| Written by Reinhard Bonnke |
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The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Luke 4:18-19 In the Old Testament, we find that New Years were of major spiritual importance. No such view can be found in the New Testament, however … and I wondered why. I think that annual celebrations are absent from the New Testament because the focus shifts to what is truly important. Colossians 2:16-17 explains that the feast days and festivals were “a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ”. In Christ we pass from the temporary to the permanent. Jesus did not come to establish a religious system, to give us rituals, special days, observances or any other traditions or commandments. That would be religion but Christ mentioned none of it. Some people like a liturgical style of worship with special trappings and garments but Jesus has never required them of us and, let’s be clear about it, they do not save. They may mean something to individuals but they are meaningless to God. For the children of God, Passover, for example, is not one day a year: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival with the bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). That important festival is not once a year but every day – without interruption. When we look at things like that, the start of a new year does not mean a great deal. Figures on the calendar are blotted out by the glory of Christ. The flow of God’s blessing, power and goodness is eternal, without reference to earthly times, dates or festivals. However, Jesus did give us the Lord’s Supper, inviting us to take bread and wine in remembrance of him. Why did he do that? Christ asked us to break bread and drink wine as an act of worship and devotion. It is not a saving act but it does recall his all-sufficient act of salvation. Only he did that! The only saving act that we will ever need is what he did when he gave himself and his blood was shed at Calvary. He stands before us as our great Saviour. Christianity is not a religious system founded by Jesus. It is Jesus himself! Jesus lives foreverIn the Roman Empire, time was marked in reference to the ruler at the time. Tiberius, for example, was the Roman emperor for 23 years. When he died, events were dated as occurring in a particular year of the reign of Caligula, the next emperor. He was assassinated four years later and was succeeded by Claudius. Events were then reckoned with reference to his reign. He ruled for 13 years and is mentioned in Acts 11:28. He was succeeded by Nero, and so on. Interestingly, the dating system was always based on the living emperor and never on a past emperor – not even Julius Caesar although he introduced a calendar.We date events according to Christ. Today is 2012 AD – “Anno Domini”, the year of the Lord. We date events with reference to him because he is not dead. He is the living and reigning Lord, who never dies and has no predecessor or successor. No other Lord will ever take his place. We do not know exactly when Jesus was born, although it was probably in 4 BC. However, that is not important because Jesus Christ was the same yesterday as he is today and will be tomorrow. Christ’s coming to earth gave true meaning to all human existence. Unless the world relates to him, it ultimately relates to nothing. Its significance rests on a relationship with him. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). We do not know the date of Christ’s second coming. Some Christians were adamant that Christ would return at the end of the second millennium – by our earthly calendars! That date has long passed by but any old day could be “the day”. God has no sentimental regard for our special days or years. With God every day and every year is special. For those who trust in God there are no lucky or unlucky numbers and no unlucky days like Friday the 13th. In fact, it is not luck but the blessing of God that is the overriding reality for God’s people. The Psalmist said, “Goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. My times are in your hands” (Psalm 23:6, 31:15). With God there are no ordinary days for he makes each day unique and extraordinary. God is with you and is faithfulThe world lives from change but believers live from the unchangeable. The world lives through what is temporary, believers through what is permanent. So much time is wasted talking about the “post-Christian era” but that is to rush to the wrong conclusions. The Christian era is eternal. It is the reality of the kingdom of God.For the New Year 2012 I would like to present you with one tremendous fact from the Bible – God is with you and is faithful! Life for the believer is not haphazard, a matter of chance or fate. God is faithful and dependable. He is not affected by our fickle nature or dependent on our faithfulness, our constancy or our flawless spirituality. We may not be perfect Christians, but nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). We can lose a lot because of our sin and foolishness but we cannot get away from the love of God any more than we can escape from the air we breathe. God the Father proclaims himself as the everlastingly changeless and faithful Lord. Christ promises never to leave us and tells us that the Holy Spirit will abide with us for ever. A 366-day life journey through unexplored territory lies ahead of you in the New Year. Let this glorious truth be your guide and promise: God is faithful! He is with you! “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). You can be sure of one thing: that applies to you! Reinhard Bonnke |
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Bible study: The Year of the Lord
Bible study: Praying under an open heaven
| Written by Daniel Kolenda |
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Excerpt from Chapter 5 of Daniel Kolenda’s new book “Your Kingdom come”: One of the most remarkable prayers of intercession recorded in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64 where the prophet calls upon the Lord, saying, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence – as fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil – to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1-2 nasb). Isaiah was crying out to God that He would tear open the heavens and show Himself to the world that the world might see Him as Isaiah had seen Him! Isaiah’s passion is seen in his expression, “Oh.” There is something deeply embedded in the heart of every person who longs to personally know and experience God. There is an “Oh” within us all. That desire which grows from within is but a reflection of the fact that man was originally created in the image of God and designed with the capability of personally knowing and experiencing God. Saint Augustine said, “For thou has made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” This longing of the heart is an integral part of the basic fabric of the human personality. It is expressed in the art, music, customs, and beliefs of every culture around the world that go back as far as the earliest evidences of recorded history. When sin entered the world, man, who had been designed to live in unbroken fellowship with God, was suddenly separated from the One he had been designed to walk with in perfect harmony for all of eternity. A barrier that divides two worlds, the natural and the supernatural, appeared because of Adam’s sin that separated the physical realms of fallen mankind from the spiritual realms filled with all of God’s richest presence, power, and blessing. In this prayer for God to “rend the heavens and come down,” I believe that Isaiah was reflecting upon a previous experience in his life, recorded in Isaiah 6:1-8, in which he had been caught up into heaven and received the commission and anointing for his life and prophetic ministry. He recalls it, saying, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Isaiah continued in the following verses to describe his experience in God’s presence. He spoke of angelic beings about the throne crying out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). He spoke of the visible manifestation of God’s glory. He described his sudden and overwhelming awareness of sin when he stood in the magnificent presence of the holiness of God. He thought he would surely die in such a holy place where he had suddenly found himself! But he also found grace there, and his sin was purged with holy fire. It was in this place that his life and destiny were forever changed. He would never be the same again! Pay careful attention to what the angels were crying to one another. Notice, they did not say, “heaven is full of His glory.” Rather, they said, “The earth is full of His glory.” This was a prophetic insight into a time that is coming of which Scripture says, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). When Isaiah prayed for God to rend the heavens and come down, he was asking for the fulfillment of the prophetic promise he had received in his vision many years earlier. He was saying in essence, “Lord, if the earth is going to be filled with Your glory, You must rend the heavens and come down!” Isaiah realized that this “rending of the heavens” would be necessary for God to fulfill His plan for this world. Jesus declared Himself to be more than a prophet, more than a Rabbi, more than a political deliverer, and more than a king. He declared Himself to be the bridge between heaven and earth, the link between God and man, the portal that God has opened on earth, giving us direct access to heavenly realms. Isaiah’s Prayer answered Many people still pray Isaiah’s prayer for God to rend the heavens and come down, pleading despondently like a beggar dejectedly crying for a piece of bread. But my friends, the good news is that the prayer of Isaiah was answered 2,000 years ago! God truly did rend the heavens and came down through Jesus Christ. Could there be a more dramatic rending than the one that happened at Calvary? The earth was split, the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom, and the precious body of Jesus Christ was broken in order that heaven might invade the earth. On Him the angels of God ascend and descend for us. Through Him all the resources of God are poured out and the needs of humankind can be met. By Him, man can be reconciled unto God and the wrath of God has been appeased. God has rent the heavens and has come down. He has destroyed that ancient barrier between heaven and earth, and today all the riches and resources of God are available to the one who will take them by faith through prayer. Hebrews 10:19-22 says: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” God wants us to approach Him in prayer with assurance and confidence in His all-sufficient provision. Today we can march boldly into the presence of God with a pure conscience and a heart full of faith, knowing that God has already destroyed everything that stands between Him and us by the blood of Jesus Christ. He truly has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Through prayer we put this incredible power into action. Someone once said, “Prayer is the lifelong opportunity of a lifetime.” The prayer of Isaiah has been answered. God has rent the heavens. Now let’s bring heaven to earth! |
Bible study: Soul-winning – the church's priority
| Written by Reinhard Bonnke |
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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with
me. Revelation 3:20 I am always struck by the picture of Jesus standing at the door of the church in Laodicea. What is he doing? He is knocking! This image from the book of Revelation was not given to the wonderful church of Philadelphia. No, it was given to the church of lukewarm, compromising, Spirit-ignoring believers. And what does this picture tell us? It tells us that the Laodiceans, in all their error, were not far from the real thing. All they had to do was turn, open the door and he would come in. Jesus had not left them. They had left him. And so, in the Spirit of Christ knocking on the door in Laodicea, I would like to say to churches that have lost their zeal for evangelism, you are not far from the real thing. Let soul-winning return as a priority. The church of Jesus Christ is not a pleasure boat but a lifeboat. Entertainers are neither needed nor wanted. From the captain to the cook all hands are needed on deck for soul-saving. The church that does not save the lost is lost itself. Our ministry, Christ for all Nations, has been instrumental in helping many a church rediscover its passion for soul-winning. We, the evangelists, bring our nets to town but we must borrow boats from the churches. Together we cast the nets and pull ashore a huge haul of fish. When we have finished our work, we hand the catch over to the local pastors and congregations. We evangelists clean and mend our nets and move on to the next fishing ground. Excitement builds up when we announce an upcoming series of meetings in Africa. Every pastor knows that his church will benefit from five nights of gospel preaching. We recruit and train counsellors from these local churches and they have to pass a test before they can be part of the follow-up work. We are totally church based and church dependent. More than 50% of a Christ for all Nations campaign budget is channelled to equipping local congregations for the follow-up work. The fruit that remains is truly great and those churches find themselves ignited with a passion for the lost once again. Yet Christ for all Nations cannot be the answer to the greater loss of focus that I see in many churches. What is the secret to keeping the evangelistic fire alive? First, I believe that we must cast ourselves in utter reliance on the Holy Spirit. Oh yes, many say that, but what does it really look like? I believe that when we really trust the Spirit, all our methods, programmes, denominational loyalties and long-held traditions become secondary. Let me go so far as to say, expendable. We depend fully on the fire of the Spirit. He is the only true soul-winner. He is the fire. We have the great privilege through “the foolishness of preaching” of being stewards of his fire. When I was a young missionary in Africa, I