I like Jim Iyke BUT..... - Pastor TB Joshua SPEAKS...

Pastor TB Joshua in a rare interview with Punch opened up on Jim Iyke and allegations that he pays people to come and fake miracles.He also said God queries him when he invites presidents to his church

On Jim Iyke

Oh please, don’t drag me into that. All I can say is that if a person needs to see a doctor, he should be free to do so. I like the young man. He has been defending himself on the internet. Is he not enjoying a better life now? Are things not working for him?

On allegations he pays people to fake miracles 

 How much will I give to the president of a nation to come here? Even when they come, I don’t get any financial gain but I incur cost because I want to ensure that they are well cared for. That is all; I even prefer to spend my time with the poor than to be with the presidents. If a president visits this place today, the whole of the day will be devoted to that visit, I would have lesser time for the poor people, who need my attention. God has been warning me over this trend so much that when some presidents said that they wanted to visit me, I said no. I said it would be better for me to visit them in their countries. Each time they visit this place, I receive query from God because of my time that should have been used to attend to the poor and the needy that are waiting for me. One soul is not superior to the other, why should I continue to receive query? Really out of three presidents that may visit, there will hardly be one that will show good example of the counsel that they receive

Why is it that your ministry seems to be more popular outside Nigeria than in Nigeria?

As it is written in the Bible, a prophet has no honour in his country. I am not an evangelist or a pastor, I am a prophet. If my people had understood the work from the beginning, it could have affected the glory of God in my life today.

Praises and adoration can make you a local champion.

I may not be accepted by some people in Nigeria but my acceptance in the world has been announcing me to my world. When you look at the people working with me, you see that the ratio of Nigerians working with me are not more than 10 per cent.

Sometimes when I see some ministries printing handbills, using signboards to advertise their church, I say those things are not necessary. God is the one inviting people, if you allow him to do it, the solution to their problems will be waiting for them.

At synagogue, our critics are our advertisement. They are people that don’t want to hear about us. They tell other people that ‘that church is devilish;’ unknowingly, some of the people they tell get inquisitive and they will want to come here and see what a devil looks like since they haven’t seen one before.

God has been using this as advertisement for us. Ninety per cent of people who come here do so in the bid to come and verify what they had heard about this church.

When some of them get here, they will sit at the back, fearing that they could be hurt. Some put on dark glasses or disguise in a way that will not allow people that know them to recognize them.

But before the service is over, some of them will pick up their bags and move to the front seats. They eventually become my prayer warriors.

Let me tell you something that amazes me and that I always thank God for – those who are with me are more than those that are against me. They keep supporting me all over the world. I have more, more, more people around the world. Whenever I say this, tears flow from my eyes (sobs for a while).

These are tears of joy. I get so sad when I hear people’s confession when their eyes become open to what God is doing here. Some say, ‘I wish I had known this, my mum would not have died. She asked me to bring her here but because of what I was hearing about this place, I refused until she died. I hope that she will forgive me.”’

But many people see you as mystical, they think you are not a believer in Jesus Christ; that you belong to some other sect. What is the source of your power?

Your question is funny. We don’t get power, it is faith we have. The power in our life is released by faith through our mouth. The issue of getting power is wrong. We don’t talk about getting power here. If you don’t have faith, power will remain dormant.

In Mark, Jesus said this kind won’t be possible but by prayer and fasting. The disciples had power but lacked faith to release it.