Written by Simon Ateba/Lagos



Tunde Bakare, Nigeria’s firebrand preacher and one-time vice presidential candidate told worshippers on New Year Eve in Lagos that the punishment of not giving their first income to God would be death.

“If you eat your first fruit, you die,” he said, comparing it to what God told Adam and Eve in the bible about the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

He said the bible was clear on who should collect the first fruit and a violation of that principle is death.

“I can give you one or two scriptures and it’s death,” he said referring to any first income in the year or month.

Like other preachers in Nigeria, Bakare emphasised the principle of giving ten percent of any income to God to prosper.

By God, Bakare meant to give money to church presided over by pastors like himself.

He told worshippers that if they “sow a seed” in the house of God, they are going to prosper and begin to spend money from “God’s purse”.

Those who sow a seed, he emphasised, would so much prosper that they would reap bountifully.

Those who fail to pay thithes or offering or contribute to the growth of God’s work would suffer and would toil harder as they would be relying on their own strength, Bakare said.

He quoted several scriptures to back up his claims and said he was not the writer of the bible.

Displaying a big envelope, Bakare led others to give their first fruits to his church, The Latter Rain Assembly.

The reason some Christians do not reap after sowing is because “they sow purposelessly”, he said.

He explained that Christians should give “cheerfully” and “purposefully” if they want to reap in the future.

He said when a “Christian sows a seed in the church, the money is invested into his future”

“The seed that leaves your hand goes to your future,” he said.

Bakare showed members of his church the multi-million naira auditorium he said God had told him to build in Oregun area of Ikeja, the capital of Lagos.

The church auditorium would be built with contributions from church members.

At times, Bakare stopped to remember how far he has come as a preacher and how successful his church has become.

when he started recording sermons for television, he used to do so to an empty audience, he said. The crowd would be filmed earlier and the producer would bring him and crowd together to deceive the viewers, he added.

Because of that when the sermon is aired on television, “the amen would come after” he has said “alleluyah”

Talking about his 2015 predictions, Bakare said the Chibok girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram in April last year, would be reunited with their families.

He said those who expect Nigeria to break up or disintegrate would be disappointed as Nigeria would overcome its challenges.

For worshippers in his church, though the year may be full of calamities, they would be spared.

Bakare is not the only Nigerian preacher who emphasises giving as a precondition for prosperity.

With over 70 percent of Nigerians living in extreme poverty, many run to pastors like Bakare for miracles and breakthroughs.

In return, the pastors read the scriptures to them and tell them the only way to become rich or be blessed is by giving ten percent of all your incomes to God.

While few people prosper in the congregation, pastors have become millionaires in dollars. Maby Nigerian pastors now own houses, cars, businesses and some even own private jets.

Late last year, one Nigerian preacher acquired an expensive private jet used only by two persons in Nigeria: President Goodluck Jonathan and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.

Other prosperity pastors have become so influential that they have tried their luck into elective positions, including the presidential election.

Others have become so busy that members do not even get to see them, except on television.

http://www.simonateba.com/tunde-bakare-nigerian-preacher-tells-worshippers-they-will-die-if-they-dont-give-god-money/

Are you sure about this story Tunde Bakare is not into the prosperity gospel scam.

^^^^^^^The story was written by a someone who attended the "cross over" service where those words were spoken.

I hope this information is not true.

MAYOWAAK:
^^^^^^^The story was written by a someone who attended the "cross over" service where those words were spoken.

Maybe he has finally bowed to mamon, it would be so sad if it is true.

PastorKun:


Maybe he has finally bowed to mamon, it would be so sad if it is true.

It's a smear campaign, don't believe it.

One person's testimony is not sufficient , I also looked for the same news on the Internet and could find nothing.

We can easily verify this information on the church website where one can listen to the present and past messages. I will verify and come back to this thread. If it's true, we call pastor Tunde Bakare out then.

@ op stop lying,
Stop drawing out and emphasising words out of their original contexts!

Just checked the church message archives, the most recent message there is on 28th. I'll wait for an update to 31st and then listen to confirm.

I listened to the new year eve message and I didn't hear anything related to this news in the OP.

Goshen360:
I listened to the new year eve message and I didn't hear anything related to this news in the OP.

Thank God, I always knew Pastor Bakare was vocal against the first fruit fraud. For a moment I thought he had derailed.