14/04/2026
CGABICOS 1ST MATRICULATION
*Title: "Called to the Altar, Sent to the Field"*
*Text: 2 Timothy 2:15 Romans 12:1-2*
>>> BY: Pastor Adetunji Emmanuel Odedele, The Deputy Registrar, University of Ibadan and The Secretary to the Provost, UCH, Ibadan.
@ CGABICOS Matriculation, 2026.
2Tim.2.15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. NKJV
Rom.12.1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom.12.2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV
*Opening / Greetings*
Esteemed President (Apostle Amos Ibosiola), Provost (Pastor Ezekiel Dare Adewol), Registrar (Pastor Banji Osho), faculty members, Admin staff, ministers of the gospel, parents, families and friends most importantly, you the matriculating class of Christ Gospel Apostolic Bible College and Seminary; I salute you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today is not just an academic ceremony. In the Kingdom, matriculation is consecration. You are not merely enrolling in a college; you are answering a call. And calls from God are never casual.
*1. You Have Entered a Place of Formation, Not Information*
Bible college will give you Greek, homiletics, church history, hermeneutics. Value them. But your first assignment here is not to master subjects; it is to be mastered by the Subject, Christ Himself.
Paul told Timothy: _Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth -2Tim.2.15. Note the order: approved unto God first, then rightly dividing the Word. Character before gifting. Altar before platform.
The world has enough clever preachers. Hell does not tremble at cleverness. It trembles at consecration. This seminary is your Upper Room before your Acts 2. Don’t rush out of it.
Three temptations you will face here:
- *The temptation to substitute study for intimacy*: You can get an A in Pneumatology and still be a stranger to the Holy Spirit. Guard your secret place.
- *The temptation to compete instead of complete*: Your classmate is not your rival. You are one Body, many members. Carry one another.
- *The temptation to prepare for ministry and forget the Minister*: If He stops walking with you in this corridor, the degree will be an empty shell.
*2. The Ministry You are Training For Is War, Not Performance*
We are Apostolic. That word means ‘sent ones’. Sent into what? A world broken by sin, deceived by ideologies, and hungry for truth.
You will not be sent to entertain a generation. You will be sent to rescue it. So let these walls train your hands for war and your heart for weeping. Learn to fast until your flesh is disciplined. Learn to pray until cities shift. Learn the Word until you can feed sheep and silence wolves.
Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and the nations do not need more titles. They need truth that has passed through fire. Let CGABCICOS be the furnace where God burns out fear, pride, and shallowness, and forms in you the stature of Christ.
*3. Your Curriculum Is Fourfold: Word, Prayer, Character, Service*
*Word*: Read it till it reads you. Memorize it till it becomes your reflex in crisis. A preacher without the Word is a soldier without ammunition.
*Prayer*: E.M. Bounds said, “Men are God’s method.” But praying men are God’s mighty method. If you graduate with a library in your head and an empty prayer closet, you will fail the people you’re sent to.
*Character*: Anointing without character is tragedy in slow motion. The scandals that wreck ministries rarely start on the pulpit. They start in small, private compromises. Settle now: you will be holy when no one is watching.
*Service*: Jesus washed feet before He broke bread. If you’re too big to set chairs, you’re too small to carry glory. Serve your lecturers. Serve your community. Ibadan is your first mission field- evangelize it, intercede for it.
*4. Three Charges for Your Journey Here*
1. *Be deep, not just loud*: The Apostolic Church was born in fire, but sustained by doctrine. Acts 2:42 came before Acts 2:43. Shouting without substance leaves people empty by Monday.
2. *Be teachable, not just gifted*: The moment you think you’ve arrived is the moment you start decaying. Stay under authority. Honor those who labor among you. Gifting may get you into rooms, but only character and wisdom will keep you there.
3. *Be burdened, not just busy*: Don’t let assignments, grades, and church programs crowd out the burden of God. Weep between the porch and the altar. A dry-eyed seminary produces dry churches.
*Closing & Charge*
Class of 2026, Saturday 12 April, 2026 will be remembered in heaven if you settle this today: _Lord, I am not here for a certificate. I am here for consecration. Make me. Break me. Then send me._
Two years from now, let it be said that a generation of burning and shining lights walked out of Christ Gospel Apostolic Bible College and Seminary — men and women who know God, carry His Word, and turn their world upside down.
You are not ordinary students. You are Apostolic. You are sent.
Welcome to the place of your making. May God make you well.
Prayer: “Lord, do not let me waste these years.”
God bless you. Amen.
