My journey to The Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos Nigeria (original) (raw)

Deliverance in Jesus name Reason
This is the travel report of my visit to The Synagogue Church or All Nations in March 2007. It became a week with a lot of impressions, which do not hurry themselves to be described. Take a little time for reading. Click on the photographs at the right side to examine more photographs and videos.

Already since 2002 I collected the news concerning T.B. Joshua and The Synagogue Church or All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria. In November 2006 I got the chance to see with own eyes what is happening there.

Deliverance in Jesus name is what happens there in Lagos. There people in need are delivered of sicknesses and evil spirits. Sometimes it happens in a moment. I saw the same things happen that you can read in the book Acts and in the gospels.

The outward journey
This time went with a group of only five people. But that has also its advantages. I enjoy flying like a small child. Landing and take off I find splendidly each time. The flight goes along the river Rhine, which is seen continuously, and over the tops of Alps, covered with snow. Because of the fog on Schiphol Amsterdam we departed too late and we are landing in Milano at 15.00. We still have five minutes, but the plane to Lagos leaves without us. T.B.Joshua said a week before that we must not care if there would be any delays. That is beautiful. We get an extra of Alitalia: we can spend the night in a luxuriously hotel with a delicious dinner and breakfast.

Arrival
One day day later as planned we arrive in the evening in Lagos. It is warm there, 30 degrees, but the wind blows nicely. There are already people of the church waiting for us and we are brought by bus to the church. A soldier with gun in the front seat. The ride through this city of 15 millions inhabitants is a happening on itself: chaos, many hooting, swung back and forth to avoid breaches and hooting cars and motorcycles. For half an hour we pass by poor constructions and a lot of people. What are they all doing? I must swallow however, of all that poverty.
The welcome in the church is cordial. Everyone greets you with "Emmanuel" (God with us). The dormitories are indicated, men and women separated, and we even get a warm meal. The food is particularly good there and that remains good the complete week.

Tour
They are doing everything by itself there. The large splendid church of 140 at 70 meters, by others also called ' cathedral ', has been built with own people and resources and has been been finished splendidly. There is place for 8000 people, and they have almost 20,000 members. There is also a shop where you can buy 'everything'. Beside the church is a large area with open tents where education can be given to young and old and where are organized meetings for children and youngsters. If you go there at night you can enjoy their splendid singing in the dark. At the other side of the road is a large area with many workshops: garage, metal- and wood working (I saw the lathe, on which I long ago learned it: -), a bread bakery, and they also bake their own stones, etc., there is a parking place for the buses which pick up the people on Sunday from the full surroundings; and a football field (of hard sand ground).

The food is simple and well. The water from the tap is drinkable, although it is generally too warm. The church has her own filters. A generator catches the regularly attentive current drop outs within half a minute.
A walk along the church shows how nicely it is finished. It has something of a basket. Against the church are made beautiful portrayals of the last supper and Jesus in conversation with Nicodemus. By the main road, which runs at the main entrance of the church, you cannot come. Too dangerous for whites. You don�t see any white people in the city. They have money, thus they are robbed. But the soldiers at the entrance ensure, however, that you do not go too far.

The church
The two services on Sunday are of course the most important. We have seen beautiful wonders and healings. Several camera teams are running and they are recording everything. It is striking also that almost everyone heals, if not direct, then nevertheless within some days or weeks. And everything is documented. People must show a medical report and the healing itself is filmed and later follows the testimony before the camera. For sicknesses as Aids one must return some weeks later with the hospital declaration.

Videotapes
As a preparation for the Sunday services we have to watch many videotapes of healings. We see the most recent healing campaigns in Singapore, Australia and South-Korea, which is filmed by several camera teams. Very alternating and captivating pictures. Small and large healings. And also many people are delivered of evil spirits. Thrilling and breathtaking sometimes.

Education
The sermons of T.B. Joshua are briefly and 'basic', but they have an extra dimension. They concern about now. God is now God. He is a God of now. He saves now, He heals now. He delivers now. The sermons are simple and especially targeted on personal holiness. Each sin, irritation, angry word must directly be confessed to God and to he who you have put on something. There is power in your mouth and therefore it must come out of your mouth. Then the Holy Spirit can fill it up. The Holy Spirit is gentle, and otherwise withdraws himself. But He is also power from above; not only a support in your life, but also power for words of God, for healing of sicknesses, and for delivery of evil spirits.

