ATTENTION!!!
This post has nothing to do with assassinating the character
and personality of Pastor Paul Rika, the Int’l Director of Holiness Revival
Movement Worldwide (HOREMOW) in any way, but to draw out his ungodly manner in
handling the case of Bro Michael Thomas Sambo, in relation to the divine
encounter he received from God in 2003, that Pastor Paul Rika transcribed into
a book, after listening to the recorded version of the revelation. This is
neither a judgment either as some may conclude, but to as a matter of fact let
people know some deep secrets that surrounds the story. Read with understanding
and unbiased mind so as to get the message here with clarity. God bless.
TEXT: 1 Timothy 3:1 “This is a true saying, If a man desire
the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be
blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given
to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of
filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4 One that ruleth well
his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
5 (For if a
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of
God?)
6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the
condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which
are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
8 Likewise
must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not
greedy of filthy lucre;
9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure
conscience.”
The passage above was quoted to highlight what is expected
of a true Christian and believer in CHRIST JESUS, whether ordained a pastor,
deacon, elder or just an ordinary church member or a church worker and minister.
However in the contest of this post, I am sorry to say that Pastor Paul Rika is
guilty of what the Bible strongly spoke against in the scripture passages
above, especially as it relates to greed and covetousness, hence the citation.
In dealing with the subject matter of this post, it is
important to state the meaning of the two words I used in the heading – greed and
covetousness. According to the WordWeb dictionary,
GREED is an ‘Excessive desire to acquire or possess more
(especially more material wealth) than one needs or deserves’. It is also
termed a ‘Reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth
(personified as one of the deadly sins)’.
AND
COVETOUSNESS refers to ‘An envious eagerness to possess
something’. It means ‘Extreme greed for material wealth’. It also connotes
the same meaning as greed hence termed a ‘Reprehensible acquisitiveness;
insatiable desire for wealth (personified as one of the deadly sins)’.
This post centres on
the divine encounter of Bro Michael Thomas Sambo, and how Pastor Paul Rika sold him out of his own inheritance, which he had during an Easter
Retreat of Deeper Life Bible Church in Taraba State, in the year 2003. This encounter was the starting point by which Bro Michael Thomas Sambo became a public figure, as
churches and ministries started inviting him for ministrations, and it has
continued till date to the glory of God. The encounter has indeed opened
people’s eyes and understanding on what true Christianity entails, and the
knowledge of the unchanging word of God in regards to holiness and righteous
living for making it to heaven. And till date, the testimony is still doing
wonders in convicting sinners of their sins thereby producing true repentance
from sin whenever they come across it either in CDs, book or by listening
directly to Bro Michael Thomas Sambo in crusades and conferences wherever he is
invited. This testimony has been winning souls for JESUS CHRIST, which the
devil has been angry about hence all the troubles Bro Michael has suffered in
the process, including the kidnapping orchestrated by the demonic Boko Haram
terrorists to terminate his life, but God delivered him safe and sound from
their enclave through the mighty hands of Angel Michael. This testimony by the
grace of God will continue to win souls until CHRIST returns in the rapture.
Amen.
The uniqueness of this divine encounter of Bro Michael
Thomas Sambo also attracted the person of Pastor Paul Rika, Int’l Director,
Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide (HOREMOW), who was a serving pastor in
Deeper Life Church at the time, as a State Overseer. Since Bro Michael was a
young Deeper Lifer himself at the time (Campus Youth Leader in University of
Maiduguri), it was not difficult for the duo to bond together and friendship
kicked off by reason of the encounter which was in a tape record. Meanwhile,
prior to this encounter of Bro Michael Thomas Sambo, Pastor Paul Rika never
knew anybody like Michael Sambo though they were in the same ministry and from the same Taraba State as a matter of fact. This
encounter of Bro Michael was therefore the foundation that brought them
together, though they have since parted ways, with each of them facing their
individual ministry.
Having listened to the encounter of Bro Michael Thomas Sambo
in a recorded tape, Pastor Paul Rika came to Bro Michael to plant the idea of
penning the revelation into a book, and with the consent of the visioneer
(Michael Thomas Sambo), the book ‘DIVINE REVELATION OF GOD’S HOLINESS AND
JUUDGMENT’ By Michael Thomas Sambo, was written and published by Pastor Paul
Rika. Don’t forget that Deeper Life Church don’t align with anything revelation
or divine encounter, as the church is known as a ‘word’ ministry. So, how will
this encounter become a blessing for people around the world, since Deeper Life
church don’t accept such a thing, seeing that God decided to use a Deeper Life
member to witness this supernatural experience? This was how Pastor Paul Rika
took into craftiness the publishing of Michael’s divine encounter into a book
and hiding the authorship in Michael Thomas Sambo. So Pastor Paul Rika
transcribed the encounter into a book word to word by listening to the audio
version, when he has gotten the consent of the visioneer to doing so.
