THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Kingsley Ogbebor, who works as a VIP chauffeur for an executive passenger transport company in Berlin, had a road accident in January. He was driving a brand-new Mercedes 500S Class belonging to his company when the car skidded off the snowy and icy road in Neubrandenburg, somersaulted and finally landed on its roof.
The first responders who rushed to the scene of the accident didn’t expect to see survivors, according to their own accounts, but luckily all the inmates of the car, including the company’s manager and a client, survived even though with varying degrees of injury.
The three accident victims were freed from the car and taken to the hospital where Mr Ogbebor’s injured fingers were operated upon. The doctors told him that they doubted if he would be able to use those fingers to drive again, so bad was the injury. Less than 6 months after the accident, the professional VIP chauffeur could not only use his fingers again but has also passed a test confirming that he could drive with them.
On Sunday 29 August, Ogbebor, who is an Elder at the Christ Faith Tabernacle (CFT) International Church Berlin, and his family invited friends and relatives to rejoice with them at a special thanksgiving service.
Delivering the sermon at the praise-worshipping service, Pastor Theophilus Adisa, the Parish Pastor of CFT Church Berlin, emphasised the importance of thanksgiving in Christian life.
Thanksgiving, the clergyman said, unlocks more divine blessings. He also talked about the need for Christians to walk straight in their journey with Jesus Christ and he preached against double life. “Let the people know where you stand,” he called on Christians as he praised Ogbebor’s exemplary Christian conduct both privately and at his workplace. “Anywhere they see you, let them know you are a Christian.”
Pastor Adisa also warned Christians against the expectation of quick answers to their prayers, appealing to them to first seek salvation for their soul.
“Seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will follow, the scripture tells us,” the clergyman reminded his audience. He criticised a situation where some people stop going to church because what they prayed for had not manifested.
Pastor Adisa therefore appealed for Christian patience and the understanding that man’s time may not be God’s time.
At the end of the sermon, the clergyman told Christian believers that forgiveness was also very important to a true Christian life. “You cannot even go to heaven if you did not forgive on earth,” he said. “If God can forgive us, we should forgive ourselves.”
In his testimony, Elder Ogbebor narrated how the accident happened and how God miraculously saved him and others in the car. He appealed to the congregation to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness and to always be prayerful.
Ogbebor thanked members of CFT Church Berlin for their support and testified how the accident had strengthened his Christian faith. He pledged his continued service to the work of God.
Femi Awoniyi
For more information about the Christ Faith Tabernacle International Church Berlin, visit: http://www.cft-berlin.org/
