Pastor Taiwo @ Sunday Service
Sometimes we fall into sin but we do not have to remain there because sin removes the confidence we have as Christians. These were the words of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya to the church on Sunday May 21 as he spoke about the standard of the Lord. Taking his text from Isaiah 59:1-21, he explained that even when there was no one to intercede for the children of Israel as they were oppressed by the enemy as a result of their sins, God intervened to save them. “As believers, in spite of us, God will do what He says He will do concerning us. No matter how the enemy rages, God will raise a standard because it is in His nature and character,” he said.
Pastor Taiwo went on to cite the example of God’s intervention on behalf of His children as they faced the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army hard on their heels; He practically raised a standard in their defence. He added that even at the River Jordan, when they did not know how to cross over to the other side, God raised a standard and the water gave way for them, stating that He always raises a standard for His own. “When you get to the end of the road, you’ll look beyond the terminator to the Creator and the terminator will have no option but to bow before the Creator,” he stated.
SUFFICIENT GRACE
Pastor Taiwo @ Thursday Showers
Reading from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Pastor Taiwo at the May 18 Thursday Showers service continued his message on Sufficient Grace. The first thing he dwelt on was attitude, stating however that it did not mean that one should stop talking to God about one’s problems. What is expected of us in time of need, he said, is taking those problems to God in prayer just as Paul did in the theme scripture. “Even if you haven’t received answers yet from God, the Bible says men ought always to pray and not faint,” he said.
Pastor Taiwo emphasised that God has the power to remove any problem faced by His children, just as He could have in Paul’s case but chose not to, strengthening him instead. “At times, the problem is a mountain which we keep praying to God to remove, whereas He has given us the power to overcome it by climbing over it,” he stated.
He admonished the church to stop begging God for what He has already done, and start listening to what He has to say. “Rather than be obsessed with what you think you should have, you need to be listening more to what God has to say,” he said.
He noted that just like the children of Israel, we need to come to a place where we realise our wrong and turn to God in repentance (see 1 John 1:9). He added that we also need to walk constantly in the fear of God and comfort of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 9:31.
