The children of God had a practical experience, listening to the faith-building testimonies of people who had received their deliverance, healing, breakthrough and blessings through the various anointed mediums of the ministry. The SCOAN Sunday Service of February 5, 2017 was a confirmation of the correlation between the concept of faith and the unleashing of God’s power. Prophet T.B. Joshua, while exhorting Christians through a message themed the Word of Faith, reminded them about the systematic way through which faith can be inspired or attained. “Faith comes by hearing. That is why we need to hear about healing anointing, deliverance anointing and blessing anointing,” he said, adding that Jesus always responds to those who put a demand on Him.
Speaking further, the man of God urged believers never to allow the crisis and attacks that may come their way to sway them from doing the will of God. According to him, many have allowed their marriages to crumble because they chose to bother about the problem rather than seek the face of God and hear what He had to say about their situation, adding that every blessing must go through God’s processing. He also observed that only God can make a true relationship work: “If God brings you to a relationship, the same God will equip you.”
Urging them to cherish God’s processing more than the end result, the man of God advised Christians to see the things they do when trying to achieve something as more important as the achievement in itself: “When you want to achieve something, what you do to achieve it is more important that the achievement.”
In his concluding remarks, he had a simple and straightforward counsel to the children of God, all over the world: “If you don’t forget yourself, you cannot follow Jesus. To forget yourself is to forget your challenges, predicament, situation or worry… Following Jesus makes you consistent in your blessing.”
Meanwhile, in an earlier message titled YOUR SPIRITUAL CHECKUP by Evangelist Fanny, Christians were admonished to live up to their spiritual expectation by attuning themselves to the things of God rather than waste time chasing after the ephemeral pleasures and transitory gratifications of the flesh. She observed that, “Your Christian life is measured not by your body language, your type of clothes or your makeup or no makeup but by the movement of your heart in the midst of your challenges. That is why the Bible says the first place you are to prosper, you are to beautify, to purify, to sanctify is your spirit man, your spiritual life, the one that holds your strength, your health, wealth, even your outward beauty, in fact, all. That is why the real you must be redefined in order to be sensitive to the Spirit of God.”
Continuing, she revealed the role challenges play in the life of a true and dedicated Christian. She said, “Challenges reveal the true condition, position of your heart. Just as a physical examination is the process by which a doctor investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease, a spiritual examination is the process by which God, through challenges, investigates the heart of a Christian for signs of weakness and disease.” She further stressed that, “A spiritual check-up will determine where are the loopholes that give access to satan in your life and determine how strong is your heart in the face of the turbulences and attacks.
She however left the following counsel to people of God: “Your situation is not your enemy but your friend; it is a check to your spiritual life. Therefore, no matter your situation or condition, continue to meditate on God’s Word – your spirit will gradually act on it because meditation removes the burden on our spirit. I leave you here in the midst of challenges, knowing that I will meet you again stronger that when you went into it.”
TESTIMONIES
NO HANDICAP CAN ESCAPE THE ANOINTING AT THE SCOAN
She had been relegated to the gloomy side of life by a terrible knee problem that made it impossible for her to function properly. Mrs Margaret Fabiyi, a Nigerian tourism promoter who had traversed most of the African continent, was forced to give up her career only to be left on the bed after undergoing a surgery to fix her troubled knee caps. The surgery came and went but the pain and discomfort refused to abate. Since 2014, she had been bedridden, unable to take care of herself. In her sad and handicapped situation, she resorted to soliciting for help in order to be able to carry out certain personal and domestic obligations. She virtually begged to live.
Moving with crutches, Mrs Fabiyi was confined to her home, unable to even attend church programmes. She remained in that piteous state until she discovered through Emmanuel TV, that a revival was coming up between the 9th and 11th of December, 2016 at The SCOAN. She attended the revival service on the 9th and had an encounter with the Holy Spirit as Prophet T.B. Joshua led the Mass Prayer. As the man of God specifically commanded every pain in the body of congregants to go, he also ordered those unable to walk to stand and walk. It was at that instant that Mrs Fabiyi keyed into the command of God through His prophet and decided to put away her walking aid. With faith, she walked unaided for the first time in two years.
