I would rather keep quiet than say a word about
certain things but some things cannot be left to spread like fire. I am sure
you have a picture of where this is going. Take a look at the quotation below
taken from hungry generation website.
“The anointing water came to be through a
revelation from God to the man of God, Prophet TB Joshua…Unfortunately the man
of God cannot be in every country, or visit many places, so God instructed him
to pray for bottles of water and distribute to people all over for healing,
deliverance, and breakthrough. Within the Scriptures, we see clear proof that
God is able to use any medium to express Himself…By praying with the anointing
water, you are setting yourself apart for God’s special attention as you pray in
faith.”
When you read the above passage, you would probably
want to know where to get this anointing water because it promises heaven on
earth. But there are a few concerns. My concern about these statements is
twofold. The first is what it undermines. The second is what it promotes. Let
me elaborate.
Firstly, I believe it undermines the Sufficiency of
Scripture, the Sufficiency of a believer’s prayer and the sufficiency of
Christ.
It undermines the sufficiency of Scripture in
stating that this water came through a revelation from God. Look at this: “All
Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be
competent, equipped for every good work” 2 Tim 3:16-17. This verse informs us
that if we need to learn of the God we worship, we must go the Scriptures. If
you want to know God you must go to the Scriptures. They are the ones that
reveal God clearly. If you must rebuke or be rebuked then Scripture will do an
excellent work because it is God who is speaking. The other thing we see is
that anyone who is in error must be corrected by Scripture. Lastly, we see that
Scripture trains. God’s word instructs in righteousness. Spiritual growth will
not take place without consistent reading, listening to and meditating on the
word. This is all in the effort to make believers ready for good work. So
Scripture has God’s full revelation of what he wants us to know. However,
according to the above quote, there is a new revelation called anointing water
which only TB Joshua has received. We don’t need any new revelations from
anyone. God has given us his word and it is his full revelation for us.
It distorts the Sufficiency of a believer’s prayer
in saying that when you pray with the water you have God’s special attention. “The prayer of a righteous person has great
power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed
fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not
rain on the earth ” James 5:16b-17. Notice it says , “ Elijah was a man with a
nature like ours,” meaning that in as much as he was a prophet of God he was
only human. There is no superiority when it comes to prayer. God can hear
everyone of his children when they pray to him with or without anointing water.
The fact that you are a Christian means you already have God’s special
attention. The Israelites had God’s special attention because they
were God’s chosen nation.
It undermines the sufficiency of Christ by saying
that praying with TB Joshua’s anointing water will lead to healing, deliverance
and breakthrough because the water acts as the medium. My question is what was
the purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross? Who connects us to God? In Scripture
we are told that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Tim 2:5. However, according to TB Joshua, there is medium
called anointing water. So you need
Jesus and the anointing water. Yes God used different channels to accomplish
his purposes but that was before Christ came. Many if not all of those things
were pointing to Jesus Christ. Remember the bronze serpent? Jesus says in the
book of John that that serpent was talking about him. Yes, even the manna that
fell from heaven in the wilderness Jesus said that he was that manna. “I am the
living bread that came down from heaven…” John 6:51. At the cross Jesus paid
the penalty for sin and he can save anyone who comes to him in faith. If through
the power of the cross people cannot be delivered then why did Christ die? He
died so that he could deliver us from sin and all forms of darkness. And we are
told that, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new Creation. The old has passed
away; behold the new has come.” 2 Cor 5:17. So what do I need to be delivered
from if I am in Christ? Unless you say Christ does not do a perfect work when
he saves us or that he does not protect his own. In 2 Peter 1:3 we are told that
in his “divine power God has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness…” So what breakthrough are you talking about? Christ is all in all.
Secondly and lastly this water promotes the name of
TB Joshua. The anointing water uplifts no one else but TB Joshua. In fact it is called TB Joshua’s anointing
water. As if not enough the “man of God” also has stickers and prayers named
after him, TB Joshua’s sticker and TB Joshua’s prayer. Wherever you place this
so called sticker, it is said, favor will be upon you. If you are sick and you
listen to his prayer you will be healed instantly. So why are these things
named after him? I believe as servants of Christ our names must decrease while
that of Christ must increase. If we claim to be servants of Christ and our
names are the ones which keep becoming popular instead of Christ then there is
something wrong. Listen to what this true servant said about himself in
comparison to Christ. “He must increase,
but I must decrease” John the Baptist, John 4:30. In fact, when you hear someone talking about
TB Joshua, seldom do you hear how many were led to Christ and even if Christ is
mentioned it is a by the way. It’s like TB Joshua is the Lord while Christ is
the servant.
What would I say then in summing up everything? Look
at his: “And even if our gospel is veiled
it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this
world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” 2 Cor 4:3-4. Based on the above verse you
need to be careful what you believe in. Many are being used by Satan (the god
of this world) to distract people from the truth of the gospel.