showed dutiful respect for my fathers in the work. They taught me what were considered to be the proper methods of mission work, tried and true, proven for longer than I had been alive. I could not lightly dismiss them. Yet it made my heart ache to see how few responded to the rigid picture that those fathers painted of our gracious Saviour. It was almost as if we handed the baby Jesus to the world wrapped in legal documents full of rules and regulations that obscured his very nature. I longed to see the vast multitudes of precious African people rejoicing in Christ but under such trappings I was not surprised that so few came to him. God took a hammer and chisel and began working on me. Things did not shape up overnight. I learned lessons one at a time. New dimensions of the Holy Spirit opened up and each one left me absolutely astonished. Signs and wonders began to occur and things began to change. My autobiography, “Living a Life of Fire”, would need to be read to fully appreciate the sequence through which the Lord led me. With each lesson I found myself opposed by those who clung to methods, programmes, denominational loyalties and long-held traditions. In each case there came a time to break free of them and to follow the Spirit in the pursuit of souls. It was emotionally wrenching to go through that process – and that is why many do not travel that road. It is harvest-time! I can but offer my testimony. I have seen over one million people recording decisions for Christ in a single meeting. I have seen 58 million embrace Jesus since 2000. On it goes. Multitudes are being healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is harvest time! The Book of Acts was not the peak performance of the power of God but the first sampling of the possibilities for his followers in the Holy Spirit. Trust him! Accept no substitutes. As we have broken free of the tried and tested, we have seen whole countries shaken by the power of the gospel. If this can be the result of the things that God has shown me, my hope is that God will show you such things, too. May you receive that heart revelation of the matchless glory of his power, a power beyond anything yet seen. The potential of Pentecost has not been fully realised – there is much more to come. God is the creator of evangelists. We are ordinary flesh-and-blood people. Angels could probably have done a far more efficient job but in the infinite wisdom of the Lord, he had no such plan. It is striking to consider that the angel who appeared to Cornelius in Acts 10 was not allowed to mention the name of Jesus to him or to explain the way of salvation. All that the angel could say was, “Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon, who is called Peter.” That mighty seraph from heaven had to bow to Peter’s higher privilege of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to Cornelius. We only can accept, with wonder and humility, the fact that it pleases God to call and to send people like you and me. We humans are privileged. There should be no reluctance on our part to do this work. Carriers of the gospel change from one generation to the next but the gospel remains the same. Right now it is our turn. God has called us – each of us. The gospel still needs to be taken to the ends of the earth. I sometimes wonder if the millions I am reaping today were not meant to be divided among many others who turned away from his call. Men and women preaching the unadulterated gospel I do not believe that it is God’s plan to allow hell to be bigger than heaven. Although Scripture speaks in Matthew 7:13 about “many” who are on their way to eternal destruction, they must be intercepted by men and women preaching the unadulterated gospel. Through his death on the cross, Jesus set up the mightiest roadblock of all time. It stands for all to see right in the middle of the road that leads to destruction. Anyone who wants to pass it by must deliberately decide to do so. As disciples of Jesus, you and I stand at the foot of the cross and call out to the people, “Be reconciled to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Many people have heard the call to salvation – and still hear it today! Hebrews 2:10 reveals that provision has been made to bring “many sons to glory” and Revelation 7:9 speaks of a successful conclusion to that idea. Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations. Those were not empty words! Furthermore, there are no emergency arrangements found in Scripture in case the gospel fails. It won’t! More people are being saved, healed, and baptised in the Holy Spirit today than ever before in the history of humankind. We are not called to take part in an uncertain war in which the outcome hangs in the balance. We are called to share the victory and the spoils. God’s invincible secret is the cross of Christ, which frightens every demon in hell. My words are a welcome to join a conquering army, not a plea to support a hopeless and desperate resistance against overwhelming odds. Our Captain never lost a battle – and he never will. And so, I urge you to be a part of this army. Make soul-winning again become a priority in our lives and in the church. I believe that the best is yet to come. The whole world will resound with the praises of our God and Saviour. In all nations and in every tongue, people will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Reinhard Bonnke |
The baptism in the Holy Spirit
| Written by Reinhard Bonnke |
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Holy Spirit baptism identifies Jesus. John the Baptist was sent to
announce the Coming One, but nobody knew who John was talking about. He
had to describe him, or the people would not have been able recognize
him. He said, “It is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). His distinguishing feature would be that he would baptize in the Spirit. It distinguishes nobody else. Jesus alone is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and fire.
Nobody else can do it, give it or impart it. It is God’s own right and
prerogative. The reason is that the baptism is not merely incoming
power, but God himself, the Holy Spirit. Nobody can give God as if he
were a commodity. The baptizer in the Spirit – that is Jesus. If the Church preaches Christ at all, that is who he is, forever. A Jesus who does not baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire is not truly the Bible Jesus. Nobody has the right to preach Christ other than the Bible Christ who baptizes in the Holy Spirit and he is “the same yesterday and today and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is the God of faithfulness, always true to himself, to us and to his promise. The apostles who were dragged before the arrogant authorities bore the impression of the Holy Spirit. Their unshakeable witness and confidence triggered astonishment. The Spirit is not just a surge within believers’ souls, but may show in body language – personality, ways, voice, eyes, in the fruit of the Spirit, attitudes people never suspect of themselves. Nothing is more off-putting than the put-on pose of a Holy Joe. Jesus intends his disciples to be witnesses, not controversialists. They should be witnesses of his resurrection. This message was vital, life changing and life-giving. Presented casually, coolly, in a “believe it, if you like manner” it would do nothing. It had to be preached as a glorious and vital fact, by people with some kind of a passion, not dispassionately, but by witnesses, obviously electrified by what they announced, examples of what they preached – very much alive. Jesus told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me to speak about. In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:4-5,8) Jesus made a great deal of that Someone, the Holy Spirit. What the Spirit of the Lord would do would be their making, turning them into torches. He would be – and still is – the key to effective witnessing. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5); we have to remain in the vine, deriving life from him. The life of the Spirit is the secret of new disciples. We can do a great deal without the Holy Spirit, but nothing of any lasting effect. That is the measure of the importance of the coming of the Holy Spirit. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). Christ ascended to heaven and asked the Father to fulfill his promise, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and within 10 days he had come. The Spirit did not come quietly. He announced his arrival through the 120. He gave utterance to it through the assembled believers in tongues and prophecy. For the disciples and apostles this was their greatest day. The Holy Spirit is the love Spirit of Father and Son: “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5). That love began to move the believers and operate through them. What they became was what the Spirit made them. This baptism was for them as individuals, not “for the whole church.” Others, like the household of Cornelius received the Spirit for themselves. No word in the New Testament suggests that we do not need what the apostles had, or that what they had could be only for them. On the contrary, Peter’s message was clear: “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). The disciples needed to be so endued and to preach the gospel with the Holy Spirit and with manifestation of the Almighty. Are we better than they, able to carry on God’s work without the empowerment they had? We surely need everything that God can give us, and the world needs people equipped like that. Today more than half a billion on earth know and enjoy it. It is startling to realise that Jesus actually left this world so that the Holy Spirit could come. “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you” (John 16:7). His coming to us is mysterious but real. After the resurrection the disciples, shaken and scared, hiding away for fear of what might happen to them, certainly needed that baptism and to be endued with power – and so do we. And God will give us what we need: “God will meet all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
no change in the world
We have no alternative to the power of the Spirit, no method, manner,
scheme or approach. The Spirit must do the work. The world still needs
saving, still needs convincing, and it is impossible without the Holy
Spirit.makes the power of the spirit unnecessary. The Holy Spirit is not a sense of awe floating around old religious property. If the Spirit is to be manifested it is through Spirit-filled people. The message to believers is: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). We would not need to be told to be filled if we could live without being filled. Jesus said we should ask, seek and knock for God gives the Spirit to people who ask (Luke 11:9-13). That does not mean a casual moment of asking, but being open to God at all times – askers, seekers, knockers. God will acknowledge those who stand ready for the blessing. He has given us his Word, and we must grasp his promise. To be filled we do what Jesus said – ask. That does not mean to make a leisurely request; asking, knocking, and seeking is a lifestyle.
the holy spirit comes when he wants to those who are ready.
We do not obtain the Holy Spirit like chocolate out of a machine,
pull the lever and it is there. On the other hand, he does not mean us
to ask for ever, always seeking but never finding. He who seeks finds
(Luke 11:10) and they know when they have found what they were seeking.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is received by faith, but the evidence
is signs following.Do all who receive the Holy Spirit speak in tongues? The general answer is a firm, “‘yes” – or would be, if everything in this world was perfect. God has no rules. What he does is what he can do, according to our faith. To say people can be baptized without tongues would not fit the New Testament very comfortably because every instance shows quite clearly that they all spoke in tongues. If people have absorbed fears about tongues, have had confused teaching, or for another – possibly subconscious – reason, the Spirit can be quenched, preventing him from doing everything he normally would, that is, to give signs. Some have faith for the Holy Spirit but not for tongues, so they are given in accordance with their faith. The crucial question for them is how do they know that they have been Spirit-filled without the evidence of being able to speak in tongues? It is so vital that we know we are Spirit-baptized if we are to go out and face the challenge of the godless world. With that knowledge we can dare to go forth and know he is with us. The disciples had that assurance. Can we do without it? They knew the Spirit was with them and therefore: “The disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:20). Holy Spirit ministry is attested by signs – if we believe. Utterance in tongues does not come by trying. You don’t “learn” how to speak in tongues. There is no technique, method, or even ministry. The Spirit is not given at the will of man, but is a sovereign act of God. This gift is not a talent, but God himself, the Spirit, not a power, or fire, but him. He is too awesome to be handled like plastic, dished out by glib over-sure arrogance. However, we can assist one another in prayer and by the laying on of hands as the apostles did in Samaria and Paul in Ephesus. Our attitude is to be humble and prepared. That is the lesson of Peter in the household of Cornelius – while he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on them all. Remember, it is not just power that enters our lives, but God Almighty in the person of the Holy Spirit. Yield to him afresh in prayer and expect God to fulfill his promise. The fire falls today just as it did on the believers in Acts 2. For tongues of fire to be lit on the head of every born-again Christian is still the Father’s will today. Reinhard Bonnke We suggest that you use the following prayer to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Please take the time to read the scriptures below carefully. Then start by praying the following prayer, and continue praying with your own words. Dear Lord Jesus, |
Does God really have a plan for my life?
