Apostle Dele Johnson is the Senior Pastor at Jesus Liberation Ministry. He was our Guest recently on City People Instagram Live Chat with SEYE KEHINDE, the Publisher of City People Magazine. During the Live Chat he called in Gov. Sanwo-Olu to re-open churches & mosques now. Below are excerpts of the chat.
Let’s start by you sharing with us your thoughts are on the Covid-19 pandemic and how you view the whole thing?
I remember writting on my post “my 10 lessons from Covid-19 and that is what I am going to share with you.
No 1, this pandemic has proven to us that the strength of the Lord is in the cloud. The enemy may operate in the air but out God control the heavenlies.
No. 2, I discovered that the church is yet to take advantage of the digital world and it’s the next move of God for his church. So, the church had better wake up.
No 3, I discovered that we human have this tendency to derail from the most important thing in our live especially when we are very comfortable.
No 4, I learnt that even in adversity, we get closer to our God.
No 5, I learnt that the devil can ochestrate massive evil but God can also turn it around for his good and for his glory, it doesn’t matter what devil does.
No 6, I also learn that in a global world against an inviable enemy or in the midst of a pandemic like this, we must learn to trust in our God. When we trust in him we will surely laugh last.
No 7, I also learnt, you will discover that in this pandemic those who knows how to talk the talk by cannot walk their talk suddenly we discovered that some of them just kept quite. So, I discovered that those set of people should not be taken seriously in the matter that affect citizenry. Where are the people who were blaming the church when church was giving parliatives. Those who are making mockery of the body of Christ where are they, what did they do for the people.
No 8, I discovered that in all of the calcophony of this pandemic everything boils down man’s in-humanity to man.
No 9, I also learnt that in this global lockdown anyone who does not learn a lesson is like a proverbial dog that is lost and can never hear the whistle of it’s owner any more.
No 10, I learnt that after this lockdown some people will not learn anything. They will go back to their vomit as if nothing happen. No lesson taken, no lesson learnt. They will be living their life as if nothing happen, where as this pandemic is a time for sobber reflection. To learn one or two things, we can add to our life, so that we can live a life that has value to others.
How best can you describe the whole pandemic saga?
We all know that this pandemic was manufactured in Wuhan. It’s more than conspiracy theory. It was manufactured to depopulate the earth. It is been investigated, it’s more than conspiracy theory but then as we trust God we know that our God can turn it around for our God, as we get sobber, internalise all of this issues it brings us closer to God and God is going to use it at the end of the day for his own glory. I will also like to advice the Lagos State Government on what to do now concerning this pandemic. They started well, we have to commend their effort.
Their first response when the pandemic broke was superb. But now they must begging to think outside the box. There is a lot of things to review. The parameter we set are no longer working.
The figures are rising astronomically everyday and what it means is that in the next few weeks all the resources that are in place will not be able to take care of those people they are taking to isolation centres. It will be overwhelming and become a burden to them. I noticed in the past 5 months there are people dieing of health challenges that are not Covid related, why because we neglected them. We stigmatised them.
People have been managing their health for years, but now they can’t go to any private hospital again for treatment. So we have more people dieing of health challenges that are not related to Covid-19. Then, we have the astronomical growth of those who are Covid-19 positive, so the challenges are becoming herculean. I have discovered that viral diseases cannot be cure by medical science, you can only manage it and that is what they have been doing, managing based on the symptoms that you see, but now their management is getting overwhelming. This kind of a thing has happening in Lagos State before, about 102 years ago. There was an epidemic in Lagos State, it was killing people to the extent that every family had a dead relative. It was so overwhelming that even the living could not bury their dead, it happened in Lagos State, anybody can make their research.
It took the intervention of Dr. Oladapo Shapara who went to the king then, Oba Prince Esugbayi Eleko. He approached the king to enlist all the traditional healers for help and the king gave the traditional healers 14 days to look for a solution, and within 7 days they came back with 5 leaves and herbs to solve the problem. They publicised it, people started taken it and the pandemic dissappeared.
The only solution now is a Cure, not even Vaccine, Vaccine is preventive, people are already having it. Medical science does not have the cure. What do they used to cure “Sanponna” (measles) in those days? It was Herbs. There are many herbs and leaves that has anti-virus ingredients in them naturally.
So, we shouldn’t keep demolishing our herbs, traditional medicine. In fact we need their help now. Why don’t we give them the assignment to look for solution, because in the next few weeks the burden is going to be too much on the state even the federal government.
I also want to say that, this government is a friendly government to the church, but it must not get to a point where people will start crying against this government because people are spiritually vanished. It doesn’t make sense to close the churches and open the market.
That is double standard. The same people who will come to church are the same people in the market places. The Lord gave me a scripture for the state government, “God is saying is there no balm gilead why are my people not healed”. You close the church because you think church will spread the pandemic meanwhile church is the one who will quench the pandemic because that is where we would cry to God.
The spiritual transaction takes place in the church, and when you close the church, you close the mouth of the people who will cry to God. If this government want to be a smart government they should begin to engage with God. Tell pastors to start crying to God. Any time there is a market opening there is a worship going on; a worship to the idol of the market.
That means you allow people to worship the gods of the market but they cannot worship their living God. So I am appealing to the state government to sit down and review our strategy.
