G.O.D: GOD of DIVINE EXCHANGE - The Fountain Of Life Church

By iborotonye-edet Weekly News October 7, 2024

Pastor Jimmy @ Sunday Service

“God is always looking to take away what is bad from us and give us what is good”. Those words summarise the message of Senior Pastor Jimmy Odukoya to Fountaineers at the October 6 Sunday Service.

In his message titled, “G.O.D: God of Divine Exchange”, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya illustrated God’s benevolent disposition toward man with a comparison of the type of exchange that ensues between men and that which happens between God and Man.

“In the human condition, for exchange to take place, the following conditions must be present: willing participants, mutual agreement on value, authority of both parties to give and receive, clarity of intention and expectation, and a transfer of ownership”. (Gen 25:29-34)

He continued: “In the context of God with man, however, it is very different. The parties are not equal. God is way bigger in the equation, He is perfect (Matthew 5:48) and self-sufficient (Philippians 4:19) and He sits at the table with man who is needy (Psalm 8:4-6, Ps 62:9), a faithful God (Numbers 23:19) dealing with unfaithful man (Jeremiah 17:9).

The Senior Pastor itemised, as follows, the many instances where God gives His children a more superior offer in exchange for what they bring: Salvation for Sin (2 Corinthians 5:19-21), a heart of flesh for a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26), joy for mourning (Isaiah 61:3), strength for weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), riches for poverty (2 Corinthians 8:9), life for death (John 11:25), grace for law (John 1:17), and peace for fear (Philippians 4:6-7).

Dwelling on Isaiah 61:3, Pastor Odukoya charged Fountaineers to know that grief, and the sense of loss that comes with it, is part of life. “Grief is a very personal experience in which we can say to ourselves, “No one can understand”. But God understands! He understands because He knows; He has intimate knowledge of grief and pain and that’s why He is able to change it. (Isaiah 53:3) Even in the midst of your mourning, there is Joy, but you have to make a decision to release your pain in order to receive the Joy of the Lord.”

He then went ahead to enumerate how believers, in the midst of grief, can receive God’s Joy. “Get into the presence of God. In this month of Divine Exchange, if you want to access the Joy of the Lord, just get into His presence. Ask the Holy Spirit to activate in you the fruit of Joy. When you ask Him, He releases it to you on demand.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The clergy went on to enjoin his listeners to intentionally meditate on the word of God because that is where they can find His Joy. “There is Joy in the Word of God. In the midst of your mourning, deliberately get into the act of mining the Word of God. The more you chew on the Word and break it down, it becomes Joy for you,” he said.

He rounded off on a note of assurance, affirming the existence and readiness of God to perform divine exchanges in the lives of believers who would permit Him. “I don’t know what season of your life you are in but, there is a God of Divine Exchange. But for an exchange to happen, you must release whatever is holding you down so that you can receive His surpassing goodness.”

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.

DIVINE EXCHANGE: ALIGNING WITH GOD’S SEASON

Pastor Jimmy @Thursday Showers

It is important that your frequency is not attuned to the times and seasons of this world but rather to the times and seasons of God’s kingdom. These were the words of Pastor Jimmy to the congregation at the October 3 Thursday Showers service.

Speaking on aligning with God’s timing, a key factor in operating in Divine Exchange, which is the theme for the month, Pastor Jimmy, reading from Ecclesiastes 3:1-3, assured his listeners that seasons always have a time limit, noting that they must run their course. According to him, “You cannot speed up a season; it must take its course.”

However, he explained that only the Divine can interrupt the natural course of a season, thereby causing a Divine Exchange. He illustrated this with the story of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend in John 11, who experienced the season of life by being born and dying. His death, of course, caused weeping and mourning, but when his sisters reached out to Jesus (the Divine One), He came and spoke a word, “Lazarus, come forth!” and the one who was dead came alive. In his words, “What was a season of weeping and mourning turned into a season of dancing and joy.” He emphasised that no matter what season one finds themselves in, the Divine can change it with one word. “One word can interrupt your season and shift things in your favour. One word can cause destiny helpers to remember you.”

The pastor encouraged his listeners to always dwell on and meditate upon God’s word, which is powerful enough to turn their situations around for good.

He also referenced the story of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, whose name reflected his painful life and experiences. However, Jabez decided to interrupt that season by calling on the Divine (God), and his season changed. “The only way you can invoke the Divine into your season is by bringing God’s word into it,” Pastor Jimmy said. He continued, “You are in this world but not of this world. It is important that the timing and seasons you base your life on are not the world’s seasons, but the seasons of our God.”

He urged his listeners to remain in step with God’s timing rather than following their natural senses because the seasons of this world frequently run counter to God’s seasons. In his words, “If you are going through seasons according to the world’s calendar, it’s a sign to shift to the season of God’s agenda. To walk opposite to the world’s calendar means you must decide to ignore everything dictated by your five senses and speak the Divine will for what He wants you to be.”