USA: ‘ONE VOICE’ Gospel music fest urges Liberians to speak life to Liberia; not negative things

…Leader eyes Liberia for a ‘bigger OneVoice awareness event’ next year

By James Kokulo Fasuekoi|Editor-Publisher

Banner photograph shows Mrs. Agnes Punni in a pensive mood during Sunday’s Gospel Fest. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY AUTHOR

A Gospel campaign to discourage “negative speech” against Liberia, a West African nation, ended successfully Sunday night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, amid pledges by festival-goers to replace their usual negative utterances on the country with good ones.    

Still fired-up from that prayer event, Apostle Moses Punni, an immigrant and organizer of the meeting dubbed “Annual Praise Festival 2022” under the Theme: ONE VOICE, said Tuesday his Gospel chorus is now eyeing staging a similar event next year in Liberia which helped re-settled ex-U.S. Black slaves. 

“We are believing God to do a bigger OneVoice awareness event in Liberia next year by God’s grace,” Aspotle Punni, a pastor at Miracle Redemption Christian Center (MRCC) in North Minneapolis, told Global Ekklesia via a text message.

Negative declarations against Liberia

In his opening remarks moments before the festival commenced, he underscored the reason that prompted the event as Liberians’ bad habits of speaking “negative things” about their own country.

Some native Liberians, he said, have the habit of making awful remarks such as ‘the country [Liberia] is a mess! Liberia will never get anywhere.’ Such statements, he said, appear to be keeping the nation backward.  

Punni’s remark was buttressed by those of three other pastors (all Liberian born and prayer-warriors), Dennis Kamara, Roland Cooper and Johnson Wreh from MRCC who launched the crowd into the prayer aspect of the event. 

“Liberians do not only bring each other down…but they bring down the nation through negative speaking” one said as he led worshipers into exhortation. He urged the LORD to forgive their negative acts and revive those curses declared over the nation.       

In most Liberian gatherings such as funerals and wedding receptions, be it in the U.S., Europe, Asia or Africa, the story seems much the same-they Liberians complain and argue regarding the nation’s apparent poor leadership while at the same time proclaiming “backwardness” to it. 

Negative prophecies do work 

Those negative “prophecies,” though born out of pure ignorance due to their frustrations over the murky political trend, appear to be manifesting as hardship has increased, alongside widespread corruption in the country, starting from the lowest ranks to the highest in office.

God hates complaining! By all indications, complaining created a complicated relationship between the Israelites and God soon after He brought them out of Egypt. They did not only complain about Moses and Aaron but also the water and food, paying a blind eye to God’s ultimate plans for their lives.  

Exodus 15:23, for example states: “When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).” Exodus 15:24 “Then the people complained and turned against Moses. What are we going to drink? they demanded.” 

Interestingly, not long after they left Elim and traveled “into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai” about a month and half into their journey, since leaving Egypt, “the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron” (Exodus 16:1-2 NLT).

“If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt, they moaned. There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death” (Exodus 16:3).  

As it happened, their negative “self-prophecy,” coupled with their lack of cooperation with God (who had taken them out of Egypt), came true. It is believed that almost all-except their children born during the course of the journey-died out in the wilderness, after 40 years of roaming about. 

The power of life and death in the tongue 

Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” God first shows Christians a clear example of the power of spoken “Words” in Genesis chapter 1 when He spoke and the world came into being.  

The Word of God teaches that as Christians, ‘our confession shall be our possession’ which is also evident in the story of the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years. 

Although the Bible does not reveal  her name, she may have confessed inwardly and believed she would be healed once she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment-it happened! 

Despite such revelation and true-life story given by the Holy Bible many Liberians including Christians, are found in the ugly habit of raining “swear” and cursing over their native land instead speaking life into it.

However, nationals of other African nations such as Ghana or Nigeria, paint a rosy view of their respective countries although theirs too, may be equally ruled by tyrants.  

Archbishop Dr. VanDyke Noah declares

Archbishop Dr. VanDyke Noah of Miracle Redemption Christian Center took over the exhortation from Apostle Punni and the three prayer-warriors, declaring, “Liberia shall rise again! Dr. Noah had recently traveled to Liberia with Pastor Punni for groundbreaking ceremony for a sister church there.

“We are shaking the foundation of Liberia…from Smell-No-Taste to Kakata. By your prayer, things can be changed; by your prayer God can make it [Liberia] rise again,” he said, citing Isaiah 66:8 as a reference. 

Prior, the prayer-warriors pulled three chairs and set them in front of the audience. The chairs represented the 3 branches of the government: the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature. The audience then joined them, making positive declarations over the 3 branches of the government. 

The roaring of worshippers

The crowd roared and declared every stronghold as well as demonic yokes hanging over Liberia to be broken through the Blood of Jesus Christ! 

Worshipers spoke also in other tongues, weaving through the air while others rested on their knees, hoping for an encounter with the Holy Ghost!  

A striking moment came when the prayer warriors held aloft the Liberian National Flag (Red, White and Blue) and ran in a circle in front of the crowd, praising Jehovah God!

At least four songs sang by the group animated the crowd; “I’m no longer a slave to fear”, “You said it and I believe,” “You’ve rescued my life!” and “Tooya, Eze, Toya” by Nigeria’s Gospel musician Tim Godfrey. 

Tooya, Eze, Toya, and You’ve rescued my life, were so powerful and electrifying that most kept snapping their toes and singing along to the beat of musical sound. 

In one instance, Apostle Punni took a giant leap, landing near the edge of the stage and yet managed to maintain his balance. Thanks to the Holy Spirit!