Pastor Taiwo Odukoya @ Sunday Service
A lot of times people know of the word but they don’t know it in a way to experience the life of the word. To the extent that you know the word, it will manifest in your life. These were the words of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya to the congregation at the March 14 Sunday service while speaking on the topic, The Sword of the Spirit.
The clergy read from the Book of Ephesians 6:10-18 to explain that the word of God is not potent until is being spoken by a living being. “Don’t stay quiet and be burdened by the lies of the devil; speak the word of God!” he declared.
According to the senior pastor, the Sword of the Spirit as a handy two-edged weapon to use to conquer the enemy as recorded in Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Corinthians 10:45. He further said that of the three weapons mentioned in the scripture in Ephesians 6 (The Shield of Faith; the Helmet of Salvation and The Sword of the Spirit), the first two are defensive while the last is both offensive and defensive. He described
He the reminded the congregation that their blessings are under contention by the devil stating that if our Lord Jesus Christ could face contention from the devil over His identity as the Son of God, “what makes you think your best blessings will not be contended by the devil? Speak the word when he suggests to you. That was the same method Jesus applied,” he said.
This, Pastor Taiwo explained, is the reason the word does not seem to work in the lives of many believers because they are not speaking the word. He urged them rather than speak the negativity they may be experiencing, to speak God’s word to counter the lies of the devil. “The word of God in your mouth produces results; it produces life,” he declared.
ARISE
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya @ Thursday Showers
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya has urged believers to not let the opinions of others dissuade them in their faith walk, citing the woman with the issue of blood who went all out to touch the hem of Jesus’s garment in spite of the ridicule she faced. He said this at the March 11 Thursday showers while speaking on the need for believers to arise and take what belongs to them.
He said “Don’t let the crowd be an excuse. You just do what you want to do based on the faith you have and let’s see whether God will not scale the crowd to pick you up.”
Speaking from Luke 5:17-29, Pastor Taiwo cited Zacchaeus, Bartimaeus, and the woman with the issue of blood as examples of believers who believed in God’s power and were not deterred by the opinions of others in their pursuit of a touch from God. “The crowd could have stopped the woman with the issue of blood, Zacchaeus and blind Bartimaeus. The crowd is a bother but I know that the One that sees through the crowd sees you and your case is special to Him”, he said.
The clergyman while reminding believers that they possess enormous power, told them to speak positively to any negative situation in their lives; noting that one of devil’s tricks is stop a believer’s breakthrough is to make them start thinking about issues. “When the devil wants to stop you, he will make you start to reason. Sometimes, he brings so much trouble and he now tells you he is helping you to reason what that man is thinking. That’s why you need to watch what you say because powers lie in what you speak,” he noted.
He therefore encouraged them to not let the crowd be an excuse in whatever circumstance they find themselves and that they should just do what they need to do based on the faith they have. He said, “It is time to stop the devil from using your circumstances to define you; in Christ Jesus, you are unstoppable.”
