FROM THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS TO THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT

ACQUITTED OF A MURDER CHARGE THROUGH THE ANOINTING WATER
Individuals, families, communities and various groups call every day in a desire to have a piece of what is being offered on the table free of charge. Many make the contact because they are experiencing one problem or another, one affliction or another. Simon Diegbegha was one of the thousands who made that contact. He made his way to The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations with a problem affecting his father, Mr Jeremiah Diegbegha, who was in prison on a murder charge and soon to be hanged.

What is the genesis? Apparently, in their clan and according to their tradition, Simon’s father, Mr Jeremiah Diegbegha was next in line to receive the kingship. After considering however that nowadays kings are graduates, he being uneducated, decided to hand the kingship over to his first son who he believed better fitted the position. In the mean time, Mr Jeremiah’s nephew developed an interest in the kingship and pleaded with Simon and his father to give him the right to ascend the throne but they refused in accordance with the clan’s tradition. Being very rich, the nephew bribed the Chiefs of the community who came to his support and there was a kingship tussle between the nephew and them.

Prince Simon and his father took the case to court. The nephew then had Prince Simon and his father arrested and they were later bailed. Soon after the bail, the nephew met his lawyer and cooked up a fresh allegation that Prince Simon and his father connived and killed the father’s elder sister in 2003. The woman they are said to have murdered died in 1967 even before Simon was born. The case changed from a kingship tussle to a murder case and Simon’s father was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging without any evidence.

Desperate to set his father free from the injustice done to him, Simon came to The SCOAN for The Anointing water. He cried out to the Man of God that his father had been sentenced to death about a crime he knew nothing about. After T.B. Joshua gave Simon a bottle of The Anointing Water, he gave him an extra one to give to his father. Simon took it in faith believing that since the man of God had given him an extra Anointing Water, when he used it for his father, his father would be set free.

Giving his testimony at The SCOAN on Sunday 26 September, Simon said that T.B. Joshua had appeared to him in a dream after he had received The Anointing Water and told him that his father would be released in two weeks. And exactly two weeks to the date, his father, Mr Jeremiah Diegbegha, was released! Now acquitted, Mr Jeremiah Diegbegha, who was standing beside his son, chipped in stating that 112 death case sentences were reviewed and only a few were converted to life imprisonment after many years in prison but he was the only one who was set free unconditionally. “Praise the Lord!” he resounded.

MOTHER ACQUITTED OF WITCHCRAFT ACCUSATION AFTER DAUGHTERS MALTREATMENT
During the same service Mrs Princess Dickson and her sister brought their mother who they had accused of being a witch and responsible for their condition of barrenness and bad luck in life. Justifying her accusation, Princess said she had been married three times without conceiving. She said that a pastor she visited confirmed that her mother was a witch and behind her trouble. In support, her sister said that she also went to another pastor who told her the same thing concerning their mother. In reaction, the two sisters threw their mother out of the house and denied her of food. The story got worse when their mother openly talked about the maltreatment she received at the hands of her daughters. “No food, no money, hungry belly, my children abandon me. I suffer 8 years”. The mother then raised her skirt to reveal a large gaping wound on her thigh and bruises on the same leg – the evidence of beatings by her daughters’. As the congregation looked on to see the pitiful state of the neglected mother, many held back their tears while others could not and joined the two daughters who cried in remorse after discovering through the prophet that their mother was not a witch. “This kind of sin would become a generational curse assuming the mother had died. Their children and great grandchildren would continue to call them ‘witch” said TB Joshua. “You have suffered this Mama”. On their knees they clung to their mother in tears and begged for forgiveness. T.B. Joshua reconciled the daughters to their mother saying that he would continue to pray for the daughters and assured that they would conceive and bear children.

9 YEAR OLD CONFESSES SHE IS A SNAKE
Mr Christian Obunne brought his nine year old daughter, Joy whom he claimed was demon possessed with a spirit of snake and behind his downfall. Joy confessed in front of the congregation to being a snake. She said that the spirit of her mother lived in her, that she knew she was a snake because snakes do not like pineapple and when her father gave her pineapple to eat, she began to vomit. She also said that she possessed the spirit of fornication. In their home Mr Christian Obunne said he and his wife began to physically see bush rats manifest. After he killed one of them, Joy told her father that he had killed one of her witchcraft members. She also claimed responsibility for her father’s business failure. Another confession of Joy which she did not have time to explain was how she turned into thousands of cockroaches in the house at night. This, her parents also confirmed.

Having the spirit of discernment, T.B. Joshua said to Mr Obunne, “You’re the cause. You have demons in the house. You are the one that brought demons in the house and those demons have possessed her. It is true she is possessed by the spirit of snake; what she says, she is but the father is the one that makes her demon. Out of the demons you brought to the house, snake is one of them. One of the spirits is using this girl. You present this girl as if she is the one destroying the house, as if she is the cause of everything, whereas you, the father are the one that invited the demons. You buried them in the house”. Mr Obunne confessed this to be true and pleaded for mercy after the man of God reprimanded him and told him to apologise to his daughter whom the demons had possessed.

He called forward a newcomer from among the congregation to minister The Anointing Water on Joy who was then delivered and freed from the spirit of a snake.

WOMAN FROM USA RISES FROM WHEELCHAIR
“People used to assist me. I went to many places – hospitals looking for solution but nothing.” This was the statement of a woman who was brought in a wheelchair – all the way from the USA by her sister in-law.
Her sister- in- law passed up the opportunity of staying in the USA to be with her daughter who just gave birth in hospital to bring her sister-in-law to The SCOAN. The woman, a citizen of Sudan but living in America, sat helplessly among the hundreds of others who parked their wheelchairs outside in an extension part of the church. Apparently she had been to many states in the US seeking a cure to her problem of inability to walk – but all proved abortive. Unable to walk for four years, she came to The SCOAN as her last hope. Looking directly into her eyes, T.B. Joshua asked her, “You believe Jesus can raise you from death to life?” With an affirmative nod by her, he proceeded to pray for her. “I command, in the name of Jesus, the power of devil that holds you, be broken in the name of Jesus. Say to yourself, ‘I can walk in the name of Jesus.’
” As she repeated the instruction, the woman stood up instantly and began to run leaving her wheelchair behind.

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STOP MAKING EXCUSES

The design of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is to break the yoke of sin and Satan and thus remove the burden of guilt and corruption. The SCOAN, as an arena of liberty is indeed living up to this divine mandate. It is a place where you can see the name of Jesus working in the spirit. You can see the power of God working in the spirit, the power and anointing of Jesus Christ working against the kingdom of darkness, and the result of this is the healings, deliverances, breakthroughs, prophecies and reconciliations witnessed and experienced by all who come to fellowship at The SCOAN and even those who watch Emmanuel TV everywhere in the world.

The Bible makes it clear that miracles were proofs that the scriptures were true then and they still are. Jesus Himself declared in the book of John 4:48 that, ‘’unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.’’ The miracles of Jesus actually drew millions of people to Him, and this made Jesus become a centre of public attraction. Thanks to Emmanuel TV, millions are being exposed to the reality of the supernatural power of God manifesting in the miracles that occur on almost a daily basis in the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos, Nigeria. The influx of people to the church in recent times is phenomenal as several canopies are erected outside the church auditorium every service day to hold the overflow congregation of worshippers, many of them being first timers. Indeed, for those whose lives are centred in Christ Jesus, the best is always yet to come.

