Pastor Jimmy Odukoya @ Sunday service
The uncommon Grace of God and its immense powers to transform man from forlornness to favour was the crux of Pastor Jimmy Odukoya’s message during the September 8 Sunday service.
Using the story of Noah recorded in Genesis 6:1-8, the Senior Pastor emphasised how Grace is found and not earned; adding that Grace has been from the very beginning of time. “God’s Throne has been the Throne of Grace, ever-existent, but the problem was that man didn’t know how to access it,” he said.
He continued, “Grace flows from the nature of God, from His throne. The challenge is that you can’t approach the Throne of God anyhow. There are protocols for accessing the Throne of Grace, and they are grave and demanding. The only hope for us to escape the wrath embedded in that protocol is to find Grace.”
Pastor Jimmy cited Romans 1:1-5, John 1:14-16, Ephesians 2:8, and Romans 2:4 to highlight Jesus Christ as God’s compassionate plan for man to access His grace without the strictures of the rigid protocol that man had to fulfil to approach the Throne of God.
In his words, “It is through Jesus Christ that we have received God’s Grace. Christ is full of Grace and Truth, and He is God’s plan for us to escape the tediousness of the protocol to find Him.”
The Senior Pastor further stated, “When you understand that Christ is the nature of God walking, full of Grace and Truth, you’ll begin to understand Romans 5:20. It is God’s kindness that leads you to repentance; and Kindness is a byproduct of Grace.”
Pastor Jimmy concluded his message by saying that God, through Christ, did humanity good by going from Grace looking for them to linking man to the Source of Grace, so that as many as receive Him could become a conduit for the dispensing of God’s Grace. “The story has gone from you finding Grace to Grace finding you, and then linking you to the Source of Grace,” he said.
The full messages are available on the Church’s YouTube Channel, Fountain TV, and Jimmy Odukoya’s YouTube Channel. The audio messages can be accessed on SoundCloud, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.
The Gospel According to Friendship: The Power of Friends.
Pastor Toluwani Odukoya @ Thursday Showers
“It’s extremely important who you have in your circle. The people you associate with have the greatest influence on your life.” These were the words of the Associate Senior Pastor Toluwani Odukoya during her ministration at the September 5 Thursday Showers.
According to the clergy who spoke on the power of friendship, the association one belongs to will either encourage one to greatness or push them into the pit. “Your relationships will either make you or break you. People either inspire you to greatness or pull you down to the gutters,” she said.
Using the four friends of the paralytic recorded in Mark 2:1-12, who went above the expectations in getting their friends healed as illustration, Pastor Tolu described good friends as a catalyst which precipitates an event, adding that such catalysts push their friends to their miracles just as the friends of the Paralytic pushed him to Jesus for his miracle.
She said, “It matters who you tell your God-given dreams to. Who are you speaking to? Who are you getting advice from? Who are your friends?”
Also citing biblical examples of Jonathan and David, Ruth and Naomi, the three Hebrew children and David’s mighty men as examples, the clergy told her listeners that there are great achievements and progress when there is unity, oneness and godly bonding among friends. Such friendship benefits everyone just as Ruth in turn found destiny by being good to Naomi. “Friends that go far beyond what is expected are the kind of friends that takes one to the pinnacle of success. If you are in one accord, there is actually nothing you cannot achieve,” she stated.
She also noted from Ecclesiastes 4:9 and Proverbs 27:6 that friendship needs to be tested so as not to be in the midst of wrong friends like Ahithophel. “Friends help each other. You are only as great as your circle. God positions people in your life to help you get to your destination,” she said.
She therefore urged them to not be too consumed with selfishness that they wouldn’t find time to pray for their friends after which she led the worshippers in a prayer session praying for their friends. “Most of the time, we are too concerned about our problems that we don’t remember to take our friends to God in prayer,” she said.
The full messages are available on the Church’s YouTube Channel, Fountain TV, and Jimmy Odukoya’s YouTube Channel. The audio messages can be accessed on SoundCloud, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.