Prophet
T.B. Joshua is Prophet. That is a title which is a little difficult to accept for us, sober Westerners. But as there is the gift of teacher or evangelist, he has indeed received the gift of prophecy. I witnessed a meeting with about hundred young people of which some had mutually considerable criticism on each other. That was solved in a marvellous prophetical way. Everyone of them heard in an encouraging and prophetical speech what his/her problem was. A special experience. There is also every month a special prophetical service. Not as a sermon in our meetings, but he himself tells people by a word of God with what problem they have come to the service and they receive their deliverance. This also happens in the Sunday services.

Sunday
The Sunday services start with much singing. They have well-known and to me unknown songs. Everyone knows them from the head and texts are not available, therefore you listen and move with them. Moving, that does everyone. I found it contagiously and gladly participate. They sing and pray with the complete body: arms, legs, mouth, everything is moving. Not in ecstasy, but to emphasise and to go through what you sing and pray.

Prayer line
After the worship service and a sermon of T.B.Joshua we, the guests, are going to the Prayer line, also called Emergency Section. There is a row of about ten people with open wounds and things like that. Everything is filmed and as T.B.Joshua extends his hand and pronounces healing in Jesus name, they walk one after the other away thanking Jesus. You do not see the healing of the open wounds immediately, but one says that these people are healed after a few days and then return and give their testimonies before the cameras. Everything is documented. Further on in the hall are the Aids patients. Laying hands on them is by person and is very brief. "You're free, in Jesus name", T.B.Joshua. says and people who feel that the pain has left bear witness of it directly before the cameras. They say they feel no more pain or show movements which they could not do, and shout: "Thank you, Jesus!". He is receiving all honour.
Because you cannot see if HIV patients are healed, they must return with a medical HIV-negative declaration.

Poster
Then the hall gets filled with about a hundred native people who have been precisely screened and taught in the previous weeks. We also, the foreign newcomers, get a place in the long row. Everyone with a large poster with their sickness written on it. And at the top of it states: God is the Healer. His name is Jesus Christ. You will have to know this: T.B. Joshua is not the healer!
Just a little trip - I thought of going to the church with in fact 'nothing'. In that case you go for a 'Spiritual Uplift'. That means that you want to have a spiritual bounce. But when I am questioned by a group of 6 � 7 young women/girls in the interview for the prayerline, it comes out that my marriage is not so good. The 'spiritual uplift' does not continue. 'Marriage problem' comes first now on top of my poster. And instead of 'spiritual uplift' I need a 'Breakthrough' according to them. That is an opening in all areas of your life. I am, however, glad. Why would you hide here something?

Evil spirits
So there I am sitting, with a large poster before me, waiting for the junior prophets who go first. I am getting a heavy hand imposed. As T.B.Joshua is coming nearer he is stopped at a man from Mozambique who violently starts manifesting. The man was the whole week at our group, watching videos, we had good conversations, he had worked in Germany and can talk a little German, and that seems to be like Dutch, so... But when T.B.Joshua lays a hand on him, the spirits manifest and show themselves. It becomes a complete spectacle in front of our feet. With authority T.B.Joshua orders the spirits. After half an hour the man lies completely finished on the ground, delivered of several evil spirits and he testifies of it later in the afternoon service.

In the meantime T.B.Joshua also continues quietly with his work and I also feel his heavy hand on my head, chest and stomach. I assume that there has be pushed out something and I pray too. Further I perceived nothing , but that night it broke through. I have confessed everything what I could think of and felt how the Holy Spirit filled me up.

I have missed much of what happened further on in the Prayer line. A few chairs further on sits a woman who has an evil spirit which starts shouting with a sepulchral voice: "she must dead, I want her dead, I'm her husband". She rolled on the floor against our feet. Later in the afternoon service she was delivered entirely.

Shot wounds
Two boys sat opposite to me. One with a shot wound in his hand and the other one with a shot wound in his leg. The last came on crutches and was healed partially. He threw his crutches away, but still hopped. One says that the hopping will heal in the coming days. The shot wound in the hand of the other boy apparently gave him much pain. He could not stretch his fingers. Then T.B.Joshua extended his hand, the hand of this boy started moving and he cramped of pain. T.B.Joshua always walks around several times, and at the second round the same happened: the extended hand of T.B.Joshua caused the movement in the boy�s hand and terrible pain. The third time, about 10 minutes later, T.B.Joshua stretched his hand out towards him and only made a one hand movement to stand up and he said: "You are free". Astonishement on the face of the boy who was still having pain. Again a short stand-up-and-move-sign from T.B.Joshua and while the boy stood up he could move he his hand and stretch his fingers freely. Amazement and joy radiated of his face. The miracle happened in just a few seconds.
After having declared everyone "free", T.B.Joshua went to the Mother Section beside the church, where many women, mothers and children are sitting. There also happens a lot for an hour or may be even longer. We could enter the church again, where the time was filled up with singing in the usual enthusiastic manner.