WISE MAN HARRY’S TESTIMONY
There was so much to savour from last Sunday service, the 19th of September, 2010. The service began with the wonderful testimony and sermon of Harry, one of the Wise Men. As a native of the ancient town of Philippi in Macedonia, Greece, he narrated how he came to know T.B. Joshua and became one of the Prophet’s disciples before receiving the anointing to become one of the Wise Men today. He said he had read through the Bible when he was growing up as a young Christian, He read so much about the missionary activities of Paul the Apostle in Philippi, Macedonia and other ancient cities. He said his interest and zeal for the things of God began to wane when he realised that those miracles Paul performed in Macedonia and other places at that time were not seen in any of the churches where he fellowshipped. He thought to himself, ‘Does it mean the age of miracles has passed, when the Bible says the Miracle Worker, Jesus of Nazareth is still alive?’ He said since that time he longed to see at least one miracle performed by any minister anywhere in the world to prove that the Holy Bible was not just a history book and that the Acts of the Apostles are not mere fictions. (As he testified, footage of the archaeological sites in Macedonia where Paul Apostle lived and walked was being shown on the television screen.)

He said one day someone gave him a miracle video tape of T.B. Joshua to watch and after seeing all the miraculous healings and deliverances his zeal reawakened. He was determined that in any part of the world this Prophet of God lived, he must search for him. The same man who gave him the tape took him to The SCOAN branch in Athens where he met the Evangelist in charge and soon arrangements were made for him to travel to the church headquarters in Lagos. Harry said when he told his family about his new discovery and his plan to travel to Nigeria, they did not only frown at the idea, they threatened to disown him if he embarked on what they believed was a dangerous mission. He said their argument was, ‘Can anything good come out of Nigeria?’’. They wondered if he had forgotten that the New Testament of the Bible was written originally in the Greek language, and tourists from across the world come to Macedonia to see those places they read about in The Bible. Harry said he was so determined to come to Nigeria that he didn’t mind the threats from his people. Eventually he landed at The SCOAN in Lagos where he met the man of God and did not hesitate to join the discipleship to receive training under T.B. Joshua. While in training, he said his parents started watching Emmanuel TV. They saw those miracles he saw and they called him from Greece one day telling him on the phone that they were sorry for their actions in the past. Now they believed he was in the right place and that they too were planning to come to Nigeria to see the Prophet of God. They came, they saw and they became even more convinced. He said his entire family are now full members of the SCOAN, Athens branch. Harry the Wise Man promised to come to his hometown, Philippi in Macedonia with the same anointing of God that was in Apostle Paul to prove to his countrymen and tourists alike that Jesus lives, He never said ‘’goodbye.’’(Hebrews 13:8)

SERMON: STOP MAKING EXCUSES
Wise Man Harry defined an excuse as a reason whether genuine or fake which we give to explain or defend our wrongdoing. When the children of God make mistakes, they do not run from God – instead they run to Him, because they know that if you make an excuse for your mistakes, your mistakes cannot be excused. He quoted the book of Genesis 3:8-13 where excuse making actually began. He said Adam had disobeyed God’s instruction not to eat the fruit of a particular tree in the Garden of Eden where he lived with his wife, Eve, and enjoyed good fellowship with God. The consequence of disobeying God and eating the fruit was death. Eve was deceived by a serpent to eat the fruit, and she shared with her husband, Adam – and since then, life changed. Their eyes became opened and they started hiding from God because they realised, for the first time, that they were naked. When God asked Adam why he did that evil, instead of admitting his wrongdoing, Adam blamed God that it was the woman He gave to him that gave him the apple to eat. Eve, on her own part, blamed the serpent for deceiving her. So they both made excuses for their sins, but their sins could not be excused, hence the punishment of sorrow and hardship we inherited from the first-parents.

Nearly everyone has become a conscious sinner. A conscious sinner is one who knows his sin but does them and makes excuses for his actions, oftentimes shifting the blame to others. The Bible says no one is righteous, not even one. Perfection eludes all of us. This means mistakes will come – but the question is, how do you handle it? He concluded the message by saying that until a person is willing to admit that he is a sinner in need of salvation, he cannot experience freedom from guilt and condemnation. So stop making excuses for your wrongdoing, admit your guilt and receive God’s forgiveness which makes the future possible.

CONFESSIONS
The entire congregation was shocked and silence reigned as they listened to the terrifying confessions of some of the armed robbers, ritualists and cultists who were arrested by the power of the Holy Spirit during last week’s service because of the spirit of destruction they possessed. These are their confessions:

Mr. Ebere Nwosu, 28, confessed how he used his manhood for a money-ritual. The witchdoctor he was introduced to had demanded two names from among his siblings or close companions. Ebere submitted the names of two of his friends to be used for the ritual. When he went to the witchdoctor again, thinking the ritual had been done, he was surprised to hear from the witchdoctor that the ritual could not be performed because the names he had submitted could not be used. So the witchdoctor asked Ebere if he could use his manhood for the ritual, which he consented to.

The witchdoctor said the way the manhood would be taken was for him to bring his early-morning urine. The ritual was done, but there was one more thing left to do. The witchdoctor asked Ebere to go to his hometown and perform some sacrifices with a fowl, and then come back to his shrine within four hours – a feat Ebere knew was not possible. So he thought of abandoning the project, but the witchdoctor, sensing his motive, took him to a graveyard to make an oath, never to run away or reveal the matter or else he would die. After the oath-taking at the graveyard, Ebere still ran away because of fear. From that moment, he was pursued by the spirits of death in his dream and he began experiencing failure in everything he laid his hands on. He travelled to another State where his auntie resides. After narrating his story to his auntie, she gave him transportation fare to come to The SCOAN.

Mr. Eze Nwaiwu, 29, joined a cult with an evil desire to make quick money. He was initiated and given some demonic powers to manipulate his customers to buy as many goods as he wanted them to, even at exorbitant prices. Business was moving well until his cult members demanded his blood sister for a sacrifice, for him to make more money. As he was discussing his issue with a friend, his girlfriend overheard and reported the issue to his father. When his father confronted him, Eze denied and even swore that he never planned such. So, Eze went back to the cult members and told them that his plan had leaked to his family and they should give him two years when he would have married and had his own child, and then he would be willing to donate either his wife or child for the ritual.

After having his first child, a boy, Eze was no longer willing to keep to his promise, so the ‘cult-members’ became furious and threatened to use every evil means at their disposal to get Eze’s wife or child. Soon Eze’s wife got pregnant again and one night, she was attacked spiritually by the cultists and she had a miscarriage. The next day, the cult-members told Eze that his wife’s miscarriage was just a sign to prove that he had nowhere to run to or hide as long as he continued to cheat on them. From that time, life became miserable for Eze as his business went downhill. He sent his wife and little son to the village, but he took the son’s photograph to the cult members and they told him they would snuff life out of the boy on the 28th of this month, September, through convulsion. They advised him to go to the village to see his son for the last time. Meanwhile, his wife was pregnant again.

Eze became confused and ran away to Jos where his aunt resides. After explaining his case to the aunt, she advised him to go to The SCOAN where she believed he could be rescued. During the mass prayer, the Holy Spirit exposed him as he felt out from his seat, screaming, and then began to confess.

