Pastor Taiwo Odukoya @ Sunday First Service
SpeakinG from the theme scripture for the year, which is in Ephesians 5:14–17, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya urged the church to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He also stated that the life of a believer is not theirs alone: “We are not alone; the day we got born again, the Holy Ghost moved into us, and His spirit and ours became One,” he said.
He also encouraged the church to always allow the Holy Spirit to take the lead; if this is done, when they speak, the Holy Spirit speaks for them, which also makes a great difference between the believer and those out there. He urged the believers to live purposefully and not leave their lives to chance. In his words, “Don’t copy your friends, there is no point in competing with anyone. God’s grace is available to all; there is therefore no need for competition. According to him, “if men promote you, they will bring you down, but if God promotes you, no man can bring you down”.
Also speaking from Ephesians 3:14–19, Pastor Taiwo explained that a Christian cannot use anything to compare the riches of God’s glory. The riches of God’s glory are magnificent. Jesus dwells in the believer through the Holy Spirit, and He dwells in their hearts through faith. Christ, who is love Himself, dwells in them, and this makes it easy for them to express love freely and easily to their neighbours.
In closing, and reading from Acts 6:1–4, the clergy urged the church to always be conscious of the fact that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and should therefore not engage in gossip, sow the seeds of discord, or engage in activities that divide the church. Instead, they should stay filled with the Holy Spirit and allow God to do His work in their lives.
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya @ Thursday Showers
The showers service on Thursday, March 6, was another avenue to express gratitude to God for His unfailing love. The service experienced Pastor Sunday Akindile give a short word of exhortation before Pastor Taiwo Odukoya’s main message for the day.
Pastor Sunday, who exhorted the worshippers on believers’ rights and access to victory, cited Romans 8:37, Genesis 1:26, 1 John 4:4; 5:4-5, 1 Corinthians 9:26, and 2 Timothy 4:7-8 to say that God has put victory in the DNA of man at creation. “That means we were birthed in victory, and thus, we are overcomers in everything we do. We have Christ in us—the hope of glory. Regardless of the battles we might face in life, we are victorious,” he said.
What makes believers winners, Pastor Sunday emphasised, are the battles they face. In his words, “A winner goes through a series of battles. We have only one common enemy, which is the devil, our adversary, so it is the Lord who fights our battles for us, and when we fight, victory has been assured from the foundations of the world.”
Pastor Sunday talked about the stages of victory for believers. He said that believers can get to victory by declaring God’s words, praying in the Holy Spirit, and worshipping. In the words of Pastor Sunday, “the distinction between us and those out there is that we have hope in Christ Jesus. His presence is enough to help us overcome the challenges of this life.”
He continued, “There can never be victory without fighting. As we continue to fight the good fight of faith, victory is assured, and the whole world will hear of our testimony. Our testimony is in where we were before, what we have been through, and where we are right now.”
Thereafter, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya emphasised the importance of constant meditation on the word of God and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Speaking from Acts 6:1–5 and Psalm 1:1–3, the clergy said that rather than complain or murmur, believers should seek understanding of the word and its application to their situations.
Pastor Taiwo also said that believers should be watchful of the company they keep, as that also has an effect on the outcome of their lives. “Who you relate with also goes a long way. Don’t bind yourself with sympathisers or negative people, rather, look for people filled with the Spirit who are full of wisdom and of good reputation because in the multitude of counsel, there is safety,” he said.
Pastor Taiwo concluded his message by admonishing the congregation to constantly meditate on God’s Word. He said, “The word of God is the seed of creation, creativity, and innovation. Never close your prayer without asking for fresh infilling.”