| Written by Daniel Kolenda |
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It was harvest time in Israel, and a palpable sense of anxiety was in
the air. At any moment the wary farmers might lift their eyes to see a
tidal wave of Midianite soldiers pouring down from the hills like a
flash flood from a broken dam. The Bible describes the Midianites as a
nation of “grasshoppers” (Judg. 7:12). Whenever the harvest was
ripe, they would descend upon Israel’s fields and crops in vast numbers
like a swarm of locusts, leaving nothing in their wake but destruction
and desolation. The Israelites went on the defensive, hunkering down in
caves, hiding in the mountains, and building protective strongholds. The
nervous harvesters quickly reaped what they could and hid it away in
anticipation of an imminent invasion. God had a plan to deliver Israel from the hand of Midian, and He had chosen just the man for the job, but God’s choice seemed highly unlikely. Gideon was not a superhero by any stretch of the imagination. He was a victim of his society’s ills, a man who had been influenced by the climate of cowardice that had crippled and enslaved the Israelites. He was such a prisoner of fear that he would hide in a winepress to thresh his small harvest of wheat (Judg. 6:11). A winepress is no place to thresh wheat; it’s like washing your clothes in the dishwasher. But Gideon had chosen this inappropriate place because he was afraid of the Midianites. He was afraid of losing his harvest and his life, so he hid both underground. It was in this dungeon of fear that the Lord found Gideon, frustrated, trembling, and perspiring. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage. Judges 6:12, amp No one would have anticipated the Lord’s declaration that day. “Gideon,” the Lord says, “you are a mighty man of fearless courage!” Where others saw a coward, God saw a deliverer! I’m so glad God doesn’t see us the way we so often see ourselves. When we look in the mirror, we might see someone who is undereducated or inexperienced. We might see someone who belongs to the wrong social class, race, or gender. We might see someone who is too young or too old. And there are always a million excuses why God can’t use us. But God sees more in us than we see in ourselves, and our obstacles, failures, and shortcomings do not intimidate Him. I am also glad that God doesn’t see us the way other people do. Many times when we begin to break out of the old patterns and mind-sets that have held us back, rejecting the status quo and looking for higher ground, our greatest opponents are close friends, fellow church members, and even our own relatives. In fact, it’s interesting to note that the Midianites, being descendants of Abraham, were actually cousins of the Israelites. It was these “family members,” if you will, who had so oppressed Israel that they were cowering in fear rather than living victoriously. The enemy knows how to use those closest to us to bring discouragement. They say, “Who do you think you are? Do you think you’re better than us? We’ve known you since you were a child. We’ve seen all your failures, and we know your faults. You are just one of us. Get back in your place!” Some time ago I became interested in purchasing an aquarium. As I began to research this project, I was amazed to discover all the different types of aquariums that can be bought. There are large ones and small ones, freshwater and saltwater. There are aquariums for fish, aquariums for corals, aquariums for reptiles, and aquariums for invertebrates. What really fascinated me was the aquarium for crabs. I discovered that these particular aquariums had no lids, and I was amused when I learned why. Apparently when you have an aquarium for crabs, you don’t need a cover because if one crab tries to climb out, the others will reach up and pull him back down again. I thought to myself, “I know a lot of crabby Christians.” We don’t like to see someone succeed where we have failed. Envy and jealousy often make God’s children competitors and rivals. Often hurtful and judgmental words have wounded brothers and sisters, dragged them down, and kept them from realizing their potential. Sadly this happens all the time in the church world. Just as God is elevating one pastor and blessing his ministry, the other pastors in town oppose him with slander and gossip. They will do everything they can to pull him back down into the aquarium of church as usual. Such a pastor, church, or Christian should take comfort. Someone once told me, “Pity you get for free, but jealousy must be earned.” Jesus Himself was delivered up by His own people to be crucified—because they envied Him (Matt. 27:18). How often have we been discouraged because of what someone else thought or said about us? Fortunately the wonderful reality is that God doesn’t see us the way other people do. God—the Master ArtistIn the winepress we find a trembling, perspiring coward hiding for his life when the Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and calls him a “mighty man of [fearless] courage.” At first those words almost sound like cruel sarcasm, but there was no smirk on the angel’s face. God was not mocking Gideon, nor did He have Gideon confused with someone else. God saw something in Gideon that no one else saw, including Gideon himself. How comforting it is to know that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Oh, my friend, when you understand what God sees when He looks at you, it will change your life. Let me explain it this way.In the early 1500s a twenty-five-year-old artist and sculptor labored tirelessly with hammer and chisel over a colossal block of cold marble. Other artists had rejected the stone because it had defects, so it sat untouched for several decades before this young sculptor saw something beautiful in it. He worked night and day with obsessive dedication. When someone asked him why he was working so hard on that old stone, he replied, “Because there is an angel in that rock that wants to come out.”1 Nearly three years after starting his work, the young artist, Michelangelo, unveiled his enduring masterpiece: a seventeen-foot-tall sculpture that today is known the world over as David. Anyone who is an artisan will acknowledge that before a masterpiece is ever crafted, it exists in the mind of its creator. Before a brush strokes the canvas, before a chisel touches the stone, before the clay is placed on the potter’s wheel, before the artist creates a painting, sculpture, or piece of pottery, before the artist has anything tangible to display, he first and foremost has a dream. In the artist’s mind he already sees what he will create before it exists in the physical world. Michelangelo saw something in that block of stone long before anyone else did. Other artists saw impossible defects and imperfections, but Michelangelo saw a masterpiece trapped in that rejected rock, and he worked diligently to set it free. Our God is the master artist! Consider the unfathomable wonder of creation, which even in its fallen condition gives us a fleeting glimpse into the genius of its Creator who, in His eternal mind, saw every detail down to the smallest particle while there was still nothing. Just think about this: the architect of the universe spoke the worlds into existence, but He crafted Adam with His own hands and breathed into him with His own mouth! God has crowned His creation with a masterpiece, which is distinguished because it is “handmade” by the great Creator! And God continues to fashion mankind with His own hands. Psalm 139:13 says, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb” (nas). he Master of the universe, the eternal, immortal, invisible, allwise God, made you with His own hands! But before He began to weave you together in your mother’s womb, He saw you in His eternal mind, down to the smallest detail. And before you were ever born, He had a dream for your life. Perhaps as He was weaving you together in your mother’s womb, He said, “I’m going to make this boy into a mighty man of fearless courage!” Or, “I’m going to make this little girl into a mighty prophetess to her generation!” Whatever His dream for your life might be, one thing is for sure: His will for your life is beyond what you could ask or think! Daniel Kolenda |
The Mystery Woman Who Charmed TB Joshua
This is from thetbjoshuaclub posted on June 7, 2009 I love it
Many questions have been asked and speculations made about
TB Joshua’s marital life. The answers are provided in this unique
interview, conducted by Weekly Spectator…
Many myths surround Prophet Temitope Joshua, the youthful General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. When cynics are not raising questions about his source of supernatural powers, they are perpetually wondering what manner of man is he. Yet, the more people seek to unravel or spin stories about this enigma, the more confused they get.
But apart from the astounding miracles that unfurl in the church every day, critics also never cease wondering if the man actually has any marital life.
Yet, they sure know he is not a monk, even though like a monk, he is holed up in his religious commune, devoting his time and substance to prayer, solitude and contemplation. But today, we unveil that vital aspect of TB Joshua that you never knew or know very little about…
A bevy of ladies, very beautiful ladies, strut elegantly into the penthouse presidential suite at The Synagogue Church of All Nation s where The Spectator team is patiently waiting, and watching videos of some of the explosive miracles the church has witnessed in recent times. At this hour, the team is watching the video of the special thanksgiving service held for the brand new Ghanaian President, Professor John Atta Mills, on his recent ascendancy to power.
When the door closes behind the ladies, the first thing you notice about Evelyn, the delectable wife of Prophet TB Joshua, the General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, is her infectious radiance and unmistakable enthusiasm. Both attributes, even more, make her the most powerful, yet most adorable woman in the spiritual empire that her husband has built. An empire which presidents, kings and queens, princes and princesses, and assorted dignitaries from across the globe, routinely throng for their diverse spiritual needs.
Yet, not many among the teeming parishioners, even in the outside world, know that this absolutely delightful woman is the moving force behind the world acclaimed, yet much vilified prophet – Temitope Joshua. “Apart from God,” quips one worshipper, her voice barely audible, “this woman is the next most powerful force behind Prophet TB Joshua. She is a workaholic. She is a wonderful counsellor. She compliments her husband.”
Yet this self-effacing beauty carries none of these testimonials like a banner in the manner of some. Indeed, as the sultry lady struts into the suite, this cool afternoon, clad in a simple but colourful gown, she carries no emblem that usually typifies a powerful hand behind the throne. Rather, from the shining beads of sweat on her temple, you would need no soothsayer to tell you that the woman has been working herself to the bones. Even as she sinks into a settee opposite the team, an aide still wants her to attend to a detail. “But I can’t keep these editors waiting,” she retorts with her velvety voice. “I think that can wait.”
With that, she signals us to begin to fire our question. In one hour,
the session is over. The product of that encounter is the stuff this
superlative exclusive is made. Please, enjoy the interview, the first
she has ever granted any Nigerian newspaper. And we are not blowing our
trumpet.
Excerpts:
Your husband made a promise about nine months ago that The Spectator would be the first Nigerian newspaper you would talk to. After waiting for so long, we thought it was never going to happen. But it is happening now. So, let’s start by asking you, how does it feel to be Mrs Evelyn TB Joshua?
I count myself very lucky among women. My husband is a man every woman will want to have as a husband.
That presupposes a serious contest over him (general laughter…). Seriously speaking, do you fight any battle to keep him?
Not at all. I know that every woman will desire to have him as a husband, but there are not struggles on my part to keep him.
Prophet Joshua is very handsome and a great instrument in the hands of God, sought after, all over the world, by presidents and kings. You mean there are no special battles you fight to gain his attention and also keep him from prying female eyes?
Not at all. But I know that when a man is hardworking and God-fearing, every woman will like to have him. But believe me, I fight no special battles to keep him. He knows who he believes and God whom he believe and serves so well is capable of keeping him, and has, indeed, been keeping him.
