What is the purpose of life, if not for the glorification of God? This was the pivot of last Sunday’s message when the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua briefly preached to the congregation at The SCOAN headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Drawing the people’s attention to Job 1:21, the man of God reiterated the crux of the Scripture, saying Christians must exalt God irrespective of their circumstances. He cited Job whom he said, was never misled by his situation but continued to glorify Him even when he had lost all he had including his children.
“The purpose of life is to glorify God in good times and hard times alike. The Bible made me to understand that those who bless God in trouble prove their sonship. That you are poor does not make you an unbeliever; a man may be sick yet a friend of God. Don’t let your situation mislead you,” said the man of God, who went on to share ‘Words of Wisdom’ regarding the matter.
He said it is never proper to base faith on your improvement after prayer, saying this is what satan is using to destroy people’s faith if there is no improvement in a situation [after prayer].
“The devil wants you to curse God while under pain and trouble. That is why he delights in inflicting pain on people. You know, when you have pain, you look at God in a bad light. Christianity lies in the heart. Faith is of man’s heart. Only faith pleases God. Those who bless God in temptation, prove their sonship. If your prayer in the past had been answered, who knows what would have happened to you? You are a Christian now and you have the fear of God. Salvation of your soul is greater than anything,” he said.
Prophet T.B. Joshua later went to The SCOAN Prayer Line where he ministered to people who had come from all over the world. Many were freed from various afflictions in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Earlier on, at the start of the service, Wise Man Harry preached about love under the title: THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
He drew the message’s proof text from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13.
He said the Scripture implies that there are only three things on earth that will last: faith, hope and love, and that among the three, the greatest is love. This, he said, shows that love is the greatest Christian virtue.
“As essential as faith and hope is, Paul singles out love as the greatest virtue, because it is only through love that we are able to respond to God and to others at present. If love is the greatest, it means, faith cannot work without love; so also, hope cannot work without love. Without love, the power of faith will be short-circuited,” he said.
Wise Man Harry defined love by referring to John 14:27, saying there are two types of love; God’s love and human love. Human love, he explained, is but a shadow of God’s love.
“God’s love is unlimited, while human love is limited. God’s love is for salvation’s sake, while human love is for selfish, classic and material reasons,” he said, adding:
“If you love somebody based on his handsomeness or her beauty or because the person is successful in life, by the time that beauty is gone or when failure strikes, your love for that person will probably disappear. At that point, even the presence of the person would be irritating to you. Remember Job! When the goings were good, his dear wife said to him, “Glory be to the God of Job! I will serve your God till my last breath!” But when Job lost everything, his ‘beloved’ wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”
He said God wants the kind of love that never gives up. ‘A love that puts up with anything, a love that is tolerant, a love that is determined; a love that perseveres.’
“This message is telling you today to act love; do love; let love lead, because love is the greatest Christian virtue,” Wise Man Harry summed up.
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