Mr. Aniedi Jonah, 32, was captured through the prophecy of the man of God, TB Joshua, in last Sunday’s service. During the Mass Prayer, TB Joshua prophesied that there was a man in the congregation who was a cultist who had a garment he carried everywhere he went, and that he kept the garment outside the church auditorium. Aniedi confessed that the white garment was an occultic garment which he carried with him everywhere he went, so he could fellowship with other cult members anywhere he came across their conclave (fellowship centre). He joined the cult for money-ritual and during his initiation, he was blind folded and asked to eat some strange things on the floor including raw human flesh. They later had a communion with human blood in a calabash. Aniedi was asked if he was willing to give out his wife, son or daughter for ritual – if that was all that was required to make him rich, and he answered in the affirmative. So he was taken to an evil forest where some rituals were performed and he was offered a post in the cult, at the price of his son.

Meanwhile, he became accustomed to drinking human blood. Whenever the evil spirit came upon him, he would seek all means to get human blood to satisfy his evil thirst. One day, when the evil spirit came upon him and he could not find human blood, he rushed to the back of his house, caught a live duck, slaughtered it and quickly drank the blood. He fell on his bed and slept off. His wife, who didn’t know that her husband had gotten himself into such spiritual bondage, began to suspect him when each time he returned home, there were fresh blood stains on his clothes. She also noticed the white garment he carried about in his bag. But she was afraid to ask him any questions because there was a day he returned home furious, pounced upon her and almost strangled her to death. Since that time, his little baby would suddenly scream at night, and his 3 year old daughter usually complained to the mother that she used to see strange invisible dogs. The climax of it all happened recently when he became bloodthirsty and the evil spirit told him to slaughter his newborn baby boy. He took the baby from the room where his wife laid him to the sitting room, and when he went in search of a knife to slaughter the child, his wife who had witnessed the day he slaughtered the duck and drank the blood, suspected something strange was about to happen. When she could not find the baby where she laid him, she rushed to the sitting room, found the baby carelessly dropped on the table, picked him up and ran out of the house. Aniedi ran after his wife, but she luckily escaped. Because he had watched Emmanuel TV on a few occasions, Aniedi decided to come to The SCOAN, when he felt he could no longer live this kind of atrocious life.

Commenting on the shocking confessions, Prophet T.B. Joshua said, “Demons are behind the Godless activities and destructive elements we see around today. They cause people to lose control and commit all shameful acts (Romans 7:13-15). Demons are the cause of the enormous growth of sorrow, pain and bitterness, violence and suffering going on in the world. Demons fire men’s brains and senses with lust for drugs, drink and delinquencies. Therefore, refuse to be satan’s dumping ground – where satan produces physical infirmities, sickness, disease, hardship, poverty, nightmare, depression, mental unsoundness. Stand your ground fearlessly, without wavering.”

There are not enough words to express all that happened during the service. However, one thing is clear – demons know they must submit to the Name of Jesus Christ. At His mighty name, every knee must bow. We believe these confessions serve as a warning to the children of God everywhere, that demons are real, and Christianity is not to be practiced as a hobby. Therefore, watch and pray and let your commitment to God be total, not partial!

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T.B. Joshua: Leadership Secrets

Here are some excerpts from a two-part interview Prophet T.B. Joshua granted the ‘Daily Champion’ newspaper in March 2010. The contents are packed full of practical lessons of life and leadership, and mirror the prophet’s words this Sunday on the importance of love: “We are love’s products – the sons and daughters of love. Therefore, let love lead. Follow in the light of love.”

As you read, may you be inspired to love your neighbor as yourself, and make a difference as a leader by example in your respective community…

What is your take on the recurrent religious crisis in Jos?
As a clergyman, I don’t want to believe that the crisis has to do with issues about religion – there is more to it and it goes beyond religion. You need to go to the north and see the reception you will receive there; it does not matter whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

Unless these people who are involved in this act are not living in the cities, except they are living in other places outside the cities. Don’t forget that Christians and Muslims have been living together over the years. So, it is surprising to hear that Christians and Muslims are killing themselves. Do you think that this can ordinarily happen like that? No, so it is not the issue of Christians and Muslims? This is purely political. There is a political undertone to it.

Can you elaborate on that, political in what sense?
When I say that it is a political issue, what I mean is political crisis in the country and how it has virtually affected every area of our lives. Look at the state of education in this country. Because of politics, look at what education is suffering in this country now! The university education today is not what it used to be in the past. The university we are used to is not the university that we are seeing today.

Even in the area of sports too, politics has also destroyed virtually all the areas of sports in the country. Look at how the game of football is going in this Nigeria. It is all political and it has also affected our image outside this country. So, let us remove the issue of Christians and Muslims fighting, it is purely political and by the time they go deep down to discover why the people are killing themselves, you discover that it is because somebody wanted to be in-charge or in control.

The issue persisted because some people want to be this or that; we should not use the issue of religion as a cover up in this matter.

T.B. Joshua - If you don't know what it means to be poor, when blessing comes, you will not be able to manage it.

Are you saying that what is being experienced is as a result of bad leadership?
I will not say yes or no, but I want to take you back. When you talk about leadership, can we call it bad leadership? We have had leaders in the past without disciples. When you are a leader without disciples, you are alone and one person alone cannot rule.

But our leaders have long chain of advisers, ministers and aides…
That is what I am saying, leaders without disciples are what we have had in Nigeria for the past number of years now, we have been having leaders without disciples. So if a leader is good, without disciples, it is also bad.

Who then are these disciples considering the fact that we have ministers, many aides and special advisers?
I am talking about the cabinet. I am talking about the ministers. What does it take to be a good disciple? A good disciple must be a good reporter. A good reporter must be a good assistant who must report accurately and must be objective in his reports. He must be able to tell his boss the truth and nothing but the truth and if you give your boss a good and objective story and he rejects it, you can put in your resignation letter, which means that you are not a party to what he is doing.

If we have people like that around our governments, then things will change. Have you ever seen the president go to the market to find out prices of commodities, or how things are going there? The disciples are the ones going about to see true position of things. The cause of the problems we have in Nigeria is leadership without disciples.

How do we get good disciples then?
Before I will answer this question, I will like to go this way; Nigerian leaders have been using other people’s disciples for the past years. People that you don’t know, whom you have not worked with before are other people’s disciples.

Before you get to such a position of authority like the president, you are supposed to have a platform of meeting people, both privileged and less privileged. One does not get to such position of authority over night, it takes time and preparations and a leader without preparation will use others’ disciples to work for him and using others’ disciples always cause disorder in the society.

In other words, you are faulting the Constitution that allows for federal character and nomination of ministers from different states of the federation?
Let me come in here. There are core disciples and there are disciples. When you become the president of a nation like Nigeria, no matter the ministers they send to you to form your cabinet, you as a person must prepare your own personal team which may consist of five, six or 10 people who are on ground, their job is to go to different areas to monitor the ministers and give you the true report of what is on the ground. The federal character does not affect these people at all so far you use your own personal money to pay these people their wages.

You mentioned the effect of politics in our sports; apart from your football team, My People’s Football Club; recently in your church, an individual testified that you supported him to become a boxing champion. How did you develop this interest in sports, were you a sport person as a youth?
It is not that I have a special interest in sports but I want people to succeed as they develop their talents in whichever field, so that they can be successful in life.

Do you have any problem with the current political arrangement as a way out of our political logjam?
Nigeria knows the right thing and until they put the whole thing right, presently the referee cannot blow the whistle. But I want to say that God loves this nation. What is happening to Nigeria is meant to strengthen our desire for God and I want Nigerians to know that everything will gradually settle down.

