Wednesday, August 1, 2012

REPORT ON OUR 15TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY/CONVENTION

Our 15th year anniversary/convention, tagged in the “DAY of His Power” has come and gone, but the impact remains. The deposit of the word and Spirit in our hearts and lives is undeniable. Just three days with four sessions, but the Lord visited us and we know and acknowledge it.

It took off on Friday the first of June through to the third of June. Each session was characterized by prayers, worship and the word.

The Presiding Pastor, Courage Ode ministering on the first day, said that in spite of our present experiences and prevailing circumstances, we are in the day of His power. However, what the Lord seeks, are willing vessels that will make themselves available to the Holy Ghost indwelling and fill them and then fully manifest this power. He noted that in these times, the enemy is trying to make the workings of the Spirit seem inconsequential, but we must refuse this in our lives and midst.  Still speaking, he said at creation, the Holy Ghost moved before anything was formed. It was the working of the Spirit, as commanded by the Father that ensured everything was as God commanded. We need His working in us and through us in these times.

After this message, Rev. Martins Atanda of the Zion World & Missions, also ministered. He said the Church is in a delicate state, because the Spirit with whom we have to do will not strive with us. The Holy Ghost will not contend with us. We need to open up to Him and receive Him. We must resolve to walk with the Spirit for without the Spirit, we are empty. He went on to say that where the Spirit is, darkness cannot prevail. Still ministering, he said to walk in the Spi,rit, we must be a people that will:
  1.)   Tarry in the place of prayers
 2.)  Walk in obedience. i.e. people that will be willing, that will give their consent to the direction and promptings of the Spirit, and be ready for action. (yielded, totally surrendered)
 3.)  Be a going people. Our money, resources and time. We must also reach out with our lives. It is not enough to have power; we must learn to use the power.

On Saturday, the day two of the convention, Pastor Courage ministered again, emphasizing that, the beginning mandate still stands. He singled out Abraham as an example, saying through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3) God thinks in terms of the entire globe and humanity, and until we think like Him, we cannot walk with Him. The question is, what is on God’s mind? What is His investment that He cannot afford to let go? The truth is that, God’s mind is full of man. (Ps. 8:4) God is looking for labourers that will partner with Him to bring in the harvest. However, without the Spirit, we can do nothing. The day of Pentecost came, as they tarried in prayers, we must be willing to give our time and wait in prayers, in intercessions to fulfill this mandate.

We must reach out in the power of the Spirit. But as we do, we must ensure our “Jerusalem” is kept secured before we go on to ‘Judea’, ‘Samaria’ and the ends of the earth.

Dr. Moses Fagbemi (Source Gospel Ministries), also ministered on the second day. He said a people cannot take more action than the vision they have seen, and emphasized that we must be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, His programme and direction. He went ahead to read a number of scriptures to show what God has in mind concerning these times. (e.g. Haggai 2:6-9, Heb.12:27-28, Acts 3:19-20).

Ministering, he said the difference between the world that God intended and the present world, is the GLORY. It is because the glory departed that the earth is what it is today. The day of His power, is the day of the return of His glory. What man fell short of was the glory of God, and God’s desire is that the glory will dwell in man. This glory must radiate from inside out.

Reading Isaiah 40:1-5, he said the description of the work here to ensure the restoration of the glory, was the description of the preparation of the heart of men for the glory to come in. every valley must be exalted, every mountain must be made low and crooked paths made straight. We must make room in our hearts for the Spirit to fully occupy and for the glory to be manifested. Day two ended with intense prayers of consecration and praying in the Holy Ghost.

Day three was a Sunday morning service. It began with prayers, high praises and Pastor Kato (one of the Pastor’s in Love Family) exhorted briefly. Reading from 1 Corinthians 4:20, he said the kingdom of God is not in word but in power, and that this power only comes through the Holy Ghost, and the reason for the power is to showcase God to the nations of the world. He cited Luke 24:45-49 and Acts 1:8, to push his point further. 

Afterwards, we lifted up our voices in prayers of Thanksgiving to God for the journey thus far and the New Year. Mrs B.O. Fagbemi handled this session. It was really a time of giving God the glory due His name. Later on, by the leading of the Spirit, Dr. Fagbemi led us to sing Psalm 133. As we sang, we ministered one to another in prayers and prophetic declarations. It was a time of healing, comfort and refreshing, and according to Psalm 133, God commanded His blessings in our midst.

Sunday evening was another glorious session, specifically organized for the singles. Exhorting, Pastor Bibi Courage-Ode said there must be a consciousness of the times and the seasons especially as singles. In the day of His power, His people shall be willing. We ought to be servants who are ready to go all the way not doing just what they are told to do, volunteers not those pressed to act. This is the time to willingly offer ourselves for kingdom business.

Later on in the service, Pastor Courage Ode ministered. He emphasized the need to keep panting after God. He said, “your hunger for God must never die”, because when your hunger for God begins to die, you have started dying. What we need now is to walk in the POWER of the Spirit, we live in a world that answers only to POWER, satan knows this and is actively working to either:
  1. To stop you from having the power
  2. Cut you from the source of power or
  3. Create a leakage of the power.
However, to ensure we walk in this power, we must stop him by,
  1. Believing and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
  2. Maintaining a righteous consciousness and lifestyle (Ps. 45:7-8)
  3. Keep your heart pure (Prov.4:23)
  4. Guard your mouth; for death and life are in the power of the tongue
  5. Live a life of gratitude in your thoughts, words and action
  6. Keep the  right company (Prov.13:20)
  7. A life style of prayers. Pray without ceasing. Spend time also praying more in the Holy Ghost. Jude 20.
He concluded by making a call for those that wanted to be filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Many responded, were filled with the Holy Ghost and began praying in tongues. And then, there was a bursting forth all over the auditorium, men started praying passionately in the Spirit for a fresh infilling of the Spirit and an outpour of power from on high. There was no formal closing to this session, people just prayed on, till they were satisfied. The Lord visited us.

In all of these, the children were not left out. They had their own convention in a special way. The CEM (Children Evangelism Ministry) state coordinator, along with teachers trained by them handled the children throughout the sessions. Bible lessons drawn from stories such as the story of Zacchaeus, Blind Bartimaeus and Lazarus, were taught to portray the fact that the power of God can save, heal and even bring back to life. They also took time to pray, praise God and learn a number of scripture based songs. Daily, an altar call was made for as many children that had not made Jesus Lord over their lives and were not born again. On Sunday evening, the last session of the convention, they had a film show titled “A little lie” which was very impacting.

In all, our fifteenth Year Anniversary/Convention was glorious. We are set to walk in greater level of power and glory and prepare a highway for the return of the Lord.









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