“Tell Rev Victor his movement to Lagos is long overdue”. This Word sent by a man of God I would later learn was a well recognized prophet in the body of Christ, came to me in 2004. I had never met him and was surprised the Lord would use him to speak to me. While I always had it in my spirit that the Lord would have me relocate to Lagos and shepherd a church in addition to overseeing the ministry from there, my heart had feared the possibility that the desire for better financial stability was not the primary motivation at a time resources were far short of the requirements of the evangelistic vision God had given me.

However, the confirmation coming from this esteemed servant of God would reinforce my conviction that it was of the Lord that I relocated at the time. This move which I had wanted to make several years before had been discouraged by a different friend who believed it was outside of God’s timing. It can be challenging to make a major decision without clear spiritual direction because a wrong step can destroy much good.On a beautiful morning after ministering at a church in Lagos, I made my way to the home of a dear friend in Ikoyi, Lagos. After fellowship over a delicious breakfast, he began to express his concerns about me and the vision God had committed into my hands. ‘’You told me you would move to Lagos the very first time you came to preach for me. It has been six years and you have done nothing about it. The door of Lagos was widely open to you but I see that door closing up on you and if you do not make haste, it will close completely’’, he said.

His intervention was a surprise that morning and his rebuke was very sharp and a departure from the banter that had characterized our times of feasting. I sensed the presence of God as he spoke and knew I was tethering on the border of rebellion against divine direction. I asked all my pastors in Ibadan to join me for 2 hours of prayer every morning while we also fasted for 2 weeks. We all concluded it was the Will of God and His timing for me to relocate to Lagos.

Immediately we set out to plant a church that is twenty years young today (March 12, 2025).The church we are celebrating today, located in Maryland has meant much to the growth of our ministry. It spearheaded a rebranding project facilitated by Alder Consulting, giving us sharper focus and accelerated progress. It has planted new churches in Victoria Island and Magboro areas of Lagos and greater Lagos respectively, Abuja, Johannesburg South Africa and Aurrey, Greater Vancouver, and Canada, with a large number of our crusade partners from the congregation. We look back today with gratitude for our obedience to the Macedonian call to the city. We only wish we had obeyed the Lord earlier. Some will definitely criticize my slow response to God’s direction.

However, in his book ‘Following God’s Plan For Your Life’, the late Dr Kenneth E Hagin said the Lord Jesus once told him and I paraphrase, ‘’I will rather you are too slow than too fast, because if you are slow, you can still see me ahead and catch up with me, but if you are too fast, then you cannot see me and you will be confused.’’ The late Buddy (Doyle) Harrison in his mini book ‘The Spirit Filled Life’ also said, ‘‘It is God’s nature to reassure us of His Will.’’ He showed how patient the Lord was with Gideon as He sought to be reassured of God’s intervention through a fleece. While fleeces are not valid methods of divine direction in the New Testament, the lesson of God’s patience should not be lost on us.

Looking back today, however, I wish I had taken prophetic confirmations more seriously. God has positioned the ministry of the prophet in the New Testament to help us with divine direction. I swung extremely to the opposite side of the pendulum when I learnt prophets are not to guide us in the new testament as they did in the Old Testament. We all can hear from God in the New Testament and do not necessarily need prophets to guide us. However, in times of very crucial, life changing, destiny altering decisions, seeking confirmations from mature and well trusted prophets may not be wrong. It is a matter of asking them to pray along and not to force a revelation if there is none.

Surprisingly, after planting the Lagos church I was still reluctant to relocate until my wife challenged my disobedience in December 2007. ‘’Give me three days,’’ I said. I then prayed, ‘’Holy Sprit, I am sorry I am doubting your voice but I do not want to miss your will for my life’’. His reply was ‘Call Tony…’ I had met this servant of God through his dear friend and my long time mentee, Kayode Ijisesan. ‘’I’m calling because I want you to pray along with me on a decision….,’’ and went ahead to tell him of my confusion. His eyes were immediately opened by the Lord as He began to take authority over a spirit of accusation that had followed me around for years accusing me of wanting to move to Lagos because of money. After dealing with that principality of darkness, he turned to me to tell me it is of the Lord that I relocate but that spirit of darkness had kept me in doubt and condemnation to stop me.

I am thankful today for the prophetic confirmations I received and realize that Satan can come in with subtlety and deceive ministers of God in the garb of holiness. That was the one and only time I have called a prophet to pray with me on a matter because I was led to do so. However, if I find myself at such a major juncture and confused again, I will not hesitate to do it again. I must however warn that those who submit every decision of their lives to prophets are wrong and will definitely be misled some day because no prophet is perfect, nor can they choose to see revelations and visions for everyone (1 Corinthians 12:11).

Bottom line however, is that once the Will of God is known, we must obey swiftly. I congratulate all members of Global Harvest, Maryland, Lagos and thank everyone who over the years have given us the privilege to serve them and who have served the Lord with us these past twenty years.

Victor Adeyemi