THE FIVE WISE MEN

THE BATTLE GROUND: THE ARENA OF LIBERTY
The breathtaking, pulse beating, hand clapping, ‘Hallelujah’ shouting Sunday service of 6th June 2010 at the arena of liberty – The Synagogue Church Of All Nations – proved once again that life is not a playground, a bonding meeting or an encounter group. Life is a warfare in which only the serious minded are victorious.

As Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12-13 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and when you have done everything, to stand.”

The Bible says we are in a warfare. The prayer of faith is requisite in the battle against satan. There is not enough natural strength, mental strength or financial strength to stop satan; he can only be stopped by the power of Jesus Christ. Every piece of God’s armour has its own offensive and defensive uses. When we are spiritually strong, love becomes our protection against the hatred of the adversary. When we are spiritually strong, peace becomes our protection against the attack of the enemy. So use every piece of God’s armour whenever the enemy attacks.

The service turned out to be a series of remarkable encounters in which the Power and anointing of God, the Almighty fought against the power of darkness that not only wowed the international audience of Emmanuel TV and astounded the congregation of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, but also attested to the anointing the now Five Wise Men have received from God Almighty. These encounters further proclaimed the glorious message of the Gospel that although the power of darkness may test us, it cannot destroy us, that satan is powerless in the face of God’s armour and weapons and confirmed that Greater is He that is in us than all the forces that can be arrayed against us.

MARCHING ORDERS: MESSAGE – FOLLOW THE DIRECTION OF GOD’S CALLING FOR YOUR LIFE
One of the wise men, John Chi of Cameroon, delivered an awesome message packed with explosive charisma, concrete confidence and hidden treasures drawn from the Word of God. The message titled, ‘FOLLOW THE DIRECTION OF GOD’S CALLING FOR YOUR LIFE’ cautioned the congregants to settle down and discover God’s calling for their lives so that they would not follow the calling of God for someone else’s life. John Chi stressed that as Christians we should not measure ourselves by ourselves, compare ourselves to others or look to them for direction because our situation is not like theirs. When we run into difficulty and hard times we should not compare ourselves with our neighbours who may be in good times. We are all running a race but the way we run our race brings about who we are. In a final note, he gave a fiery word of exhortation, “Everything close to the throne receives attacks. Whenever you find yourself being attacked by foolish things, fear not – you are on the right track. Keep pressing…When God, the Almighty leads you to a place of salvation, you will be saved like the Philippian Jailer and you will stand and testify like Joshua in the book of Joshua 24:15 that as for me and my household we shall serve the Lord!”

A WITCH DOCTOR CAPTURED AND CRAWLING
During the Holy Ghost fire filled mass prayer led by the Wise Men; a witch doctor was among the many that were exposed by the power of God. When he was later called forward by Prophet TB Joshua, the man came out of the crowd crawling on all fours. The man came out claiming that he had come to the church to be delivered and to accept Jesus Christ. The Prophet replied that due to the evil the man had done, he would be unable to stand up until he confessed his sins and the destruction he had caused and received deliverance in the name of Jesus, adding that his days were numbered and the only solution was to accept Jesus Christ. If not he would continue to live on his hands and knees. The man of God offered him an opportunity to confess the evil he had done, as confession brings freedom, but when the captive witch doctor proved unwilling to receive his deliverance, he was left to crawl on his hands and knees during the healing time to consider his future. The man later confessed and was delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit towards the end of the second service.

NO HIDING PLACE FOR DARKNESS
Then came the renowned Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Prayer line. After a brief introduction by Prophet TB Joshua, the Three Wise Men were joined by a further two as they began to pray for the people who had come to receive solutions to their problems through the Power of Jesus Christ. Immediately the Wise Men stretched forth their hands in accordance with the book of Acts 4:30 to declare freedom in the name of Jesus Christ for each person, the Power of the Holy Spirit fell upon them, putting an end to their past of suffering, pain and problems, and giving birth to a bright future.

