THE MAN FROM OHAFIA: SPECIAL COMMEMORATION WORSHIP SERVICE FOR REVEREND (DR) UMA UKPAI’S 80TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY – PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE
SPECIAL COMMEMORATION WORSHIP SERVICE FOR REVEREND (DR) UMA UKPAI’S 80TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY @ INTERNATIONAL WORSHIP CENTRE, UYO, AKWA IBOM NIGERIA
THEME: THE MAN FROM OHAFIA (AND GOD’S GIFT TO AKWA IBOM).
MINISTERING: PASTOR ENOCH ADEJARE ADEBOYE (GENERAL OVERSEER, RCCG)
DATE: 9TH JANUARY 2025
BIBLE TEXT: PSALM 91:1, 14 -16
SONG
We give You all the Glory
We give You Honour;
We give You all the Glory
We give You Honour (Jesus).
OPENING PRAYER
Ancient of Days, the One who never grows old.
The same Yesterday and Today and Forever.
The I AM THAT I AM; we Worship You.
We Worship You for giving unto us someone extremely Special;
And keeping him here for Eighty (80) Years – To be a Blessing, not just to the Body of Christ, but to the world.
We Thank You!
We Thank You that He is alive and well today, we Thank You for his Family, we Thank You for his Ministry.
And we Thank You for all of us who are here today, including those reading now on the Label of DMC.
Father, accept our Thanks, in Jesus’ Name.
My Father and my God, we are in one accord today, Praying for Your son – Papa Uma Ukpai:
Thank You that thus far You have helped him.
And we are asking Lord, that for the rest of his Life, he will only know Joy and that he will never know sorrow again.
We Pray that You will keep him well, You will keep him Healthy, You will keep him Strong and You will keep him Anointed.
We Pray that he will end very, very well.
Bless him Lord!
And all those who are Precious to him, let them be Blessed.
All those who wish him well today, including those reading now on the Label of DMC; let it be well with them.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Well, let Somebody shout Hallelujah – Hallelujah.
That doesn’t sound like a Birthday Hallelujah!
Alright – All of you who would live to be Eighty (80), shout hallelujah – Hallelujah!
Okay! Shake hands with one (1) or two (2) People, and say: Good Morning, God Bless You!
And then you may Please, be seated
This is a very Great occasion; and I feel thoroughly humbled that someone as Great as Papa Uma Ukpai could ask me to speak and say a Word on this Special Occasion.
Papa Uma Ukpai may be different things to different People.
He may not know this; but he has been one of the Greatest Encouragements in my Life.
I met him for the first time, more than Forty (40) years ago, when he came to Lagos for that Wonderful Crusade. And I’ve been following him ever since.
I was a small boy then – I’m still a small boy (laughter). It’s just that small might be different from small.
And I learnt a great thing from him right from the very first time I met him.
And that is: If you really want God to be Present at any of your Programmes, Learn to Worship God.
I learned that one from him!
So, if you see me kneeling down to Worship God before I Stand Up here; I know that I have follow the footsteps of a Great Man like that.
When you are Young and they ask, “who will you want to be like when you grow?” then you mentioned Somebody.
I think when I grow a little older, I will want to be like Papa Uma Ukpai (laugher).
And I learned something else from him:
That if you really, really want to serve God, then you must be ready to serve Him: Whether things are Pleasant or things are not Pleasant.
In the darkest moment of my Life since becoming a Christian – when I lost my son without Notice:
My son Phoned me on Sunday Evening: “Daddy, oh! The Weekend Programme had been extremely Successful. Thank you for your Prayers and Support.”
And the next thing I heard on Tuesday Night is that my son was gone! And I have to Preach on Friday.
One Reference Point that gave me Strength was Papa Uma Ukpai.
I know he lost more than one (1) child in a day – And he did not waver; he kept on serving God.
He gave me Strength at a time I needed it most.
Sir, Congratulations!
It’s only when you get to Heaven that you will realise how Powerful your Influence had been on Earth.
I Congratulate you and I Salute you sir – Many Happy Returns Sir!
They told me I have few Minutes; so if I didn’t greet all my fathers, Please forgive me – It’s because today, your “Small Boy” has to represent you (laughter).
