The founder of Synagogue of All Nations Pastor Temitope Joshua has said criticisms and trials over the years have been the reason his church is thriving.
He made the statement shortly after one Pastor Gabriel Nkpenwa came to apologise to him for preaching against him over the years.
The video clip of the testimony was posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, January 26.
The pastor who claimed he held several strategic positions in both the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria said he was for many years against TB Joshua and had preached that TB Joshua was an Antichrist. He said it was taboo for him and any member of his family to watch Emmanuel Television.
He said he had fought the ministry with all his strength but that he too began to backslide and became an ‘administrative’ pastor.
He became wealthy and owned Easy Cash Micro Finance in Uyo, but the moment he married things began to take a bad turn. He began to see snakes at odd places in his house. He faced a number of challenges in the course of the marriage. His business folded up.
He said he came to some realisation and he thought about Pastor T.B Joshua. He said he and his wife who also confessed to have had some spiritual challenges came to the synagogue church and there his wife got delivered.
Shortly after the rather impressive testimony, TB Joshua said he had been maligned over the years adding that the criticisms and persecution he suffered have been the reason the church has been flourishing.
He said the church has not had billboards but people who have experienced deliverance in the church are the ones who go and advertise the church. He said it was persecution that made the church to establish Emmanuel Television.
His words, “I was on NTA and local televisions and we were broadcasting miracles, but the government banned us from appearing on television because of the miracles. That was what led to the establishment of Emmanuel Television.
“I know the value of my trials. It made the whole world know me. You can’t see any signboard of the Synagogue Church of All Nations anywhere. The people who come here are my signboard. They are my signpost. My Bible is my signboard. God has blessed me with free adverts.”
According to him, “It takes the spirit of foolishness to hear something without confirming. Every genuine human being when they hear something should find a way to confirm what they hear.”
He disclosed for the first time according to him that he was given the OFR award by the late former President Musa Yaradau because he was impressed by the way the ministry has been impacting people and attracting foreigners.
“Yaradua was a great man. I was here on my own when I was called that he would award me with OFR. I told him I was a servant of God and did not need honour but he insisted on giving me. I sent my wife to receive the honour on my behalf. But you will never see me put it by my name. I never met Yardua and he never invited me for prayers. But he said after looking at the trend of foreigners coming into Nigeria, he said he realised we attract many foreign visitors to Nigeria compared to some other organisations.”
Joshua who is yet to be accepted by a number of Pentecostal pastors as genuine said love is the greatest.
“The Bible says love your neighbour. We are supposed to love people irrespective of their faith. Love is greater than anything you practice. The name Jesus is Love. Muslims are not the ones condemning me. When I was given the award, it was my fellow Christians who criticised the award and kicked against it. But the president then said that he gave me the award because of the impact I was making in the country. Where there is love you will come to me and I will go to you. Love permits us to do findings.
