ANYTHING THAT COMES BY FORCE IS NOT FAITH

Emmanuel! Sunday 25^th November 2012 was another wonderful day in God’s presence at The SCOAN in Lagos, Nigeria. The service started with the prayer line with the five Wise Men ministering prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit to hundreds of people from all over the world. After this was a time of faith-building testimonies from those who had come to The SCOAN in the past and received the Anointing Water.

SPIRIT OF DEATH – EXPOSED AND EXPELLED!

The first testimony was that of Mrs Ohora Osim Enyieka who shared an extraordinary story of how death had been conquered in her family after ministering the Anointing Water. Mrs Ohora Osim Enyieka explained that a member of her family had died at a similar time every year between 2006 and 2010 through mysterious sicknesses. Each death was pre-empted by the arrival of a strange bird on the roof of her house, one which locals in her area confirmed was symbolic of the idols in the area and messengers of spiritualists and witch doctors bent on destruction. Frightened that she was next in line for diabolic termination, Mrs … decided to visit The SCOAN in 2011, where she was privileged to receive the Anointing Water. As the annual date of death loomed large, Mrs Ohora Osim Enyieka kept ministering the Anointing Water. One fateful day, upon hearing the arrival of the menacing bird on the roof of her house, an ominous sign of impending calamity, she promptly began ministering the Anointing Water. The bird took off immediately and the year ended fatality-free for the ecstatic family.

Upon coming to The SCOAN to share this initial testimony, Prophet T.B. Joshua spoke prophetically to them that they would still have another encounter with the evil spirit masquerading in the form of a bird. He stressed that when the bird arrived this time, after ministering the Anointing Water, it would be unable to leave and would therefore be captured by God’s power.

Nearly a year later, Mrs Ohora Osim Enyieka explained how one day, as one of the birds alighted on her roof, she suddenly felt as if the blood within her body was being drained slowly and life was seeping away from her. She fell into a comatose state and family members began fearing the worst. However, in her dream, she saw Prophet T.B. Joshua place the Anointing Water in her hands and command her to rise up. Upon her miraculous recovery, the spiritual attack intensified as the bird in question inexplicably entered her house and perched atop a curtain rail in one of the rooms.

Utterly confident that her victory was at hand, Mrs Ohora Osim Enyieka organised a local cameraman to come and then, in battle-mode, entered the room with the demonic bird armed only with her Anointing Water. She began wildly spraying the Anointing Water and praying in Jesus’ name for every demonic force behind the deaths in her family to be broken. As if in a drunken stupor, the bird, without anyone physically touching it, fell to the ground. The family returned to The SCOAN to share this wonderful testimony, even coming with the ‘owl’ that had succumbed to God’s power in the Anointing Water. Where oh death is your sting? Death has been swallowed up in victory!

KIDNAPPED CHILD RETURNED

The next testimony was that of Mrs Isioma Omene who came with her family to testify to God’s protection and power in their lives through the ministration of the Anointing Water. On 10^th October 2012, having closed her shop for the day, a car had suddenly blocked her own car on its way home. Little did she know that it was a co-ordinated effort to kidnap a member of her family. As her husband exited the car to ascertain what was happening, suddenly the sound of bullets shattered the silence. With her husband running for dear life, Mrs Omene struggled to hold her children close to her, knowing that it was a critical situation. As the kidnappers approached the car, all the family could do was pray. Her young daughter, Favour, lifted up her voice crying for God to protect her mother and siblings. Upon seeing the little girl’s bold prayers, the kidnappers turned their attention on her and cruelly snatched her from the clutches of Isioma.

The following day, the distraught family received a call from the kidnappers, demanding a ransom of

20 million naira be paid for her safe release. Failure to do so would, however, end in her execution. Unable to raise such an amount, Mrs Omene decided to visit The SCOAN to seek the face of God. As the service progressed, she shouted helplessly in the crowd, catching the attention of Prophet T.B. Joshua who asked her to wait behind after the service. He then gave her Anointing Water, asked her to be prayerful and spray the child’s photograph with it and assured her that she would be returned safely. Mrs Omene followed the instructions accordingly, believing God for Divine protection. Thirteen days after her capture, the kidnappers called Mr Omene and told him to meet them at an appointed area to release the child, as her incessant prayers were ‘disturbing them’. The father rushed to the designated spot and Favour was released without any ransom paid!

