The SCOAN Sunday Service of February 15, 2015 was no doubt another huge success in the spiritual rejuvenation of God’s people. One thing that remains consistent with the church is its untiring resolve, passion for the salvation and redemption of mankind from all walks of life irrespective of gender or race. Hence, the name The Synagogue, Church of All Nations is not accidental but a fulfilment of the ministry’s God-given mandate to affect lives all over the world. It was therefore with an awe-inspiring approach that the entire congregation prepared their minds to receive the spiritual food dished out by the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua as well as the rich musical interjections by the spectacular Emmanuel Singers, a group whose reputation in musical ministration is soaring internationally.
Delivering his message titled CHRIST WILL MAKE HIS HOME IN YOUR HEARTS, the man of God affirmed that for our hearts to be qualified to be Christ’s home, we must put our trust in Him. We cannot claim to have Him in our hearts when our trust is on strange gods and deities. He cannot make our hearts his abode when our love for worldly pleasures supersedes our desire for Him. According to the man of God, who referred to the book of Romans 9:1,“Our heart is the communication/contact point. Christ dwells in our heart through faith. This means, it is the Word dwelling in you which is equivalent with Christ personally being in you. This means, Christ and the Word are one. If you know Christ and His Word are one, you bring Christ on the scene. Anytime you say, “In Jesus’ name”, you bring Christ on the scene instantly. Can’t you see the reason why you have not brought Jesus to the scene? Anytime you pray, you hear yourself, people around you hear you but Christ doesn’t hear you. When Christ doesn’t hear you and the people around you hear you, it is a dangerous mission”.
Animating the occasion with the popular Christian song Trust and Obey, Prophet T.B. Joshua analyses the way and manner in which Christ builds His home in our hearts through the Word: “As the Word dominates, rules and sanctifies our spirit’s nature, He is building Himself and making Himself a part of us. The faith bracelet will help you as you meditate the Word, it will dominate your heart; it will rule your heart and sanctify your spirit’s nature”. Speaking further, the man of God highlighted the relationship between meditating on the Word and uninhibited communion with God: “Meditation in the Word is a visit with God. As you meditate in the Word, it becomes part of us and we become a part of it. Meditation is not thinking but more than that because when we talk about thinking, we talk about the senses. Think more”.
Re-emphasising the essence of meditation in the life of a Christian, the man of God urged the congregation to embrace the practice as it affords them the opportunity of getting deeper insights into life and divine direction. He frowned on the lukewarm attitude of many towards the practice: “There is an area in our life we have neglected – meditation. There must be a quiet time when you sit down, imagine if this life is over, what is next. What you have never experienced before, think about that. Think of those who have gone. Think about what they left behind. This is what you have never heard. What you have never experienced before, think about it, if life is over. Think of those who have gone, friends, colleagues or relatives. After that, you can take your faith bracelet and begin to meditate”.
Explaining the role faith plays in our walk with God, Prophet T.B. Joshua stated that it is very difficult to please God without it. Hence, the need for Christians to exercise their faith at all times in order to be able to unleash their wonder-working potentials: “Only faith pleases God. Faith is perfected by our acting on the Word. How do you act on the Word? This is the secret. Faith comes through hearing the Word of God. There is more to that. Faith is hearing and obeying. You cannot obey that Word when the Word has not dominated, ruled and lived in your heart. Faith is like a coin. Faith is a Heavenly currency. You must take this Word to heart. It is what is dominating your heart that you can shout. This will replace everything”.
In conclusion, Prophet T.B. Joshua spoke on the secret of faith: “The secret of faith, the Word must dwell, live and rule your heart. Faith is perfected by our acting on the Word. The Word must dominate, rule and live in our heart. This is the secret of faith”. And for those who allow God to make His home in their hearts, Prophet T.B. Joshua describes them in the following words: “The Lord has given you a foundation. If today were your last day on earth, what will happen? You will begin to see revelation about yourself and others and from there, God will strengthen your mind to remember. The whole world doesn’t know what will happen next. This is what Christianity is all about – God’s opinion about yourself and others”.