One of the two people who joined the Wise Men, a man from Europe, exposed a woman possessed with an evil spirit claiming to be the ‘demonic King of Cameroon’. Mrs Catharine Bakop from Cameroon had a spiritual husband and claimed that she came to The SCOAN for prayer. When the 5 Wise Men started praying, she felt immediate discomfort as people around her were being set free from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the Light. When one of the Wise Men came to her and stretched his hand forward, the woman’s expression changed. She started behaving strangely, moving from side to side, laughing and talking rudely to the Wise Man. In the course of her deliverance, the demon in her shouted out several times, ‘She is my wife!’ Many times laughing right in the face of the Wise Man. But when the Wise Man called for the fire of the Holy Spirit to fall upon her, things changed again. She started complaining, patting at her body as if trying to put out invisible flames all over her body, but the fire of the Holy Ghost was not quenched until the contrary spirit in her life had been cast out. Finally, she fell to the ground and the battle was over. Mrs Bakop was delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit – glory be to God.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Still at the prayer line, another woman possessed with a destructive spirit, was encountered by one of the men who joined the Wise Men that day. Mrs Mercy Bogbe from Ghana came to the prayer line holding a placard with the problems of multiple fibroid, itchy throat, marital problem and evil attack written on it. But when confronted by the Wise Man, the darkness in her life was exposed by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Several times, the woman tried to run away under the control of the evil spirit but the superior power of God restrained her at the gate and brought her back to face the Wise Man. When he called down the fire of the Holy Ghost upon the negative power in her life, the demon began to rip and tear at her clothes, trying to extinguish the flames. With a Word, the woman fell to her knees as the Word of God worked in the Spirit and with one final effort she attempted to rise, but collapsed on her back, breathed a last breath and lay still. After a moment, the Wise Man gently walked towards her head and commanded the woman to rise up. Instantly, she breathed a deep breath and sat upright, tasting the first air of freedom in Christ Jesus.

OUR WEAPON IS NOT CARNAL: FRUIT OF THE WOMB ANOINTING WATER TESTIMONY
Mr & Mrs Actor Osevohare from Delta State, Nigeria who respectively had the problems of low sperm count and tubal blockages which led to barrenness for the past 10 years, came seeking the fruit of the womb. During the service, the couple narrated how they had gone from one hospital to another and from one witch doctor to another, none of which could offer any assistance or solution. Mrs Osevohare recounted how in desperation to get solution to this problem, he had been advised to purchase many different kinds of medicines. He said ‘Assume you entered my bedroom now, you would think I am a witch doctor with all the bottles and tablets lying around everywhere, whereas I am not a witch doctor’.

At best the hospitals offered a long list of expensive drugs or a delicate operation but the couple were not satisfied with this kind of risky option. So one day, they happened to come across Emmanuel TV and saw Prophet T.B. Joshua preaching, and healing people. Then to their great surprise, the man of God announced that there would be a great meeting for the fruit of the womb and all interested persons should come down to the church. They attended The 2009 Fruit Of The Womb Meeting With Prophet T.B. Joshua and received anointing water for the fruit of the womb. After using it, they met as husband and wife.

A month later, Mrs Osevohare told her husband that she had done a test and was in fact pregnant! Her husband thought to himself, if my wife is pregnant now, that must mean my problem has been solved too. So he also went to the hospital to do a sperm test. When the result came out he went back to meet his doctor whose mouth was agape in amazement as he stared at the report. ‘Never, in the history of this hospital have I seen a recovery like this. After all the tests and drugs you have been on, your sperm count is not supposed to be more than 1000. Right now, it is over 2000!’ Not only has God, the Almighty blessed the Osevohares with a healthy, handsome baby boy, HE also healed Mr Osevohare’s low sperm count and his wife’s blocked tubes – a problem which had refused to yield for the past 10 years – another magnificent trophy of the Gospel’s victory!

VISITING DIGNITRIES SHARE THEIR VIEWS
Among the distinguished guests that visited The SCOAN on the 6th of June 2010, were Hon. Joe Gidisu – Minister for Roads and Highways, Ghana, Hon. Joe Amenorwode – Governor of Volta Region, Ghana, and Mr Mandla Mazubiko – Vice President of South Africa Football Association. All of whom said that they had enjoyed the service immensely, loved to see the men of God in action and wished the Prophet many happy returns on his upcoming birthday on the 12th of June.

AN UNUSUAL BIRTHDAY REQUEST
As a closing remark, after the grace, Prophet TB Joshua informed the church that he would be celebrating his birthday on June 12th, which would fall on the coming Saturday. He added knowing that many would wish to associate with him on this birthday but would not be able to attend the celebration that the Lord had provided a superior alternative to the usual way of sending best regards with greeting cards, gifts and suchlike. Instead those wishing to commemorate his birthday should rather look for the needy, disadvantaged, lonely and less privileged in their community with whom to celebrate. The Prophet continued that when you celebrate T.B.s Joshua, don’t celebrate the man; celebrate the Holy Spirit in his life.