Bishop Dr. B.C Eze says God’s vengeance is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, and not part of the ministry of Jesus Christ. In the below interview with Christian Benefits’ Eniola Damilare, the bishop also says the lock down of churches last year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic caught most churches unawares, and then shares how he kept his church members spiritually sound during the lockdown. Excerpts.
Please can we meet you sir
My name is Bishop Dr. B.C Eze. I hail from Enugu State.
Briefly tell us about your church and its mandate?
Bible Faith Deliverance & Miracles Ministry is a vision by God with a mandate to preach the gospel all over the world according to Mark 16:15-18, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils on the sick, and they shall recover.”This is one of the scriptural backings of our ministry with Luke 4:18-19, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that were bruised: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Our mandate is also to declare the vengeance of our God according to Isaiah 61. Jesus didn’t mention the vengeance of our God because his ministry didn’t extend to the vengeance of our God. His commission ended with declaring the acceptable year of our Lord. The vengeance of our God is the ministry of the Holy Spirit such that killed Ananias and Sapphira when they told lies. Basically, our mandate is to reach out to souls with the gospel of salvation and deliverance.
Please share with us how you received this mandate from God
I heard the voice from God clearly on April 14, 2008. I saw a banner on which was written Bible Faith Deliverance & Miracle Church, and the banner was handed to me. Before then I had series of encounters. The voice said to me, go and preach. I saw a congregation filled to capacity but with no preacher on the pulpit. The voice said to me, mount the pulpit and preach. Ironically it was the voice of my pastor at Mountain of Fire & Miracles Ministries Coker Orile zonal head quarters. That was how Bible Faith Deliverance & Miracle Church started about 13 years ago.
What are some of the church programmes in line with this mandate?
Aside our weekly Worship service on Sunday and Revival service on Tuesday, God gave us a special grace for prayer vigil every Friday called Night of Total Deliverance. It is an interdenominational programme that attracts participants from all walks of life. Every first week of August we hold our church anniversary. We hold Women’s Day every second Sunday of May and Men’s Day every third Sunday of June. Every second Sunday of October we hold Youth’s Day and every May 27 we hold Children’s Day. We hold other special programmes like 3 Nights of Glory. It will hold on July 29-31. This particular programme holds two or three times yearly. We also hold special programmes within our fellowship centres.
Share with us some of the testimonies from these programmes?
We have numerous testimonies all to the glory of God. On Friday Night of Total Deliverance we have testimonies of instant healing. Every Sunday we share our testimonies to glorify God and also to make people know that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. We have a testimony of salvation of a young girl who had two babies for two different men outside wedlock. The devil wanted to destroy her with waywardness. Her cousin often invited her to church but she was reluctant to attend. She formerly lived in Kaduna and attended a Pentecostal church before she backslide and became a drunk. Eventually her cousin succeeded in bringing her to our thanksgiving service in one December. While I was preaching the word of God hit her. When I told the congregation to stand up, she stood up with them and broke down in tears. The word of God melted her heart and she surrendered her life to Jesus. Within six months thereafter God blessed her with a restaurant. Also three suitors came wooing her for marriage. There is also a testimony of a lady who God healed of a sore on her swollen leg. She had visited several places for healing and spent huge money without solution. When she came to my office I anointed her swollen leg and within eight days the sore dried up. There is also a testimony of one of our deacons who God gave two plots of land in the midst of the challenges he was passing through. He formerly lived in a room apartment but now he is a landlord. There is a lady who had issue with her business space. The landlord scattered her wares. I ministered to her and miraculously a woman gave her, her shop for her business. Also, within this year we have dedicated four cars. We have testimonies of gainful employments, healing of sicknesses and diseases like paralysis and HIV, fruitfulness of barren couple, promotion and breakthrough. I have a particular son in Dubai who tested positive for coronavirus. I prayed with him on phone. After the prayer he repeated the test and it was negative.
How will you describe the move of God in your church last year 2020 despite the lock down of churches due to the coronavirus outbreak in the year?
The move of God in our church last year 2020 was awesome despite the lock down of churches due to COVID-19. God did not reveal COVID-19 to me. I don’t claim I know everything as some preachers claim. Being a man of God does not mean that God would tell you everything. The Bible says the secret things belong to our God and those things revealed belong to us and our children. I only say what God reveals to me. Two things make me outstanding prophetically. First, I don’t force myself to say what God is not saying. Second, I don’t seek cheap popularity.
Tell us how you kept your members spiritually alive during the lock down?
We particularly used the social media platform, especially Facebook to keep our church members spiritually sound during the lock down. Throughout the lock down I posted daily devotional to them. Every Friday night I posted prayers to them. Some of us held the prayer vigil alone while some gathered their family members with some other people in their neighborhood to do the Friday prayer vigil. And to the glory of God we all remained spiritually sound throughout the lock down.
To what extent did the lock down period affect or impact your church?
The COVID-19 pandemic caught everyone unawares. Although the lock down of churches due to the pandemic shook many churches, God used the lock down to make us realize our helplessness without him. The lock down affected the building of our International headquarters because the lock down shut down businesses.
What are some lessons for church leaders from the coronavirus lock down?
First, we all need to be careful because the coming of Jesus can happen suddenly. Jesus coming is real and we are in the last days. We should focus on preaching the gospel and preparing ourselves and the saints for the coming of Jesus Christ. The lock down of churches exposed the weaknesses of most church leaders. We noticed that a lot of them are faithless. We need church leaders who are vibrant in faith, and not those with big names but little faith. I believe that the COVID-19 outbreak was a test from God to see how we will act or respond to a global crisis. If I had my way I would have stopped churches from lock down because the church is the last hope of humanity. The COVID-19 outbreak also exposed the disunity among church leaders. They did not speak with one voice on the issue of the lock down of churches. Some of our church leaders even played politics with the lock down.