THE VISION AND THE COMMISSION:

On Tuesday, 3rd March 1970, at about 7:45 a.m., Geoffrey was about to go for his lectures. He knelt down by his bedside, as had become his practice since he became born-again, to commit his going out into God’s Hand. Prayer had now become part of his life for his belief was that, “The greatest privilege I have is that I have God to talk to through the death and resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ”. Immediately he knelt down, he was caught up in a trance and here is his story:

"The Lord Jesus appeared and stood by my left side. Together we were rocketed like a space ship into the first heaven. At the prompting of the Lord, I looked down. I saw spread before me a vast open plain. The entire plain was filled out with people. They were so many there was no space in between any two people. They were all jam-packed (crammed into one space) and they were all in a stooping, kneeling position, with their faces on the ground like the posture of Muslims in prayer. Without saying a single word, the Lord took me up into the second heaven. The horizon extended; so did the plain. Again another crowd of people much more than the first in the same posture! At this point, frightened by the sight, I broke loose from the Lord and started running away from Him. The Lord did not run after me. He allowed me to run the much I could until I was tired. Then the Lord stretched out His hand from where He stood and as one would a forklift, picked me up and placed me by His side. Together we shot up into the third heaven. Now the higher you go, the farther you see into the horizon. At this point the crowd was simply unimaginable, with all of them still in the same kneeling face down posture.

The Lord spoke to me to look again at this crowd, and pointing at them, said “These are all my creatures that are perishing. It is not my pleasure that as many as these of My creatures should perish”, He said. I then asked Him, “What would you want me to do?” “Go, raise their faces that they may look up to Me and that they might live”, He replied. To another question as to where I should start from, the Lord replied, “Anywhere”. And concluding, The Lord told me, “I have chosen you, but be humble."

One lesson he learned from this was that if the Lord is calling someone and the person is on the run, He would adopt one of two attitudes. He could go get you like He did with Jonah or He could let the person go, like He did with the rich young ruler. In Numbere’s case God went after him, not by running after him but by allowing him to run until he became tired.

As he came out of this vision, he discovered he was still on his knees in his hostel room. He looked at his watch. It was 8:45 a.m. One full hour had lapsed and he had missed his lecture. This vision and commissioning was not a fleeting vision that he could easily forget. It had taken one full hour! He got up from his knees and sat down on his bed pondering over the vision over and over again. The Holy Spirit gave him no rest. It was the vision all over his mind. The vision gripped his heart and soul. He could hardly do anything else as the vision burned in his heart. He was fasting that day but the Lord would not allow him to pray on anything else. In his memoirs of this experience Geoffrey wrote,

"And the Lord showed me and I was afraid for the multitude. But he asked me to start anywhere I went and wake every soul for they were like sheep stacked up in a pen with their heads buried down and I could see no head of any of them up. But I am to go and wake them up and raise their heads to look up to God for it pains the Lord that such great numbers of His creatures should perish. And He has promised to be with me always, and I saw streaks of fire balls go ahead of me. And the Lord would not allow me to pray for the reason for which I was fasting but showed me this gathering over and over again for He has promised to look into my request but His charge is more urgent. And I stared on the work. And He asked me to be humble for He has chosen me."

His heart went out to those souls he saw in the vision. How could he possibly ever forget the crowds of people he saw perishing without Christ?  He kept on seeing those crowds over and over again. He thought of the millions and millions of people who did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. He thought of those who were in the Church like he was and who had not yet known this truth, which he now knew, and his sympathy went to them. Every ambition he had in this life paled and died before this vision. His ambition to get degrees in Geology or Petroleum Engineering, died. In those days in Nigeria, the sure way to get a job and live well was for one to obtain a University degree. Geoffrey’s ambition was to get a good result so he could get a good job and care for his mother and siblings. All his ambitions and desires paled beside this vision. They just died! He completely lost all interest in his academic pursuit.

He knew that his days in the University were over for God had a different course for him. But how was he to leave? He was the hope of his family. God knew what to do. The Lord created circumstances around him so he could not continue with his education and he had to leave the University at the end of the session and get into the Lord’s work.

Culled from "A Man and A Vision" by Nonyem E Numbere. For inquiries, visit our bookshop.

