By DARE ADEJUMO
“As I saw the remains of the man of God prophet TB Joshua looking at him on the television inside a transparent coffin, my goose flesh wildly arose. I was shaken and immediately overwhelmed with guilt and fear! The revelation came to me straightaway without any ambiguity, piecing my heart like a thunder: ‘here is a beloved son of God who has accomplished his assignment on earth’. My eyes were opened. I knelt down in tears and wept profusely asking God to forgive me because I was misled by our church leaders about his divine identity making me to have said bad things about him. It is a colossal spiritual tragedy for anyone to say any negative things against an anointed man God not even in ignorance”. This is Madam Florence Olowokere, a strong Pentecostalism Christian. “I have learnt a bitter lesson in not just believing anything about any prophet of God that the Holy Spirit did not directly reveal to me because of its fatal spiritual consequences no matter who is saying it. Now I have to go on my knees in fervent prayers and fasting to seek God’s face on any spiritual matters in order to avoid heaven’s damnation. May the Lord forgive me”, she further stated.
Madam Olowokere’s grace for self discovery of the truth and subsequent lamentation which not everyone living in spiritual error is privileged to have exemplify the pathological weakness and indolence of spirit of mankind in decoding the move of God and His adamantine will in Creation — the omniscient and omnipotent God whose ways are not our ways, whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whom the best of mankind cannot obtain one percent of His mightiness would ever remain the I AM THAT I AM!
Everything has its season in God’s unfathomable agenda.
As a God’s envoy,
TB Joshua was on earth at God’s chosen time. But unfortunately the earthmen once again woefully failed to fully recognise him even though the radiance of his divine light nevertheless illuminated the entire universe beyond any iota of doubt. Yet their ears and eyes were alive, but they were still unable to hear or see the radiant star, the finger of God because of their distorted souls, vanity and spiritual superficiality in several quarters!
“I don’t know why God chose me to be His vessel. This is what I was born for. This is what I will live for and this is what I will die for”, TB Joshua often said this without mincing words and indeed that was the window, the totality of his entire earth life to the end.
“I wish you know where TBJoshua is today. God has revealed this to me not once. His assignments with God right now is greater than what he did while on the earth” said Paul Odutola a man of nature and undisputable quiet servant of God, adding that “he had successfully completed his task before God joyfully translated him into a higher glory”.
Besides his master, Jesus Christ who intimated all his actions who suffered and was crucified on the cross and the evils against the early apostles, no other person on earth who carried the cross of Jesus has ever been persecuted like TB Joshua. All kinds of ridiculous lies were concocted against him just to bring down his ministry but they never succeeded as the man joyfully and courageously moved on in God’s precious arms and praying for his traducers!
He was an enigma and a big puzzle! Like the old Pharisees, empty Christian pastors who had turned churches into ventures and manipulations, reigning in the ignoramuses of their sheep’s mental slavery and spiritual distortions of the predominantly atrophied worshippers, ganged up and running Helter skelter all over against the true man of God.
His greatest offence was making the physiognomy of Jesus Christ and worshipping of God in truth and spirit to become real! He couldn’t be suborned. He was a thorn in the flesh of the modern Pharisees – religious shenanigans, boisterous charlants who are wolves in sheep clothing masquerading as mouth piece of God.
TBJoshua was a personification of love. He kept the hearth of his heart constantly pure. You could easily discern this in his purity, lifestyles, simplicity, humility, caring, open handedness and love ineffable to everyone that came to his paths.
You cannot be a genuine follower of TBJ, listening and attending to his teachings, following his lifestyles and still putting your hands in unclean things except you are cursed.
Your background, race or colour was irrelevant to him. The only eye he had was for his master, Jesus Christ and a better humanity. Could one really offend TBJ for 24 hours? I completely doubt it. The purity of love in him, the grace of holiness that encapsulated him and his deep sympathy for you in the ignorance of your foolish actions would still magnetise holy sympathy no matter your offence reminiscent of what Jesus did on the cross: “father forgive them for they know not what they do”.
His love for the unity of Christian churches on earth was poignant. He tried in vain to let other men of God especially in his country Nigeria to come together for positive symbiotic relationships and blessings of Christian oneness to no avail. “Where you are weak I am strong, and where you are strong I am weak. We are all a in team working for the glory of God, therefore let us be united in Christ and be led by love”, said severally and in actions by TBJoshua, adding that “Christianity should not be treated as a religion but as a relationship with God”. He maintained unequivocally that “if you call your self a Christian and you don’t have a relationship with God, you are wasting your time”. He did everything possible to bring a better spiritual sense to his generation but they could not perceive because he was obviously above their limited understanding of God’s roadmap in Creation. He would tell several people from other churches who received the touch of God through him and as a result wanted to joyfully do thanksgiving in scoan just as it was common in other churches not to do that in his church. Rather they should go back to their respective churches and do it there assuring them of continued God’s blessings if they did so and remain and be worshipping there.
TBJoshua would not compromise with evil. He had no time for frivolous and wanton desires. He would never take any advantage of you. He was never the common type that could be enlisted with materialism. The only man of God in the universe who would hold crusades abroad without collecting offerings which was the hidden target of most of his contemporaries in cassocks! He was not obsessed with crowds in the church but in the quality of your heart for God and sincere worship of the Most High in truth and spirit.
You could not hide from him.
His prophetic power was unimaginable. He was not the type to extract your mind before prophesying to you. He would reveal the hidden things of centuries, where you came from and your family backgrounds including your details in superb accuracy even while in the womb like a breeze! These were shocking facts!
Without putting the cat among the pigeons, TBJoshual was unimaginably deep in knowledge and wisdom. If you describe him as a person more than the Professor, Field Marshal you would be right despite his limited education. He was the God General indeed.
He was a quintessential man of God. Never a burden to anyone but a carrier of people’s burdens. A workaholic and exemplary leader in God’s vineyard who positively touched the lives of millions in all the continents of the world.
TBJoshua was a turning point in Christian history, the loadstar in the illumination and advancement of spiritual knowledge and humanity. His name would continue to resonate and stand out on earth when a true man of God is mentioned in genuine love for the poor all over the world and indefatigability for true Christian life for worshippers and advancement of a better humanity. He was the embodiment of his Master, Jesus Christ. His miraculous healings was legendary and his works in mending broken marriages, peace in war-torn countries would forever evergreen. He was the father and mother for the fatherless and motherless. He was the hope of scores of Nigerians who were stranded in foreign countries in crisis to be flown back and settled at home for meaningful and dignifying existence.
In the world today, his legacies are booming and continue to spread to every nook and cranny globally.
Thank God for his successor Pastor Evelyn Joshua his beloved wife who had gone through his husband’s spiritual mills and now doing wonders in the advancement of the legacies that TBJoshua stood for and represented.
Today every part of the world is rejoicing and celebrating the fifth anniversary of his passing in prayers and solemnity, giving thanks and glory to the Most High God for His love for mankind once again in TB JOSHUA.
*Dare Adejumo is a Lagos based journalist, public analyst and media consultant.
