Oh That Men Would Praise the Lord

The SCOAN

Like the Psalmist in Psalms 107, we give thanks and praise unto the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, for He is good. His mercy endures forever. We see His right hand of power working through our man of God, Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN) Lagos, Nigeria. This outgoing year, 2019 has been a year of testimonies. We cannot count all the blessings, we don't even know most of them, only that we feel God's presence and His blessings. God has continued to expand the coast of His prophet through building men and women to work with him in the ministry in this outgoing 2019. Many across the globe have become more committed Christians and working for the kingdom of God assisted by the devotion and commitment of the Prophet. 

Hence, the redeemed of the LORD, whom God has redeemed from the hand of the enemy in 2019 are saying thank you, Jesus, whether they came to the SCOAN or attended any of the international crusades held in Nazareth or elsewhere, or had exercised individual personal faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through Emmanuel.TV. Thank you, Jesus, because it has pleased you to gather us out of the lands, from the east, and the west, from the north, and the south, and you delivered us from the grip of Satan, that old serpent. Many had truly wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way but found no deliverance until they came to have an encounter with Jesus in the SCOAN. There they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. God led them forth by the right way, that they might be saved and have salvation in Christ Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. This is why we are praising the LORD for His goodness, and His wonderful works to the children of men in our generation.

God had satisfied the longing of our souls and filled out hungry souls with goodness. We had been afflicted by various degrees of darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and chains of iron. Yes, we acknowledged it has been because we had rebelled against the words of God and contemned the counsel of the Most High. Then we cried unto the LORD in our trouble and ran to prophet TB Joshua. The prophet prayed for each one and God saved us out of our distresses. God brought us out of the darkness and the shadow of death and broke the chains of iron holding us to the enemy. God set us free. Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and His wonderful works to the children of men.

Assuredly God has broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in sunder. We are set free from spiritual husbands or spiritual wives, set free from bedwetting, set free from idols or generational curses, we are healed and our souls are saved. Yes, we'd been fools because of our transgression, and because of our iniquities, and had been afflicted. We had lusted after all manner of idolatries and hence drew near unto the gates of death. Now we have cried unto the LORD in our trouble. We ran to prophet TB Joshua and he prayed for us and God in His mercy saved us out of our afflictions and distresses. God sent His word through His Prophet to heal everyone, and to deliver us from destructions. Our God is full of goodness and wonderful works to the children of men. With God all things are possible. We saw and tasted God's awesome power and goodness in SCOAN this year 2019.

Now by taking the step to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby God is now our Father. The Holy Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. From being children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. This is the good news of Christmas and the work being echoed every day through Emmanuel.TV. Therefore if we celebrate Jesus this Christmas we shall also be glorified together with Him. Therefore we truly celebrate prophet TB Joshua of SCOAN and his team because our spirit bears witness that he is a true man of God and proclaiming Jesus Christ our King. Emmanuel!!!

Prof.  R. A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin Nigeria

Reinhard Bonnke, TB Joshua and Overcoming Division in The Body of Christ

 “Let us have a minute of silence for one of God’s Generals – Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. May his soul rest in perfect peace.” The entire congregation rose solemnly to their feet. Respect. Honour. Acknowledgement. A day earlier it had been announced that German Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke had passed onto glory at the ripe age of 79. “It’s all about Jesus, not all about T.B. Joshua. It’s not about Reinhard Bonnke; it’s all about Jesus.”

It was with these heartfelt words that Pastor T.B. Joshua began his sermon at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) on Sunday December 8^th 2019. Hours earlier, his social media platforms – followed by millions – had published a touching tribute to Evangelist Bonnke, describing him as a “missionary with a burning passion for the Gospel.” Celebrating his ‘life and legacy of harvest’, Emmanuel TV declared, “The character of a true believer is that he finds refuge in the secret place of the Most High God. Heaven is our resting place, our dwelling place. Here Reinhard Bonnke rests – in the precious arms of Jesus Christ.”

