‘Prophet TB Joshua worthy of emulation’

A beneficiary of the philanthropy and other astonishing acts of Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations, Mr. Jonas Ojukwu, a Peace Ambassador, has explained that while all Christians are enjoined to emulate Christ, there are those who best express the nature of Christ at the human level from whose actions people can learn, and the renowned cleric is one of such.

He therefore advised other religious leaders in Nigeria to emulate the prophet for many reasons, all of which will help them in their callings.

Top among the motives why they should do so are: the Man at The Synagogue’s exemplary love and his passion to bring relief to individuals, groups and nations as well as his humility in spite of all the enormous accomplishments God has brought his way.

Mr. Ojukwu, who is also a director at Innoson Group, is of the firm conviction that if most men of God could emulate Prophet TB Joshua and impact lives as awesomely as he does, many of the woes of Nigeria would be things of the past, even if there were just ten clerics with the kind of zeal to serve humanity being demonstrated by Prophet Joshua.

Prophet Joshua has often explained that there is a distinction between Prophet TB Joshua (the man with the anointing) and Mr. TB Joshua (when he speaks and acts as an ordinary man).

Mr. Ojukwu explained that Prophet Joshua’s emphasis is on love. In fact, one of Joshua’s stickers reads: “We are Sons and Daughters of LOVE; Let LOVE lead.”

Anchored on this, the prophet’s life reflects forgiveness, unconditional giving, empathy, and philanthropy, Mr. Ojukwu said.

He added that hardly can anyone hear the clergyman condemn anyone or complain of them. According to him, Prophet Joshua would rather pray for God to bless people than castigate them. “Not even in the height of his persecution did he speak ill of any person, let alone invoke punishment of any kind on his traducers,” Mr. Ojukwu observed.

He explained that it is such consistently positive mindset that has kept Prophet TB Joshua constantly attuned with the Mind of God, which he harnesses to attain those incredible feats that his opponents ignorantly attribute to negative forces.

Mr. Ojukwu continued: “So, any man of God who would like to perform those great deeds that have kept Prophet TB Joshua head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries should strive to be like him by emulating his positivity and constant atonement with God, instead of dwelling on calling forth Holy Ghost Fire to destroy one person or another.

“Prophet Joshua does not believe anybody is inherently evil, but rather that the so-called evil ones are those possessed by demons who influence them to act against their will. Hence, rather than seek to destroy or cause the death or misfortune of a person perceived to be a witch, for instance, he would rather pray for them to be delivered of the wicked spirit that possesses them.”

The foregoing qualities have manifested in Prophet Joshua being honoured with the highest national awards by some nations such as Paraguay and Dominican Republic for his “wonderful and relentless social work which he had tirelessly extended to impoverished regions of the world, his large donations to help widows, orphans, the destitute, the elderly and the physically challenged.”

According to Mr. Ojukwu, also worth emulating is Prophet Joshua’s rehabilitation programme for militants from the Niger Delta region, armed robbers, prostitutes and drug addicts, taking them away from the streets and empowering them to be useful to themselves and to the society

He also listed the prophet’s empowerment of hundreds of stranded Nigerian deportees from Libyan prisons who were undergoing terrible conditions in the North African country as one of the latest of such acts.

“Specifically, the man of God gave them huge sums of money to start up businesses of their choice in Nigeria, thus making them useful to themselves and to the society,” Mr. Ojukwu explained. “Furthermore, the cleric has been reconciling broken homes, providing food, shelter, educational institutions, and hospitals to the needy in different parts of the world.”

An anonymous author said: “One thing is clear – a Christian must not only know his faith but also show his faith. What you see in the ministry of Prophet T B Joshua is what happened in the book of Acts. Jesus even said in the Book of John 14:12: ‘I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father’.

“Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is the One who guides T B Joshua into all truth. In John 16:13, Jesus said: ‘But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.’ When you look at the ministry of Prophet T B Joshua, you can see that he is under the control of the Holy Spirit and that he is guided by the Holy Spirit.”

As a result, God not only causes many to be healed or delivered directly through the cleric, He also effects such astounding results in the lives of troubled persons, the sick, demon-possessed and the challenged through the Morning Water or when they touch the TV screen when Joshua is praying for the viewers of Emmanuel TV.

Prophet Joshua had once dropped this powerful hint to those who want to develop the deep Christ-like love: “Loving your enemy is always unreasonable unless you realise that you were an enemy of God until He forgave you. It is also His will that you remember that you have sinned and been forgiven, for it is that remembrance that creates a forgiving heart towards your neighbours. To love an enemy is to see him as Christ does… Do not allow confrontation to tear you down or pull you apart. Rather, see confrontation as a means of coming closer together, going together and being prepared together for an ever greater relationship.

“Do not reject anyone on account of weakness because the future is a mystery… A person who is a thorn in your flesh today may be your helper tomorrow. If I reject you on account of your weakness, I also reject your strength. If a person is weak in one area, he may be strong in another area.”

According to Mr. Ojukwu, because of pride inherent in some clergymen, they may not take kindly to the suggestion to emulate Prophet Joshua as they may claim equality with him although the records clearly prove otherwise.

He noted that what should concern anyone judging or assessing the man of God is the statement by Jesus Christ, “By their fruits you shall know them.” Mr. Ojukwu assured that by Prophet Joshua’s words and deeds, there is no doubt that he is a true man of God, as no evil person could consistently produce good fruits as this prophet does.