So, how do you cope with his tight schedule? This is somebody who spends every minute of his life in the church ministering to people’s needs and all that; and we do know that women need their husbands as much as their husbands need them.
We are into the same cause. So, I don’t have any difficulties handling that aspect at all because we are pursuing the same goal. God has so made it that we complement each other perfectly well in very many ways.
Are you a pastor, too?
No, but I am helping.
So, you never trained as a pastor?
We are many here; we are under training.
Under him?
Yes, and it is a life-long training. It is a continuous, never-ending training like the school of life. Of course, as long as we are living, we will continue to strive in God’s will.
So, how exactly did you meet Prophet TB Joshua? We want to know the year, the circumstances and all that…
(laughs heartily…) It was around 1989
That was 20 years ago?
Twenty years now, yes. I visited a sister somewhere at Ikotun-Egbe, and, then they were talking about a particular man, a prophet to be precise. It was a kind of meeting to be precise. And it’s like everybody in that gathering, or at least half of the people in the room, had actually visited him. So, they were saying a lot of good things about him. I was thrilled. At the end of the whole thing, I called a sister outside and asked whether she could take me to the prophet. I didn’t ask to go there out of curiosity. I actually needed a guide at that point in time.
Were you at any crossroads at that point in time?
Not really. I wasn’t at any crossroads, but I desperately needed a guide.
Or were there some challenges you were facing and for which you needed to see this man of God?
Not quite so. But I had seen pastors. I worshipped in a church and I had read about prophets in the Bible, though I had never come across any. But at that particular time, I needed a guide, sort of.
Spiritual guide?
Yes, a spiritual guide. A counsellor.
Could you tell us the church were you were worshipping before you suddenly and desperately needed this spiritual guide?
I was in Assemblies of God Church.
How long were you there?
As long as I can remember.
Were you born there?
No, I was not. Can we go back to my story, please? So, the sister and I scheduled a date. We got to his place and he was not around.
Not to The Synagogue, I believe?
No, to his house.
Okay, where was his house then?
Down in Ikotun-Egbe, at Agodo.
It was a mansion was it?
(Laughs loudly…) Yes, by the grace of God, it was.
If we may take you back, what things were people talking about that made you get interested in him?
Many things. This one said he prayed for him and things became okay from there. Another said her life was at a bend but straightened up when she met him. You know, things like that. So, we went there. Unfortunately, we did not meet him at home. But looking back now, I thank God that we didn’t meet him that day.
Why?
Because that would have been the end of this story.
Why would it have been the end of the story?
It would have been because what he told me the very first day that I set my eyes on him, if the sister were there, I would have believed that maybe she had gone behind me to tell him all about me. And that would have ruined it.
So, did the man of God tell you the story of his life?
Yes, of course.
Without any pre-knowledge of who you were?
Yes. Okay, I’m coming (laughs…). Some months after, I visited him. That was in 1990. I could remember that day was a public holiday. I remember also how I nearly lost my way because I had never been to the place before, except that day I went with the sister.
That is to say, this time you went alone?
Yes, I did. I went alone. But before I was able to locate the place, it was a bit difficult for me. When I got into the waiting room, I met two men waiting to see him. Before this time, the idea that I had about a prophet was that of an old man with a white, long beard and things like that. So, on that day, I was reading a novel that I came with when I suddenly saw someone come into the room, pick one or two things and went back. But the shadow of whatever I saw was not that of an old man.
Did you greet him?
No, I didn’t even look at his face. But when he left one, one of the two men was telling the other one, ‘that’s him. That’s him.’ I looked up but he had gone. They went into the consulting room before me. Finally, it was my turn, and I went in there. We sat opposite each other. And, he was gazing at me for about a minute and some seconds. I gazed at him, too. Transfixed as I was, I noticed that there was a piece of paper before him. Still looking at me, he wrote the word, ‘Ejide’, on it. (Transliterated, Eji de – twin has come). Lest I forget, I’m a twin.
And before then, you had not told him anything about yourself?
No, we were just looking at each other until he, at a time, wrote my name on the piece of paper. So, we started talking. He told me a lot of things about myself, both things that I knew, and those that I never knew. I was shocked. He told me about my family, about my past, my present and my future. Altogether, we spent about 45 minutes. At the end of the whole thing, he spoke to me in Yoruba and said: Joo ma binu o. Ma ro pe bi mo se nba gbogbo eniyan ti o ba wa s’odo mi soro ni eleyi o. Mi o ni ale, mi o dee fee ni ale. Sugbon, se oo fe mi? (Transliterated, this means: Please, don’t be annoyed. Don’t think this is how I talk to everyone that comes to me. I don’t have a concubine, and I don’t want to have a concubine. But can you marry me?)
Just like that?
Just like that. It was strange, but that gives us an insight into what the Scripture says that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. I think that was it. That was how I met him. Some months later, I asked him why he thought it was right seeing a lady for the first time and going on to propose to her. He said he had seen me four days before that very day.
Where?
I don’t know
In his dream?
I don’t know.
Or was it a revelation?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Okay, let’s go back to the time you entered his consulting room. You said you sat opposite him and looking at each other intensely, I believe. At that particular moment, what was going on in your mind?
A lot of things. In the first place, I was expecting to see an elderly man.
But instead you saw a dashing, handsome, young man?
(Laughs). Oh yes! That was it.
He too must have been captivated by a ravishing beauty like you…
(Laughs again…) I wouldn’t know. But like I told you, he wrote my name on the piece of paper before him. That was the first thing that really shocked me. And the fact that he proposed to me the first time that we met without waiting to know some things about me.
Wait a minute. Don’t you think that one of your friends could have had contact with him and told him about you?
Unfortunately, I don’t have friends. As I told you, it was a sister that I visited who took me there in the first place. So, there is no way anybody could have gone to tell him about me. And, when I was going there the second time, she wasn’t there. I went alone.
Why did you choose to leave where you were worshipping?
I’ve told you how I got to know about him. I told you too, that I didn’t go there out of curiosity. I needed a guide, whom, I believe, I could get from the prophet. That’s why I went.
In what area of your life did you need a guide before you went to him? Was it on marriage, business etc.? What area?
You know, life is full of challenges. As a young lady, I knew God was there. I have a Creator and I know He can guide me into the right path. So, I wouldn’t say business or marriage drove me to him. I just needed someone to guide me into the right path in life.
What were you doing in the secular world before this time?
Should I say as it was then, so it is now? After my secondary school education, at that time, you could get a job in a factory or whatever, hoping to be staffed one day. So after my secondary school education, life was like: today, you are in business; tomorrow, you are in a printing press, and so on. I think the last place I worked before I met him was in Nigerian Distilleries in Ota.
I was going to ask what you trained in because you are so fluent in expression and other things…
(Laughs)
What qualities eventually cemented the relationship between you and Prophet TB Joshua?
As I told you, he is a very honest and humble man. Yes, he is a God fearing man too. I saw a kind-hearted man, a zealous man, a man of one purpose, a man with a sole aim: to please God at all times, with every other thing being secondary. I think those qualities were what cemented our relationship.
Okay, how were you convinced that he was the man that you were going to spend the rest of your life with?
When I woke up that very morning, I never knew. But something in me said: ‘Go to the prophet.’ And when he proposed to me, it was strange, but then, my heart agreed with it instantly.
Did you say ‘Yes’ there and then?
I don’t think I have said yes up till now! (General laughter)
You can say that again. So, from there, one thing led to another and then your marriage or wedding. When did it take place? How many months or years of courtship did you have?
I am not sure that we courted for long. The wedding took place the same year – 1990.
Where did you get married?
In my place (laughs)
Was it a church wedding or traditional wedding?
Both
Let’s have you talk a little about yourself, when you were born and where, about your family and where you come from.
I was born about 40 years ago into a family of seven.
You don’t look it at all…
(Laughs)
What’s your position in the family?
Fifth, my twin brother and I.
Twin brother? Where is he?
He is late.
What a pity.
There’s no problem. I was born to the late Mr and Mrs Nicholas Akabude in the quiet town of Okala Okpuno in Oshimili North local government of Delta State. I started my primary education at St. Emecheta Primary School, Ezi Town, also in Delta State. Years later, I came to Lagos, that was in 1977, and completed my primary education here at Orile Primary School, Oshidi, and my secondary education also in Oshodi. That’s all about my education. But a few years later, my husband sent me to Ghana and I was able to take some management courses there.
So, in what practical ways has your ministry complemented your husband’s? I know you are a minister in The Synagogue. What’s your own ministry? Tell us about your ministry.
It’s the ministry of reconciliation.
In marriage?
In all aspects – parents-children relationships, marriage and things like that. I think they go hand-in-hand with one another. You can’t actually separate them.
How does this ministry complement your husband’s ministry, bearing in mind that he is into a prophetic and healing ministry?
When we talk about reconciliation, you need a lot of time to listen to people, to hear them; they want to bare their minds and a prophet hasn’t got that time, especially after talking for hours. But I do that.
What are the peculiar challenges that face you as Mrs TB Joshua?
Challenges?
Yes, are there challenges that you face?
Life is all about challenges. All those problems and trials, I see them as challenges.
Maybe you are getting used to not seeing him regularly as you would have loved to…
No, no, no. What’s he doing? Whatever it is, he has my support.
Seeing a lot of people and having to minister to them…
That’s good.
You mean it doesn’t affect the home in anyway?
Not at all.
Okay, how come you have kept to yourself for so long, because if this is not your first interview with the press, you’ve granted very negligible few? Or is it that you dislike the press?
Not really. You said very few, not that I have not granted any.
You mean you have not come across any?
I’ve not. I hope this will go very far so that someone else does not come to ask me, you’ve not granted any interview… (general laughter) Actually, like the Bible says, there is a time for everything, and God’s time is the best. Maybe, the time is just ripe for what we are doing now.
That is to say, there is a time to keep to yourself and…
And of course, a time to talk. (general laughter)
So, how do you combine your roles as a minister of God, as a mother, as a wife? And, as a mother too, to the teeming crowd that comes to The SCOAN…
Where God guides, He provides. And those whom God has called for any service, He makes them fit for it. So, there is not much problem about that at all.
