MAN’S RELATIO…

MAN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

The first service which was preceded by songs and dances by the congregation, lasted for some hours. Wise man Christopher ministered to the congregation on the subject, “Christianity is a Relationship”.

The speaker said that “mankind is designed to think, talk, act and plan with God” and as Christians, “whether we die or live, we are permanently married to Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus transcends time and influences all other relationships”. He said that Christianity is a relationship and reiterated that “man’s relationship with God is determined or driven by what his circumstances look like”, and that “trials, hardship, travails and temptations discipline us and improve our Christian character, thus making us better disciples of Christ”.

He maintained that in man’s relationship with God, “man’s role is to hear, believe and obey God’s commands while God’s role is the Word to cause faith and the grace to cover sins”; and that while “Man’s duty is to obey God’s commands; His duty is to keep His promises. In God’s way of doing things, these two things never conflict”.

He concluded that for any man to have a relationship with God, “it must be through His Word and by His Spirit” and when man is to honour the father, he enjoys two graces: spiritual and material upliftment, the security of God’s presence, and freedom from fear.

In his own message, Prophet T.B. Joshua spoke on The SCOAN Revival Service which took place in Washington State, USA, specifically conducted by Wise Man Harry. The revival which held between 2^nd and 4th March 2012 with a view to letting the Americans receive deliverance and liberation from satanic forces (a commitment for which SCOAN is most noted) was a blessing to the church. Prophet T.B. Joshua expressed delight over the successful revival which really moved many Americans.

While insisting that the revival would help the members to build their faith in God, he had further commented that “What a wonderful grace for Wise Man Harry, telling the people their problems and praying for them, through mass prayer. He was well received and people had to queue to enter the hall”.

He equally addressed the issue of fake deliverances in the United Kingdom, deliberately attributed to The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, noting that it was a ploy to discredit the church. He added that the church partners in the United Kingdom had wanted to go to court, but he dissuaded them from doing so. The story of the fake deliverance was featured by the BBC and Sky News.

The prophet also spoke on the fact that the church is not against the use of medicine to cure ailments, contrary to the false reports carried by the BBC and Sky News. In his opinion, “We treat but God heals”, and that medicine is a “product of nature and no products can be against drugs which come from roots or leaves of trees”. He emphasized that there was nothing demonic about drugs, noting that those who claimed that SCOAN was against drugs are ignorant of what the church stands for. He said, “If we are against drugs or doctors, we will not demand a medical report from patients before we treat them”.   He added: “When your case is beyond nature, it becomes a curse, and it is only God that can cure you”.

He spoke further on the differences between a sickness and a curse. To him, when a man uses a drug and it cures him of any ailment, it means that is sheer sickness. But in the case of a curse, when one uses drugs against a form of sickness, it will not go because it is caused by a demon. According to him, “No doctor can cure it. The only person to cure this is Jesus Christ”.

He added that there are two types of poverty – one is caused by a curse while the other is caused by tension and pressure. As for the first, no matter how much money is given to somebody, such money will disappear into wasteful ventures. One has to be delivered to become free from such a menace. The second variety is often caused by pressure and tension. He added that when someone experiences a headache which is through a curse, he/she can only be delivered spiritually, and that many cases of HIV/AIDS cannot be healed by medical doctors because such result from curses.

To increase people’s faith, T.B. Joshua had asked that a documentary be shown, of one Mrs Patricia who had suffered from HIV/AIDS infection, but was delivered in the church. The documentary was meant to illustrate the power of deliverance over sickness beyond the human comprehension and solution.

According to the prophet, “Your case is beyond nature when your drugs do not work for you. How could a prophet say he is against the nature of God? There is no sickness that is not deadly. We treat; God heals. If one is taking tablets or drugs and there is no difference, you should go to the Provider”.

He also emphasized that “There are people who can give you wrong prescriptions even in the Kingdom work”, which is why every pastor or evangelist should know his/ her areas of calling,” and if you cannot face that area of your calling, you can never get anything right”. According to him, it is always better for man to leave his life in the hands of God and trust the Holy Spirit.

