FAITH CLINIC: One legacy out of many!

One of the largest denominations in Nigeria has, for many years, adopted the tag "Faith Clinic" for their weekly prayer and deliverance service. Is this a coincidence or does it have something to do with Bro. Ibe and Faith Clinic Ibadan?

This is how it happened. As God caused the news of His move in Faith Clinic to spread throughout Ibadan and its surroundings, it became obvious that so many people were suffering from demonic oppression and needed deliverance. Without any adverts, the crowds kept coming. What accompanied this influx of people was the need for more labourers. This is exactly how Jesus viewed the harvest field in His day - there were a lot of people that needed ministry but very few labourers to minister to them.

Gradually, God brought faithful labourers to Faith Clinic. He also led the team to start a Training School to equip believers in the Faith and raise more labourers who could competently counsel and pray for people. Towards this same end, a team of teachers began to visit other churches to teach congregations on the subject of deliverance and help raise up teams for the church. Remember, in the early years, Faith Clinic was a "para-church ministry". The ministry sought to bless God's people and His Church.

Everywhere the teachers went, the same miracles and manifestations that were witnessed in Faith Clinic followed them. It was the impact of what God did through the teachings in many of the congregations of this major denomination that led to the adoption of the tag "Faith Clinic" for one of their weekly services. To God be all the glory for this enduring legacy!

Bro. Ibe: An Apostle of Love

Many people may remember Bro. Ibe as someone God used to bring deliverance to the oppressed, however, almost everyone I have interviewed thus far, those who knew him from close range, remember him for his heart of love. He lived a life of love - love for God and love for people.

Bro. Ibe will do anything and go to any length to show God's love to others. And it was genuine love from the heart. He was touched by the problems of others and was moved by compassion to minister to them. The thrill was not in the fact that demons obeyed him in the name of Jesus, but that someone was set free from the devil and shown grace by God. How different from some who are excited by the obedience of demons; worse still who capitalise on people's predicaments and use them to build their ministries. What can we say about those who televise demonic manifestations? Is this an act of love to a needy person or an attempt to validate and show off supposed spiritual power?

Many deliverances in Faith Clinic we dramatic and spectacular, but the focus was on setting the

captives free. This was Bro. Ibe preoccupation, motivated by love. He was a proclaimer of the good news and was passionate about seeing people come into the Kingdom. He loved the sinner and spent himself to introduce them to Christ.

Bro. Ibe also loved his co-workers. He was not domineering or intimidating. He trained, raised and encouraged the ministers, many of who were young believers sold out to God. Many are still serving God faithfully today. They saw in Bro. Ibe an example of love and commitment for God.

If you knew Bro. Ibe, please share your recollections. An entirely new generation need to learn from his exemplary life of love, purpose and sacrifice. Over to you!

We see not our signs!

One of the signs Jesus said will follow those who believe is deliverance - casting out of demons in His name. During the Faith Clinic years, this sign was evident for all to see. It was not hidden, neither was it confined to an individual. Any believer who made him or herself available was used of God as a vessel to bring deliverance into people's lives.

Wherever there were difficult cases of oppression and affliction, Faith Clinic was always the recommended place for a solution. Why, because the "sign" was clear to all and Lord's presence tangible. Upon Mount Zion, the Bible says, there will be deliverance.

Sadly, this "sign" is not as vivid in the Church as it was years past. So many practices that are labelled "deliverance" does not resemble deliverance at all. Many end up more bound than they were before they encountered many of today's "deliverance houses". May the Lord revive His works as in the days of old!

Surely, "we see not our signs" (Psalm 74:9). Without any "sign", some may not find there way to Christ. Without signs, Jesus said, some will not believe (John 4:48). May the Lord restore us and cause His signs to follow us once again.

FAITH CLINIC: Without Faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!

Every move of God is a move of faith, for the just shall live, walk, run and soar by faith. Hebrews 11:6 was the motto of FAITH CLINIC, which goes to show the total reliance on God and His Word. Faith Clinic ministers had no choice: they had to be people of conviction in the ability and pronouncements of God. As one minister put it, "We prayed ourselves up and relied on God fully, because hundreds of people would turn up on Saturday night expecting God to meet with them."

And God did meet with the people through the dedication of those who chose to believe in Him literally. God is real. He is again looking for those who believe that "He is" and that He is "a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Is it possible that we are not seeing the manifestations of God like the days of old because we believe more in man's methods and systems more than the quick and powerful word of God? Do we believe in and have a spirit-and-truth relationship with the God of the Word? FAITH CLINIC was definitely an atmosphere where faith could easily develop. Everywhere you turn, the power of God was evident. I used to say in those days that one of the fastest ways to develop and grow in faith was to cast out a few devils. What this does is bring the pages of God's word to life. Prayer and faith will cease to be theoretical ideals. If God says it, that settles it. We need a return to this kind of raw faith; one that does not need the propping up of psychological embellishments that originate from man's mind.