Favour, still recovering from the ordeal, told the touched congregation that she had been blindfolded and taken into a thick forest. She was warned not to pray in the name of Jesus but continued to sing and pray, remembering the songs she had learned at her school and the prayers she had watched on Emmanuel TV. She was neither given food nor water for two weeks and each time they found her on her knees in prayer, the kidnappers would flog her with the branch of a tree. She thanked God for saving her from the hands of her captives through the Anointing Water. The father, Hon. Godfrey also thanked Emmanuel TV and Prophet T.B. Joshua, stressing that after her release, the kidnappers were caught and are now in custody. His wife said that people should be faithful to God because with God, all things are possible.

SKIN MIRACULOUSLY RESTORED

Dr Enongene John shared a testimony to God’s transformative power in his life after using the Anointing Water. He had been sick for two years in Cameroon, resulting in a deteriorating skin condition that left him in constant pains, virtually immobile and jobless. Various hospitals he went to were unable to help as the creams and medications applied brought no seeming result. The skin condition on his legs worsened to the point where he was unable to wear shoes or socks and stayed most of his days indoors.

Being a viewer of Emmanuel TV, he started praying and fasting. A Good Samaritan who saw his condition and had just returned from a trip to The SCOAN, gave him the Anointing Water and encouraged him to spray the affected areas on his body. As Dr John began ministering the Anointing Water, his situation radically changed! The swelling and flayed skin on his legs disappeared and normal skin with a few scars were all that were left. He supernaturally regained his strength and after a two year hiatus due to the sickness, returned to his work. His wife, who accompanied him to share the testimony, said God’s power through the Anointing Water actually saved his life. He advised people to believe in God’s anointing in the life of Prophet T.B. Joshua that is also so mightily prevalent in the Anointing Water.

 

EIGHT YEARS OF BARRENNESS ERADICATED

Mr and Mrs Babalola came to The SCOAN with a powerful testimony of how God replaced their barrenness with fruitfulness after they had ministered the Anointing Water. Medically, Mrs Babalola had been diagnosed with tubal blockage and all forms of medical solution had been sought by the couple who had been looking for the fruit of the womb for eight years.

On visiting The SCOAN, Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for them and they were given the Anointing Water. Today, they are proud parents to Esther Babalola! After her miraculous conception, Mrs Babalola continued to minister the Anointing Water throughout the course of her pregnancy. She delivered her baby safely and without complications. The husband had advised that people should always depend on God because He is above all! The wife said that women should learn to be patient when seeking for the fruit of the womb because God’s time is the best.

 

 

 

MENSTRUATION FLOWS FREELY AFTER THREE YEARS

Mrs Bitrus came all the way from Ghana to share her heart-warming testimony. Three years ago, her menstruation had suddenly ceased with no clear medical explanation. The ailment was accompanied by constant headaches, and the search for healing led Mrs Bitrus to hospitals and herbal centres across the country.

 

However, after being strengthened in her faith through viewing Emmanuel TV, Mrs Bitrus began to believe God for Divine restoration of her menstruation. She was privileged to receive the Anointing Water from a friend of hers and immediately sprayed it all over her body and into her mouth. Suddenly, she experienced a hot sensation in her stomach. It became almost unbearable and, running to the toilet, she was shocked to see that blood had started flowing! It was an instant miracle! She showed photographs to verify the veracity of her miraculous healing to the congregation, praising God and advising people to always depend on Him who is able to do abundantly, exceedingly above all we could ask or imagine.

PHENOMENAL BLESSING

Pastor Charles Lomba from Zambia was the next in line to share his testimony. The clergyman explained that he was experiencing stagnation and financial setback in his ministry and was embarrassed to be walking home from church weekly while some of his members drove by in their cars. He had prayed for others who had received rich blessings but seemed stuck in a cycle of limitation and setback. 

After visiting The SCOAN on August 22^nd 2012, Pastor Lomba received an Anointing Sticker and declared that by faith, he would soon own a vehicle to enable him to place the Anointing Sticker on it. In bold faith, he even specified the type of vehicle he was praying for God to bless him with. Merely a week after returning from The SCOAN, a member of his church blessed him with not one but two new cars, one of which was the exact type he had requested from God! Full of happiness that his case had been touched by God’s anointing, he counselled the congregants and viewers worldwide on Emmanuel TV to have confidence that whatsoever had been prayed for by Prophet T.B. Joshua, could be used as a point of contact to release blessing and breakthrough into their lives.

