“The love you give away is the only love you keep.”—Prophet TB Joshua
From June 3 to June 12, 2022, the unassailable truth of the above quote was proved yet again as people gathered from all over the world in remembrance of Prophet TB Joshua, the Founder of The SCOAN, who transited from this earthly plane on June 5, 2021. Given that his birthdate was June 12, The SCOAN Live Sunday Service of June 12, 2022 was a fitting date to mark the second posthumous birthday of God’s servant.
It was indeed an outpouring of love not only for the wife and children left behind but also the larger SCOAN and Emmanuel TV Family. Leading the session of worship and praise was The Emmanuel TV Choir, supported with an operatic performance by Esther of The SCOAN Sunday School. One could tell that the people felt joy from the bottom of their hearts as they sang in gratitude to God for His grace thus far on The SCOAN.
Quite appropriately, Evangelist Ope gave a touching, deeply impactful sermon titled ‘The Power of Love,’ for which he took his reading from 1 John 4:7-8. Rather spectacularly, he began by taking over the words of Prophet TB Joshua: “Don’t take me by the name ‘prophet’; take me by the name ‘love’…. When you love, you overcome. Hatred is powerless in the face of God’s power and armour.”
The preacher described love as “the real measure of true spirituality” while noting that love trumps faith, for love is in fact the manifestation of faith, citing 1 Corinthians 13:13 and Galatians 5:6. Again echoing the man of God, the evangelist stated: “There is no love that does not express itself in giving…. When you have the love of God in your heart, you will look for those who are in need of what you have. Someone somewhere is in need of what you have.”
Having so charged the atmosphere in The Arena Of Liberty with the warmth of love’s message, Evangelist Ope urged congregants and viewers all over the world to invest more in making life better for fellow humans, as Prophet TB Joshua did all through his life. He also gave several other memorable quotes from the man of God. He ended with these unforgettable words: “Let love be uppermost in your heart. Life is love and love is life. If you miss love, you miss life. The love you give, the forgiveness you show, the patience and forbearance that grace your life will produce much fruit, perhaps long after you had forgotten them. Give God time, for things are working themselves out slowly but surely.”
Prayer Line Ministration And Laying Of Hands
At the Prayer Line, Pastor Evelyn Joshua started with the following words: “Today, like every other day, is a gift of God that must be opened with prayers.” She then prayed, “Father, let your will be done in all we do, in all we say, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!”
It was indeed a power-packed anointing service, as there was clear evidence of the presence of God’s Right Hand working in The Arena of Liberty, with many receiving instant healing and deliverance for breakthrough in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Among the cases that received divine attention were stomach cancer, head tumour, diabetes, hernias, prostate cancer, damaged lungs, piles, hormonal imbalance, mental disorder, bleeding, pneumonia, undescended testicles and difficulty in walking.
Alongside the woman of God, The SCOAN Evangelists then proceeded to laying hands on the people as they declared fire on all negative spirits troubling them. Hundreds fell noisily under the power of the anointing, even as hundreds of others quietly received from the Lord. For the people, it was freedom at last in Jesus’ name, for God Almighty had honoured His Word and His name. Emmanuel!
Cutting The Birthday Cake
Leading the cutting of the birthday cake was Bishop Trevor Williamson from Bahamas, supported by Prophet TB Joshua’s family and The SCOAN Evangelists. Pastor Evelyn Joshua also announced gifts of DVDs and Anointing Stickers for all congregants.
Mass Prayer
Said Pastor Evelyn Joshua when she joined congregants for the Mass Prayer session: “Our God that never fails, our God that changeth not—let us give thanks to Him…. Thank Him for not allowing the will of the enemy to prevail over your life.” She then prayed: “Wherever you are having any problem in your system, wherever you are having any pain—be healed, be saved, be delivered, be loosed, in the mighty name of Jesus!” For viewers all over the world, she prayed: “We decree healing, deliverance, breakthrough into your life, business, marital life, health. Let there be freedom, in the mighty name of Jesus!”
Evangelist Ope told congregants: “Every spirit that is not of God—command it out, in the name of Jesus! That contrary spirit tormenting your life—command it out, in the name of Jesus!”
Evangelist James told congregants to pray: “You unclean spirit, you familiar spirit—anywhere you are, I call you by your name—I command you out!”
Evangelist Chisom prayed: “In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, every spirit that causes affliction, disease, sickness, by the power in the Blood of Jesus—I command it to come out, in the name of Jesus!”
Evangelist Joseph told congregants: “Every hindrance to your breakthrough, success—command it to give way!”
In a Mass Prayer clip, Prophet TB Joshua told congregants to pray: “Every infirmity, every spirit troubling my life—leave, in the name of Jesus!” He also told them: “Every spirit troubling your life, business, career, family, marriage, relationship—command it out!” He further told them to pray: “Locate me, Lord, in Your mercy. Don’t leave me out when you are healing, delivering others. Every trouble in my life, health, marriage, career—I receive a solution, I receive deliverance, I receive healing.” The man of God then prayed: “Every affliction that troubles your health, bone, liver, kidney, blood—receive healing, in the name of Jesus! Every affliction troubling your life—I command it out, in the name of Jesus! Let every trouble receive a solution!”
Testimonies
After Decades Of Torment, Marcus Meets With Mercy!