Knowing that the book was going to become a direct confrontation
with the leadership of the Deeper Life Church, Pastor Paul Rika who was a State
overseer never wanted the authorities of Deeper Life church to know he was the
brain behind the book, and then cunningly used Michael Thomas Sambo as the
author of the book. This action he devised was to wade off any disciplinary
action that might be taken against him by the authorities of the church, but in
reality he was playing smart in order to outsmart Michael Thomas Sambo as
events later unfolded. So the duo became ally and in process of time, Pastor
Paul Rika pulled another smart move to register his greed and somehow took over
the ownership of the divine encounter from the visioneer, Brother Michael Thomas
Sambo. Here, Pastor Paul Rika played on the innocence of Michael Thomas Sambo,
who was only a youth and misled him because Michael never read any personal
meaning to all that was happening, but was seeing it as means of propagating
the work of the LORD, but never knew Pastor Rika was having a hidden agenda and
ulterior motives. Therefore, Ephesians 4:14 aptly played out here. “That we
henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive.” Indeed, Pastor Paul Rika deceived Michael Thomas
Sambo, with his cunning craftiness by putting the revelation into a book ahead of the visioneer.
As the book was selling fast with testimonies coming from
every quarter from those who genuinely repented after reading the book, Pastor
Paul Rika saw an opportunity to make money from the book. His concern was not
really about what the book was doing in people’s lives, but on the profit to be
earned from more sales of the book. In process of time, he invited Bro Michael
Thomas Sambo to sign off every right whatsoever to the book with the help of a
lawyer. However Michael Thomas Sambo never realised that Pastor Paul Rika has
tricked him in signing the document, until events began to unfold later with a
clearer picture of the hidden agenda of Paul Rika. He then discovered that Paul
Rika has behaved just like Jacob in Genesis 25:31 when he told Esau his elder
brother “Sell me this day thy birthright”. Pastor Paul Rika used a lawyer to
take possession of Michael’s own divine revelation after striping him off from
every right to the book which he bought with Michael’s signature, even though Michael
never knew that Pastor Rika was buying his own birthright with that signature
free of charge. This move by Pastor Rika was well calculated as he already
bears in his mind that himself and Michael Sambo won’t continue in future in
the same ministry (HOREMOW). The heart of man is indeed very deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked, nobody except God alone can know it Jeremiah
17:9. This is more so as the ministry, Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide
actually came into existence by the revelation of Michael Thomas Sambo. This is
an incontestable fact.
As Michael Thomas Sambo continued his education in the
University of Maiduguri, he was requesting for copies of the book and remits
every single money realised from the sales of the books to the publisher after
selling. At a time, he requested for six hundred copies from the publisher for
sales in Maiduguri, but instead of the six hundred copies he requested, the
publisher sent him nine hundred copies. Discovering that this might
have been an error with the additional three hundred copies outside what he
requested for, he called the publisher to draw his attention to the error.
However upon calling the publisher, instead of receiving a straight forward answer, he
was rather directed to call Pastor Paul Rika (who has cunningly taken over the
ownership of the book) in respect of the extra three hundred copies. He
obliged and called Pastor Paul Rika as directed by the publisher.
In his response, Pastor Rika told Michael Sambo that the
extra three hundred copies of the books sent to him was for his upkeep in the
school as a student, since he wasn’t working and will be needing money for some things in the school from time to time. He gave those three hundred copies of the book to
Michael Sambo to support his educational pursuit and that was how Michael Sambo
saw it, but not knowing that Pastor Paul Rika has sold him off completely out
of his own personal divine revelation which Pastor Rika only transcribed into a
book. Just like Judas Iscariot, who sold his master for 30 pieces of silver Matthew
26:15, Pastor Paul Rika greedily sold Michael Thomas Sambo out of his own inheritance
with a mere three hundred copies of the book he only transcribed.
From the foregoing therefore, it is very evident that Pastor
Paul Rika, the Int’l Director of HOREMOW is tricky, greedy and covetous. (I
will throw some light in this regard as it concerns the DIVINE REVELATION OF
GOD’S HOLINESS AND JUDGMENT book later). When it became apparently cleared that Paul Rika has
made up his mind to deny Michael Sambo of his right to the book, he began to
device anything to ensure that Michael Sambo is silenced from any relevance in
HOREMOW. He started finding faults here and there against Michael Sambo, all in
an attempt to ensure that the child of God is pushed out of HOREMOW. With
flimsy excuses and lying visions and dreams by members of HOREMOW against
Michael Sambo, Paul Rika saw a perfect plot to do away with Michael Thomas
Sambo out of HOREMOW so that his dubious aim in laying claims of ownership to
the book will materialise. He started
finding none existing faults in Michael Sambo and denied him of any ministerial
opportunity in HOREMOW, and nailed his plots with a purported indefinite suspension
of Michael Thomas Sambo from HOREMOW which he smartly tagged discipline, asking
Michael to go and pray. Brethren, all these things were scripts already written
by Paul Rika long ago in taking the ungodly ownership of the DIVINE REVELATION
OF GOD’S HOLINESS AND JUDGMENT book, which he was desperately looking for a
time to unleash. He just succeeded and he is boasting over it to the admiration
of his followers, not minding that his actions are ungodly and unchristian.
