The SCOAN Choir began with the mellow tune ‘Ka bi o osi’, a Yoruba phrase meaning there’s no questioning God. As worshippers meditated on those words, the atmosphere became charged with God’s presence and the choir moved on to extolling Yahweh, the Alpha and Omega, for His bountiful blessings in the lives of His children. After a few other praise songs, the choir beseeched God to rain His shower of blessings and command His healing on worshipers and viewers.
CHRIS
In his message entitled ‘Bound and Burdened,’ Chris expounded on the theme of worry and how it impacts the Christian life negatively. The Christian, he said, who lets their worries overwhelm them instead of casting their burdens upon Jesus will not be able to travel far in the Christian race. Other consequences will also manifest in their material life, as such a Christian will find it hard to achieve and maintain success in key areas of life. The Bible reading came from Mark 4:14-20, the passage where Jesus gives the parable of the sower and his seed. With this metaphor, Chris showed how “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19) often distract Christians from what should be their true focus: Jesus Christ. It is these things that cause them to be bound and burdened.
He therefore advised Christians to avoid worrying about mundane matters of the body and mind, but to consider cultivating a heart that dwells on God’s promises in His Word. Chris says: “You have to remove the weight in order to reduce the pressure. Many of us are acting under tension and pressure because our hearts are burdened, our hearts are heavy and our spirits are locked up. This is affecting our Christian work, our walk with the Lord.” Chris also said that a major problem with losing sight of God’s unfailing ability to help us is that we tend to turn to the devil and his agents for help. In the process, he observes, Christians end up with addictions and further bondage to satan. This is because satan cannot remove a burden he created; satan cannot loosen a chain he fastened. As a way out, he insisted, “Only Jesus can cut the chains. Only Jesus can lose the burden. Only Jesus can remove the pain. Only Jesus can give you peace – only Jesus!”
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