People believe that there are a lot of myths surrounding your husband. I’ve been his friend since 1989. I’ve heard people say a lot about him. I’ve seen people publish a lot of things about him, and they are still publishing. When you read or hear things that are not palatable being said about your husband, which ultimately must affect the family – how do you react? Do you feel any bitterness?
Point of correction – it is not affecting my family, and can never affect my family in any way because I know my husband, I know who he believes, and I know who I believe. I don’t have any doubt in my mind and I know that the good work the Lord has started in him, He will accomplish and complete, in Jesus’ Name.
So, you don’t feel any bitterness when people write negative things about your husband?
Not at all. I don’t because I know him very well, and I know the God he serves.
How does his ministry complement yours?
I’ve said before that they are one. You can’t actually separate them. People come around. They want to see the prophet. They want to spend time with him. But he hasn’t got such time. You know, many of them want to bare their minds. You need to listen to them carefully. You need to be with them. So, I took up that. You’ve got it? They actually came for him but along the line, you find out that they want to spend more time with him. That’s where I come in.
How do you help your husband to overcome the gargantuan temptations that come his way every day, because this is a man exposed to thousands of people every day, especially women? How do you help him?
You see, you don’t have any alternatives in life. I can as well tell you that we don’t have alternatives in life. Anything that is contrary to what we stand for or what God sent us for, is what we are going to fight against. I can say that God has been merciful enough, guiding and protecting us in that angle.
The reason I asked that question is because I’ve seen many men of God fall because of women, money, fame and other extraneous things…
You should know what you believe. Did you get that? As I said, you cannot afford to fail. There is no other way. So, you must guard against that. And that’s what we’ve been doing.
Could you tell us, in practical terms, how you’ve been guarding against that?
The Bible says our heart is the communication point. If the fear of God is registered in your heart at any time, if you are doing evil, you must know. And so, you must guard that heart at all times. Anything that is contrary to the will of God, you shouldn’t take part in it.
Kenneth Hagin wrote in his book about how he fights the temptation of women. He said his office and his wife’s office are next to each other, and he said he deliberately made it so. And that at every given time, the two doors are open so that the wife sees the person he is counselling and he also sees the person the wife is counselling, just to make sure he fights and defeats the tendencies of the flesh.
Well, it is God that guides. It is God that protects. How long do you keep on watching over a man? I mean, as I’ve just told you, I can say that I know him (Prophet TB Joshua) very well, and I can tell what he is capable of doing. So, that’s no problem at all. All right?
I was expecting you to tell us what measures you’ve put in place to ensure that your husband doesn’t fall into the temptation of immorality while counselling woman…
I don’t take any other measure than to pray for him.
So, what counsel would you give to ministers’ wives as to how they can help the ministry of their husbands, as to how they can protect and preserve their homes while serving God and humanity?
The counsel is, be the woman that God has made you to be. Don’t measure yourself by yourself and don’t live by other people’s standards. Rest in the place God has for you. Be a good mother to your children and a good wife to your husband, and a woman of faith to humanity. Whatever situation you face in life, God is saying something through it and about it.
If your husband were to be in the secular world, he would be a superstar – because here is somebody who sits here, and presidents, top government officials and important people come from across the globe to see him. Do you have that feeling in you of having been married to a superstar?
All we do here is just absolute grace of God. Everything that happens here is by the grace of God, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, we don’t feel anything special because important people are coming. Rather, we appreciate the grace of God upon our lives, upon the church, and we give Him all the glory. So, there is no superstar feeling. If there is any superstar, that superstar is Jesus through whom we can do all things. So, I don’t feel any different from who God says I am. My husband doesn’t feel any different from who God says he is.
If this man were not Prophet TB Joshua, would you have married him?
As I told you, apart from being a prophet, I actually saw what I needed in a man. So, it is not a question of being a prophet. It is about his character, his inner being.
What kind of man did you pray to marry before you met him?
Every woman desires to have a good husband, although appearance is deceptive. But God looks at the heart. I wanted a God-fearing man, an honest man and a kind-hearted man. And those are the qualities that I saw in him.
Over the years, you’ve been to many places. What memories do you have of the places you’ve been to, whether in Nigeria or outside?
Good memories. I’ve been to many places, you are right. After this, I still have something good to talk about them, about the people and what they receive from the Lord. We don’t just to because we want to go. We actually visit places because God wants us to be there. And, when we leave there, there are good things to talk about.
What’s your greatest fear in life?
Fear?
Yes.
I don’t fear anything because I know God is there, and He can handle every situation.
What about embarrassing moments? Every human being does encounter embarrassing moments, things that will just happen and they embarrass you…
Embarrassing moments? Have I ever had any?
So, it has all been smooth?
There have been many challenges. I have said that.
What are these challenges? You’ve not told us.
Good and hard times (laughs)
You mean the wife of Prophet TB Joshua can have hard times too?
Because we are human
A man sought after by presidents, kinds and ministers, by everybody?
Sure, we are human.
Thank you very much.
I thank you, too.
SOURCE: Weekly Spectator, Nigeria – Vol. 1 No. 54
Many myths surround Prophet Temitope Joshua, the youthful General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. When cynics are not raising questions about his source of supernatural powers, they are perpetually wondering what manner of man is he. Yet, the more people seek to unravel or spin stories about this enigma, the more confused they get.
But apart from the astounding miracles that unfurl in the church every day, critics also never cease wondering if the man actually has any marital life.
Yet, they sure know he is not a monk, even though like a monk, he is holed up in his religious commune, devoting his time and substance to prayer, solitude and contemplation. But today, we unveil that vital aspect of TB Joshua that you never knew or know very little about…
A bevy of ladies, very beautiful ladies, strut elegantly into the penthouse presidential suite at The Synagogue Church of All Nation s where The Spectator team is patiently waiting, and watching videos of some of the explosive miracles the church has witnessed in recent times. At this hour, the team is watching the video of the special thanksgiving service held for the brand new Ghanaian President, Professor John Atta Mills, on his recent ascendancy to power.
When the door closes behind the ladies, the first thing you notice about Evelyn, the delectable wife of Prophet TB Joshua, the General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, is her infectious radiance and unmistakable enthusiasm. Both attributes, even more, make her the most powerful, yet most adorable woman in the spiritual empire that her husband has built. An empire which presidents, kings and queens, princes and princesses, and assorted dignitaries from across the globe, routinely throng for their diverse spiritual needs.
Yet, not many among the teeming parishioners, even in the outside world, know that this absolutely delightful woman is the moving force behind the world acclaimed, yet much vilified prophet – Temitope Joshua. “Apart from God,” quips one worshipper, her voice barely audible, “this woman is the next most powerful force behind Prophet TB Joshua. She is a workaholic. She is a wonderful counsellor. She compliments her husband.”
Yet this self-effacing beauty carries none of these testimonials like a banner in the manner of some. Indeed, as the sultry lady struts into the suite, this cool afternoon, clad in a simple but colourful gown, she carries no emblem that usually typifies a powerful hand behind the throne. Rather, from the shining beads of sweat on her temple, you would need no soothsayer to tell you that the woman has been working herself to the bones. Even as she sinks into a settee opposite the team, an aide still wants her to attend to a detail. “But I can’t keep these editors waiting,” she retorts with her velvety voice. “I think that can wait.”
Mrs Evelyn Joshua
Excerpts:
Your husband made a promise about nine months ago that The Spectator would be the first Nigerian newspaper you would talk to. After waiting for so long, we thought it was never going to happen. But it is happening now. So, let’s start by asking you, how does it feel to be Mrs Evelyn TB Joshua?
I count myself very lucky among women. My husband is a man every woman will want to have as a husband.
That presupposes a serious contest over him (general laughter…). Seriously speaking, do you fight any battle to keep him?
Not at all. I know that every woman will desire to have him as a husband, but there are not struggles on my part to keep him.
Prophet Joshua is very handsome and a great instrument in the hands of God, sought after, all over the world, by presidents and kings. You mean there are no special battles you fight to gain his attention and also keep him from prying female eyes?
Not at all. But I know that when a man is hardworking and God-fearing, every woman will like to have him. But believe me, I fight no special battles to keep him. He knows who he believes and God whom he believe and serves so well is capable of keeping him, and has, indeed, been keeping him.
So, how do you cope with his tight schedule? This is somebody who spends every minute of his life in the church ministering to people’s needs and all that; and we do know that women need their husbands as much as their husbands need them.
We are into the same cause. So, I don’t have any difficulties handling that aspect at all because we are pursuing the same goal. God has so made it that we complement each other perfectly well in very many ways.
Are you a pastor, too?
No, but I am helping.
So, you never trained as a pastor?
We are many here; we are under training.
Under him?
Yes, and it is a life-long training. It is a continuous, never-ending training like the school of life. Of course, as long as we are living, we will continue to strive in God’s will.
So, how exactly did you meet Prophet TB Joshua? We want to know the year, the circumstances and all that…
(laughs heartily…) It was around 1989
That was 20 years ago?
Twenty years now, yes. I visited a sister somewhere at Ikotun-Egbe, and, then they were talking about a particular man, a prophet to be precise. It was a kind of meeting to be precise. And it’s like everybody in that gathering, or at least half of the people in the room, had actually visited him. So, they were saying a lot of good things about him. I was thrilled. At the end of the whole thing, I called a sister outside and asked whether she could take me to the prophet. I didn’t ask to go there out of curiosity. I actually needed a guide at that point in time.
Were you at any crossroads at that point in time?
Not really. I wasn’t at any crossroads, but I desperately needed a guide.
Or were there some challenges you were facing and for which you needed to see this man of God?
Not quite so. But I had seen pastors. I worshipped in a church and I had read about prophets in the Bible, though I had never come across any. But at that particular time, I needed a guide, sort of.
Spiritual guide?
Yes, a spiritual guide. A counsellor.
Could you tell us the church were you were worshipping before you suddenly and desperately needed this spiritual guide?
I was in Assemblies of God Church.
How long were you there?
As long as I can remember.
Were you born there?
No, I was not. Can we go back to my story, please? So, the sister and I scheduled a date. We got to his place and he was not around.
Not to The Synagogue, I believe?
No, to his house.
Okay, where was his house then?
Down in Ikotun-Egbe, at Agodo.
It was a mansion was it?
(Laughs loudly…) Yes, by the grace of God, it was.
If we may take you back, what things were people talking about that made you get interested in him?
