
Pastor Paul, first son of renowned televangelist, Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare has assured that after the burial of his father today in Ilesa, Osun state, the burial ground, on which the state government is erecting a mausoleum will turn to a healing centre for the sick.
He said the mystery behind the mausoleum to be built in memory of his late father by the Osun state government was necessary because  the grave of the late spiritual icon would perform signs and wonders, the same way he did while on earth.
The young Obadare who spoke to Saturday Sun said “We are sure that papa’s grave will heal the sick and many oppressed people will receive deliverance and breakthrough for having an encounter with his grave. So, it is important to preserve such grave and that is why we appreciate the state government for deeming it fit to construct a mausoleum in his honour. The place can also be used for prayer and other spiritual activities by those who believe in the ministry of our dear Father.”
Towards this, the Osun state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has given the family of the Apostle the sum of N35 million to facilitate the burial ceremony as well as the building of the mausoleum.
Born in 1930 to a family of an orthodox belief in Ilesa, Prophet Obadare began his ministry with foremost Evangelists like the General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Apostle Ayodele Babalola, Prophet Simeon Akande and Prophet Elijah Babajide, all of blessed memory.
Married and blessed with seven children, Apostle Obadare had the most challenging part of his life time when he lost one of his sons some
years ago. However, the renowned prophet never allowed the challenge to affect his ministry as he moved ahead putting all challenges behind him. Today, six of his biological children who are all Pastors in various locations in Nigeria and abroad have continued from where he stopped when he answered the supreme call of his maker on 21st March
this year, having put in over 50 good years in evangelism.
Before breathing his last, Apostle Obadare had an encounter with his eldest son, Pastor Paul whom he specifically told to ensure that he was taken to his home town whenever he died, an instruction that is being carried out today with the burial of the cleric in Ilesa.
The young Obadare in an interview with Saturday Sun said “I was privileged to have an interaction with Papa before he died. I moved close to him and he told me so many things as if he had known that he would die. One of the things he told me was that we should ensure that we bring him back to Ilesa whenever he dies and his remains should be buried inside his church in Ilesa, his home town.
“Papa told me that I should tell the family that he insisted that his body be brought to Ilesa whenever he goes to be with his Lord and saviour. He maintained that he would want to be buried in Ilesa and that is why we have all agreed that he should be brought to Ilesa, even though he spent better part of his life and ministry in Akure, Ondo state, where we have headquarters of the church. Today papa was not just an indigene of a particular place but an international man with reputable achievements spread across various areas of human endeavours.”
He said his late father died when he completed his assignment on earth, having reached many lives and preached to many souls in his over 50 years of ministry, adding that he has no doubt that his late father was already resting in the bossom of the Lord who he said strengthened him throughout his life and ministry on earth.
According to him “The late Apostle Obadare was a fervent man of God, and there was no dull moment with him. Every time you had with him was always very interesting and exciting. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him, especially those of us who are his biological children and several other spiritual children in various parts of the world.”
Pastor Paul described his late father as a role model and a spiritual icon, saying he would specifically miss his mentorship and guidance which he said would be too difficult to get from other sources on earth.
He said further that “He was a soul that represe  nted so many things to us as a family and even he represented so many things to the body of Christ on earth. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) would miss papa, so also many individuals and organizations would miss him.
Meanwhile, in recognition of the good works of the late Evangelist while on earth, the Osun state government has released a whooping sum of N35 million for the burial of the late spiritual icon.
Giving a breakdown of the financial contribution of the state government, the state commissioner for Home Affairs, Culture and Tourism, Mr Sikiru Ayedun disclosed that the sum of N15 million was set aside for construction of the mausoleum, N10 million for logistics for the burial ceremony and N10million for intervention work on the premises to accommodate the multitude and the adherents coming for the burial from far and near.
Defending the state government decision to spend such huge amount on the burial of Late Obadare, the state Commissioner for Finance who is also a member of the committee, Dr Wale Bolorunduro said Obadare was not just an icon but also an institution and a blessing to the whole world.
He said the state government decided to institutionalize and immortalize him because the late spiritualist was the linkage between the present and future, and most importantly the arrangement was part of the tourism development agenda of the state government.
As the icon of christian gospel evangelism in Nigeria and across the world, Apostle Timothy Oluwole Obadare, goes home in a blaze of glory today, men who were close to him and other beneficiaries of his ministry, have poured encomiums on him. This is even as one of his children, Pastor Paul Obadare opened up on the last moments of the renowned cleric.