THE PROPHECY

In 1970, when Geoffrey was in his third academic year, the University of Ife moved from Ibadan to the main Campus at Ile-Ife. By then he had gotten the Rivers State Government Scholarship so that paying school fees was no longer a headache. He now had more than he needed to fuel his academic ambitions. Everything was moving just fine.

Then one day, Pastor S.G. Elton came to minister in the Campus Fellowship. Pastor Elton was an elderly British missionary residing with his family in Ilesha in the then Western Region of Nigeria. Elton had been an engineer, a broadcaster and a royal confidant, living in a sixteen-bedroom mansion. In the eyes of the world he had everything going on for him but before God he was just a sinner lost without Christ. Then one day one young lady came and preached the gospel to him. He was convicted of his sins and received Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, he became born-again. That young lady was to later become his wife. He once jokingly said that he compensated her for leading him to the Lord Jesus Christ by marrying her.

In 1934 through prophecy he was called by God to Africa with emphasis on Nigeria. He did not disobey the heavenly calling; he gave up all things (his social status and worldly possessions) for the sake of the gospel. In 1937 he left his native England for Nigeria where he settled in Ilesha which at that time could be described as a village. At first his home church ruled that the dark continent of Africa was not where a man should take his family and so he should go alone. But after much prayer he and his wife were convinced that God wanted the family together in Africa and so she came down with their only child, baby Ruth. They settled down in Ilesha for the rest of their lives, leading very simple lives as they served God and laboured for His kingdom. Ruth was to grow up to become a missionary too but her call was to the northern part of Nigeria, where she laboured, reaching the unreached in those Northern villages with the gospel.

Pastor Elton had many encounters with the powers of darkness in Yorubaland but God gave him victory over them and he was an instrument in the conversion of thousands of people including native-doctors (witchdoctors). After serving his Mission for seventeen years he was led to start an independent ministry in 1954 through which he could reach out to a wider field. Pastor Elton was a prophet of God and was well known in Christian circles for his prophetic utterances. He was a father and mentor to virtually all the pioneer Pentecostal and evangelical Ministers whom God raised up in Nigeria in the early 1970‟s. He could rightly be called the father of Pentecostalism and Evangelism in Nigeria. He was fondly called “Pa Elton” by most Christians in Nigeria in deference to his position as a Church father.

The spiritual burden of this nation was so much on Pa Elton that he did not cease to call on God day and night for Him to raise up Nigerians that would carry the gospel to their own people. He seemed to have had a special burden for the old Rivers State (now Rivers and Bayelsa States). Talking about that burden several years later in the 1980‟s, he said, “Each time I thought of Rivers State, the immorality there, the powers of darkness gripping the State and holding the people in bondage, there would be such a great burden on my heart. I cried and cried to the Lord to raise up a man for that land (Rivers State)”. And smiling, he continued, “So when I met this young man (referring to Geoffrey Numbere) and I got to know that he is from the Rivers State, I got interested (excited).”

That night, at the University of Ife Campus Fellowship, as Pa Elton was ministering, he suddenly paused and started pointing to somebody in the auditorium saying, “You there! You there!” Everybody started turning towards the direction of his finger to find out who it was. He kept on pointing and saying “That boy! That boy there!” Everybody sitting along that direction, Geoffrey inclusive, started eliminating himself, each hoping he would not be the one. It was like when the Apostles were asking Jesus at the last Supper, “Is it I? Is it I?” Geoffrey never knew he was pointing at him or least expected that he could be the one, so he was very much relaxed.

Finally, Pa Elton got at him where he was sitting, again this time, (as on 11th May 1969) at the very back of the auditorium. “Youuuu!!” Geoffrey almost jumped out of his chair with fright, “What sin have I committed?” he wondered.

Pa Elton was such a prophet of God that he could see through people and tell them exactly what was in their minds. For somebody to be pointed out from the crowd by him could be quite a frightening experience for the person involved. As Geoffrey came out, Pa Elton began to prophesy, ―”Yes, you are a young man from the Rivers State. You, the Hand of the Lord is upon you. God is going to call you and send you to your people. His anointing is upon you, and you shall be a mighty instrument in His Hand.” He then told Geoffrey he would like to see him after the fellowship ended.