When a situation like this occurs in a good nation, they pray the more and fast the more and draw closer to God but we have not achieved that. Have we drawn closer to God or are we still asking ourselves, ‘Why all these things?’

If I say that I am Pastor T.B Joshua, it is a mere claim until that name is tested in a real situation.

Can’t we use the number of churches that we see around and Nigerians that are now turning to the churches as evidence that Nigerians are drawing closer to God?
Well, the position of God is not who worships Him but who worships him in truth and spirit. So let us look at the position of God that we are worshiping. His position is not about the number of churches or number of people that worship Him but His position is how many people worship Him in spirit and truth. This is the position of God.

If Nigerians worship God in spirit and truth, then we are worshiping Him – so the issue now is not how many churches but how many people worship Him in spirit, truth and faith.

Politically, I have said it before that there is so much hypocrisy in this country and that is part of our problems. Last time we talked about the crisis in Jos and wanted to relate it to religion. But if you look at the gathering of the political party like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties, you see Christians and Muslims sitting down together and eating at the same table.

In business circle, you see Christians and Muslims working together but when we get back to our places of worship, it is a different thing all together. Why do I say that it is a different thing all together? We should not allow this crisis to come up at all because our Bible made us to understand in Matthew, Chapter 5 that you should love your neighbour as yourself and your neighbour could be those who do not share the same faith with you, people that profess other religions.

Your neighbour could be your enemy. Your neighbour could be your friend – but the Bible says that you should love them all and pray for those who hate you.

So what is the solution…?
Just as the Bible says, we should hold love. Love is lost, let us look for it. We should not be talking about Christian or Muslim but we should look for love because love is lost, let us look for it.

Let us forget about being either Muslim or Christian; North or South, East or West. We should forget all those names, those names are just symbolic. God will not ask you whether you are from Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa,’ or whether you attend Redeemed Church or Christ Apostolic Church or Synagogue Church. God will not ask you any of such questions; the question will be based on righteousness. I repeat, love is lost and because of this love that is lost that is what is bringing up these problems.

Let me tell you about love. Love sees beyond hatred, it sees beyond religion. If you love me so much, you are not even going to care whether I am a Christian or a Muslim. Can you see that love is beyond religion? Love sees beyond geographical location or ethnicity. Love is the greatest of all the virtues.

A child of God is known by his love and not by the title he bears – that I’m a bishop or a pastor’ or I’m Joshua or that I own a big church or say that I am the owner of the biggest ministry in the world; those things don’t impress God.

If you love your neighbour, you will not like to speak evil against that neighbour. If there is anything that your neighbour had done against you, you will be looking for a way to help and do what is right so that your neighbour will be at peace.

What matters is the hope of glory. Whatever name we bear is symbolic. If I say that I am Pastor T.B Joshua, it is a mere claim until that name is tested in a real situation. I can say that I am T.B Joshua and no one will arrest me for that – it is a mere claim, until it is tested in real situation.

What is this real situation?
Real situation is a situation that you cannot pass through if you don’t have the grace of God. Trials, difficulties, persecutions hatred and intimidations are all part of real situations. I said this because a man may be a pastor by profession, but not such in heart.

Real situations are those situations, which, without the power of God, you cannot survive. It is what I mean by a real situation, it is not just any situation but real one.

Let us talk about your work of charity and your passion to reach out to the less privileged members of the society.
Whoever you see me caring for here, I was once like that. If you don’t know what it means to be poor, when blessing comes, you will not be able to manage it. I know what it is to be poor, I know what it is to be disabled and I know what it means to be an orphan and to be in need. I was once like that.

So, each time I see these less privileged members of the society, I remember those days when I had no one to take care of me. I always feel what they feel. I don’t know of any difficult situation that I have not passed through.

Talk about those who suffer unjustly for the crime they did not commit, those they lied against and persecuted. I know what it means. And when you know what it is to be poor, when you see people suffering poverty, you want to come to their aid.

Can you take us back to your early days and the nature of suffering you passed through?
If we begin to talk about it, we are not going to leave here today. I am a medium, an object that God has changed, in terms of needs or poverty; just name it, that is why I have to go down to raise people from their less privileged position by supporting them. I know that if God had allowed me to have a mentor, I would not have been in the position that I am today because I don’t know where the mentor would have started.

In fact, the mentor would have given up, it is only God that can take one from the scratch. Today, nobody is ready to take you from the scratch – they only want to take you when you are already made.

The church started with eight members. This is the fifth church. The first church was destroyed by storm, the second one was destroyed by rain. The third one was destroyed by Omonile before we arrived here. The whole thing is on record, including my school days. I attended seven to 10 secondary schools.

Why?
In most cases, there were no school fees and I resorted to sports. I was running 1, 500 meters and if I ran for my school, they would forget about the school fees – something like scholarship. But at a point I knew that if I kept running that I would not be able to concentrate on my studies.

I later started going for extra lessons; attending evening classes so that I could work during the day. I worked in many poultry farms and in some other places. Many of the poultry farms that I worked at are still there.

How do you manage the name-calling and criticisms around your person?
If you ask me how I manage persecutions and criticism, intimidation and foolish things, the question you will also ask me is how I manage the good side as well, especially when people praise me.

The Bible made it clear that in our spiritual walk with God, that there are good times and bad times alike. Have you not read about Job, when the wife was telling him ‘Can’t you deny God, look at the wounds on your body, look at the troubles?’

And Job asked her, ‘Can you eat salad, and when it is time for bitter leaf, you run away? You enjoyed the good times, but now it is time for another chapter.’ So, when you are able to eat salad, when bitter leaf comes, you should also chew it. If the question is ‘Why me of all these persecutions’, you should also also ask, ‘Why me of all these blessings’. God will never stop giving us reasons to praise Him.

Each time I see these less privileged members of the society, I remember those days when I had no one to take care of me. I always feel what they feel - TB Joshua

Have some of these your persecutors ever come back to apologize to you?
I am not God. When you speak against a servant, you go to the Master and apologize. I am a servant and a servant cannot be greater than the master.

But do you forgive them as the Bible says we should?
A person who cannot forgive will not be entrusted with the power of healing or deliverance. This is why you cannot see healing everywhere. The person who cannot forgive his neighbour cannot be entrusted with power because he can use it against others.

There is power in our tongue, power to build or destroy. Look at what transpired between the Prophet (Elisha) and those children who were calling him bald head; he called bear to consume them.

What I am doing is not mine – the work of healing and deliverance is not mine.

Apart from the work of God, what other thing do you enjoy doing?
One life for Christ is all that I have and one life for Him is so dear. He is my joy, my working time and my all in all. So, which other work are you talking about?

How do you finance these projects that you have at hand and is the global economic crisis in anyway affecting your ministry?
Thank you very much for this question. Looking at the whole charity work we are doing in Haiti, My people FC, feeding the needy, assisting the widows and scholarship to the orphans, your question is how we finance these things.

The whole thing started in a little way. One thing I want you to know today is that it all depends on what you are giving. You can give what you do not need and you can give what you cherish most. You can give what your life depends on, but after giving, God continues the supply. If you give what you don’t need, God will continue to supply you what you don’t need.

Those things like used clothes or worn-out tyres, if you give such things then God will give you what you don’t need. When you give what you cherish, God will supply you what you cherish.

What we are giving out here are those things that we cherish and it takes faith to do that. On the global economic crisis, we are not giving out of wealth but we give as it comes. When we give out of wealth, then we can talk about economic meltdown.