Obadare, a world televangelist and founder of World Soul Winning Evangelical Mission, WOSEM, and General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, died in Akure, the Ondo state capital on March 21st at the age of 83. The prophet who was the second-in-command to Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola at CAC, was popular for his monthly crusade, Koseunti, that drew Christians from all denominations to Akure.
Saturday Sun spoke with his son and a number of his protégés who all lauded Obadare’s zeal in evangelism, teaching and preaching God’s word in its pure nature, adding that his service to God greatly motivated everyone around him to serve God.
“Apostle T.A Obadare is a man I admire so much” said Reverend Paul Tunde TiOluwani (a.k.a) Lesekese, and General Overseer, the Bibleway Christian Church International.
According to him, “I always wonder how greatly God was using him despite his disability. How God was able to make him perform far greater than those who do not have such limitation.  He was able to climb beyond his limits and turned his scars into stars.
“He was a man that was matchless with achievements that were staggering.
He was a proof of a living prophetic icon. He was a global icon. This is in the sense that when he gives a prophecy, it happens instantly. And then, the way he quotes the bible remains a mystery to me.
“Initially, before I got close to him, I used to think that he reads brain Bible, the one read with fingers. But when I got close to him and was sleeping in his house, I discovered that there was nothing like that. And later when I probed further into his life, I discovered that when he was called by God, the Lord just opened his chest and placed a giant Bible there and He said from today, you would start quoting from Genesis to Revelation. I admire him greatly.
“I admire his exploits in the area of miracles and grassroots evangelism. Baba never rested. He spent and he was spent for the gospel. And I have always wished to be like him. And I keep praying that God would make me be like him.
The church has lost a great icon: A man that preaches Jesus raw: unwatered and undiluted. Many pastors are political preachers, they talk to favour the government for their own interest but Obadare preaches Jesus without mixing anything with it. And not that alone, throughout his life, he anchored his ministry on holiness. He was not materialistic and never gathered empires around himself , like other pastors do. So, with his glorious exit, a great vacuum had been created that would be very hard to fill, except by God’s intervention.”
Pastor Micheal Adeyemi is the Zonal head, Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C), Lagos. He described Obadare as a man blessed with unrivaled prowess for soul winning and evangelism. His words “We will miss Baba Obadare a lot. We will miss his motivation, drive to carry us along and make us work for God. We will also miss the power of God graciously bestowed on him by God. We will miss his advices for us to work for God. He was a great shepherd who taught so many to be great disciples of Christ and did it so well. The legacy he left behind is so great and we are making a great effort to preserve it.  His was a very big shoe for just anyone to wear.”
Obadare’s mentorship and fatherly love that had planted many firmly in christendom is what Pastor Jare Laoye, presiding pastor of the C.A.C, Ketu, harped on. “I will miss Obadare for so many reasons; his mentorship is the greatest of the things I will miss him for and he was like a father to all who drew close to him, unlike other men of God, he had a great fatherly care and concern for everyone.
“Most people would miss him greatly for this. You hardly could differentiate between those of us his children and his biological children, he treated all of us the same way. That is a very unique virtue of his. We will equally miss his sound instructions in encouraging us to be forthright and focused in God’s work. Describing him as a workaholic is an understatement for when you see him doing the work of God, no one will tell you to join him immediately and do it too. He motivated us to work for God. Above all, his love for evangelism was unrivaled and was one of the great things he gave to us.”
For Pastor John Adegbite, Zonal Secretary of the Christ Apostolic Church, Lagos, Obadare’s unparalleled motivation for work was what endeared him to the cleric. “He did not believe in failure. He didn’t believe in no for an answer no matter how difficult the situation may be. He never believed in impossibility, because he served a God of possibilities, especially, when it has to do with evangelism: Obadare was evangelism and evangelism was him. When you talk about grassroots motivation for winning souls in Nigeria, Obadare has no rival. He towers above all other colleagues. I have been with Obadare since 1977 when I first met him at a crusade in Ilesa. He was an erudite when it comes to exhalting people with the word of God. I still remember the title of his sermon that day: it centered on have faith in God’s word. Obadare was always instructing people to believe God’s word other than himself as a servant of God. Since I have known him then, I have personally come to realize that he is a man of God to follow. He was a man that tells you to do something on a certain issue and when you do it, you get results immediately”, he stated.
Edo State-born Pa Adeniyi Odihiri who is currently a security guard with the Lagos branch of the C.A.C, told Saturday Sun that he would miss the signs and wonders God had performed through Obadare: “ I was a wretch when I encountered Obadare and he turned my life around for good. I was practicing vodooism and was also a terrible drunk but God used Baba Obadare and some of his ministers to turn my life around for good. I have been in this church since mid 70s and I have no regret whatsoever”, he said

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