Reflections On Prophet TB Joshua At 46 (2) – Chiji Okafor

Chiji Okafor adds more reflections on Prophet TB Joshua at 46, as published in today’s edition of ‘The National Life’…

It is amazing that anybody who lays claim to being a pastor of God (like Pastor Oritsejafor of the PFN does) should be talking about mentoring in matters of the faith as if talking about some rookie artisan being shepherded into ‘freedom’ from his master’s workshop. Such drivel simply speaks volumes of the man who utters it. It reveals the depth of vulgarity to which our ‘modern’ men of God have allowed the gospel of Jesus Christ to sink.

Anybody who boasts in God’s vineyard about his mentor and such other inane subjects as earthly endowments has simply not imbibed the lessons of Christ’s personal life. Jesus Christ the Son of God could have been born a prince, if He so chose. On the contrary, God made man, decided to come into this world, the son of a wretched carpenter born in, of all places, a manger and side-by-side animals! He had neither an earthly mentor, nor did the Bible tell us that He had doctorate degrees in sacred theology and dogmatic philosophy.

TB Joshua At 46

In His divine wisdom, God chooses whom He crowns king and decides whom He endows with any gift He likes – and we all have our different gifts. Anybody who challenges this wisdom of God Almighty blasphemes against Him, by querying His authority.
So, why would God choose a humble, even innocent, or bucolic Temitope Balogun Joshua for the enormous anointing he has received? Why didn’t He pick one of those blue-blooded, Oxford-trained peers of the realm?

One cannot exactly tell and neither can anybody else, for that matter. However, having watched Pastor Joshua very closely these past few months, followed with keen interest, the documentaries of his early ministry and his teachings and other activities on Emmanuel TV, physically witnessed his Sunday healing and miracle services at the Synagogue Church and had numerous private audiences with him, I have been privileged to glean a few facts and to learn a very important lesson about faith, from this soldier of Christ.

As humans, we usually crack in the daunting face of adversity. In fact, at some point, many of us not only give up on God, we even dare to turn against Him. In the case of Prophet Joshua, the harder the battle to survive, the greater his loyalty to his God appears to be. I have never seen anybody with such unshakable faith in what he believes, such optimism that may even look to an observer during those his ministry’s early years as mere folly.

Anybody who has seen that documentary on his early ministry, of his first church (a miserable looking shack, with about 20 worshippers) and the optimism with which he prophesied how the whole world would soon come to Synagogue Church, would simply be awed by the power of the living God and testify to His glory. A little later during those early years, Prophet Joshua who leads by example went down to such fine details as personally cleaning the toilets of the church for three long years. As he says, “In order to be able to manage success, I had to first learn how to manage poverty”. As bad as things were then, Pastor Joshua was always seen ministering to his flock with a broad smile, even as his first, second and third churches, drowned in flood waters.

In contrast to those humble beginnings, today’s Synagogue Church of All Nations is an intimidating edifice that has become one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations! If there is anything I have learnt from the story of Pastor Joshua, my interactions with the prophet and his church, it is the humility and faithfulness of God Almighty Himself, towards those that maintain abiding faith in Him, in the face of all odds. This is what Prophet TB Joshua always teaches: “Of all graces, FAITH honours Christ the most; of all graces, Christ honours FAITH the most.”

Those who today want to give Christianity a highfaluting image and discriminate against their fellow men either do not know, or simply forget its humble beginnings. The cross, the banner under which all of Christendom gathers derives from an ancient mystical symbol, which many may refer to as (sorry for that derogatory word) pagan.

The Celtic cross, a religious symbol seen all over Britain, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, has a long history that presages Christianity itself. Its four arms are interpreted as the four elements of earth, wind, water and fire. It also represents the four directions of the compass – north, south, east, west – and the four parts of man – mind, soul, heart, and body.

This is also the basis of the Jewish Tetragrammaton, represented by the Hebrew letters, Yod, He, Vau, He, with the last He, bearing a dot, symbolising completion, just like the shoot of a dormant seed. Those four Hebrew letters, together, spell out Yahuvah, or Jehovah, the elements that emanated from the Divine Essence at the point of Creation, as documented in the first chapter of Genesis. I had written extensively about this in the past and the correlation between this Biblical account of the beginning of space-time and the Quantum Theory in particle physics is indeed amazing!