Emmanuel.tv
Much of the things I described above are daily aired on www.emmanuel.tv. This TV station of the church can be watched in many continents (N-America, Europe, Africa) and on Internet everywhere in the world. The aim of this sender is massive:
Changing lives,
Changing nations,
Changing the world.
The start one year ago was simple. However, 24 hours a day, but with many repeated clips. Meanwhile the dispatch has developed into a complete and changing program with daily new sermons, healings and miracles. The Sunday services are transmitted 'live' and will soon be repeated on a week day. Many church members in Europe and Africa are sitting in church on Sunday morning and in this way they are able to see these services too.

Prayer Mountain
Ten years ago T.B.Joshua started the church with 8 people on the Prayer Mountain. On the Prayer Mountain are also the ' prayer warriors ' who pray 24 hours a day for all possible things. Also for us. The Prayer Mountain is not a mountain but a nature area, with a sandy plain with some shadow giving trees, where the weekly prayer services of the church are held. They are held weekly at night, on Wednesday night from 12 up to 5 a.m.. The prayer is enthusiastically prayed in a fiery manner, well-known to all.
Because we arrived a day later caused by the delay of our flight we missed this happening. But on the last day we could go there by daytime. It became a drive through a very poor district. We bumped slowly over the bad roads and I saw appalling many boards of charismatic churches. Also many friendly eyes and waving people who were obvious well disposed to us, white people. Or possibly it was because of the Scoan bus. We arrived in a paradise nature area with much water and small islands, and that in the middle of this large city Lagos with 15 millions inhabitants. On the sandy plain we could pray. There is said that each prayer you pray there is answered. I assume it is true. In faith stand on... in faith praying, speaking, acting... asking and having the faith of Christ in you... How are you doing that: standing and acting in your faith? Those are the eye-openers which you get there in Lagos.

Aid
The poverty is large. There is a lot of abuse. The church tries to do as much as possible, but for many things is hardly enough money. The church provides people with food and clothing. Food is distributed to children. An example: often women are sent away when the husband dies. They can keep their clothes but further they get nothing. Everything belongs to the family of the deceased husband. Beggarly they come to the church and are getting food, clothes, lodging, and a house is searched for.

Return trip
After a week it was done. Only for that ride by car from and to the airport you want to go to Nigeria. We were stuck constantly in the hooting traffic. The military jumped out and we went a bit further. They are driving very brutally there, but I have seen no anger, fingers raised or abusing. It simply seems to be their driving style. And if it goes more rapidly on the left roadway, it seems to be allowed too. We arrived marvellous enough exact in time. This means: all luggage was already checked in, except ours. But there are also working members of the church at the airport and the church has a good name and so they do everything for you. Therefore our luggage followed in the rear. Therefore this also ended marvellous good.

Criticism
You wonder of course if I have no criticism. Well... much is going on the African manner (way?). I have tried a few times to change the nation, but I should better not do that. And criticism on spiritual matters? There are some things which I (still) do not understand well. But my conclusion is that 'we' better can take an example to 'them' then 'they' to 'us'. And the criticism, as expressed by some critics, appear to rest on ignorance.

Conclusion
I have never heard the name of Jesus so frequently. It is all about Him. The cross, the crucifixion, the resurrection, they are also portrayed in a lot of manners in and around the church. All of the church windows are stained-glass windows with biblical scenes and texts. Pillars and all kinds of objects have been decorated with art work from the Bible. The ceiling of the church has been inlayed with dozens coloured representations of Jesus life. Holiness and power of the Holy Spirit are going together. And to God is given all honour. Thank you, Jesus!

Want to go there?
But do you have to go there to receive healing today? Yes! When Jesus went around he looked for the people, but he did not come everywhere. People had to go to him too. Yes, God can heal you also at home. But in the present time he has given to some people special gifts, like prophecy and healing. So in this way He still gives healing.

Go and see
I can recommend everyone to go and have a look by yourself and experience what the Lord Jesus is doing in 2007. He is the same as always and is still doing the same things. Do not let anyone or anything hold you back. No sickness or problem is too large or too small for Him. If you want to receive healing or deliverance, enter your name at the foundation "Bevrijding in Jezus naam" (Deliverance in Jesus name).
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