Today, we took the dust off our interview lounge to host and talk to one vibrant man of God whom we have been following closely for some time now.His name is Wole Olusola and yes, he gave all the neccessary information about himself in the course of this interview.
However, one profound thing he spoke about was his near-death experience, trip to hell and Christ's intervention.
Wole is filled with God's grace and in the course of reading this interview, that grace will surely rub off on you. Sit back, relax and enjoy this very interesting interview....
Good to have you here, sir. For the benefit of our audience, tell us about you. Who is Wole Olusola?
Wole Olusola is the Senior Pastor of Iconic Life Ministries. I had a career spanning over 12 yrs in the banking industry until God called me in2 full time Ministry in 2011.
Great. Tell us about your origin and early years
Well, long story but I will make it as short as possible.The name of my parents are Dr Abimbola Oluwole Ogunsola of blessed memory and Mrs Olatokunbo Ogunsola and I was born and bred in Ibadan. I am a Graduate of Linguistics from UI in 1998. My journey into salvation was quite dramatic.
While I was in UI, my main priority wasn't my studies but how to get into the social limelight and parties. I never took my lectures seriously and my GPA was constantly below 1.
I was involved in all manner of vices like girls, taking at least 5 bottles of gulder daily, 30 sticks of benson daily, some marijuana and I never lit a cigarette without first saying bless this food O Lord for Christ sake.
Wole Olusola is the Senior Pastor of Iconic Life Ministries. I had a career spanning over 12 yrs in the banking industry until God called me in2 full time Ministry in 2011.
Great. Tell us about your origin and early years
Well, long story but I will make it as short as possible.The name of my parents are Dr Abimbola Oluwole Ogunsola of blessed memory and Mrs Olatokunbo Ogunsola and I was born and bred in Ibadan. I am a Graduate of Linguistics from UI in 1998. My journey into salvation was quite dramatic.
While I was in UI, my main priority wasn't my studies but how to get into the social limelight and parties. I never took my lectures seriously and my GPA was constantly below 1.
I was involved in all manner of vices like girls, taking at least 5 bottles of gulder daily, 30 sticks of benson daily, some marijuana and I never lit a cigarette without first saying bless this food O Lord for Christ sake.
I saw born again christians as low lives who had lost out of the good things of life and saw serving God as their only consolation.On this fateful day in July 6th 1996, a friend of mine Ayo Babatunde came to see me at home about 7pm and I decided to see him off later. You know the way boys are, we walked and gisted and shortly got to his own house where we saw six young men outside the house.
The young men told us they were asking for Ayo's dad and the next thing I knew was them bringing out guns and leading us inside. They were armed robbers.
When we got inside, they shot into the air severally, told us all to lie down and started searching us. I was asked if I had money but I lied. I actually had N800 on me which was for drinking heavily that night so that while church was on the next day I would be recovering from my hang over. No one was going to spoil my fun that night and so I lied.
One of the armed robbers called Jango suddenly came over and searched. He found the money and gave me a kick in the ribs and said you will die tonight for daring to lie to me.
He cocked his gun and said you better pray to God to accept your miserable soul before I shoot you. I answered and said you talk too much, shoot if you want to shoot but he didn't hear me.
Suddenly I heard a voice and the voice said, your father and mother even if they were here can't save you but all those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I suddenly became scared.
In a flash, I saw a screen before me as I lay down there and my life right from the day I was born all through nursery, primary up until that moment was replayed before me; no detail was missing. That was the day I knew God's judgement would be swift. I suddenly became scared and knew I was going to hell.
Suddenly I saw myself on top of the ceiling and saw another my lying down on the floor. The me on the ceiling went through into the sky and I kept going until I came to a lonely field where there was no one and it stretched for miles and was dark.
A force suddenly pushed me and I started moving.
What happened next?
As I moved, the field sloped, started getting hotter and as it got hotter, I moved faster.
I started hearing screams that can't be described and some audible words like Jesus have mercy, this fire is too much. I knew I was on my way to hell.
Shortly before I got to the door, I cried out, "Jesus, if you save me, I will serve you forever more." My Lord heard me that day and in a jiffy, I was turned back and suddenly found myself back lying down.
All these didn't take more than ten seconds and as soon as I got back into my body, a force knocked the gun out of the armed robbers hands and he looked at me and said, u are so lucky and left me.
Later that night after the ordeal, I got back home, locked myself inside my room, looked at my life and wept. I kept asking Lord why? Why would you save a worthless person like me? I knelt down there and then and accepted HIM as my Lord and Saviour.
The next day I went to church and also came out for the altar call. That's how I got saved.
Glory be to God, Most High
Halleluyah. The first thing I did after that was to cut off from all my old friends till I would have grown enough. People thought I was pretending initially. Someone even joking said that now that you are saved, who will now be in hell considering God made and ordained people like you for hell? Ever since then, I have never gone back
Obviously, the devil desired you and wanted to cut u away from God's glory
Yes he did. He had an idea of what I would be doing now. Thank God for grace that saved and bought you right out of hell. Glory be to God.
The next day I went to church and also came out for the altar call. That's how I got saved.
Glory be to God, Most High
Halleluyah. The first thing I did after that was to cut off from all my old friends till I would have grown enough. People thought I was pretending initially. Someone even joking said that now that you are saved, who will now be in hell considering God made and ordained people like you for hell? Ever since then, I have never gone back
Obviously, the devil desired you and wanted to cut u away from God's glory
Yes he did. He had an idea of what I would be doing now. Thank God for grace that saved and bought you right out of hell. Glory be to God.