TESTIMONIES
God is no respecter of persons and situations. No matter the problem; irrespective of how long it has existed, God will continue to level every situation to the glory of His name. At The SCOAN, testimonies are the greatest proof of God’s presence. The following testimonies will build your faith and inspire you to hold on dearly to God. Emmanuel!
FROM PAUPER TO PROPRIETOR
Akelisiyine Pius came to The SCOAN from Ghana with the problem of abject poverty (to the extent that he could not take care of his family). Before going back to Ghana, he received the Anointing Water and believed that his life would turn around. After ministering the Anointing Water in the name of Jesus, he dreamt that Prophet T.B. Joshua was walking with him through a school. When he woke up, he started praying, although he had never had any previous thought of starting a school project. A few weeks later, his attention was brought to an abandoned school in his area. He purchased and took over the school and started operating in the middle of the academic year. Despite this, the process was very smooth because God was behind it. The school started with 65 students but before the end of that week, the school was filled up with 100 students. Now, to the glory of God, there are 330 students studying in his school. To add to the facility of the school, he bought a small van. Seeing the school was growing bigger and bigger, he had to buy a bigger school bus in addition to the small van. As the number of pupils continued to increase at a fast rate, he had to purchase an additional coaster bus to properly serve the pupils. Mr Pius advises everyone to do what God has put in their heart with faith.
“I SLEPT WITH 30 MEN A DAY…” – CONFESSIONS OF A DIABOLIC PROSTITUTE
If evil could be adequately defined in a story, Asatu’s would perhaps be a model. A background stooped in satanic secrecy opened the gateway for wickedness of unimaginable proportions to work through her. Initiated at a tender age into a cult that thrived on the belief in animal superiority, Asatu’s private parts were marked for destruction in a sick ritual. Her parents’ premature death led her to seek spiritual help in darker places that only ended up entangling her deeper in bondage. An attempt at marriage ended abysmally as the relationship that spawned two young children ended with her being thrown onto the streets. Desperate and smarting with anger, Asatu succumbed to the lure of ‘greener pastures’ abroad, following a strange lady to Nigeria.
Upon reaching Nigeria, the lady took her to a witchdoctor, whose charm, which promised to restore her marital bliss, ended up killing her estranged husband. Resorting to prostitution, Asatu roamed the four corners of Nigeria, sleeping with up to 30 men in a day to fend for herself. Burdened by her two young children, her willpower eventually whittled away to the point where the unthinkable became feasible – she ‘gave’ out her kids. “I have no ideas where they are right now,” she confessed to the shocked congregants at The SCOAN.
Eventually ending up in Lagos on the prostitution trail, the brothel where she ‘worked’ was broadcasting an unusual television station – Emmanuel TV. Upon watching and learning The SCOAN was located in Lagos, she made the decision to attend the service last week, tired of her dirty lifestyle. As Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for calmness to descend upon the congregants in the mass prayer, an incredible sequence of events unfolded for Asatu! A shocking, rumbling sensation welled within her stomach forcing her to her knees. Then, it came out. A disgusting item wrapped in red thread with a needle interwoven. The charm she had ingested many years ago in the home of a spiritualist had been forced out by God’s power!
After her deliverance, Asatu testified that the terrible dreams she previously had of dungeons and graveyards were gone as was the urge to engage in illicit prostitution. “Believe in God,” she tearfully advised the somber congregation. “Leave evil and give your life to God. Only God has the final say in everything.”
DOUBLE BLESSING THROUGH ANOINTING WATER MINISTRATION
Mr. and Mrs. Decku alongside Miss Nukunu, Mrs. Decku’s younger sister came to The SCOAN with their lives full of challenges. While Mrs. Decku’s case was incessant miscarriages, her younger sister Miss Nukunu was suffering from abject poverty. Mrs Decku who had been married for three years would always have a nightmare anytime she was pregnant and that experience always ended in her losing the pregnancy. Her husband was dejected about her condition and the state of things. The trio came to a conclusion to come to The SCOAN to receive the ministration of the Anointing Water. As the couple went back to Ghana, they prayed, ministered the Anointing Water in Jesus’ name and met as husband and wife. One day, while they visited the doctor to attend to his health, it was also confirmed that his wife was pregnant. Praise the Lord! Miss Nikunu on her own part, after receiving the ministration of the Anointing Water, received a call from a friend who owns a big company in Ghana. She was offered a job as a salesrepresentative for one of the branches of his company. Her salary was increased ten times more than what she earned before. Indeed, with God’s power, nothing is impossible!