God was pleased with Bro. Ibe and the FAITH CLINIC team because they dared to walk in faith. God confirmed the words of these simple disciples with signs, wonders and diverse miracles. Thank you Jesus for this great example of faith.

FAITH CLINIC: Just a "deliverance ministry?"

Those who know the history of revivals are aware that almost every move of God endured attacks from antagonists, especially from others in the Church. It was not any different with FAITH CLINIC. Many people criticised what God did through Bro. Ibe. The main criticism was that FAITH CLINIC focused on demons and deliverance. Thankfully, Bro. Ibe and the FAITH CLINIC team were not swayed by the waves of opposition. They continued to serve God and His people with fervour and conviction, both being marks of revivalists.

It is sad though, that many who attack revivals do so presumptuously. Jesus was persecuted because He was not a conformist. He was even accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, because throughout His earthly ministry, He was delivering people from demonic strongholds. Of course, many deliverances occurred in FAITH CLINIC, because God used Bro. Ibe to restore the emphasis of deliverance in the Body of Christ in Nigeria. Before FAITH CLINIC, many in the Church did not have any experiential understanding of their authority over the demonic.

I attended FAITH CLINIC many times and I can testify that God did more than deliver people from devils. There were many who got saved, healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Every meeting featured a salvation message, healing message and a session on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. There was also a Bible School that equipped believers in the word. It was a well-rounded move of God. Only eternity will tell all that God did through FAITH CLINIC. To God be the glory!

FAITH CLINIC: Real people, real problems, real miracles!

When you read the biblical account of the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, the woman who was bent over for 18, or the man who was invalid for 38, all of whom received miraculous turnarounds from Jesus, if care is not taken, they will seem like "nice stories" that we cannot relate to. They are too spectacular and "out of this world" to provide any lasting inspiration in our walk with God. What we forget is that the supernatural should be natural to us when we are truly walking in the spirit and light of God's truth.

Such was the reality that surrounded FAITH CLINIC Ibadan in those days. The miraculous was normal during each meeting. People got healed. Many more got delivered from devils. There was no gimmick or fanfare; the power of God was always present to destroy the works of Satan.

I recently read Alive At Last!, an account of the deliverance of Sis. Christie Ifebueme from a life of bondage and oppression. She had spent many years seeking for a solution to her many woes. She went from one prayer house to another, spending money and performing rituals. All these could not prevent her children dying, the attacks on her marriage, the affliction and oppression in dreams, to name a few. This was a real woman with a real problem, in need of a real and lasting miracle.

I highlight her story because of the simplicity of how the Lord delivered her (in the same simple yet powerful way Jesus met needs when He walked the earth). A friend of Sis. Christie had invited her to a Full Gospel Business Men's meeting. She went reluctantly and was only interested in the food. God, however, had plans for her. She jokingly responded to the "altar call" only to find herself arrested by the power of God.

While unconscious on the floor, Sis. Christie saw herself in a vision where a man in white garments beckoned to her and said, My daughter, this is the end of your problems. Go to Dr. Ibeneme; he will help you and tell you what to do. By the time she came to herself two hours later, she could not stop weeping and crying out, Dr. Ibeneme, the Lord said I should come to you. The meeting had finished, but as God would have it, Bro. Ibe was in the meeting, counselling with some people. Bro. Ibe would later write in the foreword of Alive At Last!:

That night I was called to see this nicely dressed Igbo woman who had all her clothes completely soaked with tears and was asking for me. Yet I had never met her before. I calmed her down and was able to counsel with her, assuring her that the Lord has accepted her and was going to deliver her completely.

Bro. Ibe invited Sis. Christie to attend FAITH CLINIC the following weekend. When she arrived, she was disappointed not to see Dr. Ibeneme because he had gone for an outside ministration. But, you see, Bro. Ibe was never the deliverer in FAITH CLINIC; it was always Christ. God used, in Sis. Christie's words, "a young boy, an undergraduate of the University of Ibadan" to minister to her. That night she was gloriously delivered!

Thank God Sis. Christie wrote her testimony! There are hundreds of testimonies that are yet to be written. Some of these need to be documented so that believers can understand that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Did you attend FAITH CLINIC in Ibadan? Do you have real stories of what God did in the lives of real people? Stories that happened before witnesses and can be verified? Please let us know; let the world know to the glory of God!

Please send an email (israel@bookswithamission.org) or leave a comment on our Facebook page. Thank you!