According to her, as soon as she obeyed his command to her to stand up and walk, she could not understand the way she found herself walking without aid again. She described the experience as awesome, adding that a strange force inspired her to walk as she felt more energetic than ever. “Since then, I have not had any cause to use the crutches. I walk perfectly on my own,” she told congregants. Demonstrating her new-found wellness and agility during last Sunday’s testimony time, in company of her son and other relations, Mrs Fabiyi thanked God for using the man of God to restore her health. Her son, who also shared her testimony, advised people to have faith in God, adding that he had witnessed the glory of God in the life of his mother.
A FAMILY UNHOOKED FROM DEMONIC MANIPULATION
She had seen her father watch pornography at the tender age of nine and had subconsciously allowed the demon behind that evil activity to pitch its tent in her heart. Since that day, Stephanie became a slave to sin. She would grow up to find herself lusting after men, unable to concentrate even on her studies. As a result of that demonic distraction, she had to repeat a class and was also once suspended for absconding from school to go and see her boyfriend. After her suspension from school, Stephanie fell out with her parents on several occasions and each time such happened, she would run away from the house to put up with her boyfriend who was in his early twenties. But even when she returned home, the demon was still haunting her every thought and action. She could not just understand what was wrong with her but she knew that something was surely amiss with her life.
Aside from her lustfulness and addiction to pornography, Stephanie was also a troublesome lass, always bullying her younger siblings and disobeying her parents. The cycle of immorality continued until her parents sat down with her to try and understand the mysteries around their daughter. They needed to know what was really wrong with her in order to make the right choices.
Penultimate Sunday, Stephanie was at The SCOAN with her parents and received words of prophecy from the man of God. According to the man of God, she had a flirting spirit which operated like a dog and caused her to run after men. The man of God added that she would jump the fence in order to go and meet men, irrespective of their status. Corroborating their daughter’s problem, her parents confirmed the prophecy to be true. As her mother spoke, the man of God prophesied that Stephanie’s problems were an offshoot from her mother whom he said had no affection for her husband. Commanding the demon in Stephanie to come out of her, the man of God delivered her in the mighty name of Jesus. Both parents also received their deliverance, making the whole thing a family affair.
During their testimony, Stephanie and her parents thanked God for bringing about a new lease of life into their family. According to Stephanie, all her immoral ways are now things of the past even as she is now a very respectful and obedient child. Her mother also thanked God for the family’s deliverance. The Thai citizen told congregants how she and her husband had engaged in a couple of illicit businesses in the past, adding that she was pregnant with Stephanie then. According to her, she only loved shopping and spending money, irrespective of the source. The tattoo-adorning mother also recounted how Lucifer had approached her in the dream, trying to sleep with her.
All the illicit businesses they engaged in thrived but whenever they wanted to do something legitimate, their resources would dwindle and fritter away. It was their desire to do something legitimate that brought them to Nigeria. As soon as they arrived in Nigeria, all their legitimate investments crumbled. The strange and recurring happenings in their family led them to The SCOAN. Aside from her lack of affection for her husband, Stephanie’s mother rejected any form of intimacy from her husband as the prophecy would reveal. According to her when the man of God laid hands on her, she felt something like a big hammer hit her head. Since that day, her love for her husband has returned. There have been very great changes in the family. Peace has come to stay while the spirits of anger and undue agitation have left the family. Stephanie advised young people to desist from pornography as it could destroy their lives.
REDEEMED FROM THE GATES OF HELL
He was born into an idle-worshipping home and had boasted of a fetish ancestry. At a time, he was handpicked and initiated into fetish engagements by his paternal grandmother who also used him as an errand boy for her unholy business. The Ghanaian continued serving his grandmother, taking part in many evil covenants until he became ill and started rotting away with maggots coming out of his smelly body. The old woman who was famed for her expertise in fetish matters, had suggested that he be buried alive but his father kicked against that evil suggestion. Instead of allow his own son to be buried alive, his father angrily took him to a river and dumped him there.
Young Winfred was barely three years-old when he was dumped in a river for three days. After three days, his father revisited the river in search of him and luckily found him still alive. At that point, a ‘miracle’ happened. All the maggots and sores that had taken over his body disappeared. After that healing at the river, Mr Winfred Obedia returned to his father’s house. There, he started to wield his evil powers, exhibiting the traits of wild animals and suddenly found himself on the streets of Ghana, mingling with drug addicts, traffickers and prostitutes. He was eventually sold to a drug-dealing woman who resided in Texas, USA.