One and the same concept runs through most major mystical-religious concepts of all civilisations, worldwide, from ancient, so-called primitive African and Amerindian cultures, to Indo-Chinese, European and Arabic cultures and more. This universal symbolism is seen in the Popol Vuh, the Holy Book of the Quiche Maya of South America. It is the Yin and Yang of Taoist China, also symbolised by the Dance of Shiva, in the Indian Sanskrit.

Back here, in Africa, this same symbolism is seen in the ancient drawings of the Dogon of Mali, as it is in Ghana’s Adinkra culture. It is the Creation Snake that Wole Soyinka talks about in his “Idanre and Other Poems”, which the Igbo celebrate in the New Yam festival, the basis of their four market days and their lunar calendar, depicted by the Uli motif of the kola nut head.

Ancient Egyptians equally celebrated the feast of Eostre in honour of the goddess of fertility and the endless cycles of the death of winter and the birth of spring. The Romans borrowed the same practice and baptised it Saturnalia. It is this very old belief, depicted by the image of the Egyptian Ankh or the Crux Ansata, which found its way into Judaeo-Christian theology, that the first Christians adopted and celebrated as Easter, directly borrowing its name from the goddess: “Unless the grain falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it brings forth much fruit.” (John 12:24).

To think that the symbol of the very basis of the Christian faith, the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary and the power of New Life in the Risen Christ, had its humble beginnings in the faiths of peoples we would now rather turn up our noses at, as pagans, is a lesson in God’s own humility and mysterious but wise ways. It teaches us never to look down on anybody but rather, to embrace all. From the high priests of quantum physics, to the lowly African chief priests and sages, to our modern, “funky pastors”, we should have nothing but respect for our fellow man, for it is only God Himself who can tell who worships Him in truth and in spirit.

This is another major lesson that Pastor Joshua teaches everyone with his unique ministry. At the Synagogue Church, you find people of all races and creeds. You find the very rich and the very poor, the homeless, beggars, everybody, side-by-side. You even find grandmasters of the occult that have come to receive deliverance. Nobody discriminates against anybody and people are actually encouraged after receiving their healing, to go back to their respective churches or mosques.

I am yet to see this in other Pentecostal churches and this ecumenism, I believe, is the message of Christ’s mission while on earth.

SOURCE: Chiji Okafor – The National Life

Read Full Post »

TB. Joshua’s encounter with M.K.O. Abiola… Remembering June 12th

June 12th will ever be printed in the minds of so many Nigerians as the day that politics and democracy was beaten by rivalry, jealousy and opinion. It’s all about a man, known as M.K.O. Abiola who won the election hands down, but never spent one day as the president.

In 1992, M.K.O. met a strange man who prophesied this very occurrence. Below is an article taken from the publication ‘Faith Cometh’ that gives full details of how this encounter took place…

M.K.O. Abiola - the man who won the election but never ruled

It is often said that when God talks, the wise listen. God often uses men as instruments of His wisdom. Why is this a lesson that many learn only in retrospect? If we could live our lives over again, what warnings would we heed? What advice would we ignore? An encounter with a true prophet of God can change the course of the history of one’s life forever.

What you are about to read is the narration of an encounter between the late Chief MKO Abiola and Prophet T.B. Joshua, as narrated by journalist turned businessman, Otunba Andy Anibor.

F. C: Welcome to Faith Cometh. Can we talk to you sir?
A.A: My name is Chief Andy Anibor. I am the Bobagunwa of Ilaro and a businessman.

F.C: What is your relation with the Synagogue via the prophet?
A.A: In 1992 when I was working with the Guardian Newspaper as Chief Correspondent, I was the one sent by the office to cover the launch of a vessel bought by the late business mogul Chief M.K.O Abiola in faraway Germany. When we returned to Nigeria, a relationship had begun and developed and he asked me to resign my position with The Guardian to become his (Abiola’s) Protocol Officer.