You know, a lot of youths never get the chance to be saved and end up wasted in their young years through physical and spiritual death. From your experience, what do you have to say to the ones still limited in sin?
Well my advice is that sin never pays and its consequences are eternal. I have been there before and its all vanity. I remember I was going for a night party on Feb 1st 1996 and we were in a convoy of 30 cars.
At the last minute, a friend came to ride with us and because the car was full, I had to give up my space and ride with someone else. I never knew that's what would save my life.
A few minutes after along parliament road, Ibadan, there was an accident and the car I got down from was involved.
The chap who took over my space died on the spot and a second friend died 30 mins after at UCH. I can still remember the horror he went through as he battled for life.
I was sober for one day after but still didn't turn to the Lord.
Young men and women, sin does not pay and has nothing to pay you. It will only rob you of your future. It won't all end here, there's life after death and our decision now determines how we live when we die. Youth, serve the Lord.
Yes, we stand with you on that. We understand you have an online evangelism platform whose audience, of course, consists majorly of youths...
Yes I do. I do daily write ups which I post via twitter, bulk mails, www.woleolusola.com and www.facebook.com/woleolusola
I also do a 5 min broadcast, Monday to Friday at 7am via www.praiseworldradio.com
When God called me into ministry, He gave me a mandate to empower His people for successful lifestyles but with emphasis on the Holy Ghost.
He further explained that many people were living years behind their time ie someone who is thirty and ought to be fully settled in his career and marriage is still in the year 1995 in God's plan for his life.
I use my online platform to teach about grace, success and purpose.
That's why I have a passion for youth because they are the future and are being attacked most by the devil.
I recently started Engraced4Change in partnership with Lanre Olusola as mandated by God Almighty.
Engraced4Change is a faith based NGO with the sole purpose of empowering youth to discover their purpose on earth and take their place in the Nation. All the info about it is on www.engraced4change.com
Its a vision that God gave since 1999 and also gave Lanre the same vision and told us about it. We simply hooked up and have started running with it since June this year. Once we save the youth, Nigeria will change.
You and Lanre share the same surname...
Yes we do
Are you biological brothers?
No we are not but what binds us together is more than that. I was born as Ogunsola while he was born as Kupoluyi but without each other's knowledge, we suddenly changed to Olusola.
I did my name change because Ogunsola in yoruba means the good of iron called ogun has brought wealth while Olusola means God Almighty has brought wealth.
But if you say we are, we are. [ Smiles ]
Great.
Its been God all the way.
What advise do you have for men who have the heart for God's will and those already doing their part?
My advice is simple, God is faithful. If He sends you on an errand, He will back you up all the way but you must learn to trust Him 100% all the time.
Even when it seems things are not working for the moment, God will always turn it in one's favour if we can just trust Him.
Well my advice is that sin never pays and its consequences are eternal. I have been there before and its all vanity. I remember I was going for a night party on Feb 1st 1996 and we were in a convoy of 30 cars.
At the last minute, a friend came to ride with us and because the car was full, I had to give up my space and ride with someone else. I never knew that's what would save my life.
A few minutes after along parliament road, Ibadan, there was an accident and the car I got down from was involved.
The chap who took over my space died on the spot and a second friend died 30 mins after at UCH. I can still remember the horror he went through as he battled for life.
I was sober for one day after but still didn't turn to the Lord.
Young men and women, sin does not pay and has nothing to pay you. It will only rob you of your future. It won't all end here, there's life after death and our decision now determines how we live when we die. Youth, serve the Lord.
Yes, we stand with you on that. We understand you have an online evangelism platform whose audience, of course, consists majorly of youths...
Yes I do. I do daily write ups which I post via twitter, bulk mails, www.woleolusola.com and www.facebook.com/woleolusola
I also do a 5 min broadcast, Monday to Friday at 7am via www.praiseworldradio.com
When God called me into ministry, He gave me a mandate to empower His people for successful lifestyles but with emphasis on the Holy Ghost.
He further explained that many people were living years behind their time ie someone who is thirty and ought to be fully settled in his career and marriage is still in the year 1995 in God's plan for his life.
I use my online platform to teach about grace, success and purpose.
That's why I have a passion for youth because they are the future and are being attacked most by the devil.
I recently started Engraced4Change in partnership with Lanre Olusola as mandated by God Almighty.
Engraced4Change is a faith based NGO with the sole purpose of empowering youth to discover their purpose on earth and take their place in the Nation. All the info about it is on www.engraced4change.com
Its a vision that God gave since 1999 and also gave Lanre the same vision and told us about it. We simply hooked up and have started running with it since June this year. Once we save the youth, Nigeria will change.
You and Lanre share the same surname...
Yes we do
Are you biological brothers?
No we are not but what binds us together is more than that. I was born as Ogunsola while he was born as Kupoluyi but without each other's knowledge, we suddenly changed to Olusola.
I did my name change because Ogunsola in yoruba means the good of iron called ogun has brought wealth while Olusola means God Almighty has brought wealth.
But if you say we are, we are. [ Smiles ]
Great.
Its been God all the way.
What advise do you have for men who have the heart for God's will and those already doing their part?
My advice is simple, God is faithful. If He sends you on an errand, He will back you up all the way but you must learn to trust Him 100% all the time.
Even when it seems things are not working for the moment, God will always turn it in one's favour if we can just trust Him.
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May God continue to uphold u.
ReplyDeleteMore of God's Grace sir.
ReplyDelete