INABILITY TO WALK SUCCUMBS TO THE POWER OF GOD
Nwakolo Godwin came to The SCOAN from Delta State, Nigeria with difficulty in walking due to lumbar spondylosis. As a result, he could neither walk well nor stand for more than five minutes. He could not sleep because of the excruciating pain he had. He had visited several places in search of solution to this problem but all to no avail. He then decided to come to The SCOAN for his healing. He was arranged at The SCOAN Prayer Line. Immediately Prophet T.B. Joshua touched him, he received instant healing. He could not explain how this happened; all he knew was that he was healed. Now that he is healed, he can do anything. Indeed, there is never a problem that Jesus cannot solve and there is never a sickness that Jesus cannot heal.
DELIVERED FROM THE SPIRIT OF PORNOGRAPHY
The prophecy that his addiction to the internet had led to the collapse of his marriage hit him like a bolt out of the blues. Mr. Childress Simmons Jnr. Could not deny the cataclysmic turn his life had taken after the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua had uncovered the dark corner of his life.
His mother’s separation from his father was the beginning of his doom. With no choice, he went with his mother to live with her new found love, his step-father. There, his young life was infected with the spirit of pornography through his step-brother who actually introduced him into the evil practice, being in ownership of a rich library of pornographic magazines and videos. At the tender age of 10 he was already addicted. His young life was already shedding its innocence and was at the trench destruction. With time, the contagious hands of pornography continued to pull him down the abyss of deeper addiction. He would keep unholy vigils just to satiate his senses with pornographic videos. The act became some sort of escapist mechanism for him whenever he wanted to cure himself of depression.
Due to his excessive nocturnal ritual of watching pornographic videos, he became a social menace; he would sleep while driving as a result of exhaustion. His mindset was corrupted to the extent that he had no regard for women. After all, he had seen it all! Those things that made womanhood sacred were the same he saw and trivialised at will. Haunting him like a ghost passionate to destroy its target at all cost, his addiction to pornography became the Achilles Hill of his life. The only thing that motivated him into marriage was the satisfaction of his sexual fantasies – a disease which his addiction had brought about. His marriage eventually crumbled after few months when he realised that his appetites were insatiable just as his diseased thinking was incurable. His knack for masturbation increased with every successful pornographic exercise.
Mr Simmons was lost to world that was destroying him gradually. He was even unaware that he needed help. He was deeply engrossed in the unwholesome practices of masturbation and pornography even when a second marriage was consummated. “All this while, I knew I was killing myself but there was nothing I could do about it. In my second relationship I started looking for a solution. I started fasting and going to prayer houses”. It dawned on him that he needed God to deliver him from the dungeon of self-destruction he had thrown himself into.
At the peak of his evil engagement, he would be on the internet having sex with strangers via webcam. His lustful ways graduated rather pitiably and made him a sorry case. “The spirit of lust as a result of pornography led me to get married to women who were divorced and had bad marriages…
At the Prayer Line, Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for me and I immediately knew I was delivered. Since my deliverance, I don’t look at women as physical objects anymore; I see them as daughters of God that need to be respected and also my heart has been renewed. As a young man, I am now excelling in everything I put my hand to. I was at the rock bottom; I was hopeless before I came to The SCOAN. I advise young people to desist from pornography because it will only open doors for demons into their lives. I also want parents to keep good watch over the affairs of their children”.
CONTINUE TO READ US AND WATCH EMMANUEL TV FOR YOUR EDIFICATION. THERE IS NO SITUATION THAT IS BEYOND GOOD. RECEIVE YOUR HEALING RIGHT NOW, IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS!