Lockdown Order: Pastor Oyemade Slams Bishop Oyedepo

The Senior Pastor of The Covenant Nation, Poju Oyemade, has disagreed with those criticizing the Nigerian government over the closure of churches, including the Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari last month eased the lockdown, but proclaimed that religious gatherings will remain shut till further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, in his reaction, said the continuous closure of churches was suspicious.

According to him, it was part of the moves to stop the church of God from expanding.

But, speaking on the closure of churches, Pastor Poju, on his Instagram page said the closure of churches does not in any way stop the Holy Spirit from working.

Making reference to the Bible, he said, “the sick healed in the book of Acts were healed on the streets, in people’s homes, in public places and not within the four walls of a Church.”

His post reads: “Closing the doors of a physical building does not in any way mean the closure of the anointing of the Spirit from working.

“Church buildings may be shut down but true faith and the anointing of the Spirit has not stopped working.

“There is a difference between expression of emotions and the manifestation of the anointing to heal the sick. There is nowhere in Jesus’s ministry where the healing of the sick was preceded by a congregational service.

“In the Book of Acts, the sick were healed predominantly on the streets with no fanciful service going on. Closure of a church building does not stop the rivers of living water from flowing out of your belly. It resides in our inner man.

“There was collective prayer to receive a supply of the Spirit which led to outdoor manifestations.

He stressed that Apostle Paul in the Bible attested to the fact that Christians don’t have to be together in a physical space to receive that supply.

“Did he not say to the Church at Phillipi, I know this shall turn to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus. The Church was miles away from where Paul was.

“Charles Finney began a massive revival by people praying in their homes all keeping watches at the same time. They all chose the exact time to pray and they did in their homes until the Spirit broke out on the streets.

“They did not criticize any other Church or ministry of weakness. Criticizing others doesn’t attest to the fact that you have strength. They only stayed with God until something broke out on the streets,” Pastor Poju added.