Mr Obedia was shipped to America to live with the woman who was actually an international prostitute that also trafficked drugs. She would engage in her sexual adventures in his presence and would also have him sleep with her because, he had no mind of his own, having been sold to her in Ghana. But the evil association would not endure for long as the woman was hit by a deadly disease. When she was beginning to feel the brunt of the deadly disease, she had called him and told him about her impending death, urging him to pray for her so she may survive the battle against HIV/AIDS. Before she died, she narrated to him how she bought him at a very tender age in Ghana. She also reminded him of the killing of her two sons by an armed gang in Texas. The woman eventually died and left the young man at the crossroads.
When he returned to Ghana, he made efforts through a radio station to locate his biological parents. After two weeks of announcements, the radio station called to inform him that a man had been found who said he had lost a son at age four. After a couple of formalities, father and son were reunited. The father knelt down to ask his son for forgiveness, stating that he was away on national duty as a Ghanaian soldier when the unfortunate incident happened. Obedia was taken in and was introduced to other members of his family. As he gradually adapted into the family, he made clear his intention not to marry much to the displeasure of his mother. Along the line, he encountered a lady who turned him into a house boy and controlled him. Whenever they had sex, she would use a white cloth to wipe his semen. The woman exploited him at will because she wielded some spiritual powers that he could not comprehend.
Having made a lot of money through his business, Obedia had wanted to build more houses for his parents but the first attempt was thwarted by his elder brother who squandered the money. He would not give up. He insisted on starting all over again all by himself. He went ahead to erect another building which later collapsed. Undeterred, he built another after three months. But to his greatest shock, his mother rejected the house and instead requested for money. A woman neighbour who advised him to relocate to the house his mother rejected would later appear to him alongside her daughter in a dream-like but real encounter, saying she had come to protect him from an evil community.
How they gained access into his house, when all the doors and windows were locked, baffled him. As he tried to query her, she sprinkled water on him and left. That scenario was so scary that he had to drive to his parent’s house that night without dressing up properly. Though his parents allayed his fears, the young man returned to his house to encounter another bizarre development. As he stepped down from his car, heading to his apartment, he felt like a bullet was fired into the centre of his head. Later, in spite of his father’s warning to the woman to leave his son, she and her daughter kept appearing to him and having sex with him.
It was apparent that he was being spiritually polluted by the woman and her daughter. He became sick and was taken to many fetish places by his father in search of solution. Obedia would suddenly degenerate health-wise, looking frail and sickly. He developed a serious craving for alcohol, squandering a lot of money on whiskey. All efforts to help him proved abortive until a business project took him to China. In China, he was initiated into Buddhism and partook of the blood-drinking ritual. When he returned from China to Ghana, the strange woman called him and requested for money. To be on a safe side, he went to the bank, withdraw money and gave to her.
Unsatisfied with the direction his life was going, he decided to visit India, thinking it was one of the world’s most spiritual enclaves. There, he was initiated into the Hare Krishna cult. As part of his initiation, he was given the ashes of a cremated human being to drink inside an evil forest. He also received a lot of tattoos in different parts of his body. He was told that his problems were over by the Hare Krishna adherents. Returning to Ghana, he resorted to running a herbal shop. But the so-called business was marred by heavy drinking. One day while trying to tune to a new channel with a glass of whisky in his hand, he accidentally stumbled on Emmanuel TV. Just a flash of the anointed channel brought him to the floor, sending him into compulsory sleep for hours.
When he woke up, certain changes had taken place spiritually. His urge for alcohol was no more. Around that time, he met his wife. Together, they relocated to the house he had abandoned while on the fast lane of spiritual contamination. They cleaned up the house and discovered a lot of charms which they burnt eventually. They also installed DSTV and watched Emmanuel TV, praying along with the man of God. Obedia’s appetite returned to him after he had prayed with the man of God via Emmanuel TV. He ate voraciously one day much to the surprise of his wife who had known him as someone who rarely ate. As they continued praying with the man of God, they discovered many evil entities in their house. His wife played a major role in influencing his decision to visit The SCOAN.
When he visited The SCOAN penultimate week, he received deliverance from the man of God. According to him, when the man of God touched him, he felt like thunder stuck him. Since that episode, his life has changed radically. He even dreamt of killing a mighty python after the deliverance – a sure sign that he has conquered the demon behind his predicament. Mr Obedia, who testified in company of his parents, wife and little son, thanked God for saving his life from the gates of hell.