During that period, I had the opportunity of meeting the man of God and that was in 1992 when the church was still at its old site. I told him that I wanted him to meet my boss Chief Abiola who was contesting the presidential election. At about 8pm on that day, I and the man of God drove to the Chief’s house on Abiola Crescent, Ikeja. The man of God, within ten minutes of the meeting, told Abiola that he was going to win the election but he was never going to be the President of Nigeria.

Immediately, Chief called me aside and told me that this man was not an ordinary man, he asked me how I knew him and where he is from. I told him that the Prophet is from The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. He said: “Where is Synagogue?” I told him that Synagogue is in Lagos, and he asked what he could do now? I told him to give the prophet money; maybe he could turn away the evil that would make his ascension to the exalted office of president, impossible.

I came back to the man of God and told him that Chief says I should give him money. There was always enough money on me. I counted fifty thousand naira, but the prophet refused saying he had told Chief what was going to happen and that the only thing he could do to salvage the situation was for him to come to the church.

I went back to the Chief and told him the message from the man of God and Chief said: ‘‘Yes, he is a man of God, he should make me win instead of telling me to come to his church, he knows I am a Muslim’’. He there and then told me that I should desist from seeing the man of God again and that he is too powerful for my kind of person, I should stay away from the Synagogue and that is how I abandoned my friend for several years.

F.C: Prophet T.B. Joshua has been painted negatively in the press before the public so that one would think that everyone would keep their distance and here you are saying he is your friend. What informs this stance?
A.A: Well at that time, my contact with the man of God was an act of God. He is very humane. We used to drive in my car to Oyingbo with the food in my car booth. It was a ‘gazing watch’ for passers-by who must have thought: ‘Ah, what is wrong with this duo?’ Here were people in their respective places of work and we prefer to share food to the destitute. We also used to go to motherless babies homes at Makoko, he would feed the children and for hours he would be in their midst. So, I came to like him until that event between him and Chief Abiola and the instruction to stay away.

F.C: Were you surprised that he turned down the offer of fifty thousand naira even when it was obvious that he could do a lot with that sum in 1992/93?
A.A: Before he rejected the offer, I knew he was not money conscious because I used to see a lot of money in his office. I knew it was not all about money. I knew he was not going to take it because he gives out more than that to those who seek his assistance. So, he not taking the money was not a shock to me.

F.C: Looking back, do you not feel guilty for jettisoning your friend because your boss dreaded the truth?
A.A: The man pays my bills and I thought he was actually going to be the president. I did not want to believe the man of God, not with the money, the connection national and international and the backing of the military and one man is saying he is not going to be there? I said to myself this man has only one vote, so I tried to follow the man that has been spending money, I thought we will win. Yes we did win fare and square, but the election was annulled.

F.C: Why didn’t you run back to the prophet?
A.A: I remembered him quickly but it was too late because Chief had been arrested, so I had to run to my uncle Chief Kokori and told him that we have to help this man. He asked: ‘‘If we have to help this man what of those who betrayed him?’’ It is the cumulative events of that period that gave birth to June 12 struggle, NUPENG strike and other things that shook Abacha. At that time, I became angered that the man of God refused to help us after all I would have been living inside Aso Rock. So I did not want to come and see him again until recently.

F.C: There were more prominent men of God who told Abiola that it was Eldorado and here was T.B. Joshua just coming up and he is saying the contrary. What can you say of Prophet T.B. Joshua?
A.A: In fact, when you take a man to a big man’s house, you expect him to say what the big man wants to hear and here was a young prophet who looked deeply into the big man’s eyes and told him point blank that he was going to win but that he will never rule. We were all alone in the late Kudirat’s apartment when he told him the message face to face. After that encounter, before the ugly events that unfolded later, Chief always taunted me saying: “Where is that your friend”, and I would say that I no longer go there, so I do not know much about him. I did not believe the prophet’s prediction because with Abiola’s weight and connection in society, nobody would have given the prophet’s prediction a second thought because it has never been heard of in the annals of political history in Nigeria that a candidate wins an election and he is denied his mandate and here is a man, a year before the election, predicting that there would be annulment.

I think that was why Chief warned me saying: ‘‘You know, you are a small boy and these people are more than you. This man of God is not an ordinary man. He told me that when he shook his hand, he knew the prophet is not an ordinary man and that I should distance myself from the man of God if I wanted to stay with him but that if I wanted to go, I could go. I wanted to stay with Chief so I stayed away from the prophet.