Tell us the type of food that you enjoy most?
When you look at my stature, I don’t need to tell you because my body will tell you the type of food that I eat because the nature of my job does not permit me to eat anything that I want to eat. What I have to eat is not what I am eating.

I love African food so much but if I try it, it will collapse my system. So, I have to submit myself to the food that can carry my flesh because we also need flesh to carry on

God will not ask you whether you are from Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa,' or whether you attend Redeemed Church or Christ Apostolic Church or Synagogue Church.

What then do you eat?
Well, I eat vegetables; I eat fish, meat, and chicken. I am not a vegetarian but I eat vegetable so much. I eat Asian foods also. Our African foods here attract comfort in the sense that immediately you begin to eat it, you begin to sleep and before you know it, you may even be sleeping while you are eating. Talk of pounded yam, egusi and ogbono and others.

When you are eating them, you forget that you still have much to do for the day, but to meet up with your assignments, you don’t need such. I used to advise our people not to eat something because you want to eat it, or because it is sweet, eat because of your health.

Do you exercise?
May be next time when you come, I will take you to my gym. When I wake up in the morning, I have to exercise – it is very important that I must do that.

SOURCE: All Africa –
Daily Champion

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TB Joshua – “Follow In The Light Of Love”

Sunday 12th September 2010 proved to be a day of freedom, light and liberty for the thousands who attended The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria, a testimony mirrored also by the millions who were watching the service live and direct on Emmanuel TV.

With repentant armed robbers being financially supported, broken homes and families joyously reunited, the sick and afflicted miraculously healed, prophetic revelations striking the root of people’s problems and powerful prayer bringing out a multitude of unclean spirits, to say the service was action-packed is an under-statement. To coin the words of Prophet T.B. Joshua, “The Book of Acts is not mere history – it is the pattern of what Jesus Christ wants His church to be today.” The words of our Saviour in John 14:12 spring to mind: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Blessed are our eyes for seeing such wonders in this day and generation! This is practical Christianity.

Prophet TB Joshua - Love brought us into being. We are love's products.

Wise Man Racine - Your confession must be absolutely based upon the Word of God

After an inspirational message from Wise Man Racine, titled ‘The Confession Of God’s Word’, Prophet T.B. Joshua gave a short word of encouragement on the virtues of love. “We are love’s products. We are sons and daughters of love. Therefore, let love lead – follow in the light of love,” he exhorted the congregation. He denounced the hypocritical attitude of those who are ready to show love for selfish reasons when they are seeking a job or political appointment, but change their attitude when they come to church to condemn and criticise at whim. “Without love, our meeting here today is nothing,” he added, drawing the people’s attention to Romans 13:9, which states: “The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”

A man of action who believes in the principle of leading by example, Prophet T.B. Joshua went on to practically demonstrate such love – not just in word and tongue but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18). For the past few months, various armed robbers and social miscreants have been staying in The SCOAN for rehabilitation and reformation, following their deliverance from the spirit that pushed them to steal, kill and destroy. Among them was Samuel, an armed robber whose past misconduct was beyond ordinary. Samuel possessed the spirit of a snake and armed robbery, his body full of evil powers to the extent that he could disappear at will and re-appear inside a banks ‘Strong Room’ to loot the contents.

He explained that before his deliverance, he had no atom of sympathy or empathy for human beings, and had “wasted many souls”, the money made from his robbery only channelled into seeking more evil powers. He told the rapt audience that when the Spirit of God arrested him during the deliverance, he saw the demons appear to him, saying that since he had chosen to leave them, they would remove their equipment from his body. And from that moment, Samuel’s life has never been the same! He has lived in The SCOAN for some months, daily spending time in prayer and being taught God’s Word and ways. According to Samuel, he never had any concept of God before as he saw the evil spirits who possessed him as ‘his god’. Samuel received the sum of N200,000 to start a new life in Christ, alongside three other reformed robbers, who were given the same amount.

David Brown - Delivered from the spirit of robbery!

Among the other robbers was David Brown, an indigene of Rivers State who schooled in Kingston University, United Kingdom, and came out with a First Class Degree in Architecture. However, the obviously intelligent young man has literally lived in the prison for the last 15 years, having been incarcerated eight times for crimes he had no consciousness of committing. After being cursed by his aunt that ‘the prison would be his home’, a strange spirit would overpower David and lead him inside a stranger’s house where he would sit down until the owner returned to meet him there and raise the alarm. Incriminated by a bunch of keys always found in his possession, David would be beaten, taken to the police cell and then to prison. Within weeks of his release, the spirit would take control again, and the cycle of imprisonment would continue, to the point where David actually preferred prison to the outside world.

However, after his remarkable deliverance, David testified that although temptation still comes, he has strength to rebuke and resist the evil spirit, standing firm on God’s Word. He also received the sum of N200, 000, as the entire congregation worshipped God for the four young men whose lives were totally transformed through their coming to The SCOAN. Not only were they delivered from the evil spirits, they were fed and clothed by the ministry, filled with God’s Word and financially supported to start a new life on the foundation of faith. The evidence of Jesus Christ is lives changed!

The Ezuagba Family at The SCOAN

After the robber’s testimonies, it was time for the reconciliation of homes that had been broken owing to various allegations and strange experiences within the family. First came the case of the Izuagba family. Mrs Cornelia Izuagba accused her son Elochukwu of being a ritualist, killing his sister and planning to use her for a ritual. The genesis of the problem was the downfall of his business, after which Cornelia, affectionately referred to by the prophet as ‘Mama’ began seeing him moving with the wrong set of people who were known to have dipped their hands into ritualism. When her son brought some yam as a gift to her, that night she received a strange attack in the dream which also affected her health, leading her to conclude that he was attempting to use her for a ritual. The rumour had since spread throughout the entire community, Elochukwu being labelled a murderer.

T.B. Joshua resolved the case by praising the stance of Mama against the immoral friends in the life of her son, saying that to have such a mother was a blessing as she was ready to fight any evil in her children’s lives. He clarified that Elochukwu was not a ritualist and had no hand in the death of his sister, but truly he was moving with the wrong type of people. It was a touching moment as Mr. Izuagba embraced his mother and promised not to be involved in such ungodly entanglements again. Three more families were also reconciled as God’s truth dispelled the chaos caused by satan’s lies.

God has written us into a revolutionary and unprecedented story of reconciliation, in which hostilities are broken and enemies become friends!

Unable to walk for six long years - restricted to a wheelchair

Prof receives the Anointing Water in Jesus' Name!

The man of God continued by introducing the new ‘Anointing Water’, followed by a practical proof of God’s power working through it. A Professor from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon had come to The SCOAN restricted to a wheelchair for six long years. Sitting amidst the sick and afflicted in the overflow congregation, he was wheeled forward by evangelists to the church entrance where the new Anointing Water for healing and deliverance was ministered to him. It was an incredible moment as the Prof rose to his feet for the first time in six years and began to walk. To His power, nothing is impossible!

Walking out of the wheelchair - to God be the glory!

