Pastor Femi Odumabo @ Sunday first service
The April 3 Sunday First Service started with a powerful positive declaration with insight from Proverbs 18:21 by Pastor Femi Odumabo, who substantiated through the story of Moses and Aaron, how two out of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, became relevant based on their good report and how the other ten went into oblivion due to their negative feedback. With reference to Numbers 14:28, he advised believers to always confess positively.
In titling his exhortation, “Let there be light” with his scriptural text from Genesis 1:1-4, Pastor Odumabo, in analysing ‘In the Beginning God’, stated that the context expressed God preceding the beginning of creation. He said that irrespective of how big the universe is with the earth as just a tiny planet in it, God has it all in the palms of His hand. The Bible, he said, never alluded in the beginning to troubles, Satan, or problems but God, which means that, before we were created, God had been our ready source by being a righteous judge, faithful God, and almighty one. Hence, nothing is meant to trouble us.
With emphasis on ‘God created’, the clergy noted that God is a worker, and a person who doesn’t work never delights God. He noted that God was intentional in His design of the universe in that he created man and other living creatures on earth to fulfil His glory. He added that God delights in the praise, worship, and reverence of his creations. Seeing God as an artist, physicist, chemist, strategic planner, and more, Pastor Odumabo told the worshipers to use their skills because God has promised to bless the works of their hands.
In a bid to contextualise the second verse of Genesis 1, the pastor stated that the formless, shapeless, chaotic state of the earth before the Spirit of God brought orderliness can also be relatable to the experiences of men, as it can be seen in the case of Paul on his journey to Rome in Acts 27 and how the angel of the Lord spoke safety to all that was on board, irrespective of the turbulence.
Bringing his sermon to a wrap, he expressed that the Light spoken about in the third verse of the book of Genesis was Jesus. He therefore stated that God had to divide the darkness from the light in order to make the darkness irrelevant in the presence of light. “Irrespective of the difficulty, darkness, and storm, God is saying, the Light has come,” he said. Citing John 1:1-4 and Isaiah 43:19, the pastor advised believers to forget the past as every new day is a blessing to start all over again, with the confidence that He who has started the work will surely complete it.
ABOUNDING GRACE
Pastor Gbenga Onabanjo @ Sunday second service
In his message at the April 3 Sunday second service, Pastor Gbenga Onabanjo told the congregation that God’s promise of abundant grace to his children is accompanied by an expectation of the fulfilment of some basic requirements.
According to him, a person who is given a lot of grace is a sign that he or she is called and equipped to serve God. God’s abundant grace in one’s life comes with the complete forgiveness of all sins. The grace of God in a person’s life causes worship and makes him or her a good example for other people to follow.
Speaking from the scripture of the month, 2 Corinthians 9:8 and 1 Timothy 1:12 -17, the clergy stated that when God’s abounding grace saves one and forgives them their sins, they ought to go and spread the gospel to others just as the Apostle Paul did. “When our sins have been forgiven by God, then it behoves us, as the recipients of God’s mercy, to desist from doing sinful things,” he said.
Pastor Onabanjo further stated that, as recipients of God’s grace, believers should no longer have a heart of stone but a heart of God that constantly seeks to give and assist others. “God convicts and humbles his children with grace, and it is therefore expected that we should imbibe these virtues of humility so that we will be exalted by God at the appropriate time,” he noted.
He went ahead to cite the example of Moses, who had an encounter with God on the mountain, and upon his descent, the Israelites were unable to move close to him as the glory of the Lord radiated all around him.
In his words, “God’s grace makes Christians models for others, and there is an expectation that the life of a child of God will be an epistle to others which models Christian virtues such as holiness, purity, and humility.”
He also cited David as an example to urge the church to emulate David, who, having received the mercy and grace of God, dedicated himself to a life of worship and service to God.
In closing his sermon, Pastor Gbenga Onabanjo encouraged the church to appropriate all the blessings associated with the abundant grace of God, assuring them that in so doing they will have multiple reasons to testify of the faithfulness of God in their lives.
THE WORD OF GOD
Pastor Lara Adesanya @ Thursday showers
The March 31 Thursday Showers Service was a gratitude service. While admonishing the worshippers to praise God with songs, Pastor Tosin said that believers should learn to speak positively about everything around them, including the nation of Nigeria. She noted that they should rather ask for mercy than further curse the land.
Delivering the message for the day was Pastor Lara Adesanya, who emphasised the efficacy of God’s word. Speaking from Matthew 24 and Amos 9, the clergy noted that believers should dip themselves so much in the word of God that it becomes difficult for fake ministers to deceive them. “It will be sad that, after hearing so much of God’s word, you are lost in the crowd because of fake pastors,” she said.
Pastor Lara said Christians should be responsible for winning souls into God’s kingdom and stop hiding in the crowd, adding that they must be intentional about it, quoting Romans 6:1-6 to buttress it. A believer must identify with Christ. As Christians, we have to be intentional in all that we do,” she noted.
She further noted that every believer is a carrier of anointing, noting that they should therefore extend those healing hands to those sinking in depression. She therefore urged the congregation to ask God for grace and mercy. She also led them in a prayer session for Nigeria and her leaders.
Other scriptural quotations include Psalms 139:1-2, Isaiah 28:15-19, and Isaiah 62:8-9.
The full messages are available on the Church’s Youtube channel, The Fountain TV) and TOM TV (Taiwo Odukoya Ministry). They are also available on CDs and DVDs at The Fountain of Life Church Digital Media Store.