F.C: After the annulment was there anytime Chief Abiola in retrospect mentioned T.B. Joshua to you?
A.A: After the annulment, a lot of prophets and pastors were coming and were trying to make him believe that the situation would change. I was all over the place busy looking for spiritual people who could work on Babaginda’s mind to de-annul the election. Let me be frank, I was also scared of reminding him that there was a man who stood out against what others said because I was feeling that in his annoyance, he could say I should go and bring the man, alleging that he caused his failure, so I couldn’t brace up myself to tell him of the prophet. But I think he still remembered because he once complained that he is not comfortable with these people because they were the ones who told him that he would become the president and now they are telling him that Babagida will die tomorrow. A few days later, security men picked him up and he never came back alive.

F.C: Do you think over confidence and not religion informed Abiola’s decision not to honour the prophet’s simple instruction?
A.A: Indeed he had on one occasion boasted that I should not mind the prophet, that either through the right means or through the back door he will be sworn in as the president. I think it is both factors but his confidence in his ability to twist things to his taste overwhelmed his judgement.

F.C: T.B. Joshua is your friend and the friend of so many people. Why do you think people hold him high, now?
A.A: There are so many factors responsible for this. I spoke about his humility, his lifestyle, for which many would mistake him for an ordinary man. Secondly, his magnanimity to those in need. Let me tell you that as I left service on Sunday, a friend called me all the way from London informing me that he just watched on the screen the church programme where according to him the prophet was giving out cash gifts to widows/widowers, dwarfs and after that the fellow said that unlike his pastor who cruises past beggars who lined the church path on service days but I told him that he has not just started the doling out of gifts, it is a thing he’s been practicing over fifteen years now though at that time it was on a small scale, I mean financially. T.B. Joshua is a rare breed. In this era where pastors are amassing wealth for themselves and their families, going into ventures that are outside the confines of the sanctuary, here is a man who is sharing his wealth with the less privileged. Once in a lifetime, such fellows grace the earth and they are always true prophets of God.

F.C: You still remember some of those pastors and prophets who prophesied falsehood, if per chance your path crosses theirs, what would you tell them?
A.A: I know so many of them who will see me and take a duck because they knew then that they were after the man’s money and told a lie against the Holy Spirit of God. If I am opportune to talk with any of them, I will point out one thing to them now, how they let themselves down and will warn them to shun crowd prophesies. T.B. Joshua was not a big pastor then, I mean compared with some big names at that time and yet he stood on the truth. See how God vindicated him as a true prophet of God.

Read Full Post »

Prophet TB Joshua At 46

TB Joshua At 46

As the world celebrates Prophet TB Joshua as he reaches 46 today, he is challenging people to spend more on others and less on themselves…

The founder of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet TB Joshua turns 46 on June 12th 2009.

Prophet Joshua, who began his ministry about 20 years ago, was born in Arigidi-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. His is a unique sort of healing and prophecy ministry that combines preaching the gospel with extensive charity work on such a large scale that puts his ministry at the services of all, irrespective of creed or race.

Speaking to a large congregation at The Synagogue Church last Sunday, Prophet Joshua enjoined the faithful to be true to the teachings of Jesus Christ by always giving to the less privileged. This is in keeping with his policy of “spend more on others and less on ourselves”.

To celebrate his birthday this year therefore, the prophet asked all who would have given anything to contribute to his birthday, to put such gifts together and give them away to the needy, rather than to himself, as he celebrates his 46th birthday. He also said that anyone who wished to make paid newspaper announcements to congratulate him on the occasion should monetise such gestures and give them away to the under-privileged.

Prophet TB Joshua at 46

“Another June 12th is at hand, so I want to say happy birthday in advance,” said the prophet. “As we all know, we are the father to the orphans, husband to the widows, benefactors to the needy and companions to the lonely. This coming Friday, I want you to go out and celebrate with them, or invite them to your house and rededicate yourself to the act of giving in terms of food, shelter, scholarships to the less privileged. This is what we are born for, what we are to live for and what we are to die for. ”

The prophet reflected on his own life by playing back a recorded video of his early ministry, his 40-day and night fast at the prayer mountain and the hardships he went through to build his first, second and third churches, which were all destroyed by the elements. It was a heart-rending story from which Pastor Joshua encouraged the congregation to learn the lessons of the hard knocks of life.