After the fellowship, Geoffrey stayed back to see Pa Elton. He repeated God’s message to the young man and told him to come over to Ilesha to see him for further discussions and prayers. Geoffrey however did not take the prophecy seriously for he was an ambitious young man who wanted to have degrees in many fields of life. All he wanted at that time was to get his degrees in Geology or Petroleum engineering, not to be a preacher. He was only a brand-new Christian and knew next to nothing about God calling people to serve Him, so Pa Elton’s prophecy meant absolutely nothing to him. He was too engrossed in his academics to bother himself about anything else. He therefore made no attempts to go to Ilesha to see the man of God.

On his own side, Pa Elton was not the kind of person that would cajole, threaten or pressurize anyone into believing his prophetic utterances, for time and events would prove God’s servant right. He knew Geoffrey did not believe him but he left him with God for the Lord Himself would have to reveal His plans to Geoffrey at His own time and in His own way.

Life continued as usual until in 1970, mid-way in his third academic year in the University, something happened to him which entirely revolutionized his life, and the man Elton and his prophecy now took on a new meaning to him - he received the call to serve God full-time – HE SAW A VISION THAT HE WOULD NEVER EVER FORGET.

 Culled from “A Man and A Vision” by Nonyem Numbere. For inquiries visit Crusaders’ bookshop

GEWC, Bori, Rivers State was the venue of the Missions Boot Camp which held on 9th July, 2016. Paying keen attention to the great commission which is the focus of this department, the Missions Boot Camp was organized yet again to further equip Christians and remind them of the task at hand. Bori, is a community in the Ogoni axis of Rivers State, and the Missions team decided to hold this bootcamp to bring it close to the people within and around this area.

There were three sessions and the several topics were covered on Missions. Teacher Honour Kanam who was the first speaker spoke on “Preparing for Missions and Soul Winning” where he emphasized the need to be ready and thoroughly equipped before launching out because the issue is not one to be taken lightly. The second section was handled by Pastor Sunny A. Akpan teaching on the issue of mobilizing men to do work. God needs men to who are willing and ready to this assignment.

While the last session was taken by Evangelist Victor Ejimadu, Chief Missions Coordinator, speaking on “Partnership in Mission Enterprise”. Speaking, he emphasized the necessity of partners in the kingdom business. Getting into partnership with the Most High is the best deal anyone can ever enjoy.

The program was indeed enlightening as all those in attendance were intensely taught and deeply encouraged to be more committed to this course and see God’s blessings manifest all round.

My name is Brother Godspower Harry from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. I have been hearing of the Church, Greater Evangelism World Crusade, since I was a child but had no interest in being a part of the Ministry or any other church. However, after my experience, I now believe God has a plan for my life. My experience was an eye opener to the antiques of the wicked and I share it to the glory of God.

In the month of May, I rented an apartment in Borikiri, Port Harcourt but was hindered from moving in, as the old tenants refused to vacate the residence. After several pleas on my part and refusal on theirs, I decided to forcefully evict them. This was with intense confrontation on their part, as one of the brothers threatened me saying I will have no peace as I stay in that apartment since they left unhappily. This statement got to me and I hit him twice with my hands. This action was followed by a threat that I would see what would happen to me. I took this threat casually since I believed nothing of those sort.

Two days later, I woke up at about 2:00am to use the convenience and found out, I could not move my right hand and left leg. My situation got worse as the day went by, and I sought help from various sources. This included both traditional and orthodox means. Some gave me traditional oil called “Ojuku Oil”, others anointed oil, some Pastors even insisted I payed money before attending to me, one even told me not to sleep in that house again yet my situation only grew worse. I went to several places seeking help, until a friend of mine attending GEWC, advised me to stop moving from place to place seeking solution, and then brought me to the resident Pastor of GEWC, Club Road Branch Port Harcourt, the branch I now attend.

This Pastor counseled and prayed with me. He told me the dangers of not being born again and I wept sore remembering what I had done in my past. He prayed with me and God miraculously healed me; the hand which had swollen began to reduce. Also, I began to sleep peacefully in my house after he prayed for the apartment and dedicated my family and I to God. He however instructed me to ensure that I am always in right standing with God because the enemy will strike again.

