Pastor Toluwani Odukoya @ Sunday service
It was a special Sunday service for members and friends of The Fountain of Life Church on May 12. It was the international Mother’s Day celebration. Every session of the service celebrated mothers, particularly the female pastors and the associate senior pastor, Pastor Toluwani Odukoya, from the beginning to the end.
In her message for the day, Pastor Toluwani Odukoya told the women in service, both physically and online, that they are of great value, strong, and priceless. Speaking from Genesis 2:18–23, the associate senior pastor noted that women are referred to as the crown of creation because she was the last creation of God, adding that the woman was made from the man’s rib to show the resilience of a woman. “We bend, but we don’t break. You can bend a woman, and she will bend if she loves you. She will bend but won’t break,” she said.
Still speaking about the attributes of the rib in connection to the makeup of women, Pastor Tolu said that just as the ribs protect the vital organs of the body like the heart and the lungs, as well as regenerate, women are protective of whatever is vital and important to them and are strong-willed, adding that they can bounce back from whatever situation they find themselves in.
In her words, “The woman is strong-willed; there is nothing you put a woman through that she won’t come out of. If she’s determined, she will come out of it. She has that power to protect what she thinks is vital and important to her.”
Pastor Toluwani spoke to the nature of a woman as a balanced, suitable, and complementary counterpart to her husband, as recorded in Genesis 2:18. She stated that a woman will balance, enhance, and emphasise whatever a man gives her. This is why men must put in the work on their wives so as to receive the fruit God has placed in her. According to her, men who don’t tend, nurture, or take care of their wives will not enjoy or reap the fruit of the woman.
She said, “Man, what are you doing today with the woman God has given you? If you are not enjoying the fruit of her, it means you are not doing it well enough, because within her, God has put in so much for your life and your destiny.”
According to Pastor Toluwani, God intends for a woman to help her man, a role known as “ezer” in the Hebrew language. “A woman is an ezer—a helper, a warrior, an encourager, a supporter, and a lover,” she said.
She therefore encouraged the woman from the books of Psalm 20:1-2, Exodus 18:4, and Job 29:12 to know who they are and take their place. “Woman, you are needed, necessary, and important,” she urged.
RECEIVE NEWNESS
Pastor Jimmy Odukoya @ Thursday showers
Dwelling on the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman as recorded in John 4:1–30, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, during his message at the May 9 Thursday showers, said that God is all-knowing and can use anyone to achieve His purpose despite their circumstances or reality, adding that believers should never define how or who God should use to bring newness into their lives.
“You have no idea, and you don’t get to define, what the newness of God would look like. Sometimes, God would put your connections with an unbeliever. Your newness could be from the person you despise,” he said.
The clergy also noted that believers’ participation is critical to experiencing newness, as divine blessings could be missed if they refused to participate, just as the Samaritan woman could have lost her chance to get newness from Christ if she had ignored Him when He asked her for water. He said, “A lot of times, God’s newness is predicated on your participation. He cannot do anything in your life if you don’t participate. There is newness available, but it requires your participation.”
He continued, “There are many stories of newness in the Bible, and it is evident that it took their participation to make the newness happen in their lives. God’s demand of them to move in the newness of the things He wants to achieve through them requires their participation and not their logic.”
Sharing his personal experience of how his car gauge was showing empty even though the tank was filled with fuel, the Senior Pastor said that God’s Word to a believer holds true irrespective of their current situation, adding that they only need to lean on the understanding of that word and keep moving.
In his words, “You might be reading the gauge of your life, and it’s reading empty, but the entrance of His word brings life, and He has decreed that you are in the new beginning. So, it does not matter if the gauge of your life is showing empty; your life is full because the One who has said it cannot lie, and once you begin to walk with the knowledge and understanding of His word, you will walk differently.”
He added, “His word has already credited your account, so it is done. His words are incorruptible; they are faithful. Once you get the knowledge that it is your new beginning, everything is fine because God has said, ‘it is done.’”
He therefore encouraged his listeners to focus on God, the provider, and not the provision, as well as not think less of themselves when God places a demand on what they have that they feel is inadequate. “Release all in your hands so you can receive the newness God has promised you in this month of New Beginning. Cast all your worries, failures, shame, burdens and release them to God. When you can put them down, you’re ready. When your deliverance is more important than your dignity, then you are ready for the newness,” he urged.
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.