No one, he remarked, should think that adversity was meant to destroy them. Rather, we should draw strength from setbacks for, he said, “God can use disappointment to preserve you for redemption, strengthen your desire for God and prepare you for the challenges ahead.”

Finally, to the worshippers, visitors and viewers of Emmanuel TV, worldwide, the prophet emphasised the virtues of charity, describing as “vanity upon vanity” a situation where a man parks 10 jeeps or stores excess worldly possessions in his garage in a country where many cannot find a single meal to eat in a day. People must continue to give cheerfully, to be their brother’s keepers, he finalised. “Someone is waiting for you for a lifetime. You cannot afford to fail them. Failing them is failing God…”

SOURCE: Modern Ghana

Read Full Post »

“I Know What It Means To Be Poor…”

TB Joshua was interviewed earlier this year by the prestigious Newswatch Magazine of Nigeria. He explained the reason for his passion for the poor and the basis of his relationship with world leaders…

T.B. Joshua, general overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, spoke to Chris Ajaero, assistant general editor, Kazeem Akintunde, senior associate editor and Danusa Ocholi, associate editor on his relationship with President John Evans Atta-Mills of Ghana and other African leaders, his prophecies and works of charity. Excerpts:

The Synagogue Church of All Nations is fast becoming a Mecca of sorts for many African leaders. Recently, John Evans Atta-Mills, the new president of Ghana visited the church for thanksgiving a few days after his inauguration. Could you tell us your relationship with Mills and other African leaders who have visited the church?
No matter how highly placed you are, there is always another level to reach. People who are rich in every sense of the word understand that life is a learning experience. Learning never stops. When you constantly strive to improve, you build character. So, these African leaders who have visited The Synagogue at one time or the other came in search of God’s guidance, wisdom and knowledge of how to lead their countries. My relationship with these leaders is for what I stand for which is redemption.

What exactly attracted them to your ministry?
The attraction is knowledge. It is not just knowledge of the outside but internal renovation.

How did your relationship with Atta-Mills start?
He has been a member of this ministry in the past 10 years. Our relationship started during my first crusade in Ghana and he came to the crusade to experience the ministration. That was 10 years ago when he was the vice-president of Ghana.

When Atta-Mills was giving testimony at the recent thanksgiving service, he said you had predicted that he would secure victory at the polls after three different pollings and that the result would be announced in January 2009 and that your prophesy came to pass. Could you throw more light on this?
What happened from God’s throne is beyond human comprehension. It is not something you can begin to explain how it was said before it manifested. When God speaks, He never goes back on his word. So, it is a mystery. My relationship with Atta-Mills is all about internal renovation. He is a professor of law, so what would he learn from me in terms of human natural gift. Human natural gift is on the outside while the supernatural gift of God is mysterious. So, it is the supernatural gift of God that made the prophecy to come to pass.

How did you convey the message about the prophecy to the new Ghanaian president. Was it through phone call or you met him personally?
He comes to church here nearly every Sunday. So, on one occasion, he told me that the Ghanaian presidential election would be held on December 7, 2008, and that there was a possibility that the result would be announced a few days later. And I told him that I don’t see it that way. Rather, I saw three different elections ahead of him then. I also told him that the result would be announced in January 2009. By the grace of God, he believed in the prophecy, we prayed over it and we glorify God that it came to pass.

After his inauguration, he came for a thanksgiving service. Before he became president he regularly attended this church. But since he became president, I decided to be visiting him myself. I will not allow him to continue to be coming here regularly. I believe it is now my turn to be visiting him. Since he is now the president of a nation, it will not augur well for me now to say he should be coming here every Sunday to worship.

