The illimitable power of God spread like a conflagration of glory in the midst of congregants as the choir ignited the passion to sing and dance with overwhelming intensity. The praise and worship songs, embellished with scriptural allusions, sank deep into the children of God, enriching the soils of their minds with spiritual nutrients derived from the Word. On Sunday, May 8, 2016, the Spirit of God, in all its power, directed affairs during the church service which witnessed a massive demonstration of divine presence through, healing, prophecy, testimony and teaching.
Prophet T.B. Joshua
“It is impossible to live this life without offence. It is impossible for you to live among people without offence. Offence can come in any way, whether you are wrong or right. This is the wall between you and your salvation, the wall between you and God. A good Christian should refuse to be offended in order not to offend God,” said the man of God as began his message titled REFUSE TO BE OFFENDED. For him, offence is very lethal to the Christian as it creates a barrier between him and God. By virtue of being a Christian, one should not think that offence would not come. In fact, offence would always come to the true Christian to test his or her faith in God. Hence, we must not allow it block our closeness to God by dwelling on past hurts and ill-feelings caused by others. It is only when we are able to overcome offence that we become true Christians that our Father in Heaven would be proud of.
Furthermore, Prophet T.B. Joshua explained in candid terms what happens to the Christian who allows offence to pull him down – “When we feel offended, we do not know that we are trapped. You do not know that you are trapped because offence is an instrument used by satan to blind us on the reality. When you are offended, you see yourself concentrate and focus on the wrong done to you, forgetting the condition you are in.”
Concluding, the man of God reminded Christians of the gains in endurance, even in the face of the worst offences and troubles of the world: “We that maintain a relationship with God are enabled to endure. There is a grace. If you genuinely confess Him and you follow Him, there is a package for you. No one follows Jesus without enablement.”
Evangelist Yinka had earlier, spoken on a message tilted DON’T LIMIT JESUS. According to her, Christians have the propensity to ask for blessings at every opportunity they have to communicate with God, not minding whether or not it is God’s will for them to be blessed at that point in time. Some, out of desperation, ask for things that are smaller and less precious than God’s plan for them, thereby limiting God: “We do not know how much we need God, if we do we would not come to His presence and begin to ask for healing, blessing, and deliverance rather we would ask for redemption. With redemption is all you need. To be redeemed is to be saved. That is why the book of Matthew 6:33 says, ‘Seek first the Kingdom, and all shall be added unto you.’ ”
Evangelist Yinka
The high point of her message dealt with the very human nature that makes God tarry awhile before granting our requests for glory and blessings. God knows the content of every heart and cannot be deceived. He will only bless us and crown us with glory when He knows that we will not misuse them or get swollen-headed or even derail completely from our humble pasts to pursue the fancies that trigger pride and arrogance: “God knows that when we get to the top, our spiritual life can gradually deteriorate; so He takes His time in granting our request for certain reasons known to Him alone. When we pray, we expect God to supernaturally crown us with all His glory and the success that would make us the centre of our own world, but God knows that success has many dangers of its own.”