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:
- To stop you from having the power
- Cut you from the source of power or
- Create a leakage of the power.
However,
to ensure we walk in this power, we must stop him by,
- Believing and receiving the baptism of
the Holy Ghost.
- Maintaining a righteous consciousness
and lifestyle (Ps. 45:7-8)
- Keep your heart pure (Prov.4:23)
- Guard your mouth; for death and life
are in the power of the tongue
- Live a life of gratitude in your
thoughts, words and action
- Keep the right company (Prov.13:20)
- 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.