At what stage in your life did your gift of prophecy manifest?
As a child I read the Bible voraciously. This was how I gradually drew close to God and received the calling and divine gift of prophecy. In 2 Peter 1: 20 – 22, the Bible says: “Above all, you must understand that no prophesy of the scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God often uses men as instruments of His wisdom, revelation and divine purpose. Just as God appointed Prophet Jeremiah to be His mouthpiece to the nations, so also today, God still speaks through His Servants who are willing to hear and ready to deliver His message to the world. In every situation, God knows what the future holds. The book of Amos 3:7 tells us that God does nothing without first revealing it to His servants, the prophets. Therefore, a prophet of God is a communicator between the visible and invisible worlds.

It was the prophetic message from the ministry that actually guided our brother, Professor Atta-Mills. He had contested for the presidential election in Ghana twice before the recent one where he emerged victorious. I had prophesied to him that he would not make it during the first and second pollings but the third time, he would make it. And he believed in the prophecy and worked towards it. He was strengthened by the prophetic message and that was why he came out triumphant. You know that when there is a prophetic message to you about what is going to happen to you in the nearest future, it will give you the strength to endure whatever tribulation. That was exactly what happened to Professor Atta-Mills.

Were you born with the gift of prophecy, or you developed it when you were growing up?
I think that the power of prophecy is a mighty gift God gave to me. It is greater than any other gift God gave to me. Many people associate me more with miraculous healings and deliverances, but the gift of prophecy is greater. When you want to categorise the gifts of God in my life, they are: healing, prophecy, teaching and preaching the word which leads to salvation.

To know exactly when the gift of prophecy started manifesting in my life, you need to find time so that we show you our documentary which recorded the transformation that I have undergone since I was born. The recording started right from when I was five years old till date.

When I was in the primary school, it was recorded. When I built the first church which I started with a few little children, it was recorded. When I proclaimed that the ministry will be called the Synagogue Church of All Nations, it was recorded. Since then, I have built four churches. The place where we are now is the fifth church.

When I went to the mountain prayed and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, it was recorded. During my first crusade at Arigidi, my home town, where I said that this church is presently made up of eight members but it will soon become a church for virtually all nations in the world, it was recorded.

Can you recollect some of the African leaders who had visited The Synagogue Church of All Nations at one time or the other?
If I begin to tell you the African leaders that have visited me I will be laying emphasis on personalities. But it is the soul that God is after, not whether you are a president or not. The church is about the number of those who are being saved, not the number of personalities that visited the church.

Are you not disturbed that while many African leaders visit you to seek spiritual guidance on how to lead their various countries, Nigerian leaders are not. Is it the case of the saying that a prophet is without honour in his own country?
God’s time is the best. Nigerian leaders are coming gradually. At least, the recent national award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic, OFR, conferred on me by the federal government is a good beginning. So, gradually we will build upon the new relationship.

Since you are very close to many of these African leaders, do you advise them on the need to develop their countries and salvage the African continent from poverty, starvation and underdevelopment?
My life speaks for them. They watch Emmanuel TV and see how I care for the needy. I am worried by the high level of poverty among our people and I often advise them to rule well so that people can be rescued from the pangs of poverty.

Over the years, you have been quietly touching the lives of the aged, destitutes widows, physically challenged persons and dwarfs through your philanthropic disposition. Why are you so passionate about the welfare of the needy?
I will tell you that I know the pains they are going through because I have equally had difficult times in the past. I also derive joy in giving because if you are a cheerful giver, you will never lack

We must understand that life is all about giving and sharing. It all began with the way God saved us. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son to die on the cross to save us from our sins. So, there can be no loving without giving and there can be no giving without receiving. It is whatsoever you sow that you reap.

Again, if you know what it means to be poor, you will not close your eyes when you see poor people around you. You would want to be their benefactor.

About how much have you committed to your outreach programme for the needy and award of scholarship to physically challenged persons in the universities?
I cannot tell you how much I have committed to the programme because if I begin to do so, it means that I am boasting about what I am doing for God.

But how do you raise the funds to care for these people?
If God has given you the grace to care, He will supply. Sometimes, I will just sit down and somebody will phone and say he has seen the works of charity that I am doing and would like to donate to support what we are doing. That is how God supplies the money we use to care for the needy.

