**I wept profusely.
I cannot determine the language in which he spoke to me. But if it were pidgin english, it would sound like :
"No be your fault " (accompanied by a customary hiss)
Or if it were Yoruba, perhaps it would be :
" Ki i se ejo e rara"
I bawled uncontrollably. **
Hundreds of years earlier, in the ancient Oyo Kingdom, the location of the seat of authority of the Scion of the Oduduwa dynasty was located deep in the territorial plains somewhere in what is known today as the Middle Belt of North Central Nigeria.
For several years due to tyranny, rivalry and strife, the royalty and warrior class of the Empire had fragmented serially, and was scattered around several nascent settlements and towns.
The rise of great cities such as ilorin, Ibadan, iseyin, ijaye, etc, were a result of such a fracture. Inevitably, the royal seat of power at a point had no loyal arm for the enforcement of its authority and mandate.
It got so bad, that the renegades, at a point colluded with other enemies and sacked the ancient town of Oyo. At the time, the only loyal body of warriors to the royal throne was located in Ibadan. Therefore, the new town of Oyo was relocated to within a closer proximity of its 'army', and at a suitable vantage point ( a hilly summit) to forestall future enemy skirmishes.
Ibadan was initially established by Egba warriors who were later displaced and reoccupied by Oyo refugees. But being a town founded by the restless and bloodthirsty, it never really settled into a life of peaceful existence. It was either engaged in battle with its southern neighbours (the Egbas and Ijebus), or testing it's might against the Fulani-acquired Ilorin, or other similar wars of vengeance against the ijesas, ekitis, and several other adversaries far and near.
This culture of warfare led to the birth of the greatest, most bloodthirsty army the Yoruba race had ever known. In their domains, they were undefeatable. Feared by the Fulani-led calvary domiciled in Ilorin, Ibadan was virtually an unstoppable force in the region, until the advent of British colonialism.
But what stood Ibadan out really was it's stubborn loyalty to the royal authority in Oyo. Succession upon succession of its leadership had maintained their subservience, honour and respect towards the Alafin of Oyo. Thus, all ibadan's possessions, subjected kingdoms, slaves, and dominion was brought directly under the authority of the (otherwise militarily powerless) Alafin. This made the Alafin, by proxy, the most powerful monarch in Yoruba land (quite a different claim from being the direct sovereign over all other monarchs in Yoruba land)
**The significance of this last paragraph, was what the Holy Spirit was at that moment drumming into my brain**
The Alafin could have been understandably mistaken for an ordinary powerless king, we're it not for the dreaded army of merciless pillagers to his South who would gladly, at the drop of a hat, declare war on any of his perceived enemies (nay, anyone whose face the Alafin did not like) and back up that declaration with the full force of military engagement. These wars were usually undertaken at the majority cost of Ibadan without a thought of financial reimbursement from Oyo. In fact, it was the enemy that ended up paying for the wars in slaves, forced tribute, and political subjection to ibadan and it's leadership!
Therefore it can be said that the Authority of the Alafin (recognized even by the British, upon their nascent engagement with Southern and indeed all Nigeria) over the entire Yoruba Kingdom was enforced, and made recognizable by the reputation, loyalty and fealty of the indefatigable Ibadan army.
Noone, as at the time of the late nineteenth century, would ordinarily accord much respect or reverence to the monarch of Oyo, were it not for the zealous honour accorded him by his greatest cheerleaders, the Ibadan principality.
**This brings us painfully to another King. One whose reign commenced much earlier, and continues to this day. One who lends His name to modern Time itself. For Which other King has history been calibrated after but Christ?
This recollection is painful because, as the Holy Spirit reminded me, Jesus Christ is the King of kings, the bodily representative of the Highest Authority in all existence. One who several millions of angels obey, bow to, and honor day and night.
In the presence of several Yoruba kings today, anyone would be required to lay prostrate in reverence before being allowed to stand to state the reason for visiting.
Yet when entering the presence of the King of kings, do we accord Him the respect and honor He deserves? Do we even acknowledge His sovereign Royalty?
Jesus Christ has several armies. Armies of angels who enforce His authority in the spiritual realm. Yet he has another army. One set aside to enforce His divine authority in the physical realm. It is painful because at times it feels as though this army isn't even aware of its own existence. As though it's reason d'etre was lost to it. Unlike the Ibadan army of old, we (His army) are not required to subject our greatness to Christ in order to validate His Kingship. No! Rather, we derive our greatness solely FROM Him! His Kingship is received from the Highest Authority in Heaven and is everlasting. And we, His army, represent His divine Kingdom even though, for now, we are located in this present corrupted world. As Christ Himself said, "without me you can do nothing".
Therefore do we wonder why we, Christ's Body, His end-time army, have seemed so ineffective in propagating His eternal Kingdom of late?
Remember Christ himself said "All Authority in heaven and earth has been given to me". He told His disciples, "I have given you authority to trample upon snakes and scorpions",and He additionally told them, "You shall receive Power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (this happened at Pentecost).
However, it is one thing to have Power and Authority, it is quite another to to enforce this authority with that available power. What is the purpose of our authority and power in Christ? Christ said, " For the Son of Man came (to this world) to seek and to save the lost".
Our primary purpose is to help bring salvation to people who are lost. The unsaved. How can one be saved when one is unaware of being unsaved? This is our purpose as the earthly army of Christ. To shine the light of His Word into the hearts of people in order to reveal to them the problem and it's solution. This work requires dedication, loyalty and divine manifestation. It requires power that we ordinarily do not have. This power is embedded in Christ.
Christ said, " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me". This statement has been confused in many of the Bible's modern translations as referring to Christ's ascension to heaven. However, over 17 (older) translations have the conditional word "if" as the sentence's opener. Christ was alluding to a possibility of His NOT being "lifted up". This could not have been referring to His heavenly ascension because He had already declared that He would die and be raised from the dead.
Today, the negative possibility in that conditional statement rings true in Christ's body. Our King is not being "lifted up", He isn't being glorified, and He isn't "drawing all men" unto him. And whose fault is this? His own body...
Hence this is why we have been rendered powerless and ineffective. Our humble, gentle King has been relegated, and we feel we can do without Him. We have lost our identity
For just as Ibadan, a fearsome power, represented a largely unseen Alafin in Oyo, Christ (the gentle and humble King of kings) represents an unseen God in heaven. Christ's power is even more fearsome and overwhelming than any other power ever witnessed, but we do not even acknowledge it!
We cannot claim any sort of relationship and loyalty to the invisible God of heaven if we do not treat Christ Jesus (His Son and physical representative) with the same reverence, honour and adoration we claim to give His Father. This is the message the Holy Spirit was giving me that Sunday morning in church. It is why I was weeping. For I was the most guilty of the travesty being laid in my heart.
I had just received the answer to the rhetorical question asked in an earlier post. Where is the power? The answer is, In Christ! If only we would glorify Him, if only we would "lift Him up"!