Psalms 91:1, 14-16
1 He that dwelleth in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the Shadow of the Almighty.
14 Because he hath set his Love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on High, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and Honour him.
16 With Long Life will I satisfy him, and shew him my Salvation.
- THE MOST HIGH
There is Someone called the Most High.
The Bible says He is Higher than the highest (DMC NOTES: Ecclesiastes 5:8).
And that Person is none other than JESUS.
Because, according to Philippians 2:9-11, He has a Name that’s above every other name – Wherefore God also hath Highly exalted him, and given him a Name which is above every name: That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow.
So, maybe I should encourage you: If you want the Most High to be involved in your situation from now on, let me hear you shout Jesus – Jesus!
… Is that how you shout in Uyo?
Let me hear you really, really shout Jesus – Jesus!
That’s very Good.
Now, I can assure you that whatever Problem has been bothering you; it is going to bow today – Amen.
- THE SECRET PLACE
The Most High has a Secret Place.
The Bible calls that Secret Place, “The Pavilion of God.”
Psalms 27:5 says, that Pavilion is where He hides you in time of trouble.
- And that Secret Place is not a Vestry of a Church.
- It is not a Particular Place, either in Uyo or Lagos.
… It is a Name – JESUS.
Because, according to Proverbs 18:10, the Bible says: The Name of the LORD is a Strong Tower: the Righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Whether we believe it or not, every Year has its Challenges.
But I know there is at least Someone here listening to me right now, or reading now on the Label of DMC: It doesn’t matter where the Challenges are coming from: you have somewhere to run into and be safe!
… And that’s the Name JESUS.
So, if you know that whether the devil likes it or not; all is going to be well with you this Year 2025, let me hear you shout Jesus – JESUS.
- And then, this Person who is called the Most High, is also called: THE ALMIGHTY
Almighty means, Somebody who has the Power to do absolutely anything.
According to Jeremiah 32:27, He said: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
The One who is called the Almighty can solve all Problems.
The Bible says in Matthew 28:18, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All Power is given unto me in Heaven with and in Earth.
There is Someone who can make every Impossibility Possible – His Name is Jesus!
And I want to encourage someone to know that it doesn’t matter the Problems you have; God has never failed before and He is not going to begin failing with your case.
So, if you believe that what anybody may calls ‘Impossible’ in your Life, is going to become Possible without because you are here today, or reading this Message now on the Label of DMC; let me hear you shout Jesus – JESUS.
- This One who is the Most High;
- He has a Secret Place;
- He is the Almighty.
- And also He has a:SHADOW
Because Psalms 91:1 says, He that dwelleth in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the Shadow of the Almighty.
The Almighty has a Shadow.
According to Psalms 17:8, the Bible made it clear: Keep me as the Apple of the eye, hide me under the Shadow of thy wings.
As a matter of fact, Psalms 121 – You can read the whole Chapter. You know, it’s a very Powerful Psalm.
However, in Psalms 121:5, He made it clear that you have a friend so close to you, you can’t separate from Him unless you can get rid of your Shadow.
It says, The LORD is thy Keeper: the LORD is thy Shade upon thy right hand.
… The LORD – the One who is called JESUS.
And I am saying this Particularly one, because I know that we are walking into a Year that we have never seen before.
And we don’t know all the details about what the Year has in Store for us.
But if only you can have Jesus by your side, I can assure you; if the Lord tarries, you will still be alive by this time Next Year (2026) – Amen.
Today we are Celebrating Eighty (80) Years of the Life of a Great Man.
And if he should decide to hold another Service Next Year 2026, those of you who are here this Year; you would still be here Next Year – Amen.
I will tell you a little Story very quickly, so that you’ll appreciate the fact that you must have Jesus with you for the rest of your Life.
There were three (3) Small Fishes.
… Allow that kind of Grammar!
Because those of you who are Specialists in English Language would tell me, No! You should have said, three (3) Fish.
Let’s call them three (3) fishes, because they are Peculiar.
The fishes were dwelling in the Ocean. And in that Ocean, there was one huge Shark and a baby Shark – They were always terrorising the little fishes.
One day these little fishes held a Prayer Meeting – They called the Almighty God to Please, come down, that they wanted to talk to Him.
So, God came down.
And God is going to visit Somebody today – Amen.
