On Sunday, June 18, 2017, congregants who worshipped at The SCOAN witnessed the demonstration of God’s power in many dimensions. The testimonies were inspiring and helped keep the light of hope aglow in the minds of all who saw God’s hand at work in the life of His people. The choir on their part ensured that the atmosphere was Spirit-filled as they provided the musical impetus that kept everyone on their dancing feet as praise and worship songs rented the air. The Word of God played its enlightening role as it formed the nucleus of everything that happened on the day.
In his message, GOD’S WORD IS SPIRIT AND LIFE, Prophet T.B. Joshua emphasised the fact that God’s Word has the ability to transform us spiritually, especially when we pay attention to it by meditating on it at all times. “God’s Word is Spirit. It has the ability to quicken us spiritually. It has the ability to form a spiritual force within our hearts or spirits,” he pointed out. And in case we find it difficult as Christians to pay attention to the Word of God due to distractions, the man of God offers a solution – “When your heart is not set, you cannot pay attention. In this case, take your Faith Bracelet and begin the battle to reset your belief”.
Concluding, Prophet T.B. Joshua reminded the people of God that faith comes naturally when we meditate on the Word of God which, in itself, is Spirit. He said, “Since God’s Word is Spirit, it has the ability to develop a spiritual force within our hearts or spirits called faith. You have faith, you increase in faith because God has a nature that makes it easy to trust in Him”.
In an earlier message titled UNITED IN CHRIST JESUS, Evangelist Angela enjoined Christians to remain one in the body of Christ. She urged them to eschew all forms of offence and put their differences away so as to form a common front against satan, their perennial enemy: “Offence, bitter separation, imprisons countless Christians, severs relationships and widens the existing breaches, misunderstandings between us. When we give room for misunderstanding and mistrust to thrive in our midst, we are going against that very divine destiny that unites us as a nation, as a people, as a family. Because of the wounds and hurts which offences have caused in our lives, most of us cannot function properly in our workplaces, communities or homes.”
Speaking further, she used the story of Cain and Abel as a veritable analogy to elucidate the reason children of God should tolerate one another and live in peace rather than allow bitterness tear them apart. “Cain was offended. Cain’s work was not recognized. Cain’s labor was not appreciated. Cain’s gift was rejected and Cain was corrected. Instead of learning from the difference of his and his brother’s offerings, he allowed the differences to divide; he allowed the differences to offend. And the rest is history. Instead of making a change, he made excuses and became bitter, not better. It took just one moment, one difference to separate a family, deny a destiny and lose an inheritance. This is the role of offence in your life.”
EVANGELIST ANGELA
For children of God to live peacefully with their neighbours, especially those who do not even belong to the same religious affiliation with them, Evangelist Angela reckoned that the only way that can happen is when we learn to live in love and forgive those who have offended us: “Forgive our enemy – those who offended us, abandoned us, rejected us, insulted us – for liberty in prayer can be obtained only where there is an atmosphere of light; that atmosphere must be one of unity and harmony, for our relationship to God is measured by our love to one another. One nation under God – that relationship is measured by our love for one another”.