Many things. This one said he prayed for him and things became okay from there. Another said her life was at a bend but straightened up when she met him. You know, things like that. So, we went there. Unfortunately, we did not meet him at home. But looking back now, I thank God that we didn’t meet him that day.
Why?
Because that would have been the end of this story.
Why would it have been the end of the story?
It would have been because what he told me the very first day that I set my eyes on him, if the sister were there, I would have believed that maybe she had gone behind me to tell him all about me. And that would have ruined it.
So, did the man of God tell you the story of his life?
Yes, of course.
Without any pre-knowledge of who you were?
Yes. Okay, I’m coming (laughs…). Some months after, I visited him. That was in 1990. I could remember that day was a public holiday. I remember also how I nearly lost my way because I had never been to the place before, except that day I went with the sister.
That is to say, this time you went alone?
Yes, I did. I went alone. But before I was able to locate the place, it was a bit difficult for me. When I got into the waiting room, I met two men waiting to see him. Before this time, the idea that I had about a prophet was that of an old man with a white, long beard and things like that. So, on that day, I was reading a novel that I came with when I suddenly saw someone come into the room, pick one or two things and went back. But the shadow of whatever I saw was not that of an old man.
Did you greet him?
No, I didn’t even look at his face. But when he left one, one of the two men was telling the other one, ‘that’s him. That’s him.’ I looked up but he had gone. They went into the consulting room before me. Finally, it was my turn, and I went in there. We sat opposite each other. And, he was gazing at me for about a minute and some seconds. I gazed at him, too. Transfixed as I was, I noticed that there was a piece of paper before him. Still looking at me, he wrote the word, ‘Ejide’, on it. (Transliterated, Eji de – twin has come). Lest I forget, I’m a twin.
And before then, you had not told him anything about yourself?
No, we were just looking at each other until he, at a time, wrote my name on the piece of paper. So, we started talking. He told me a lot of things about myself, both things that I knew, and those that I never knew. I was shocked. He told me about my family, about my past, my present and my future. Altogether, we spent about 45 minutes. At the end of the whole thing, he spoke to me in Yoruba and said: Joo ma binu o. Ma ro pe bi mo se nba gbogbo eniyan ti o ba wa s’odo mi soro ni eleyi o. Mi o ni ale, mi o dee fee ni ale. Sugbon, se oo fe mi? (Transliterated, this means: Please, don’t be annoyed. Don’t think this is how I talk to everyone that comes to me. I don’t have a concubine, and I don’t want to have a concubine. But can you marry me?)
Just like that?
Just like that. It was strange, but that gives us an insight into what the Scripture says that the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. I think that was it. That was how I met him. Some months later, I asked him why he thought it was right seeing a lady for the first time and going on to propose to her. He said he had seen me four days before that very day.
Where?
I don’t know
In his dream?
I don’t know.
Or was it a revelation?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Okay, let’s go back to the time you entered his consulting room. You said you sat opposite him and looking at each other intensely, I believe. At that particular moment, what was going on in your mind?
A lot of things. In the first place, I was expecting to see an elderly man.
But instead you saw a dashing, handsome, young man?
(Laughs). Oh yes! That was it.
He too must have been captivated by a ravishing beauty like you…
(Laughs again…) I wouldn’t know. But like I told you, he wrote my name on the piece of paper before him. That was the first thing that really shocked me. And the fact that he proposed to me the first time that we met without waiting to know some things about me.
Wait a minute. Don’t you think that one of your friends could have had contact with him and told him about you?
Unfortunately, I don’t have friends. As I told you, it was a sister that I visited who took me there in the first place. So, there is no way anybody could have gone to tell him about me. And, when I was going there the second time, she wasn’t there. I went alone.
Why did you choose to leave where you were worshipping?
I’ve told you how I got to know about him. I told you too, that I didn’t go there out of curiosity. I needed a guide, whom, I believe, I could get from the prophet. That’s why I went.
In what area of your life did you need a guide before you went to him? Was it on marriage, business etc.? What area?
You know, life is full of challenges. As a young lady, I knew God was there. I have a Creator and I know He can guide me into the right path. So, I wouldn’t say business or marriage drove me to him. I just needed someone to guide me into the right path in life.
What were you doing in the secular world before this time?
Should I say as it was then, so it is now? After my secondary school education, at that time, you could get a job in a factory or whatever, hoping to be staffed one day. So after my secondary school education, life was like: today, you are in business; tomorrow, you are in a printing press, and so on. I think the last place I worked before I met him was in Nigerian Distilleries in Ota.
I was going to ask what you trained in because you are so fluent in expression and other things…
(Laughs)
What qualities eventually cemented the relationship between you and Prophet TB Joshua?
As I told you, he is a very honest and humble man. Yes, he is a God fearing man too. I saw a kind-hearted man, a zealous man, a man of one purpose, a man with a sole aim: to please God at all times, with every other thing being secondary. I think those qualities were what cemented our relationship.
Okay, how were you convinced that he was the man that you were going to spend the rest of your life with?
When I woke up that very morning, I never knew. But something in me said: ‘Go to the prophet.’ And when he proposed to me, it was strange, but then, my heart agreed with it instantly.
Did you say ‘Yes’ there and then?
I don’t think I have said yes up till now! (General laughter)
You can say that again. So, from there, one thing led to another and then your marriage or wedding. When did it take place? How many months or years of courtship did you have?
I am not sure that we courted for long. The wedding took place the same year – 1990.
Where did you get married?
In my place (laughs)
Was it a church wedding or traditional wedding?
Both
Let’s have you talk a little about yourself, when you were born and where, about your family and where you come from.
I was born about 40 years ago into a family of seven.
You don’t look it at all…
(Laughs)
What’s your position in the family?
Fifth, my twin brother and I.
Twin brother? Where is he?
He is late.
What a pity.
There’s no problem. I was born to the late Mr and Mrs Nicholas Akabude in the quiet town of Okala Okpuno in Oshimili North local government of Delta State. I started my primary education at St. Emecheta Primary School, Ezi Town, also in Delta State. Years later, I came to Lagos, that was in 1977, and completed my primary education here at Orile Primary School, Oshidi, and my secondary education also in Oshodi. That’s all about my education. But a few years later, my husband sent me to Ghana and I was able to take some management courses there.
So, in what practical ways has your ministry complemented your husband’s? I know you are a minister in The Synagogue. What’s your own ministry? Tell us about your ministry.
It’s the ministry of reconciliation.
In marriage?
In all aspects – parents-children relationships, marriage and things like that. I think they go hand-in-hand with one another. You can’t actually separate them.
How does this ministry complement your husband’s ministry, bearing in mind that he is into a prophetic and healing ministry?
When we talk about reconciliation, you need a lot of time to listen to people, to hear them; they want to bare their minds and a prophet hasn’t got that time, especially after talking for hours. But I do that.
What are the peculiar challenges that face you as Mrs TB Joshua?
Challenges?
Yes, are there challenges that you face?
Life is all about challenges. All those problems and trials, I see them as challenges.
Maybe you are getting used to not seeing him regularly as you would have loved to…
No, no, no. What’s he doing? Whatever it is, he has my support.
Seeing a lot of people and having to minister to them…
That’s good.
You mean it doesn’t affect the home in anyway?
Not at all.
Okay, how come you have kept to yourself for so long, because if this is not your first interview with the press, you’ve granted very negligible few? Or is it that you dislike the press?
Not really. You said very few, not that I have not granted any.
You mean you have not come across any?
I’ve not. I hope this will go very far so that someone else does not come to ask me, you’ve not granted any interview… (general laughter) Actually, like the Bible says, there is a time for everything, and God’s time is the best. Maybe, the time is just ripe for what we are doing now.
That is to say, there is a time to keep to yourself and…
And of course, a time to talk. (general laughter)
So, how do you combine your roles as a minister of God, as a mother, as a wife? And, as a mother too, to the teeming crowd that comes to The SCOAN…
Where God guides, He provides. And those whom God has called for any service, He makes them fit for it. So, there is not much problem about that at all.
People believe that there are a lot of myths surrounding your husband. I’ve been his friend since 1989. I’ve heard people say a lot about him. I’ve seen people publish a lot of things about him, and they are still publishing. When you read or hear things that are not palatable being said about your husband, which ultimately must affect the family – how do you react? Do you feel any bitterness?
Point of correction – it is not affecting my family, and can never affect my family in any way because I know my husband, I know who he believes, and I know who I believe. I don’t have any doubt in my mind and I know that the good work the Lord has started in him, He will accomplish and complete, in Jesus’ Name.
So, you don’t feel any bitterness when people write negative things about your husband?
Not at all. I don’t because I know him very well, and I know the God he serves.
How does his ministry complement yours?
I’ve said before that they are one. You can’t actually separate them. People come around. They want to see the prophet. They want to spend time with him. But he hasn’t got such time. You know, many of them want to bare their minds. You need to listen to them carefully. You need to be with them. So, I took up that. You’ve got it? They actually came for him but along the line, you find out that they want to spend more time with him. That’s where I come in.
How do you help your husband to overcome the gargantuan temptations that come his way every day, because this is a man exposed to thousands of people every day, especially women? How do you help him?
You see, you don’t have any alternatives in life. I can as well tell you that we don’t have alternatives in life. Anything that is contrary to what we stand for or what God sent us for, is what we are going to fight against. I can say that God has been merciful enough, guiding and protecting us in that angle.
The reason I asked that question is because I’ve seen many men of God fall because of women, money, fame and other extraneous things…
You should know what you believe. Did you get that? As I said, you cannot afford to fail. There is no other way. So, you must guard against that. And that’s what we’ve been doing.
Could you tell us, in practical terms, how you’ve been guarding against that?
The Bible says our heart is the communication point. If the fear of God is registered in your heart at any time, if you are doing evil, you must know. And so, you must guard that heart at all times. Anything that is contrary to the will of God, you shouldn’t take part in it.
Kenneth Hagin wrote in his book about how he fights the temptation of women. He said his office and his wife’s office are next to each other, and he said he deliberately made it so. And that at every given time, the two doors are open so that the wife sees the person he is counselling and he also sees the person the wife is counselling, just to make sure he fights and defeats the tendencies of the flesh.
Well, it is God that guides. It is God that protects. How long do you keep on watching over a man? I mean, as I’ve just told you, I can say that I know him (Prophet TB Joshua) very well, and I can tell what he is capable of doing. So, that’s no problem at all. All right?