The Lord said, okay, What do you want? Why have you sent for me?
One of them said, Oh! I want all the scales in my body to become eyes. “What do you want to do with so many eyes?” It said: there are two (2) Sharks troubling us;
I want to be able to see them long before they come near me. If they are coming from behind; I have eyes to see them – Whichever direction.
The Lord said, okay! If that’s what you want, you can have it.
The Second one said: I am not looking for eyes, I am looking for a pair of wings: so that if the Sharks are Pursuing me, I’ll fly out of the Ocean and they won’t be able to get me.
The Lord said, if that’s what you want, you can get it.
The third one said: All I want is that wherever I go, You will go with me. “Alright! If that’s what you want, be it given unto you.” And the Lord left!
Immediately, the first one had eyes all over the body. The one who wanted wings got a pair of very Strong wings. And the third one remained ordinary – Just like before.
And then the mother Shark saw the fish with many eyes. “Ha! This fish is beautiful. It would be a very Special Meal.” And so they began to move towards the fish.
The fish said: I’ve already seen you. It swam towards the beach and saw a very little Pool of water in the sand, jumped and landed in that Pool of water.
And said to the Shark, “Come and get me here if you can move on sand.”
But very soon the Sun rose and the little Pool of water dried up! And the fish with many eyes died.
When the Sharks couldn’t get the fish, they turned to the one with wings, and said: let’s go and get this one. And that one flew out of the ocean – “I have seen you, now I can fly. Come and get me here if you can.”
But it wasn’t long after that an Eagle was flying passed, looked down, saw a fish and said: Oh God, how good You are! “I’ve always wanted to eat fish, only I can’t swim. Now you brought one to me in the Sky?”
The fish with wings became dinner for the Eagle.
Then the baby Shark said to the mother Shark: There is still one fish. It seems not to be afraid of us. It’s just swimming about and seems to be enjoying itself. Let’s go and get this one.
The mother Shark said, are you blind? Can’t you see that wherever the little fish is going, there is the Shadow of a Man following it? You go after that one, the One whose Shadow you see would kill you.
There is Someone here today, including those reading now on the Label of DMC. There is a Shadow that is following you anywhere you go:
Anybody who tries to attack you this Year (2025) is going to be eaten up – Amen!
And the Name of that Shadow is JESUS.
So, let me hear you shout that Name again – Jesus!
Now, that’s to Welcome those of you who have come to Celebrate with our Papa (Uma Ukpai).
Papa Sir, the Verse for you is Psalms 91:16 – With Long Life will I satisfy him.
It’s difficult to Preach to Somebody like you, Sir. That’s why I am happy I have so many of my fathers here, backing me up.
But I am sure you know Sir, that every one of us has an Appointment to keep.
Hebrews 9:27 says, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment:
You say: “How can you be talking about Death at a Birthday Celebration?”
Who is deceiving who? Papa Uma Ukpai has just joined the Club of the Octogenarian.
By the time you are 80 – Unless you are Pretending, you haven’t just got the Ticket, you have gotten the Boarding Pass.
In fact, those of us who are over 80 are Welcome to the Club.
You know I am a little over 80.
Those of us who are over 80, we are already in the Departure Lounge; not only have we got the Boarding Pass.
We have an Appointment to keep! Whether we like it or not; every year takes us closer and closer to that Appointment.
You also know Sir, that according to Proverbs 10:27, the Bible makes it clear that the Time of that Appointment can be varied.
It says, The fear of the LORD Prolongeth days: but the Years of the Wicked shall be Shortened.
The days can be long, as you fear the Lord.
If you forget who is in Charge, He can reduce the Number of Days.
And the beauty of it, as you know Sir, is that, for Someone like you, who is 100% committed to God; you will not go without being informed.
Peter said so in 2 Peter 1:14 – He said, I will be going soon. The Lord has already shown me.
He won’t take you without saying to you: “My son, maybe you should come Home now.”
And then, even more beautiful than that is, He will give you a Choice:
- Are you ready?
- Or you want to stay a little longer?
In Philippians 1:21-26, Apostle Paul said: I find myself in a Street. Do I go home? Or do I want to stay a little longer? He said, I’ve decided, I will stay a little longer. When he had finished all his Assignments he said, alright! Now I am already to go.
