So many years ago, probably around 760BC, God gave a prophetic message to a servant of His called Prophet Jonah. It was a message of doom to the people of Nineveh. For some reasons, the prophet who lived and ministered during the golden age of the Northern Kingdom during the reign of king Jeroboam II, ran. Instead of heading to Nineveh, he boarded a ship at the seaport of Joppa en route Tarhish, in Spain. You know the story, the boisterous storm, the belly of the fish and others. Finally, Jonah arrives Nineveh with the national prophecy. He went round the city of about 120,000 people and began to release the prophecy like a town cryer. The people heard and began to cry to God for help- they repented! When God, who is rich in mercy saw their remorse, He changed His mind, and this meant that the prophecy of Jonah didn't come to pass, as it were. Personally, I expected God to call Jonah and give him the new prophecy to the people, but He didn't. Jonah woke up to find out that "his prophecy" is not being fulfilled, and he got mad at God, and requested that he should be killed since God won't kill the people again. God asked him why he had to be angry, and according to the message bible, we are told that Jonah walked out on God. What! Yes, he did. He went out of the city to the east and put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches to see what will happen to the city. God was still with him despite his outburst. He made a broad-leafed tree grow miraculously and covered Jonah. The prophet was relieved from his angry sulk. Before dawn, God sent a worm that ate up the tree and also sent a hot sun and blistering wind from the east that so beat down on Jonah's head that he started to faint and again demanded to die. Then God confronted Jonah and asked him how he could change his feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere tree that he did nothing to get, and don't expect Him to change what He feels about Nineveh, a city of more than 120,000 persons, from anger to pleasure.

MY MESSAGE:

I feel disappointed in some of my 'brethren' who are going about to run down some men of God because in their opinion, "their prophecies" didn't come to pass. I beg to say you are wrong! I suggest you study the book of Jonah again. God reserves the exclusive right to change His mind about a prophetic word when the people change their ways, and He can do this without consulting the prophet. Does this make the prophet false? NO! It only shows that God is sovereign. And to thee, dear man of God who might be going through what Jonah went through and you are thinking of how to get back your reputation before the people. You need not bother. No serious minister has a reputation to protect; we only have our characters to uphold. Some times in this work, God will lead you to say or do some things that are contrary to popular opinion, and this will greatly dent your reputation. But with the consistency of your character and the passage of time, you definitely will be vindicated.

I stand today to salute the great men of God who dared to step into their prophetic offices and are courageous enough to declare some 'dangerous' prophecies even when they know that God can change His mind at any time and leave them at the mercy of ferocious critics who will not bother about the several hundreds of prophecies that have been fulfilled (see Jonah's previous fulfilled prophecy in 2nd kings 14:25), but will take advantage of the one that they think did not come to pass to assassinate the personality and credibility of these servants of God. My heart and love go to the several men and women of God who pay the price in fasting, prayers and personal discipline to hear God and summon the courage to speak His mind on national issues at the risk of being termed a "false prophet" when God decides to change His mind. What we fail to realise is that whenever prophecies are given, it gives us direction on what to pray for or against. May I ask you this question just as God asked Jonah:

"Would you have been happier that the crises of the past happened again after the presidential election in Nigeria or that God "changed His mind" because of your prayers and allowed peace reign?"

If your answer to the first question is NO, then you have no right to say 'Jonah' is a false prophet.

Long live the church in Nigeria!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

by. IMPACT OGBEIDE

Anybody could as well come out to say anything and later claim this .
What about men of God that got it right ? Who should we respect more ?
They should tell us about the money they collected first

God does not want sinners to perish bt come to repentance,so if There's a negative message,he wants us to avert it nd nt capitalize on it dat that's wat wil happen,he is a loving Father that wil always accept us if we can go back to him.