I was expecting you to tell us what measures you’ve put in place to ensure that your husband doesn’t fall into the temptation of immorality while counselling woman…
I don’t take any other measure than to pray for him.
So, what counsel would you give to ministers’ wives as to how they can help the ministry of their husbands, as to how they can protect and preserve their homes while serving God and humanity?
The counsel is, be the woman that God has made you to be. Don’t measure yourself by yourself and don’t live by other people’s standards. Rest in the place God has for you. Be a good mother to your children and a good wife to your husband, and a woman of faith to humanity. Whatever situation you face in life, God is saying something through it and about it.
If your husband were to be in the secular world, he would be a superstar – because here is somebody who sits here, and presidents, top government officials and important people come from across the globe to see him. Do you have that feeling in you of having been married to a superstar?
All we do here is just absolute grace of God. Everything that happens here is by the grace of God, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, we don’t feel anything special because important people are coming. Rather, we appreciate the grace of God upon our lives, upon the church, and we give Him all the glory. So, there is no superstar feeling. If there is any superstar, that superstar is Jesus through whom we can do all things. So, I don’t feel any different from who God says I am. My husband doesn’t feel any different from who God says he is.
Prophet TB Joshua
As I told you, apart from being a prophet, I actually saw what I needed in a man. So, it is not a question of being a prophet. It is about his character, his inner being.
What kind of man did you pray to marry before you met him?
Every woman desires to have a good husband, although appearance is deceptive. But God looks at the heart. I wanted a God-fearing man, an honest man and a kind-hearted man. And those are the qualities that I saw in him.
Over the years, you’ve been to many places. What memories do you have of the places you’ve been to, whether in Nigeria or outside?
Good memories. I’ve been to many places, you are right. After this, I still have something good to talk about them, about the people and what they receive from the Lord. We don’t just to because we want to go. We actually visit places because God wants us to be there. And, when we leave there, there are good things to talk about.
What’s your greatest fear in life?
Fear?
Yes.
I don’t fear anything because I know God is there, and He can handle every situation.
What about embarrassing moments? Every human being does encounter embarrassing moments, things that will just happen and they embarrass you…
Embarrassing moments? Have I ever had any?
So, it has all been smooth?
There have been many challenges. I have said that.
What are these challenges? You’ve not told us.
Good and hard times (laughs)
You mean the wife of Prophet TB Joshua can have hard times too?
Because we are human
A man sought after by presidents, kinds and ministers, by everybody?
Sure, we are human.
Thank you very much.
I thank you, too.
SOURCE: Weekly Spectator, Nigeria – Vol. 1 No. 54
Thursday, October 17, 2013
BELIEF IN OUR HEART PART 2 – T.B. JOSHUA
Prophet T.B. Joshua ministering the message of faith to the congregants at The SCOAN.
“The power that flows from His name, the name Jesus, will be in proportion to our love for His Word. It is the Word dwelling in you which is equivalent to Christ personally being in you. If there is no indwelling Word, Jesus will not come onto the scene” he said.
The man of God said: “God commends us to the Word of His grace. This Word builds Christ’s nature into individuals. In other words, God is building Himself in to us, making Himself part of us as the Word rules, dominates and sanctifies our spirit nature.”
Prophet T.B. Joshua later prophesied to the congregation before he ministered deliverance and healing in Jesus’ name at the Prayer Line where an awesome display of the mercy and majesty of God, saw the lightning of Jesus flow through the Prophet in proportion to his love for God’s Word and the results were astonishing as the sick stood and walked at the mention of the name Jesus!
Wise Man Daniel also preached on the title: Your Role As a Genuine Seeker. He drew his proof text from the Book of Acts 13:22 saying, God testified to David’s willingness to receive of Him as genuine; because his requests were always full of humility and broken heartedness.
Wise man Daniel.
“These are the essential qualities possessed by genuine seekers. Indeed, David was one of the genuine seekers then. This clearly shows that, what is important to Jesus Christ is the ability to register one’s genuine willingness to receive of Him and not one’s physical disposition before Him.” ” He said, also citing Psalms 51:1-4.
PROPHECY THAT SMASHED THE SPIRIT OF SMOKING
The first case was that of Mr Benneth Isaac Nwaogu. Last Sunday he unexpectedly received a word of prophecy from Prophet T.B. Joshua who approached him and said: “You have a calling, Apostle, but there is a bad habit; what you are taking through your mouth!”
Mr Nwaogu confirmed to have been enslaved by the bad habit of smoking which, he said, had destroyed his life to the extent of being admitted to hospital at several occasions. He said he would be placed on a drip and receive injections to recover but he would continue smoking as soon as he was out of hospital.
Mr Benneth Nwaogu and family testifying to the glory of God at The SCOAN.
“There was a man smoking outside the room I was staying in and when I caught a whiff of the odour, it repulsed me so much I had to look for a cloth to cover my nose and mouth with,” he said.
His wife, Mrs Ijeoma Nwaogu testified how she had been keenly monitoring her husband and truly, he had not taken any alcoholic drinks or smoked since the deliverance.
30-YEAR AGONIZING ANAL CANCER HEALED IN JESUS’ NAME
Yunus Auta and Daughter testifying to the power of God.
He was ushered to the Prayer Line where the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua, prayed for him in the name of Jesus Christ. After the prayer, he was completely healed. The anus, which had protruded into a huge lump, has returned to normal and he no longer has the humiliation of wearing pampers to cope with the problem. He showed the before-and-after pictures of his sickness, a reminder to doubters that Jesus Christ never said goodbye but still lives and heals!
SPIRIT OF FRAUD BUSTED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST
Internet fraud is fast becoming a devilish in-thing among the youth today to the extent that they do not even fear to steal in the name of God. One such case was unravelled at The SCOAN two weeks ago when a young man, in his early 20’s, confessed to fleecing unsuspecting people seeking to come to The SCOAN for prayers or in need of Anointing items from the church.
Delivered by Wise Man Harry a week ago, Mr Solomon, a former student of Mass Communication at one of the universities in Nigeria, confessed that he was a former fraudster who used social media especially Facebook and other cyber tools to send friendship invitations to many people with the aim of defrauding them of their money.
Solomon testifying to the peace of God in his life.
He might have managed to evade the arm of the law but the power of the Holy Spirit can never be outsmarted by human intelligence or craftiness. In the night, he started to experience terrible nightmares in which the people he had defrauded would come, demanding their money and begin to chase him with various weapons.
“That is why I came. I had no peace and needed deliverance,” he said.
Testifying on Sunday, Mr Solomon said since his deliverance in the name of Jesus Christ through Wise Man Harry, he has been sleeping soundly and no longer has the urge to defraud and cheat people. He advised parents to monitor their children so they would not be deceived to go astray.
FREED FROM THE CLUTCHES OF ‘FALLEN ANGEL’
Flanked by his father, mother and members of his family, Mr Ben Ezenwata came to celebrate his liberation from the clutches of the evil spirit of a ‘fallen angel’ following his deliverance by Wise Man Racine the previous week. Last born in a family of ten children, Mr Ezenwata said he grew up with little attention from his family members, resulting in neglect and loneliness.
Ben showing the tattoos on his body.
Ben and his family now reunited to the glory of Jesus Christ.
It was in search of such a desire for a belonging that, one day while on internet, he found himself searching for satanic websites that led him to the ‘illuminati’. He said it was on the site where he was initiated and developed an urge for alcohol and drugs, unknown to his family. He was at boarding school and would drink, take drugs and fall asleep for three days without anyone noticing. Often he would go into a trance where an evil spirit would tell him what to do.
He would also listen to worldly music when he was high on drugs and smoking. From there, he would hear the voice of evil spirits telling him to do evil things. Some of these instructions were to get specific tattoos like crosses, the face of Jesus and others but they were a form of camouflage to hide his real activities of initiation into the satanic world. These tattoos would entice the simpleminded who in turn would go out and get similar marks on their bodies, unconsciously being initiated by the evil spirits. He began to get more instructions from the fallen angel to get a special tattoo of large wings on his back. The demon told him that as a fallen angel, it needed new wings to fly again. Therefore, the next tattoo he was to get was that of giant eagle’s wings.
“Many youths are getting initiated by other things like social media and pornography available on the internet,” he warned.
However, because of the evil spirit in him, he hated watching or being in the same room where Emmanuel TV was playing. All he lusted for was drugs, worldly music and women. Since his deliverance here at The SCOAN, he has not had the urge to smoke, drink alcohol, masturbate, womanize, listen to worldly music any more or watch movies or pornography. He now reads the Bible.
He advised young people everywhere to be cautious of the enticement of the internet and cautioned parents to be partakers in the upbringing of their children because the world was full of lures. He exclaimed that this was the first time in 22 years that his entire family are together as one to rejoice in his freedom.
FROM FUEL ATTENDANT TO MULTI-BILLIONAIRE!
He wears the most expensive wristwatch in the word that has a 200-year life span – the Rolex, and drives one of the most expensive cars on the market. The story of Mr Haruna Madisca’s rise to life of abundance and affluence is not just the usual from-grass-to-grace classic, but also a ‘phenomenal miracle’ that can only be possible when God’s grace is involved in one’s affairs.
Haruna testifying to the transformative power in Christ Jesus at The SCOAN.
Living in abject poverty as a filling station attendant, Mr Haruna Madisca described his former life as humiliating and one he would not forget in a hurry.
“I was nobody; earning just 800 naira a month,” he said.
While searching for a way out of his predicament, he came across Emmanuel TV and was amazed at the great miracles God was doing. The following Sunday he was in the Synagogue!
After receiving the Anointing Water and Anointing Sticker, he prayed fervently with them in the name of Jesus Christ and his breakthrough came that month. People who deserted him a long time back started to call his number and offer contracts. The first was worth 3.5 million naira from a notable person and was able to build a big house in three months. Since then, the floodgates of favours were let go and his life has transformed beyond recognition.
When he moved to Abuja, he became the owner of a large two-storey house. He now dines with the elite.
He said his secret his love for Jesus Christ, listening to and obeying every word the man of God Prophet T.B. Joshua preaches, watching Emmanuel TV, praying with the Anointing items from The SCOAN and helping the under-privileged – a lifestyle he said he has learned from the Prophet.