When Michael Thomas Sambo discovered that his person was no
longer welcomed in HOREMOW, despite the purported discipline he was supposedly
placed, he humbled himself and never wanted to leave HOREMOW with any grudges even
though his personality has been battered by Pastor Paul Rika. He tried to appease
Pastor Paul Rika to no avail. Last of all, he went with two people to meet with
Pastor Rika in order to fulfil the process of reconciliation as outlined by the
Holy Bible Matthew 18:15-17. While kneeling down before him, Michael Sambo told
Pastor Rika that he, Michael Sambo, accepted all the accusations and counter accusations levelled
against him and asked for forgiveness from Paul Rika, not minding that they were false
accusations. For 15 minutes, Michael Thomas Sambo was on his knees begging for
forgiveness from Paul Rika. But Pastor Paul Rika never acknowledged his plea,
neither utter any word in that 15 minutes that Michael Sambo was on his
knees. Michael Sambo thereafter stood up
and left with his compatriots that went with him to appease Pastor Rika, and
bid it farewell to HOMEMOW and all that concerns it. The child of God went to
pray and God gave him his own non denomination ministry known as GLOBAL REVIVAL
OF HOLINESS MINISTRY, based in Abuja, Nigeria. That was how Michael Thomas
Sambo left HOREMOW in case you don’t know. And Pastor Rika finally rewrote the
book he transcribed word to word from Michael Thomas Sambo divine revelation
now bearing Pastor Paul Rika as the author, with a new title bearing ‘ESCAPING
HELL FIRE AND ENTERING HEAVEN MADE SIMPLE’and making the divine revelation of
Michael Sambo to appear as a partly featured article in the new book. It is
well.
Bro Michael Thomas Sambo has left the matter for God to
judge, and I commend his level of maturity in handling this matter since he
became aware of the dubious and envious moves by Pastor Paul Rika.
TRICKY
To demonstrate that Pastor Paul Rika was envious of the
performance of the divine revelation of Michael Sambo in the lives of believers
that came to know JESUS CHRIST as a result of reading the book that carried
Michael Thomas Sambo as the author, he was no longer comfortable with the
rising profile of Michael Sambo in HOREMOW, hence all the tricks he played to
get him out by all course. This was further demonstrated by Paul Rika by using
Michael Sambo as a cover from the prying eyes of the leadership of Deeper Life
church in the very beginning, by using Michael Sambo as the author of the book. By the way, who
is actually the author? Did Paul Rika have any divine revelation in the first
place? A man that is tricky cannot be said to be a child of God.
GREED
The greediness of Pastor Paul Rika in this matter was
selling Michael Thomas Sambo out of his own inheritance with three hundred (300)
copies of DIVINE REVELATION OF GOD’S HOLINESS AND JUDGMENT book, so that all the
proceeds from the book can be his and his only. If not for the fact that the
book was bringing more money to the vault of Pastor Rika, why was he desperate
to ensure that Michael Thomas Sambo was silenced by all means possible in order
to become a sole benefactor of the book, a matter he is an outsider? This is
the approach of greedy people all over the world. They always want to be the
only one to benefit even upon what doesn’t belong to them.
COVETOUSNESS
Pastor Paul Rika showed his covetous nature by trying hard
to claim the ownership of the DIVINE REVELATION OF GOD’S HOLINESS AND JUDGMENT
book though he knows that he was not actually the owner. By outsmarting Bro
Michael Thomas Sambo in taking over the ownership of the book, Paul Rika was saying
with such move that ‘how I wish I was the one that got the revelation’ which he
puts into practice by renaming the book and changing the original author. God
warned us never to covet our neighbour’s goods Exodus 20:17, but Pastor Paul
Rika has failed to adhere. A covetous man will ever remained covetous no matter
his supposedly level of anointing.
CONCLUSION
To bring this post into conclusion, why has it become very
difficult for Pastor Paul Rika to transcribe the several supposedly divine
encounter of his wife, prophetess Linda Paul Rika nee Ngaujah into a book? Does
he require any legal consent from his wife before her revelations can be penned
by her own husband? Since he (Paul Rika)
boasts and prides that his wife Linda is having fresh revelations every day
(which are majorly fake anyway), why are these supposedly revelations not qualified
for a book to be written by her husband, Pastor Paul Rika? If there were no
hidden motives behind the taking over of the book, why did Paul Rika engaged in
demonising Michael Sambo and painting him in bad light before the public? In
all, it is comfortable to declare that Paul Rika is both greedy of filthy lucre
and very cunning and covetous man.
May God be the judge over this matter.
Lugard Ekhator
08051516844