It was time for the prayer-line, as literally thousands from across Nigeria, Africa and the whole world came to receive a touch from heaven. Those with both physical and spiritual problems were in the line, and as the Wise Men prayed, the lighting of God flowed through them to bring healing, deliverance and freedom! Demons were cast out, sicknesses were healed, needs were met and problems were solved – all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Deliverance during Mass Prayer at The SCOAN

The Mass Prayer in the second service was another powerful time of prayer as the Holy Spirit exposed all unclean spirits amidst the people. One of those exposed was a cultist who had already donated his own son to the cult. Prophecy then revealed another man in the congregation who had murdered his uncle and had been tormented by the spirit of death ever since. More prophetic revelations ensued as the root causes of people’s problems were uncovered and the solution immediately provided. At the end of the day, the worshipers went home and the viewers at home switched off their television with a resounding conviction: ‘Jesus is alive – He never said goodbye!’ Glory be to God!

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A DAY OF DELIVERANCE AND RESTORATION!

Sunday, the 5th of September, 2010 was another joyful day of service at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. The service day started with a melodious performance by the renowned choristers. This was followed by a wonderful sermon, titled “BE FAITHFUL TO GOD” preached by one of the ‘Wise Men’ – Daniel.

Wise Man Daniel made us understand that if we are faithful to God, then our God is powerful. In other words, God is powerful and faithful to His faithful servants.
Proof Text: Daniel 3:15-18
What do you need God to be for you? God is what you need Him to be; and your faithfulness counts. That is, your faithfulness to Him makes it work. Do you need God to be your Deliverer, Healer, Saviour, Rescuer and Friend in life? Then, your faithfulness to Him makes it work. As faithful Christians, our God is faithful, very reliable, trustworthy and dependable. To His power, nothing is impossible.
After the wonderful sermon delivered by the Wise Man, it was time for deliverance. As many as were in bondage and in need of deliverance from the hands of the devil came out, and indeed, received their freedom.
One of them was a pastor of Divine Miracle Assembly in Imo State. He narrated how he came under the bondage of satan even though he camouflaged as a pastor with a ministry.
Owing to the fact that he had a problem in his ministry and people were threatening him, he visited a native doctor introduced to him by his fellow pastor. The native doctor, in turn, gave him a charm to swallow for protection and for miracles to happen in the church. He was also given a charm to put in water and sprinkle in his church in order to experience an overflow of congregation. The pastor thus administered this water on the sick people who came for healing of their diverse sicknesses. Little did they know that they were drinking charmed water from the pit of hell.

Pastor Victory Chiaka was not satisfied because the charm did not have the desired effect. This led him to visit up to about three native doctors. The last one gave him soap to bathe with in order to experience an overflow and miracles in his church. In the process of visiting native doctors, the pastor went to his village where he watched Emmanuel TV, got interested and came back home to install it in his home.
On the fateful day he was watching Prophet T.B. Joshua praying on Emmanuel TV, he felt a shock through his body. He later went to have his bath but lo and behold, he looked for the soap given to him by the native doctor but could not find it. When he went to the native doctor, he was told that there was a certain TV station he was watching and that had affected him causing the soap to disappear and return to the native doctor.
The native doctor warned him not to watch Emmanuel TV anymore, but deep in his mind he decided to continue watching and even planned to come to the SCOAN. Pastor Chiaka had a particular problem known to him which defied solution for a long time. He had this particular pain inflicted on him by the evil spirit. He was shot in his dream and his back got swollen up. He went to many native doctors for cure but all to no avail. This was what eventually brought him to the SCOAN on that fateful day and while the prophet T.B. Joshua was praying, he felt things flying away from his back and saw a flash like an angel and before he knew it, he found himself on the floor. While he was still at the SCOAN, the native doctor called him to tell him that he could see that he had gone to the place he was forbidden to go.
After Pastor Chiaka’s confession, he was delivered but Prophet T.B. Joshua made him understand that he needed to be counselled. The experience was not there because his calling was questionable. He said for when God calls, He makes us fit. He went further to say that as a pastor you may know that you are called but in what area? If you do what God gives you to do, you will do it perfectly.

Another Pastor, Pastor Victor Olushola of Chapel of Exploits Ministries came out to give his confession of how he, among other pastors, had blasphemed against Prophet T.B. Joshua. He said his general overseer made him believe that Prophet T.B. Joshua was not genuine. It was when he watched Emmanuel TV himself that he saw that Prophet T.B. Joshua was not what he was painted to be. Pastor Olushola narrated how he went about blaspheming against Prophet T.B. Joshua and how eventually things turned around against him. He found he could no longer preach as he was under the spell of satan.

Pastor Olushola

It all started with his addiction to internet and watching of pornographic films. He was so involved in it that it got to a stage where images of what he watched in the pornographic films started coming to meet him and having affairs with him. Pastor Olushola got so involved in these pornographic and sexual affairs with demonic spirits that it completely disorganised his ministry and his family. He tried delivering himself but all to no avail.
He got to know about the SCOAN and decided to come but the evil spirit in him kept telling him not to come. “These evil spirits speak like human beings to me”, said Pastor Olushola.
On the fateful day when he finally decided to come to the SCOAN, the evil spirit followed him and kept telling him to go back until he got near the SCOAN before the evil spirit turned back.
Pastor Olushola was prayed for and delivered. He jumped up in joy after his deliverance because at last he had been freed from the perpetual bondage of satan. All his lost glory was restored.
Prophet T.B. Joshua told him to preach to the congregation and with tears in his eyes and unconcealed happinness, Pastor Olushola took the microphone and gave thanks to God Almighty for restoring him. He said, “What the enemy say will not happen in my life has happened. For me to be privileged to stand and preach before the whole world on Emmanuel TV. I almost lost hope but I have been restored today”.

Pastor Olushola preaching

Pastor Olushola said, “That me that came here (SCOAN) is not the me that is standing here today. I have the power now to conquer what has been chasing me in Jesus’ name”.
T.B. Joshua concluded by saying that the devil may be fast but God is faster!

Many others came out to narrate their ordeals in the hands of satan. A most touching spectacle was that of a mother and her son who came out for reconciliation of their broken family.
Madam Florence Idukpaye had an only child; a son who accused her of being a witch and never wanted to do anything with her. Madam Idukpaye came running to the SCOAN seeking divine intervention in her family. She claimed that Fred happened to be her only son and he needed deliverance because he threatened to beat her up. She said she could not afford to lose him.
Fred Idukpaye, 45, stated that she was his mother but she had been monitoring his life. She did not allow him to do anything because she had undue influence over him.

Mrs Idukpaye and son

“I was living in Europe and before I knew it I found myself back in Nigeria! She called me on the phone one day and told me to come back home, before I knew it I was back in Nigeria and since then she has been discouraging me from going back to Europe. Anything I want to do, she is against it. She stops me and controls me. I therefore accused her of being a witch” Fred said.
Prophet T.B. Joshua came into the matter by looking at the situation from a spiritual angle. He stated that what Fred said was not ordinary. His mother had actually taken him to a society which is not of Christ. A society opposite to Christ. To protect him or what? Mr Fred’s coming back home was not ordinary. His mother not only called him on phone but she did everything diabolical to call him back home.
But T.B. Joshua emphasised that Madam Idukpaye did this not for anything but for the fact that she wanted her only son around her and not far away from her. She did all this out of ignorance. She sees this society she went into as a protector of her son. She felt if Fred did not come home, he would marry abroad and so she used all her means to get him back home to be around her. T.B. Joshua concluded that Madam Idukpaye needed deliverance and she was delivered.
Reconciling the family, the man of God told Mr Fred Idukpaye that there was no other mother that was as good as his mother. “She is your mother!” He concluded.

