Pastor Jimmy @ Sunday service
Pastor Jimmy Odukoya has announced that mercy will always supersede judgement if believers can appeal to God’s mercy. He said this at the March 3rd Sunday service as he began a new series titled, Mercy Me. “God is a just God, and when you appeal to His mercy, He hears, and mercy will always supersede judgement,” he said.
Speaking from Romans 9:14, the senior pastor stated that mercy and compassion work hand in hand, adding that it’s God’s prerogative to show mercy to whom He wants and has nothing to do with any human effort. “It cannot be bought or manipulated; it is tied to the sovereignty of God. Mercy flows from His very essence,” he said.
Using the conversation between Moses and God as recorded in Exodus 33:12 as an example, Pastor Jimmy revealed to the congregation that appealing to God’s mercy is appealing to His name. He also mentioned the examples of blind Bartimaeus recorded in Mark 10:46-52 and King David recorded in Psalms 51 and 2 Samuel 12 to show different ways mercy can be appealed for. He said, “Moses started by asking for His presence, and from His presence came His name, and with His name came mercy. In other words, If you always want to walk in mercy, make sure you hold on to His presence.”
According to Pastor Jimmy, mercy can speak to remove pain and difficult situations as well as for forgiveness of sin; adding that in the Old Testament, consequences were inevitable even when mercy prevailed. In his words, “There is always a consequence to judgement, even amid mercy. If it does not happen in the lifetime of the person, it will pass down even to the 4th generation. Anyone guilty of a crime must pay for it. Although mercy speaks, scars and wounds will be there. If you judge mercy based on your scars, you will miss.”
The clergy further went on to explain that the blood of Jesus, which was shed for the remission of sin, stopped judgement and its consequences with His mercy. In his words, “With the shedding of the blood of Jesus, the Christian can now have mercy without the consequences of judgement. Jesus has stepped in before God and is ensuring that all sins are blotted out and mercy has taken its place. Jesus Christ, being the High Priest of the church, has taken away the shame and condemnation meant for the church and is now free from the consequences of mercy and judgement.”
Earlier in the service, the Associate Senior Pastor Toluwani Odukoya encouraged the congregation with the promise for the week, which was taken from the book of Lamentations chapter 3, verse 37. While speaking, Pastor Toluwani noted that Christians have enormous power as a result of the Holy Spirit in them. “There is power and authority you carry in you,” she said.
She therefore urged them to know their identity in Christ and utilise it by speaking to whatever situation in their lives with the power and authority they have in Christ. “You have been given power and dominion over the air, land and sea and so no other word can stand when the word of God has been spoken forth.”
The full messages are available on the Church’s YouTube Channel, Fountain TV, and Jimmy Odukoya YouTube Channel. The audio messages can be accessed on SoundCloud, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Apple Podcast. The messages are also available on CDs and DVDs at The Fountain of Life Church Digital Media Store.
“FAITH, PRAYER, AND THE PRAISE”
Pastor Tolu Odukoya @ Thursday showers
Pastor Toluwani Odukoya, in her message at the 29th February Thursday showers, urged believers not to waste God’s time by going before Him in unbelief. According to her, faith is birthed, built, and grown by a relationship with the Holy Spirit. “Faith is not a product of striving but of understanding, confidence, and belief,” she said.
Speaking from Romans 10:17, Luke 11:10-13, and Hebrews 11:6, the clergy noted that faith is a crucial part of prayer, while prayer not accompanied by faith is an exercise in futility. She admonished her listeners to always come to God in prayer since prayer brings them to the presence of the universe’s highest, holiest, and most powerful Being. “If a believer chooses to pray, then such must come in total and complete belief, for a doubting mind will receive nothing from God. There is a war against the unbelief system; the more you know, the more authority you have and the more confidence you have when it comes to prayer and the things of God,” she said.
The Associate Senior Pastor further said that God expects His children to believe Him totally and completely until there is a manifestation of what He told them. In her words, “God expects His church to also move from information to revelation and manifestation, and this can only be achieved through the act of effective prayer using the word of God and faith.”
She, therefore, encouraged believers to make a conscious effort to focus on the assignment given to them and desist from the act of unbelief but embrace a life of praying with the word of God, using the act of faith for their faith level is hinged on who they know God to be. “It is highly dishonourable to ask God for a thing and think that He will not do it,” she said.
The full messages are available on the Church’s YouTube Channel, Fountain TV, and Toluwani YouTube Channel. The audio messages can be accessed on SoundCloud, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Apple Podcast. The messages are also available on CDs and DVDs at The Fountain of Life Church Digital Media Store.
