Pastor Ladipo Babatunde @ Sunday first service
Using the account of Enoch as recorded in Genesis 5:5-24 as an example, Pastor Ladipo Babatunde at Sunday’s first service held on January 26, said that walking with God is not visible but the matter of the heart. According to him, God created man in order to have a relationship, companionship and communion with him as recorded in Genesis 3:8. This, he said, was why God had to take Enoch and he was not. “He lived, he walked and he was translated,” he said.
Pastor Babatunde also said that as much as God is capable of giving His children all their needs, the desire to have this companionship and communion with them is the reason He wants them to come to Him daily. “If God gives you what you need for the rest of your life today, you won’t come back to Him the next day,” he said.
Speaking from John 17:20-21 and Matthew 5:6, he said that walking with God means oneness with God and developing a consciousness of Him and on a daily basis. This, according to him, would create an insatiable hunger for Him in them. “If you choose to walk with God, you will desire to know Him the more. Two hours on Sunday morning in a week won’t be enough for you. The more you know Him is the more you want to know Him,” he noted.
He therefore implored them to never be satisfied with their level of relationship and fellowship with God but to seek to know Him more and walk with Him daily.
“SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD”
Pastor Bimbo Abiona @ Sunday second service
In line with the declaration of the year by the Senior Pastor as our year of A New Song, Pastor Bimbo Abiona told the congregation at the January 26 Sunday second service that the shortcut to a new song is seeking first the kingdom of God and everything will be added to them; noting that their trust in the unfailing God would keep their hearts at rest and give them hope of singing the new song irrespective of their situations.
Citing Genesis 1:31, she said that believers ought to imbibe the habit of God their Father, in seeing the good all around and speaking positively to any situation because God has declared that everything He made was good. She further stated that unfavourable situations will always arise in life but the key to overcoming them will be to project forward and look unto Jesus; noting that the challenges they face doesn’t matter as the covenant relationship they have with God. This, she said, would keep them sound in the midst of challenges until their victory and new song come. “The longer you carry your challenges, the heavier they become for you. Don’t smell like what you are going through,” she said.
Pastor Bimbo Abiona stated that obedience to God’s word is vital to the Christian race, stating that believers should therefore make conscious efforts to walk with the Lord and jettison sin as she likened sin to the temporary enjoyment one gets when using a credit card but has a long term repercussion.
She then urged them to be steadfast in prayers as constant prayers weaken the effect of the enemy.
“GETTING OUT OF THE PIT”
Pastor Moji Awokoya @ Thursday showers
Pastor Moji Awokoya in her sermon at the Thursday Showers service admonished the worshippers from Psalm 40:1-3 to always trust God and turn to Him whenever they are in despair or situations beyond their control. Using David’s experience and meditation as recorded in Psalm 40:1-3 as illustration, she said that situations could arise which are likened to horrible pits which only God can bring one out of it. “Some of these issues might be so great we need others to help us out, at that time who do we call? We need to patiently wait on God and He will come through for us,” she said.
According to her, a pit is an unpleasant and lonely place to be, noting that every human being goes through such experience at some points in their lives. However, living a holy life, meditating and focusing on God’s word, spending time praying and fasting, worshipping God, doing His will and not forsaking the gathering of brethren where encouragements can come from, are some of the major ways of handling negative circumstances. “When you are in a difficult circumstance, you are in a horrible pit and you need help. It is only God that can bring you out. So trust in Him,” she noted.
Pastor Moji concluded her sermon by urging the worshippers never to get weary of whatever pit they are in but to keep trusting God and calling Him for help. “God inclines to us when we call to Him in prayers especially if we say such prayers from our heart,” she urged.
The full messages are available on CDs and DVDs at The Fountain of Life Church Digital Media Store.