SOURCE: Newswatch Magazine, Nigeria

Read Full Post »

TB Joshua Is Like Every Other Man On The Street…

Earlier this year in an interview with The Guardian Newspapers, the presitigious and renowned Nigerian newspaper, TB Joshua spoke on a range of intriguing issues…

Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, founder of The Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) was recently mentioned among the world’s leading faith healers by America’s TIME Magazine. He was also awarded the National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) by the government in recognition of his humanitarian activities. He spoke to TOPE TEMPLER OLAIYA at his church’s headquarters in Ikotun, Lagos on what the award means to him and why his church attracts high-profile visitors.

First, how do you feel with the National Honour bestowed on you by Mr. President?
Honour where? You mean the one that was given to me in January. Well, that is not new to me and is not something special to me. As you can see for yourself, a lot of people, organisations, government, home and abroad and even foreign missions have been honouring the grace of God upon my life. Just last week, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) presented me with an award. But then, the honour is not meant for me, it belongs to God. I am just a vessel God is using.

First, it was your meeting with the Governor General of the State of Bahamas in the early 90s, followed by the visit of President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, a few years later. Since then, other world leaders have come to visit you, most recently, was the new President of Ghana, Prof. John Atta Mills and you are preparing to receive a South African leader in the next few days, what do you think is the source of attraction?
It is a simple answer; it is because their needs are met. People will always be attracted to wherever their needs will be met; and the needs of men vary. What I want and like might be different from what you want; so, you will always go to where your needs are met. It is not in my power, it is God, who is answering the needs of his people. Even in the Bible, people travel far and wide to where their needs will be met. Also, the work of God is like honey. Wherever honey is, insects seek and find it. When God is doing a new thing in a place, people are attracted there. So, these presidents and other foreign nationals come to the church, because of what God is doing here.

Despite this, most Nigerians have still not acknowledged what God is using you to do. Why is it so?
You see, every man of God has his gift. This is my own area. In the academic world, we have professors of English, Chemistry, and Mathematics. If some people do not need my gift, this does not mean that it is not needed somewhere. If what you have is not needed now, that does not mean that it will not be needed tomorrow. So, it would be too soon to begin to say this and it would be too soon to praise or come to the conclusion you have drawn now. God’s time is the best. Sometimes, what you need at the end might be the most important thing to you. Let me give you a good example: a friend you discover later in life may be the most important friend you would cherish more than the friend you have had from the beginning of your life.

Apart from the headquarters’ church in Lagos, which has become a tourist attraction, do you have other branches of the church?
Branches everywhere is not the issue, what is the issue now is making disciples of Christ out of men, making another T.B. Joshua. If this could be possible in the life of Elisha and Elisha came out of Elijah even more powerful than his master, why not also in our time, so that after I am gone, there will be men who God would raise up to achieve His purpose in the world. That is the biggest reward God can give to his servant. Like they always say, there is no success without a good successor. The greatest honour will be to make disciples who will do better than what we are presently doing.

Do you see your children taking after your ministry in the Synagogue?
The ministry is not a will; it is not a property you can will to your children. It is a spiritual inheritance and the Bible talks about the inheritance of saints. You must meet God’s condition and no human hand can be employed to do the work of God, neither can the mouth do the work of God. It is not a matter of ‘I can speak good grammar’, it is only God that will choose who He wants. It is predestined, as it should be by divine will. I cannot force my children to follow in my footsteps, they have to decide on their own, and I can only point them to the way we also have followed. I cannot give them the power because I am not the owner of the power. I can only do my best to train them in the way of the Lord and if they are ready to follow and make a difference, it is their choice, not mine.

Who is T.B. Joshua?
Joshua is a man like you. I am like anybody else on the street; the only difference in my life is the grace of God. That is the difference and that is what separates me from the man on the street. But with that, because I am a man who has known what it is to lack, I do not close my eyes to the needy. Because I am somebody who has experienced what it is to be poor and without money, I give of what I have to help the poor, because I am a man who knows what it is to be hungry, I give food to feed the poor and those who are hungry, as a way of appreciating the grace of God upon my life because if not for the grace of God, I would be like any other man on the street.

SOURCE: The Guardian, Nigeria

Read Full Post »

Pastor TB Joshua

Pastor TB Joshua

Read Full Post »