 

 

 

WALKING WITHOUT HER WHEELCHAIR!

Mr and Mrs Cawkwell had travelled all the way from the United Kingdom to seek Divine healing at The SCOAN. Mrs Cawkwell had been diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis and Cystic Fibrosis, an incurable disease that had weakened her body to the point where she was forced to move about in a wheelchair. In the course of last week’s service, her husband had cried out to God for healing as Prophet T.B. Joshua was passing by during the time of prophecy. Moved with compassion, Prophet T.B. Joshua stretched his hands towards her and commanded her to rise up and walk. To the astonishment and joy of the entire congregation, supernatural strength returned to Mrs Cawkwell’s limbs and she rose up from her wheelchair and walked unaided for the first time in two years!

Coming forward to testify, Mrs Cawkwell looked like a different person, as she walked comfortably forward with her beaming husband by her side. She was barely recognisable from the wheelchair-bound condition she had come to The SCOAN in last week. In his testimony, Mr Cawkwell explained how the sickness had taken over their lives for the past two years. He had to resign from his work as a security officer to attend to his wife and literally had to do everything for her.

However, upon seeing the miracles taking place daily at The SCOAN on Emmanuel TV, he was full of faith, with his wife, that if they came to The SCOAN, she would receive her total and complete healing. He described his amazement at seeing his wife walk after the prayers of Prophet T.B. Joshua and said her recovery since that point had been nothing short of phenomenal. He told viewers around the world on Emmanuel TV that the power of God he had witnessed in The SCOAN was real, tangible and life-changing, encouraging those oppressed with sickness to never give up or doubt God’s desire and ability to heal them.

His wife said that she felt the power of the Holy Spirit flow through her entire body as Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for her. After she stood up to walk, she began to vomit substances that had been clogging up her lungs for many years. With her healing came a clear throat and the ability to communicate freely, which she had not experienced for years because of the sickness.

She testified that her journey to The SCOAN was clearly providential, as even before embarking on the flight, when her condition was very dire, she had seen Prophet T.B. Joshua praying for her in the dream, which had strengthened her faith. It was a wonderful testimony to God’s healing power still at work today and the congregation joined the couple in song and dance to rejoice with them!

SECRET OF FAITH

In the third part of a series titled, ‘Secret Of Faith’, Prophet T.B. Joshua expounded further on some profound Gospel truths. He explained that faith is something that comes spontaneously, not by force or external pressure. “Anything that comes by force is not faith. Faith is something that comes spontaneously, willingly. Don’t force me. If you force me to be a Christian by giving me whatever you want to give me or you adopt me as a child and give me everything, such Christianity cannot last. If you stop giving me those things, I will stop being a Christian. If you become a Christian because of the miracle you receive, what if there is no miracle tomorrow? You will stop being a Christian.” 

He further characterised faith and rest as being inseparable, citing Hebrews 4 as a Scriptural reference. “Whenever we truly believe, our hearts will be at rest. If our hearts are uneasy and restless, if we are afraid of this and that, if we are fearful and feeling lost, struggling with all our effort to plan, to resolve, to plead and ask for help, this shows we have not yet believed. When one believes, he is at rest. Therefore, when a person believes, he will no longer worry. He will leave it for God!”

Prophet T.B. Joshua further explained the necessity of living in God’s Word and receiving it in the midst of our hearts. “If a person has not received the teaching of the Scripture or the promise of the Holy Ghost in his heart, forcing him to do such acts is indeed a risk – because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. You must take God’s Word to heart; you must live in God’s Word. If you have taken God’s Word to heart, you can act it. It will by its very nature, change you and when it does, you will automatically find yourself acting. This kind of rest is very real, genuine and natural.”

Prophet T.B. Joshua concluded the profound message by challenging believers to examine their daily lives. “If we examine our daily lives, we will find out how much faith we have. Faith is manifested in the small things in our daily life. Do you know how much you need God?” He said that the problem faced by believers around the world today was that they believe they only need God for certain tasks or at certain times instead of realising that they need Him in literally everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About these ads