Pastor Kunle Areogun @ Sunday first service
Speaking from the theme for the year, God’s Revealing Glory, Pastor Kunle Areogun at the January 9 Sunday first service emphasised the need for believers to be united for God’s glory to be revealed collectively in their lives and midst. According to him, doubting God’s word, rationalising every word of God with one’s senses, or challenging God’s instructions via actions are ways one can be separated from the body of Christ. He noted that this would result in hindrance to the fulfilment of God’s words in such a life. “I pray you won’t separate yourself from what God is doing because He will visit us and this church this year. He will reveal Himself,” he said.
Speaking from 2 Corinthians 3: 17-18, which is the scripture of the year, pastor Areogun noted that Jesus, the Word of God, is the believers’ ultimate mirror, noting that He is the ideal plan of God for them, and He is the mirror through which they see, know, and understand the plan of God for their lives as well as their real identity in Him, and not judging their reality by their current circumstances.
This, he said, can be achieved by having an open heart to the Word of God and His Spirit, noting that these are the two pillars that should never be toyed with by Christians. In his words, “God gives you a picture of His plan for your life; how you should be, where you are headed, and as you are beholding it. God is changing you, moving you from glory to glory to reach that ideal that He has for you. So, if you know the word and you don’t know the Spirit, you will fall. If you know the Spirit, you don’t know the Word, the devil is a spirit being, he will defeat you.”
He further noted that anything a believer thinks has been revealed to them, such revelation must be brought to the Word of God. “These pillars must never be moved as you grow with the Lord; the word of God and the spirit of God, not your senses or suspicions. If you can see it in the scriptures then it is yours, you lay hold of it and it becomes it,” he said.
The clergy also stated that one’s position in God’s plan for their life; association; character; and what they accept into their minds would affect what they see. He therefore urged his listeners to be watchful of what they give attention to in the New Year. “Whether born again or not, what you know; who you walk with or associate with; your character and where you stand in the programme of God for your life will affect what you see; so be careful about these four areas,” he urged.
Using the lives of Elisha and Joshua as examples, the clergy therefore urged believers to be deliberate on what or who they make their mirror as it has huge effects on them. He said, “you need to be careful and intentional about who or what you are gazing at in your journey of life, especially this 2022, our year of God’s revealing glory, because God will certainly visit The Fountain of Life Church and when He visits; it is not for sightseeing but for reward, which are in many dimensions: favourable pleasant reward to those following Him, and unfavourable pleasant reward to those that are not following Him, those that are mixed multitude in our midst.”
“STAY WITH ME”
Pastor Tosin Sowemimo @Thursday Showers
The year 2022 has begun with mixed feelings of emotions, expectations, joy, and uncertainty as people have started setting goals, visions, and projects. However, believers have been enjoined to stay with God and to continue the year with the full assurance of faith that it would be fine. This charge came from Pastor Tosin Sowemimo at the January 6 Thursday Showers.
“Whatever it is you are going through, stay with God. He has all the answers and all it takes for you to make it. Life is uncertain but for the children of the kingdom, there’s certainty, so long you stay within the boundary of God,” she said.
Speaking from Isaiah 46 and Psalm 91, she said that the world is in the last days, so events would happen that would throw people into different kinds of emotions. This is why, as the clergy pointed out, believers must stay close to God in order to navigate whatever life throws at them.
In her words, “Staying with God doesn’t mean there won’t be storms or unpalatable experiences but for you, as a child of God, you are in the palm of your Father and His eyes are on you always. There is no emergency in heaven so God is not surprised by whatever is happening to or around you.”
Pastor Sowemimo further cited Philippians 4:6; Romans 8:35-39; Hebrews 10:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Deuteronomy 10:20, and Hebrews 4:14 to say that, dwelling on the Word, praying, praising, rejoicing always, believing, as well as serving in God’s house are ways a believer can stay with God. “His word is absolute and unchangeable. Every other thing will change to align with the Word. So, don’t be distracted by what the world is saying. Stay with the word of God and the God of the word because they are one,” she said.
She continued, “The dosage of prayer is to say it always. Also, praise Him always because praise to God is food. Obedience is the measure of love to God. If you love Him, you’ll obey Him. If you don’t obey Him, your love is questionable; and service is the fabric of the kingdom.”
In rounding off her message, the clergy stated that the best times to stay with God are even in times of adversity, challenges, or bad times, noting that nothing should shift the focus of a believer from God. “There’s nothing worth taking a believer away from God. Let us keep the sanctity of the love of Christ in our hearts. Don’t let anything steal your joy, stay with Him no matter what happens,” she encouraged.
She finally encouraged them from Deuteronomy 30:15-19, that they should keep their eyes glued to the God who has everything in His hands and has it all figured out. “He’s always on your side and for you. So stay with Him. At times, it may cost you, it may be difficult, but stay with Him and it will end well with you,” she urged.
“WE KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS”
Pastor Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun @ Sunday second service
Speaking from the Book of Acts 17:24-28, Pastor Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun while speaking at the second service of January 9 talked about the all-powerful, all knowing and everywhere present attributes of God. According to her, God is in total control Himself and His creation, He has complete and maximum knowledge of all matters, motives, spirit, relationships and events, and He is present everywhere. “To man, history is what has happened in the past but with God, His history is our future. He sits at the end of time and everything to Him is history,” she said.
She emphatically told her listeners at the service that God is so deliberate about them being His children because anything He does has an intelligent purpose and a definite goal. Having this understanding for believers would make them have complete trust in Him no matter what happens to or around them.
In her words, “It is easy to say you trust God when things are going right but when things become difficult and sour, that’s when you will know whether you really trust Him or not. As children of God, some things happen in our lives that makes us to be afraid, but if you know Him, you will run to Him and not from Him.”
Likening believers’ lives to a movie whose writer, producer and director is Christ, the clergy stated that irrespective of how the story goes, true believers in God know how it would end because they are of God and have His Spirit in them. “Sometimes, even when the seeming main character of the movie dies and you are wondering how the movie is going to end, there is a Writer of the story. So you don’t have to worry how it would end and this movie is going to end well because we know how the story ends. That is the promise we have in Christ Jesus,” she noted.
Using the account of Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane as recorded in Luke 22:42 as illustration, Pastor Tolu said that there would be times in a believer’s life that he or she would have to surrender to the will of God irrespective of how seemingly contradicting that God’s will is to their desire. She noted that at times like that, even though there is pain, there is peace. In her words, “when you are such in a situation, the understanding of how the story ends gives you the peace to continue watching the movie.”
She therefore urged her listeners from Isaiah 46:10 and Psalm 139:to know that God has planned their future and created with everything in terms of strengths, potentials, virtues and abilities to achieve that purpose. “Before you were born, God knew you and sat in your future. Everything happening to you and around you now are all part of your movie. So don’t be afraid to stand and move when God says so. Everything will come together for what God has created you for,” she urged.
The full messages are available on the Church’s Youtube channel, The Fountain TV) and TOM TV (Taiwo Odukoya Ministry). They are also available on CDs and DVDs at The Fountain of Life Church Digital Media Store.