Right from childhood Marcus had been a particularly stubborn child. More than that, however, as the head of a notorious group of troublemakers, he was a constant source of terror to his village in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. From primary to secondary school, Marcus remained a menace to society. At the completion of secondary school, when he himself started feeling uncomfortable about his way of life, Marcus decided to ask his parents some serious questions. Straight away, they told him the truth. “You were conceived,” they told him, “after we had spent seven months at one of the village shrines because of lack of a child.” His mother continued, “You are supposed to be a devotee of the god of that shrine but I guess we haven’t fulfilled our part of the deal.” Alarmed at the prospect of perpetual idol worship, Marcus fled to Lagos—hundreds of miles away. But the demons chased him there, manifesting every night as an old woman accompanied by five or six young girls. By morning, when he woke up, Marcus would recall having had intimacy with all the girls! He would be weak and wet all over. Sometimes only the old woman would appear and she would still make love to him. The result? Bad luck throughout the day! And, oh, how he disliked women so much! When he finally got married, he never found peace. He kept parting ways with his women, many of whom never hesitated to bandy words with him over the slightest issues. Eventually, the spirit in Marcus began making him suicidal and murderous. On one occasion, he attempted to behead his wife with a sharp sword but in the process he was stopped by a rotating ceiling fan that lost two of its blades as the sword struck them. The wife in question jumped out of the window of their one-storey building and disappeared for three years. Yet, the spiritual woman continued to appear to Marcus and his life remained miserable. Along the line, Marcus discovered Emmanuel TV. Finally, on May 29, 2022, the 62-year-old received his perfect deliverance after the demon in him confessed before fleeing forever. Today, he is now a cool-headed man, no longer controlled by his temper. He advised those intending to marry to seek God’s face patiently. Marcus’ wife said she was glad to be free from the hellish life she had been experiencing with her husband in the last 16 years. She said Marcus would always leave her to her own fate after getting her pregnant, returning only after the child would have grown up—but then repeating the process all over again. “My home is peaceful now and he sleeps very well. I thank God and give Him the glory.” She also advised people to be patient. “It is only God who can do it,” she said. One of the couple’s children, Joshua, said he was grateful to God that his father was caught by the Spirit of God and their home is now peaceful.
A Gambling-Addicted Youth Finds New Purpose In Life
Until May 29, 2022, Samson had been a thorn in his parents’ flesh as he relentlessly squandered their resources on gambling. The addiction had been such that Samson never bothered about winning; in fact, he was always happy to lose. And so, he kept wasting his time and resources on the profitless activity. On numerous occasions, he sold off his phone to gamble, even as he felt no qualms about staking his school fees on gambling. Although he had initially been a brilliant student in his first year at the polytechnic, Samson began witnessing a downturn in his performance as the spirit dug further into him. At times, Samson would use his friends’ phones as ‘collateral’ for his gambling activities, forcing his father to cough up the money. When he was about to write his final examination, Samson ran away from school and did not return until the school authorities had contacted his parents. On returning home to Lagos, he began experiencing rejection from neighbours. Soon afterwards, he ran away from home after stealing funds from a company’s account. He then set up a business that crashed shortly afterwards, when a trusted friend duped him. Sometime later, he had a dream in which his mother and sister were begging him to return home. He then called his mother, who pled with him to return home. In an unusual act of obedience, Samson made his way to Adamawa State, his maternal grandmother’s base. Thereafter, he returned to Lagos, where he later came to The SCOAN with his parents. To the glory of God, Samson received his deliverance from the spirit of gambling after being ministered with the New Anointing Water. A day after the deliverance session, which Samson had tried to evade three times during the service, he had a dream in which he played football with Prophet TB Joshua. After being roused from the dream, Samson found that he had indeed become a new creature as he engaged his father in an uncommon conversation about the way forward. He advised the youth to turn to God, even as he advised parents not to give up on their errant children. Samson’s father, Joseph, thanked God for delivering his son who had caused him so much indebtedness. “Before, I had lost hope,” he said, “but now with God, I have hope for the future.” As a sign of God’s efficacious work in the family’s life, Joseph also received news that he had just been promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police. Of course, Samson’s mother was beside herself with joy today, never having given up on her son.
Malevolent Snake Spirit Banished Forever!
Unknown to Bassey, a legal practitioner, it was the malevolent snake spirit in him that had been responsible for his inability to proceed with his education to the highest level, the PhD. It was also that same spirit that had been making him sickly. It had all begun way back in the village. On his way home from the stream one day, Bassey had been escorted by two snakes. As time went on, he began to see snakes in his dream, sometimes appearing to him in real life and assuring him that they were there to protect him. At some point, a snake was discovered in Bassey’s home as people were trying to help him move house. They killed the snake, but the spirit woman behind the snake appeared to Bassey in the dream, telling him that it could not be killed. Later on, following a robbery in which his car was taken but later returned, Bassey discovered Emmanuel TV, during a broadcast of The Dominican Republic Crusade with Prophet TB Joshua. Afterwards, Bassey had another dream in which the Prophet expelled the snake spirit. God’s servant, said Bassey, also gave him an appointment in the dream. Armed with that ‘dream information’, Bassey came to the church and later received a touch on his heart from God’s servant at the church. Interestingly, Bassey had been seated on the gallery area but had been touched all the same by the man of God and exactly where he had been expecting to be touched. Bassey also said that the man of God had told him that he would have to work on his character for four years before receiving his full deliverance. All of that had happened in 2018. And as the man of God had told Bassey in the dream back then, Bassey did receive his final deliverance during the ministration of the New Anointing Water on May 29, 20022. Since then, the dream encounter with the snake from the family idol has ceased. “God’s time is the best,” Bassey assured congregants. Thanking God for the deliverance, Bassey’s wife Comfort expressed gratitude to the God of Prophet TB Joshua. “His business is better now and he has been getting calls,” she said.