T.B. Joshua also spoke on the relevance of keeping records; it is always because tomorrow is coming. Two major documentary films on past sufferers of the HIV/AIDS plague were shown to the public, which reflected the past 15 and 13 years deliverances from the stronghold of HIV/AIDS. In both films, it was shown that the sufferers had used a variety of drugs to no effect, but were delivered in the church. Testimonies were given by these past sufferers, who came with their families. The prophet said: “We condemn God, abuse and reject Him, yet we continue to enjoy His love”. He said that the church was not financially buoyant in the past, yet it considered it important to do the recording of the deliverances, for the sake of comparing events of the past with the present.

 Testimonies

Tunji

Various testimonies also followed on the relevance of the Anointing Water. For instance, the boy who was sniffing faeces (Tunji) came to give testimony of his deliverance. He had been sniffing his faeces for 10 years. And despite all efforts made by his parents and pastors to get him out of the mess, it persisted. He was brought to The SCOAN where he was totally delivered (the previous week) through the Anointing Water ministered to him by his pastor.

Mr & Mrs Nwachukwu Eke – Problem of Barrenness

The couple came to The SCOAN to give testimony of the deliverance from barrenness. Mrs Eke had complained of the problem of bilateral tubal blockage and hormonal imbalance. She had been to several hospitals in search of solution to the problems but the efforts were futile. They later came to The SCOON where they received the Anointing Water. They prayed with the Anointing Water and administered it. She was completely healed and consequently became pregnant.

Mr Michael Egbo – Addiction To Smoking and Drinking

Mr Michael Egbo who came from Bayelsa had also been delivered from 28 years of heavy smoking and drinking. He was always having chronic headaches due to persistent smoking. He came to The SCOAN and was given the Anointing Water which he administered on himself after prayers. He was completely delivered and the headache disappeared. He also received financial breakthrough and confirmed having peace of mind.

Engineer Yakubu Askira

He came to The SCOAN to testify the goodness of God in his life. He confirmed his acquisition of Boeing 727 and being awarded honorary doctorate degree in Aviation Management. He also revealed that two more planes had been procured for his aviation business.

 Mrs Christiana Ogbona – Problem of Marine Spirit

She came to The Synagogue Church to complain of the problem of marine spirit. She said the problem started when she was a child. “A friend took me to a river where I wanted to collect something for my mother. We were there for hours. At 6pm, a beautiful woman came out of the river with a mirror and comb… the woman later disappeared”, she narrated.
After the gory experience, she said she started noticing strange things in her life – things that she could not explain. She said any man that had sex with her experienced grief and particularly business failure. “When they complain to me, I would be happy” she said. She said she saw herself being half human and half snake or fish, and in the midst of dead people. “In that spiritual kingdom, I flew and ate in my dreams. I saw myself getting pregnant in the spiritual world and was called a queen”, she claimed.

She therefore, came to The SCOAN when she had appendicitis and decided not to go for an operation. She said they nearly had an accident on their way to The Synagogue Church. When Wise Man Christopher prayed for her, she felt something come out of her body and no longer had pain or sees the marine kingdom.

Josephine Arone – Problem of Marine Spirit

She came to The Synagogue Church as a result of being haunted by marine spirit. She said she used the power in her head to travel all over the world and was always talking to herself. “My late father initiated me and wanted my mum to come and join him in his kingdom” she revealed. She said her mother took her to many places for deliverance but could not succeed. She stated that she seduced many pastors and hated watching Emmanuel TV. She was brought to The SCOAN by her mother after several pleas. She was delivered by Wise Man Daniel by a mere touch on her head. She confirmed that after her deliverance, she no longer sees herself in the marine world.

The prophet spoke further on issues of faith and deliverance, especially emphasizing that The SCOAN will only be one in any country as divinely permitted, and not two, because “the grace will be much”. According to him, it is not structure that the world needs (as far as churches are concerned) but “we need to build people”, and that “The glory of God is important. You will accept God when you meet an apostle of God. Conversion is questionable without deliverance. You need deliverance to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Deliverance means forgiveness; forgiveness means deliverance. Deliverance means mercy; without deliverance, there is no mercy”, he concluded.

Before the second service was the prayer line which attracted people suffering a variety of illnesses and infections, being attended to by the wise men.

The second service was quite interesting too. Songs, dances and prayers were rendered by the congregation. Massive deliverances took place through the laying of hands by the wise men, who moved round the congregation. Prophet TB Joshua later joined the people, during which he ministered to the people on the gallery, and predicting into their lives. Prayer sessions ended the service, though the congregation was encouraged to watch Wise Man Harry’s revival, live in the USA on Emmanuel TV.