Philanthropically, he successfully dug two boreholes in his community and is actively involved in skills development in his state. He has embarked on granting scholarships for the needy and aims to do more.
Mr Madisca warned people from seeking riches from cultists and other satanic sources, saying only riches from the Lord Jesus bring uncommon peace and joy.
REVELATION OF GOD’S GLORY CHANGES A SECULAR MUSICIAN
A Gospel artist from Ghana, Mr Joseph Otu Ankrah, had all the characteristics of a gifted artist set for the top. No wonder, he came second in the Project Fame national talent contest in his country and repeated the feat for West Africa as a secular artist then. However, the more famous he became, the more he yearned for more glory even if it came from wrong sources.
“I was ready to do anything even if it meant becoming a cultist,” he said, adding that he actually started searching on the internet and asking people where he could go to be empowered.
Joseph Ankrah speaking about his revelation.
From there, his action and location changed. He started seeking for God and found himself watching Emmanuel TV more and becoming inspired by the messages of the man of God. He decided to stop singing secular music and pursue God’s calling for his life. On listening to Emmanuel TV, he began to develop his spiritual life. One evening as he dreamt, he saw a bright light. The light was so bright he could not behold it. Next to the light were eleven beings. Each of them seemed to have a similar colour but one was different. He went closer to look at the different one and saw that it was the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua. He woke up in tears overjoyed at the revelation. Since then, he has never looked back and he is happy to declare that he is absolutely convinced about the genuineness of the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua.
MASS PRAYER
The Live Sunday service ended with a Mass Prayer ministered by the Wise Men during which many souls were set free from the bondage of the devil – proof that Jesus Christ lives. He never said goodbye! We believe your life will never be the same again after these awesome testimonies. Remember to send in your own testimonies and praise reports! We can’t wait to hear from you. God bless!
BELIEF IN OUR HEART
Last Sunday service, broadcast live on Emmanuel TV, came with a
sweet surprise. For the first time in three years, the man of God,
Prophet T.B. Joshua, ministered prayer, healing and deliverance at the
prayer line. The service, which started at 8am, was miracle-packed as
the Almighty God used the faculties of Prophet T.B. Joshua and the wise
men to minister to those that had congregated at The SCOAN headquarters
in Lagos, Nigeria and viewers worldwide. Those who had difficulties in
walking due to various ailments and afflictions were prayed for in the
name of Jesus Christ and instantly walked. Those possessed with evil
spirits were also delivered, in Jesus’ name.
The man of God prophesied to the congregants and preached on the
issue of faith and the power of the Word under the title: Belief In Our
Heart, a message drawn from the book of Romans 10:7, 9. He
said everybody has power in his mouth but what differs is the degree of
belief in one’s heart – the power to bless, loose and heal, among
others.
“The belief in our heart is released by faith out of our mouth. It means everybody created by God has power. If you have not realized your power, it means it is dormant, unused,” he said.
The Prophet cited as example the story of the disciples of Jesus Christ, saying the reason they could not deliver the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:14-29 was not because they lacked faith, rather they ‘needed the measure of faith’ to release the power. He said the more one’s faith is, the more the power is released.
Wise Man Racine also taught on the topic, ‘The University of God’. He said knowing God is not only to see His works, but to learn His ways through His Word by His Spirit. He said trials and tribulations are part of the University of God one has to pass through before one can graduate, giving as an example the cases of Joseph and Jephtah in the Bible both of whom had to go through suffering to become important people in their society.
The service could not be complete without amazing testimonies that
glorified the power of the Almighty God. Below are a selected few and we
hope that as you read them, your faith will be lifted and God will meet
you at the point of your need. Stay blessed!
Prophet T. B. Joshua
“The belief in our heart is released by faith out of our mouth. It means everybody created by God has power. If you have not realized your power, it means it is dormant, unused,” he said.
The Prophet cited as example the story of the disciples of Jesus Christ, saying the reason they could not deliver the demon-possessed boy in Mark 9:14-29 was not because they lacked faith, rather they ‘needed the measure of faith’ to release the power. He said the more one’s faith is, the more the power is released.
Wise Man Racine also taught on the topic, ‘The University of God’. He said knowing God is not only to see His works, but to learn His ways through His Word by His Spirit. He said trials and tribulations are part of the University of God one has to pass through before one can graduate, giving as an example the cases of Joseph and Jephtah in the Bible both of whom had to go through suffering to become important people in their society.
Wise Man Racine
CALL ME LAZARUS! MIRACULOUSLY BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE THROUGH ANOINTING WATER
For the 30-year old Immigration Officer from Ghana, Mr Samuel Kara, June 2, 2013 will for a long time bring nothing to cheer about but horror footage of how he slipped into the dark tunnel of death. But to the glory of God, he was brought back to life 14 days later, thanks to the mighty power of God that resuscitated him through the medium of the Anointing Water.
Mr Kara came to The SCOAN to testify how on that fateful Sunday afternoon, he fell sick and started vomiting and passed out blood before he collapsed. He said, “At that time, I was scared. I had never experienced anything like that in my life. It was while I was carrying the bucket outside that I collapsed and passed out. Unknown to me, the blood had streamed down the corridor and one of the officers saw it and raised alarm. That is all I know”.
He was rushed to the hospital unconscious. He had lost a lot of blood. His colleagues at the barracks where he was staying organised themselves – about 20 of them – to donate blood but every time they did, he would vomit it out. The doctors were perplexed. A whole 14 pints of blood had been transfused into him but he still remained unconscious.
One of his workmates knew a woman, Mrs.
Lovelace Nyame, who frequently visited The SCOAN in Lagos and went to
see her with the hope that she would have the Anointing Water. How
faithful God is! The woman had just visited The SCOAN the previous two
weeks. She agreed to minister it on Mr Kara at the hospital.
Mrs. Nyame said, “It was when we arrived at the hospital that I began
to appreciate the severity of the case. He laid still in bed, weak and
vomiting clots of blood. His friends were in groups discussing amongst
themselves what to do. Men were crying like babies. I produced my bottle
of Anointing Water and prayed in the name of Jesus Christ and said,
‘Dead bones shall rise again!’”
And indeed, the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Anointing Water became the fountain of life that replaced his lost blood. Mr Kara was brought back to life. However, the loss of blood had been chronic and he began to show signs of mental disorder.
According to his wife, Mrs. Modesta Kara, doctors told her that although her husband had survived, he would not live to be normal. They prescribed her a drug but she could not find any in all the drug stores. One of the nurses at the hospital who is a partner with Emmanuel TV, advised her not to worry but believe in God. They continued to use the Anointing Water. After 14 days, he was back to normal and out of hospital! He is now back to work.
“Doctors can say anything based on their understanding, but God has the final say. They said he would not live but here he is. Everyone at the hospital now calls him Lazarus!” said Mrs. Modesta Kara, happy and overjoyed about what God had done.
MANGLED BONES RISE AGAIN: ANOINTING WATER TESTIMONY
Mr Roman Hetman, is a walking testimony of God’s grace.
“I use my leg to demonstrate how unlimited God’s power is. He used the Anointing Water to heal my leg that was a few hours away from amputation after a horrid accident left it minced,” he said.
Mr Hetman, who is from Poland but resides in Zambia, was coming from a business conference in 2009 and driving his car on a remote road littered with potholes when he had an accident. The steering wheel, gear box and pedals inexplicably just jammed and what followed was a terrible road accident that left his left leg crushed. Not only that, he had a crack in his head. According to him, a piece of his skull came through his ear towards his ear drum so, he could only hear a ringing sound.
He was unconscious as they took him to the hospital. At the first two clinics they visited, they refused, saying they did not accept dead bodies as he was thought to be dead at first sight. Finally, being admitted in a hospital, two operations were done on his leg but did not help; the operations even added to his leg’s mangled state.
“No piece of the broken leg was removed. For three and a half years the bones kept coming out. We tried to look for specialist doctors but to no avail. I was like a cabbage – unable to read, to write, to recognise people around me, to say the food I liked – all my senses had gone and the doctors were suggesting that they amputate my leg as it was severely slashed and hanging from the rest of my body,” he said.
During this time, infections would come up resulting in so many operations that he lost count. For a period of six months, the leg looked as if it was healing but then the wound re-opened and the bones became disconnected and infected once again. Fed up, he decided to seek divine intervention.
He came to The SCOAN in 2009 where he received a word of prophecy from Wise Man Harry that the iron would be removed. He received the Anointing Water and went back to Zambia. He began to minister the Anointing Water and, praise be to God, after four months the metal was removed as his leg bones had finally grown back together and the skin healed over. He was miraculously healed. Mr Hetman showed the affected leg for the glory of God. He is now able to walk and move around freely.
His wife said that she thanks God that He heard their cries for help.
GOD’S TIME IS THE BEST: MAN GETS DREAM JOB – ANOINTING WATER
Our miracle-working God is the God of no limitations and He answers at His own acceptable time. Mr Roland Omolofe is a testifier to this. He came to the SCOAN to share a wonderful testimony of how he never gave up even when it appeared that his blessings were taking long. He had been looking for a breakthrough in his career. Because his miracle was taking a long time to come, people started to laugh at him and asked why he continued to visit The SCOAN when he was struggling financially. Mr Omolofe ignored them believing that God’s time is the best.
BABY AT LAST, AS LIGHT TRIUMPHS OVER DARKNESS – ANOINTING WATER
The experience of Mr and Mrs. Ivan Emmanuel Suh from Cameroon is an intriguing one. It is a classic example of how light and darkness cannot dwell together. Mr Suh used to be a person that used charms; he had a shrine and visited witch doctors regularly. All this time, he and his wife were yearning for a baby but they could not conceive one. His brother visited The SCOAN and received the Anointing Water and Anointing Stickers which he gave to Mr Suh.
He took them and began to carry both the Anointing items and the charms. He and his wife were still trying for another child but each time she conceived, she would miscarry within three months. After some time, his wife reasoned with him to stop using both because one is darkness and the other light. He told her to choose between the two. She opted for the Anointing items. So, he in agreement, threw the charms away. After one month she became pregnant and carried the baby safely. They now are proud parents of baby, Jacob. The father, overwhelmed by the mightiness of God, has now converted to Christianity.
We thank God Almighty for His faithfulness and everlasting grace He manifests through His living church to set free the chained by declaring freedom and breakthroughs in their lives, in Jesus’ name. Glory be to God!
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