Emmanuel Oluwatobi’s confession crowned it all as one was left wondering at the length satan can go to destroy his adherents.
Oluwatobi was a young lad of 17 years who went about using the internet to defraud people. He indulged in using Prophet T.B. Joshua’s name to collect money from unsuspecting people from around the globe on internet. He actually went to the length of opening a ‘Facebook account’ in T.B. Joshua’s name and went about sending emails to people telling them he was T.B. Joshua and he wanted them to donate to his ministry for the orphans. He went as far as writing to the US Government asking for a loan of half a million dollars to build a church; all in the name of T.B. Joshua.

Mr Oluwatobi

– He prayed for unsuspecting candidates on the phone while covering the phone mouthpiece with a hanky in order to sound like a deep male voice.
– He collected money through Western union from many across the world in the name of T.B. Joshua.
– He promised to send anointing water to people as soon as they sent their money into his account.
– He collected money in the name of T.B. Joshua to build a branch of the church close to them.
– He visited spiritualists for money rituals.
Oluwatobi had been doing this for up to 5 years and he said he so much enjoyed it because money was coming into his account. It was to the extent that he dropped out of school and concentrated on his dubious act on internet. He got so addicted that when he sat down; all he could think of was to go on internet to defraud people and how to perfect his dubious activity.
Satan so completely destroyed this young lad that now he has a mental problem.
Just like Oluwatobi, others came out to give their confessions ranging from fraud on the internet to internet bank hacking.
Apart from watching as they were being delivered, one had a great lesson to learn from all these confessions. As the Bible says, satan only came to steal, kill and destroy but the son of man came to save, restore souls and give life in abundance.

MIRACLES

The healing session was not left out as many came with their diverse sicknesses and got healed through the name of Jesus Christ. Amongst them were cancer cases, HIV, difficulty in walking, neck collar and body brace cases.
Mrs Silverstra Muthoni came all the way from Kenya in search of a solution to her problem of Lumbar Spondylosis among others and was using a body brace. To God be the glory after the prayer of the Wise Man – Daniel she was set free. Free at last from the problem she had to endure for 25 years. What she could not do before, she started to do in the name of Jesus Christ. All were set free in the name of Jesus Christ.

BENEFICIARIES OF THE SCOAN SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME

The charitable arm of the SCOAN ministry was not left out as hundreds of students came out for their scholarship scheme. One could see the joy radiating in the faces of the young scholars as they felt at home in the SCOAN. They came to collect their school fees as promised by T.B Joshua to their families.
Isaac, a student of Ambrose Ali University Ekpoma, Nigeria, studying Mechanical Engineering was among the many scholars. He narrated how the scholarship scheme of Prophet T.B. Joshua had been a succour to his family. “Where would I have been today if not for the help of Prophet T.B. Joshua?” He said.
Miss Marcus of Yaba Technology Lagos, Nigeria, studying Computer Engineering smiled as she gave her thanks to God and concluded by saying “We love you Prophet T.B. Joshua”.

Little Miss Osho Oluwatoyin in Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) told the congregation how meeting Prophet T.B. Joshua had affected her life and that of her family. She said T.B. Joshua extended a hand of love to her family and most especially her father who was a drunkard before but thanked God for using Prophet T.B. Joshua to transform her father’s hopeless case to joy. Now there is joy in my family! She said.
A total of 5 million naira (N5,000,000) was given out to the beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme as each scholar was given an envelope with cash in it for their upkeep.

One could see the joy on the faces of the scholars as their hearts were filled with hope of a bright future. The parents and guardians were not left out as each gave a sigh of relief that God was indeed bearing their burdens through His anointed servant, Prophet T.B. Joshua.

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‘The Sixth Sense’ – Delivered From The Spirit Of Death!!

Yet another remarkable testimony of God’s power at work in our day and generation! Although what you are about to read may sound strange to the 21st century mind, it is a real-life experience from someone who was literally ensnared in the throes of death. In our generation today, we watch films about this subject matter, regarding it as mere thrilling fiction. However, the spiritual world is real, and there is a real battle going on in the heart of man. Let this experience inspire you to live in total dependence on God for everything, knowing that when the Son of God sets you free – you shall be free indeed!

As Mrs. Gloria Okhae calmly crossed the road, little did she know that the trip from her home to a local chemist and an innocent purchase of medicine would result in a calamity that would send her out of her matrimonial home and into a living nightmare. Her stepson had fallen sick and Mrs. Gloria had purchased the medicine with every intent to nurse him back to health…

Mrs Gloria Okhae - Delivered from the spirit of death!

Returning to the house, she gave the child a dose of the medicine, which was to result in his sudden death – the drug from the store being both fake and fatal. Instead of his death leading to arrest and the eventual prosecution of the seller, this innocent woman was falsely accused of having deliberately killed the boy. That was the beginning of her nightmare, a terrifying experience that was to take her beyond the realm of the living: a journey to the land of the dead.

With dreams filled with visits from the dead, nights were dreaded and sleep troubled. After some time, the visions started becoming a reality and the nightmare went beyond the night. Daily life became deadly life as eating, bathing and merely walking down the street to the market were tormented by the faces of the dead haunting her and their voices disturbing her.

For Gloria Okhae, an indigene of Edo State in the southern part of Nigeria, it was a depressing and miserable life. She travelled through every nook and cranny of the state in search of a solution, finding none. Doctors informed her that her case was beyond medical solution. In Gloria’s own words: “It has been a life of struggle… it has been a life of battle with death.”

“I was being confronted with death. I sleep seeing this child in my dream and some other dead people. If I go to the market, what I see is death. If I am in the house, it is death. If am in the bathroom, it is death. I keep seeing dead people, even when I am in a car, all of a sudden the people in the car will turn to dead people. It has been a life of living among the dead.”

“When I am in the market and I want to buy something from somebody, before I get there, the person may initially be looking normal, but the moment I say: ‘How much is this commodity?’ suddenly the person would just change to a known dead person. Then I would leave. I would not buy what I wanted to buy again. Another experience is that, if I want to eat, I will see dead people. They would want to put their hands on the plate, then I would be afraid and would not eat again, and at the same time, I was getting skinny, because the moment they appear, I have to drop the food… They look like normal human beings, but in my heart, I know that they are dead, because they are familiar dead people…” And what were these spirits of death telling her? “They will show me the time. They will tell me your time is up.”

Medical efforts defied and human solution insufficient, the woman slept one night in a state of utter despair, on the verge of giving up the struggle. However, that night proved to be a turning point as in her dream Prophet T.B. Joshua, whom she had never met in her life, appeared to her. Upon awaking, she packed her baggage and headed for Lagos, the vision spurring her on to search for The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations.

T.B. Joshua - There is power in the name of Jesus Christ indeed, but only among those who are committed to the glory of God.

Her first encounter with the one who appeared in her dream was during The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations Sunday Service, where in front of the entire church – he spoke directly to her. Following the time of prayer, led by the Holy Spirit, T.B. Joshua said: “There is a woman here, a little child died through her mistakenly. The child was sick and you went to a local chemist to buy some tablets and these tablets resulted in the death of the child. The case later became a controversy, and the Lord saved you out of it, but later you left the place. I am telling you, you are facing the spirit of death. You keep seeing this child and some dead people in your dream. You are light in complexion and tall. Stand up – among the newcomers.”

It seemed like a dream. Rationality suggested that this was not reality. Within three hours of her entering The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, Mrs. Gloria Okhae received a message from a man she had never met about a situation she had never disclosed to him, in a context she never expected. ‘God’s wisdom’ was at work! Even before the conclusion of the prophecy, Mrs. Okhae stood up from the midst of the newcomers, stepped out and moved towards the altar, her hands raised in utter amazement.