The enemy did strike again, and this time, it was worse than the first. I realized I could no longer excrete. Even when I did, it could be measured by a single teaspoon. The discomfort I felt was unbearable. I was referred to a medical centre where I was told that a catheter will be passed through my organs to aid excretion. I hated this idea, since I felt it was for the aged. For weeks I wept about my condition, and decided to call this my friend who had taken me to GEWC. He was more than a brother to me, he supported me through this phase, financially and otherwise, as I had to stop work because of my condition. During one of his visits, he called his Pastor who prayed for me over the phone, and when the minister was done, he also prayed with me and I vomited profusely. He told me to prepare, as he would take me for the Central Healing Service that Sunday, June 19, 2016 holding at the World headquarters located in Rukpokwu. I was hesitant because the doctors had placed me on an hourly injection and my condition made me visit the rest room almost every second, which was quite embarrassing, so I did not want to disgrace myself in church. Despite the situation, he was persistent and even decided to accompany me to take my medication before heading to the Church that Sunday, and he did. 

Immediately we got to the temple, the first miracle that took place was this; for the period I sat in church, I did not feel like using the rest room, as I was calm like never before. Then after the message by God’s servant, Pastor Isaac Olori, an altar call was made for those who wanted to surrender their lives to Christ. I came and surrendered my life to Christ. There, before the altar, I wept sore, remembering all my sins and then asked God to forgive me.

Thereafter, it was time for the healing prayers and we all were asked to come out.  All I wanted was to get to the front of the altar but before I could make my way to the altar, the place was filled. God’s servant asked us to pray for ourselves while he concluded the prayers. As he rounded off his prayers, immediately we all shouted the last Amen, my stomach churned and I immediately felt the need to use the rest room. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to locate the convenience, when I inquired of its location I realized it was too far. I found a spot and passed out urine freely like never before. When I gained a bit of control, I walked to the convenience and passed out faeces freely to my amazement and till date, I excrete as a normal person. 

Indeed it was God who delivered me and I give all glory to Him.

Read his complete testimony in the next edition of Living Testimonies.

Pastor Isaac V. Olori, International Director, GEWC visited the Rivers State College of Arts and Science (RIVCAS) on 24th June 2016.

It was like a trip down memory lane as the College was his last place of employment before his appointment as the International Director of Greater Evangelism World Crusade. The School held a 3-day Corporate Prayer and Fasting meeting tagged: God of All Possibilities with Pastor Isaac Olori as the Guest Speaker. The latter appreciated the Rector and Management of the college for the invitation. He expressed his excitement about what God is doing and affirmed that the School remains his constituency.

The College of Arts and Science had been operating as a Polytechnic but had not yet been given it's proper status officially, hence the call for prayers. Speaking on the topic: God of all Possibilities (Matthew 16:19), Pastor Isaac Olori described prayer as one of the greatest resources a person can find on earth. In his words, “Prayer moves the spiritual and the physical. As a man learns how to pray and pray aright, he comes to realize that prayer is a tool to make possibilities happen.” 

He explained further the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 9. Referring to the College, he said, “It seems your name was lost, you have been operating as a polytechnic but not answering the name. I want to declare to you today that, that missing ass is found. The story of this College from this day onward will change. The justice of prayer that we will release in this meeting will not only give you the name you are looking for, but will put the desire of the Government upon this place. Those infrastructural developments and so many other things you are looking for you will begin to see."

Referring to Esther, who fasted and prayed to achieve deliverance for Israel and also Elijah, who prayed and  controlled rain in Israel (James 5:16 - 18), he iterated that when you give yourself truly to prayers, you will receive answers, stressing that there is a spiritual "dynamite" that is released when a righteous man prays because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Pastor Isaac Olori admonished everyone that their lives should change as well because the purpose of the solemn assembly was also for repentance. Praying for them he said, "I pray that God will not only change this College to a Polytechnic but you too will be lifted. By the reason of the prayers that have been made here these three days, those principalities, powers and dominions that are contending will bow in the Name of Jesus Christ and as I join my faith with yours, the impossible will become possible."

Update:

God answered these prayers as Rivers State College of Arts and Science (RIVCAS) was officially declared a Polytechnic on Monday, 4 July 2016.  It is now known as The Port Harcourt Polytechnic (PortPoly or Port Harcourt Poly).

"A Basket of Miracles”: that was God's proclamation of the Greater Evangelism World Crusade headquarters through His servant, Apostle G. D. Numbere (Founding father, GEWC). The testimonies in the July 2016 Healing Service confirms this fact once again.

