Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of The Fountain of Life Church says joy is the essence of the Christmas season. The Senior Pastor said this in his message on Sunday, December 25th, 2022, which was also Christmas Day.
Taking his text from Matthew 2:10 and Luke 1:28–31, the preacher told the congregation that joy is the central theme of Christ’s birth, noting that the good tidings of joy are the focus of the gospel. “Everything about the gospel is joy,” he said.
Interjecting his message with Christmas songs, Pastor Taiwo mentioned that Christmas is a time of joy, noting that everything about the gospel is good tidings of great joy. “Anywhere the gospel is introduced, we expect joy to take over,” the cleric said, referencing Acts 8:7-8, when the disciples preached to the unsaved.
He further cited Matthew 2:10, a chapter that runs through the Christmas story and establishes the Christian life. According to him, while certain issues may make people slide into sadness, Christianity and the gospel bring light. According to him, “Christmas has come to tell us to rejoice; there is a clear message that Christmas gives; fear not, rejoice! That is what it is all about. We have too many things in life to make people depressed and sad. But I thank God that you are a lighthouse.”
He went ahead to urge his listeners to shine their lights so brightly that the world would see them and be transformed. “So, let your light shine before men. They need it. So that they can observe your good works and what will happen? They will glorify God,” he said.
Earlier in the service, the congregation engaged in a prayer session where they thanked God for the gift of salvation. The choir equally led the worshippers in carols, praises, and worship as the Fountaineers marked this year’s Christmas in joyous style.
CHRISTMAS STORY
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya @ Thursday showers
The December 22 Thursday Showers service was filled with praises and testimonies as worshippers expressed their gratitude to God for all He had done for them throughout the year. Awesome testimonies of deliverance, protection, and love were shared by worshippers.
Pastor Taiwo Daniel Odukoya, while admonishing the worshippers, said that God is not partial, noting that whenever a believer does the needful with the Word, they get results. “When we meditate on the word, we keep getting better and better in our walk with God. When we speak the word, we will know that it is life; when we speak the word, it will expressly produce for us,” he stated.
Interjecting his message with praises and testimonies from worshipers, the clergy noted that believers should always be witnesses for Christ wherever they find themselves, stating that God’s blessings on them are enough ways to testify about the goodness of God. “We should always strife to make Jesus our light; because we are so much used to evil does not mean we should keep quiet about the blessings of God over our lives. He that the Son of God has set free is free indeed,” he said.
While speaking on Jesus’ birth, which is the reason for Christmas, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya noted that baby Jesus was not destroyed by His enemies even as a baby due to the sensitivity and discernment of His parents to the direction of the Holy Spirit. He said this to tell parents that a lot of responsibilities rest on them concerning their children.
In his words, “because we don’t know the destinies of our children, we have to constantly look out for them. We have to do the best we can to nurture them. It’s interesting to know that Jesus had enemies right from birth, but His parents were sensitive and discerning enough to listen for the direction of the Holy Spirit, and they were able to save Him.”
The clergy read Matthew 2:1-14 to note the significance of the star that appeared to the three wise men and how they were giving themselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit for guidance. According to him, the gift of the Spirit is discernment, which was seen in the lives of the three wise men who had to leave everything they were doing to go and find the star, as well as when they had to use another route to avoid going back to Herod.
The pastor therefore admonished his listeners to be discerning of the Holy Spirit’s directive as well as sensitive to His instructions. This, he said, is what makes them children of God, as Romans 8:14 states. “Be more sensitive and conscious of the Spirit of God because as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,” he said. He thereafter made some prophetic declarations over the worshippers before bringing the service to a close.
