Turkey is in the present day Europe and partly in Asia minor.
Apostle Paul was a citizen of Turkey because Tarsus exists in Turkey. Christianity existed in Turkey for about 1,023 years while Christianity has only existed in Nigeria for 172yrs starting from when Rev. Birch Freeman came to Badagry in 1842.
Apostle Paul was a citizen of Turkey because Tarsus exists in Turkey. Christianity existed in Turkey for about 1,023 years while Christianity has only existed in Nigeria for 172yrs starting from when Rev. Birch Freeman came to Badagry in 1842.
The seven churches Jesus spoke to in Revelations 2&3 (Ephesus, Smyrna, Laodicea, Philadelphia, etc) existed in the old Turkey. The disciples were first called Christians in Turkey (Antioch).Turkey once had the largest Christian auditorium in Europe called Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.Mary the mother of Jesus was taken to Turkey by Apostle John and till date, her room has become a tourist centre.
TURKEY TODAY
Present day Turkey now has 96% muslims & 0.02% Christians (less than 130,000).The Hagia Sophia (once largest church in Europe) was taken over by muslims and converted to a mosque for over 400yrs and later used as an Islamic Museum.
- Emphasis on doctrinal differences weakened the Turkish church.
- Rivalries among denominations
- Petty politics in church coupled with ethnic bias
- The Turks were building big cathedrals instead of building men.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Osman Ghazi discovered the disunity amongst Christians and used it to fight a Jihad that led to a mass genocide of the Armenians, the Hellen and Turks of that day. Infact, the weapon of war used was designed by a Turkish Christian.Many Christian women converted to Islam to save their lives and some were raped.Osman Ghazi started the Ottoman empire which gave muslims political post and made it a religion of the state.
IS NIGERIA /OTHER COUNTRIES HEADING THE WAY OF TURKEYVirtually all the mistakes the church in Turkey made, the Nigerian church / and other countries has made it.
- We are building Cathedrals at the expense of disciplining men.
- Disunity amongst churches
- Ethnicity in the church
- Denominational rivalry, etc.
- Sharp division along doctrinal lines
•The spiritual foundation of Turkey is stronger than that of Nigeria and Christianity existed for over 1000yrs in Turkey unlike ours which is just 172yrs but Islam Radicalism uprooted it. If it can happen in Turkey, it can also happen IF we are not careful.
•The menace of Boko Haram has destroyed a lot of churches in the north and it may take another 200yrs to evangelise Borno state alone.
•There is a secret agenda to Islamize Nigeria & other African nations as contained in Abuja declaration of 1989.
DON'T SAY IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, IF WE DON'T RIGHT OUR WRONGS AS A CHURCH.
- HEART-FELT Intercession
- Aggressive evangelism- the terrorist reached out to the youths in the north
- first and gave them AK-47 and bombs, if we had reached out to them on time, they'll be carrying BIBLES today.
- Mission support:- God is holding the
- church responsible for Boko Haram, yet we are blaming the governement. If we had supported missions and missionaries, we would have those insurgents to Christ long ago.
- Unity of the church is key in winning this battle.
- The last but not the least, Christians should be actively involve in politics. Enough of these muslims
- political office holder with Islamic agenda
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