Bro. Godspower Harry’s (Read his testimony here) and Sis Lucy Albert, whose daughter was medically diagnosed to have stones, fibroid and a foetus in her womb in 2014, were clear evidence of His abiding presence.  Sis Lucy, whose daughter had experienced severe pain as a result of the stones and fibroid in her womb, chose to believe God’s word concerning the temple and brought her daughter to the temple to pray concerning the situation. Miraculously, God took away the stones and fibroid while the baby remained safe. It might interest you to know that this baby weighed 4.5kg at delivery and the mother did not have surgery.

Through song ministration, the Jubilee Voices led us into God’s presence as we worshiped Him, acknowledging Him to be our shield from all the threats of the enemy. God’s word was quick and powerful, brought to us through the instrumentality of His servant, Pst. Isaac Olori who considered Jesus: Our Good Samaritan with Luke 10:25-37 as text.This sermon exposed the relevance of God’s word to our well-being as Christians, and the emptiness in the heart of men, as many interpret God’s word to justify their selfish desires. This was the case of the Lawyer, who posed a question to Christ just to test Him. Nevertheless, we see Christ, ignoring his intent, but critically explaining the need for eternal life. His explanation revealed that personal study and understanding of God’s word is key to eternal life and our relationship with God. Hence, if you lack the revelation of God’s word, you lack the understanding of eternal life, as eternal/abundant life comes by an increase in the knowledge of God after being born again. 

The second part of this message took its bearing from the question of the Lawyer - "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus, using the story of the Good Samaritan highlighted that the rift between the Jews and Samaritans did not hinder the Good Samaritan from rendering aid to the wounded fellow, neither did he see his own journey as more important than the man lying helpless as a result of the robbery attack. Pastor Isaac Olori highlighted that thieves in this context, could signify the enemy who has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), as a lot of persons have been beaten down by the enemy with sinful lifestyles and good virtues taken away.

Although it was the place of the Priest and Levite to render help to this helpless man following their position in society but they neglected him and went about their responsibilities. He further highlighted that these two (Priest and Levite) represent "Religion" and "Law", which have not perfectly aided the well-being of man. The Good Samaritan then represents “Grace” because he had compassion which the thieves, Priest and Levite did not have.

Hence, like the Good Samaritan, Jesus was moved with compassion and so gave Himself as a complete sacrifice for us. He is also willing to suspend anything to reach us. Also, like the Samaritan paid the bills of the wounded man, Jesus paid more than our debt as He purchased us with a priceless price, which is His blood, and deposited His Spirit inside of us (1 Corinthians 5:5) which is a seal of His ownership, hence we are untouchable.

Finally, we trust God to reveal Himself to you as you spend time to study His word.

Join us next service coming up on the 21st of August 2016 at our World Headquarters.

You can also watch our live services via our livestream channel or listen via our audio link.

Greater Evangelism World Crusade Sierra Leone held a 5-Day Children/Teenagers National Retreat from 20th to 24th July 2016  at Sierra Leone Base Church, Freetown.

It was an exciting time as over 53 children and 40 teenagers were in attendance from Greater Evangelism  branches in Base, Dworzark, Lumbley, Madina, Kissy and Makeni.

With the theme: "Involving children in making disciples", several seminars, prayer sessions and teachings held. Some of the topics addressed were: The Vision and You; Overcoming Negative Passion; Career and vocation choices; Coping with Social Challenges; Life after School in the Church and society; Music; Power over sin and bad habits; Developing a winning attitude; Dealing with past memories; The need for counseling etc.

Some practical sessions held were tutorials on Dress making, Cooking, baking and decoration. There was also time for fun and an opportunity to showcase their talents with Quiz and talent competitions, film shows, games & sport.

Ministers who delivered these life-changing sessions include: Pst, Mbalu Taylor-Kamara (Acting National Minister), Evang. Emmanuel Rogers (Senior Pastor, Base Church), Pst. Victor Hasting-Spaine, Pst. Sahr Foday. Pst, Alimamy Taylor-Kamara, Pst. Dorothy Coker, Sis. Martha Max Bangali. Bro. Teddy Kamara, Bro. Edward Kally, Bro. Ibrahim Wright-Samura, Sis. Melvina Turay, Sis. Juliana Moses.