Narrating her ordeal to the church, she concluded by saying, “As I was coming here today, they (the dead) were also coming with me. But when I got to the gate, they could not enter”. As the congregation cheered, the man of God prayed for Mrs. Okhae in the power of the Holy Spirit and she received the deliverance she had been crying for.

The following Sunday, Mrs. Okhae returned to share her testimony with the entire congregation: “When I was delivered by the man of God last Sunday, I went to the shop right inside the church and asked the woman to give me some snacks and soft drinks. I came back inside the auditorium and started eating and watching to see whether there would be any negative reaction, but I did not see dead people”.

She said further: “So I went home a happy woman. When I got home, I thought maybe it is because I took the snacks inside the church – that is why the dead people did not come around me. I now asked for food to be served again in the house to know whether they would surface again. When the food was served, I was watching, because they normally come. This time, I didn’t see anything. How relieved I was! That marked the end of the threat of death! To God be the glory”.

After her deliverance, for the first time in years, her sleep was uninterrupted and peaceful: “I lay down; I slept peacefully for the first time in my life, for many years. In fact, I didn’t turn! So, since that deliverance, it has been a life of glorious liberty – and no more death”.

What more is there to say: “Where, oh death is your victory? Where, oh death is your sting? Death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).”

SOURCE: Faith Cometh, Issue 1

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Paid To Blaspheme Prophet T.B. Joshua!

Many have heard varying rumors and startling reports concerning the ministry of Prophet T.B. Joshua, which seem a total contradiction to what they are watching on Emmanuel TV day-in and day-out. But for the spiritually minded, such division and contention only serves as a sign of God’s divine calling in his life. The Scripture clearly tells us in 2 Timothy 3:12-13 – “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Anything close to Jesus receives attack – but when God is on your side, you will stand the test of time and persecution will be a tonic to your anointing.

The following story is from The SCOAN’s latest publication of Read Us will be a shock to many. However, it only shows us that the devil is using every trick in his book to try and paint The SCOAN in a bad light in order to stop people from coming to receive their freedom, deliverance and healing. The devil wants you to take all you hear without questioning, but as true Christians, we must be careful to make sure of all things in order to hold fast to that which is true (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Well did Gameliel advise the Pharisees in Acts 5:35-39 – “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

FROM militancy through to blasphemy to discovery, the tale of James is intriguing and intrepid, revealing both the jealousy of men and the justice of God…

Life was difficult for James. Growing up in the squalor of a remote village in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, it seemed he was set to follow his peers into a life of poverty and obscurity. But the zeal to make something out of life, to break free from the jinx of failure burned within James from a young age. He found that opportunity as a rebellious teenager when he joined a group of notorious militants with a promise of an exciting lifestyle and good money. But there was a price. “Because of the nature of the job I was doing, I went to so many places for charms for protection with the result that if you cut me, it won’t penetrate. If you shoot me, the bullets won’t enter.” The charms soon started back-firing for although protection was seemingly given, spiritual attacks and terrible nightmares became the norm. Realising he needed deliverance, James set off to look for a church where he could be set free from the satanic chains he had inadvertently locked himself in.

Prophet TB Joshua - Man's rejection provokes God's direction. When man rejects you, God will begin to direct you.

The church he eventually attended however had other motives – ulterior motives. “The pastor prayed for me, and then asked me to wait behind afterwards, that he wanted to see me. After some time, he asked me if I wanted to work with them.” From militancy to the work of God? James was shocked, but decided to accept, believing this could be the key to a new life. “After all, there’s nothing wrong in working in the house of God,” he surmised.

The assignment for James however, was not the one normally associated with a church or God’s work. It was a dark assignment with dangerous intent. “I did not know that he was asking me to blaspheme against the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua. I had never met T.B. Joshua in my life. I’d never even seen him. I’d never even heard the name before. So I accepted the offer as they would pay me a huge amount of money to testify against Prophet T.B. Joshua in any of their crusades.” Naïvely, James agreed. Little did he know that such acceptance was to entangle his life further into a mesh of chaos and confusion, misleading and deceiving tens of thousands in the process.

“What I was required to say is: ‘T.B. Joshua is a satanic agent from the kingdom of darkness; we belong to the same kingdom of darkness. I am on level seven and he is on level five. He never mentions the name Jesus Christ in his church, he only mentions Emmanuel!’ I danced to their tune because of the money involved. They took me around many states in Nigeria and beyond to testify against the man of God. Every crusade, a lot of people usually gathered to listen and hear me out.”

Rumours spread like wildfire as the web of deception weaved its wicked way further throughout the country and beyond, painting Prophet T.B. Joshua black in the eyes of people. However, the intent of the perpetrators did not materialise as his ministry waxed stronger despite the hail of persecution and false accusation. In the midst of this, James decided to travel abroad to South Africa in search of greener pastures, the money he received in the course of blasphemy never amounting to or accounting for anything meaningful. “Getting to my new location, I found myself doing rubbish. My life was somehow useless. What I didn’t like, that’s what I saw myself doing. And all this while the pastor never stopped inviting me back to Nigeria for the same purpose of blackmailing Prophet T.B. Joshua each time they staged crusades and I always obliged because of the money involved”.

Life continued in a downward spiral with various attempts at business all ending in failure and frustration. James seemed stuck in a vicious cycle of life, with no apparent end. “I received a lot of attacks and lost almost everything I acquired.” Marital problems loomed and his spiritual life was practically non-existent. “I used to go to church to play music, sing and do everything in the church – but to give my life to Christ was something I never contemplated because of what had happened to me in the past. I only saw church as a game.”

But an incredible discovery was around the corner, set to transform and reform his life and future. “After some time, my wife demanded I install a satellite dish in our apartment to enable her and my son to access Christian channels. I succumbed after a lot of pressure but any time I was in the house, I preferred watching movies instead of Christian channels. One fateful day I tuned to channel 33 where I saw Emmanuel TV and not quite two seconds later, I saw the name, Synagogue Church. I was interested. Not quite five minutes on, I saw the name ‘Prophet TB Joshua’ on the screen and realised immediately that this must be the man I had been blaspheming.”

For the first time in his life, James saw the man he had witnessed publicly against on countless occasions. Remorse began welling within him as he heard the name of Jesus Christ mentioned frequently. Regret pierced his heart as he saw the remarkable healing testimonies, accurate prophetic messages, touching charitable activities and challenging biblical sermons on Emmanuel TV – all in the name of Jesus Christ. He had been deceived to deceive. “I saw and heard him mentioning “In the name of Jesus Christ” times without number. I said, ‘Ah! But the people that asked me to testify against this man said he doesn’t mention the name Jesus Christ but only Emmanuel. No! I can’t remain here. I must come down to Nigeria, confess my sins and free myself so that my family and I can have a bright future.”

His eyes opened to the truth, James sought to right his wrongs and embarked on a journey to The SCOAN in Lagos, Nigeria. Knowing his public blasphemy had influenced many negatively, James believed his public confession could influence many more positively. On December 20th 2009, standing in the arena of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations and speaking live on Emmanuel TV, James shared his experience to a rapt audience. Prophet T.B. Joshua publicly forgave him, prayed for him and delivered him in the name of Jesus and 16 years of false testimony and profanity finally came to an end.

SOURCE: Read Us Edition 3

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