Christ Above Tithe: Rejected and Persecuted for Preaching Christ Instead of Tithe

• Story of a very controversial Nigerian preacher with messages that educates, informs, edifies and relieves many.
• “In the New Testament, we don't tithe…”

You know, sometimes, life can be painfully ironic. Here I am, watching the very people I called friends turn into my enemies because they refuse to believe in the person I’ve become. It hurts, I won't lie. But somehow, in the midst of this pain, there's a deep sense of satisfaction that fills my soul—an understanding that I am finally living out the purpose for which I was created.

I was born into a deeply religious home. My father was a pastor at the Assemblies of God church, and my mother, well, she was a fierce Christian woman who upheld her faith like her life depended on it. I grew up with dreams of becoming a businessman, a big-time investor who would use his wealth to support the growth of the church. I never saw myself as a preacher or pastor. But you know what they say about man proposing and God disposing.

Somehow, the path I never imagined became the road I traveled. I became a pastor, and not just any pastor—I became popular, a big name in the preaching circles. I embraced the prosperity gospel with everything in me. I preached it, lived it, and believed in it. My life became a testimony of the wealth I amassed. People flocked to my sermons, eager to “sow seeds of success” into my life, to pay tithes without hesitation, out of fear of the devourer I constantly warned them about.

For over 20 years, I accumulated wealth beyond my wildest dreams. I thought I was counting my blessings, until one day, I realized there was nothing to count. That night in August, a few days after my birthday—a birthday filled with grand celebrations that still left me feeling unsatisfied—I began to question everything. Jesus said, “A man’s life does not consist of the things which he possesses.” But here I was, possessing so many things, and yet, feeling like I had nothing. What does life really consist of? I asked myself, staring into the emptiness of my own existence.

I began to pray, fervently asking for God's light, for clarity. But the more I prayed, the emptier I felt. It was like all the wealth, the fame, the recognition—it was all just a hollow shell. That was my turning point. I embarked on a genuine search for God, even as I continued preaching prosperity. I made powerful friends, mentored many, and spoke at international crusades. I became a spiritual father to many preachers who are now wealthy, mingling with the elites, lost in the very status I once sought.

But as I went deeper in my search, studying the Bible, praying consistently, I found the truth. And that truth shook the very foundations of everything I had built my life on. Almost everything I knew, taught, and preached was wrong. The true essence of the Christian faith, the real message of Jesus Christ, was revealed to me by God. And I knew I had to change.

When I started preaching the true gospel, the fallout was immediate. I lost all my friends. People who once admired me now ignored me, then attacked me. But despite the isolation, I found peace. I finally reached a place where nothing in this world mattered to me anymore—nothing but Jesus, the true and reigning King.

So, here’s the truth: the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t about what we can do for God to earn His goodness. It’s about what God has done, is doing, and will do for us—freely, without us deserving it. All He asks is that we identify with Him, in the true unity of the Godhead, accepting Jesus as the final and ultimate price that has already been paid.