I’m sure churches around the African continent and indeed the world offered similar sentiments and shared similar tributes. Reinhard Bonnke was, after all, a colossus in the evangelical world whose mammoth crusades led untold millions to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, the significance of Joshua’s poignant tribute lies in the divisive events preceding it, much of which remains shrouded in mystery by the ‘dirty politics’ that unfortunately infiltrated Nigerian Christianity. Indeed, many don’t know that Reinhard Bonnke publicly renounced any ties with TB Joshua – at the specific, urgent insistence of then Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) President Ayo Oritsejafor. 

In 2007, Bonnke had been interviewed by Emmanuel TV in one of his public meetings, immediately irking Nigeria’s Pentecostal fold who had denounced Joshua as an impostor who used diabolical powers. Bonnke spoke several weeks later on ABN (African Broadcasting Network) – the channel owned and operated by Oritsejafor – stating he was unaware of Emmanuel TV’s correlation with TB Joshua and renouncing any ‘endorsement of TB Joshua’ suggested by his initial interview. At the period when ‘persecution’ against TB Joshua from Nigerian Pastors was at its fiercest, Oritsejafor was undoubtedly among his chief critics, stating categorically in an interview with the Vanguard in 2009 that he did not consider Joshua to even be a Christian and threatening to ‘expel’ any member of PFN who was caught ‘fraternising’ with him. Oritsejafor’s spiritual father – the late Benson Idahosa – once famously said TB Joshua was ‘below his cleaner’ and defiantly declared he would shortly die. Without jumping to any conclusions, it’s pertinent to note his own passing followed soon after. 

In an article from US-based Charisma Magazine in 2002 about the controversies surrounding Joshua’s ministry, Peter Vandenberg, then executive vice president of Christ for All Nations (CFAN), explained Bonnke’s rationale for ‘keeping a distance’ from the Nigerian cleric. “We held a meeting organised by 2000 local pastors and every one of them said that Joshua does things that are occultic and that what he is doing is not doctrinally correct… We stand with the majority of Christians there who have denounced him. Our brothers in Nigeria are on the ground there, and they know best.”

It’s intriguing to note the ministry quoted ‘the majority’ as opposed to ‘seeking God’ for insight. However, years have passed since these controversies raged and time has unequivocally spoken a rather different picture than the ‘majority’ quoted above. Rather than receding away from prominence, TB Joshua has grown leaps and bounds, emerging as Nigeria’s most well-known televangelist with an increasingly large international following. Whilst Oritsejafor has faded into virtual anonymity, Joshua’s ministry has seen exponential, sustained growth (ABN has 1,500 YouTube subscribers and Emmanuel TV has 1,500,000). Prominent figures in Nigerian Christendom who vociferously condemned him such as Mike Okonkwo, Chris Okotie and Matthew Ashimolowo have dipped into ‘relative obscurity’ compared to Joshua’s meotoric rise in influence and acclaim.

Amidst such criticism, Joshua remained silent – letting actions speak louder than words. His sermons are centred on the simple truths of God’s Word, he engages in huge humanitarian projects both locally and internationally and the countless testimonies emerging from his ministry unequivocally give glory to Jesus Christ. Whilst Oritsejafor has been embroiled in the controversy of the Prosperity Gospel – recently caught on camera ‘commanding’ Americans to pay $5,000 each for an ‘anointed mantle’ at Morris Cerullo’s church – TB Joshua has painstakingly made it clear miracles cannot be exchanged with money and openly distanced himself from the excessive greed associated with the ‘Prosperity Gospel’. To surmise the scenario, the advice of Gameliel in Acts 5:38-39 springs readily to mind: “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.”

I expect Bonnke just listened to what the ‘majority’ said without taking time to personally observe TB Joshua or seek the face of God concerning his anointed ministry. I am sure he – like many others in the Pentecostal fold – realised the truth about Joshua’s genuineness and unique spiritual calling but found it difficult to publicly acknowledge given his past comments. Regardless, this tribute by TB Joshua provides a powerful lesson, especially poignant for those in the vineyard of Christ. Let us forget pain of the past, put aside our differences in the body of Christ and ensure we stand for unity – with Jesus Christ at the forefront of all our actions and attitudes. After all, it’s not about Reinhard Bonnke, TB Joshua, Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Chris Oyakhilome or any other minister of God – it is all about Jesus! 

Tawia Acheampong is a writer on African affairs based in Accra, Ghana