You can stay longer and continue to flourish.
According to Psalms 92:12-44, The Righteous shall flourish like the Palm Tree: he shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
You can stay longer with us and continue to influence many of us.
You can continue to win Souls.
You can continue to flourish and bear fruits.
The Almighty God made it clear in His Word Sir; that you are the one who would decide when you want to go.
That’s what He means when He says, “until you are satisfied, you don’t have to come.” He said with long long I will satisfied you.
How long you want to live Sir, is not in the hand of anybody, other than just two (2) People – Your God and you.
He said when you are satisfied, that is when you are coming Home.
And you have to decide for yourself.
Today is a very Good Time to make up your Mind how much longer you want to be with us – We love you, and we want you here for a long, long time; but you would decide.
When I was Seventy (70) Years Old, some children of mine began to Pray for me.
And they said Daddy;
- You would live to be 80 years. I said Amen.
- You would live to be 90 years. I said Amen.
They said, you would live to be 100 years: I didn’t answer them (laugher).
And then one fellow got excited and said, you would live to be 120 years. I said, “Na Lie!”
What would God say I have done wrong? I’ve been here seventy (70) Years, He would now keep me here for another Fifty (50) Years in this world where today you have Electricity; tomorrow you don’t have?
But there was one Lady who got really excited and said: you would live to be 140 Years. I said, “No be me!” One hundred and Forty (140)!
Methuselah lived, ate and he begat for almost one thousand (1,000) Years.
Sir, I wish you many Happy Returns: but not one hundred and Forty (140) Years.
The Almighty God with satisfy you with Long Life – Amen.
He will satisfy you with Good Health – Amen.
He will satisfy you with Joy – Amen.
But when you are satisfied, it would be a Good Idea if you give us a hint because, He would tell you first.
So, if you give us a hint we would know how to be ready.
The Almighty God who has brought you thus far will see that you end well – Amen.
And you will end Gloriously – Amen!
One last Word; and this one is for all of us here, including those reading now on the Label of DMC:
If you have ever seen a Vision of Heaven, you would not be afraid to go – Unless you are not ready to go.
If you have seen a Vision of Heaven, you would understand why People like Papa Uma Ukpai at his age, is still wanting to do more and more.
Because the more you do for Him, the Greater would be your Reward when you get to Heaven.
People like me, I have got a little Glimpse of Heaven. It’s difficult to describe it to you.
But I would give you one Poor illustration, so that you too might be able to take a decision this Morning.
I remember the first time I went to America back in the 1970s. And I went in July, to a Town called Tulsa. And that Year, Tulsa was judged to be the Third Cleanest City in America. They washed the Streets everyday; such that if your food falls on the Ground, you can pick it up, blow on it and eat up.
Light was On all the time. We stayed in an Hotel where the Closet had three (3) Openings – One cold, one normal, one hot.
Everything very beautiful.
Then two (2) week came and it was time to come home.
When we got to Ikeja (DMC NOTES: “Ikeja” is Capital City of Lagos State Nigeria); the Pilot said, fasten your seatbelt, we are about to Land.
I looked down from the window and I saw Mushin – That was where I was living then (DMC NOTES: “Mushin” is a Low Earner Settlement Part of Lagos State Nigeria).
I said, Oh God, back to Prison!
That’s a very Poor illustration – When you compare the best you can think of in this world to what Heaven can offer, then compare Mushin to Tulsa.
But the Problem why many of us are not eager to talk about the Life over there is because, we don’t even know where exactly we are going to end.
Which will bring me to one little Story:
You know in the Olden days, the People we call Comedian today, were called Jesters or Fools.
A King would have somebody he would call a Jester, who would always behave like a fool; to make the King laugh.
So there was this King who had a Fool – He was a very, very funny fellow.
And the King said, I don’t think there could be any “Bigger Fool” than my Jester – He got a Golden rod, gave it to the Jester and said: go all over my Domain, if you find a “Bigger Fool”, give him the rod.
And then the Jester went everywhere – When he gets somewhere he said, “Are you a “Bigger Fool* than myself?” That one answered No, I am not a “Bigger Fool”.
He went round, and after about many days they sent a Message to him, “The King is dying, you better come back home.”
The King saw him, Ha! My Fool, you are Welcome. Have you found a “Bigger Fool” than yourself? He said, not yet Sir. And he said well, I am going on a Journey of no return.
The Jester said, must you go? He said I have to go, I have no choice.
- Have you been there before? No!
- Do you know the way there? No!
- Have you somebody who can lead you there? No!
- What Preparations have you made for this Journey? He said, None!
The Jester said, “Your Majesty, you are the “Bigger Fool” I have been looking for; take your Golden rod”.
There are many of us, we know that whether we like it or not, that we are going to leave this world:
- We have never been to Heaven before;
- The only Person who can take us there, we have not Surrendered our lives to Him.
Jesus Christ is the One who said in John 14:6 – I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
ALTAR CALL
If you are here today, including those reading now on the Label of DMC; No matter how beautiful you Sing;
And by the way, every Choir that has Performed since I arrived, you are Super.
That’s the Truth – You are just Super.
No matter how well you sing, no matter how well you dress, and no matter how many times you have been shouting Hallelujah in the Church.
If you have not really Surrendered your Life to Jesus Christ and you die without Surrendering your Life to Him; you would be the “Biggest Fool” of all.
That’s why I want to give you an opportunity right now:
If you are not absolutely sure of where you are going; how are you going to get to Heaven?
I want to encourage you to come and Surrender your Life to Jesus Christ Genuinely today.
You know what?
Today would be your own Spiritual Birthday.
And then you would be able to say: On the day Papa Uma Ukpai was Celebrating his 80th Birthday, that’s when I became a True Child of God and that’s when I became Born Again.
In case there is anyone – It might be only one fellow that would want to say, “I want to Surrender my Life Genuinely to Jesus Christ today, so that when I leave this world, I would make my way to Heaven.”
I want to encourage that fellow to come now, even as I count from one (1) to four (4).
Let me Pray with you and the Lord would save your Soul, and your Journey to Heaven will begin.
I’m counting now…
Please, could you clap to the Lord Jesus Christ?
To an Evangelist, this is the Greatest Gift you can give him – A Soul.
Alright! Those of you who are Surrendering Genuinely to Jesus Christ, would you Please, cry to Him?
And say Please, I know You are the Way. I want You to show me the Way.
Please, save my Soul, have Mercy on me and come and take over my Life -Take over Completely.
And the rest of us, would you Please, Stretch your hands towards these People and intercede for them?
Pray that the One who saved your own Soul would save their own Souls also.
Ask that the Almighty God would give them Genuine Salvation.
Please, intercede for them!
Thank You Father.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
PRAYER FOR SALVATION
And so my Father and my God, I want to say Thank You.
Thank You for Your Word.
And Thank You for these People who have come forward to Surrender their lives Genuinely to You.
Please, remember Your Promise that whosoever shall come unto You, You will in no wise cast out.
They’ve come now, Father Please receive them, have Mercy on them, save their Souls, wash them clean with Your Blood and receive them into the Family of God.
And from now on, anytime they cry unto You, answer them by Fire.
So that in Your Kingdom, we would be there together, to reign with You.
Thank You Almighty God.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Praise the LORD.
God Bless You!
I want to assure you by the Grace of God, I’ll be Praying for you.
So I need your names, your Address and your Prayer Requests.
PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST.
Now, for the rest of us; I would like to give you an opportunity to ask God for something Special.
I want everyone to ask God to give you a Landmark Miracle:
A Miracle that would bring to your Mind this Particular Day.
A Miracle only God can give.
So, for just two (2) Minutes say LORD; I want a Birthday Present.
A Miracle that I can never forget so that I will remember the Day I came to Celebrate with Papa Uma Ukpai.
Don’t ask for anything small – Ask for something big that the Almighty God will give it to you.
Thank You Father.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
My Father and my God, I want to Thank You once again for all the People You have brought here today, including those reading now on the Label of DMC.
I know Nobody came here by accident – You brought us because You want to do something Special in our lives.
Whatever Your Children have asked now Father, Please give unto them, in Jesus’ Name.
No matter how difficult it may be; Father so give it to them.
And let this be a Day we will never forget.
Thank You Almighty!
And I Pray that in Your Kingdom, none of us would be missing.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – Amen.
Well, let Someone shout hallelujah – Hallelujah!
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
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