Posts in category: Moving With IMD

The International Missions Director (IMD) of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, has advised Christians to acknowledge Jesus Christ, not only as their Saviour, but also as the Lord of their lives.

According to the IMD, “to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord means that, He is ruler, boss, owner of all things and master of one’s whole life, and that He is the one who exercises authority, power and influence over others. He cannot be Lord of a part – He must be given control of one’s entire life.”

Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo said this on February 15^th, 2020, during a presentation on the topic, “The Christian and the Lordship of Christ” at the maiden Francophone Ministers and Wives’ Conference at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh near Kasoa in the Central Region.

In his presentation, the IMD said that, the conversion or adoption of a believer as a child of God begins with the belief, acceptance and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Saviour. However, he observed that in contemporary Christianity, more emphasis is placed on the saving grace of Jesus Christ, while little or no mention is made of His lordship. “Many contemporary Christians have been introduced to the benefits of salvation through Christ without having to accept the ‘inconvenient’ challenge of His lordship over their lives. As a result, many Christians today, are very comfortable with Jesus in a manger and Jesus crucified on the cross, but not how we may share in His suffering (Galatians 2:20),” he explained.

Reading Luke 4:8, he explained that, “Jesus is our Saviour because He is the only one who is anointed to save humanity, proclaim the Good News, heal the sick and deliver the oppressed. So, most people love the Jesus who delivers. But Jesus is not only our Saviour, He is also our Lord!”

He explained that living a victorious Christian life calls for a life of commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; for this reason, every Christian must submit to the authority of Jesus Christ.

He asserted that, “If anyone recognises Jesus Christ as Lord, then the first requirement from such a person is utter and total obedience. Obedience must be immediate and not delayed because obedience delayed is the same as disobedience.” Apostle Gyesi-Addo, therefore, challenged Christians to submit to Christ by bringing every area of their lives under His sovereign rule.

He indicated that the love for Christ and a clear conscience should inform every Christian’s motive for submitting to His Lordship. (1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14). However, very often some Christians, who profess Jesus as their Lord, do not portray lifestyles, attitudes and deeds that support their claim.

The IMD, therefore, urged ministers to consciously teach church members, especially new converts to know and understand that Jesus Christ is not only their Saviour, but also their Lord, and for this reason, He must be given control over their entire lives.

The International Missions Director (IMD) of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Emmanuel Gyesi-Addo, has declared that Jesus Christ did not die a vicarious death for Himself, but suffered so that humanity would be set free from sin and eternal damnation.

He explained that for one to benefit from the death of Jesus Christ, they must acknowledge Him as their Lord and personal Saviour and He will turn their sorry situations around. 

“Jesus went through hell which separated Him from God. For the first time He couldn’t call God, ‘Father’ because He took our place and bore the sins of the world upon Himself; it was not for His sake. He died that we might live. He went through hell so that we may not go through hell again. He did that as punishment for sin in order to save us,” he pointed out.  

Apostle Gyesi-Addo stated this in a sermon on the Good Friday on PENT TV as part of the 2020 Easter celebration by The Church of Pentecost which is being held on the theme, “Jesus Died That I Might Live” – 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10.

Speaking on the topic, “The Message of the Cross” based on John 19:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:18, he explained that the cross was a symbol of shame, punishment, and curse and that death on the cross was only reserved for the most wicked criminal.

However, he stated, when Jesus went up to the cross, the narration about the cross changed, saying, “Every situation that Jesus comes into, He transforms it even if it is one of a shame and curse when Jesus associates Himself with that kind of situation, He transforms it.

“From the time Jesus went to the cross and associated Himself with it, today the cross has become a symbol of glory and beauty. So no matter how your life is, just invite Him into it and He will transform your life.”

According to the IMD, there are so many theories that have been fabricated by men about the death of Christ. He said that some people say that Jesus fainted and died, others say that just as He was about to die His body was smuggled, while others also say that he was exchanged for someone else. “No matter what the theories say, the Bible confirms that Jesus died and the fact is that He did not die for Himself – He died to bring benefit to others; He died that we might live,” he stressed.

Apostle Gyesi-Addo mentioned that the physical sufferings that Jesus went through was meant to give eternal life to men. “The Lamb of God was killed in order to give us life. He went through intense sufferings for our sake; He went through hell for us. Jesus was made sin and, therefore, had to pay the penalty of sin, and the penalty of sin is death,” he pointed (2 Corinthians 5:21; Luke 16:19-24).

He indicated that when Jesus shouted, “Tetelestai” meaning “It is finished,” it implied that He had finished the task of working on the salvation of humanity that was assigned Him by God, that all His sufferings on earth from the beginning of His ministry all the way to the cross had come to an end; the period of fasting, temptations, the insults, false accusations, hunger and thirst, weeping, emotional and physical torture had all come to an end.

“Whatever you go through in life has an expiry date written on it. You may not see it but God sees and one day it is going to be over. One day every suffering will come to an end,” he assured.

“When Christ cried Tetelestai, He was saying that the work given to Him by the Father has been accomplished. It means that every debt – the debt of sin, weakness and shortcomings, the debts of our parents and ancestors that have had bearings on us have been paid in full.

“You don’t owe the devil anything for Jesus’ sake. So as we celebrate Easter this year, it doesn’t matter the condition under which we are celebrating it, the message of the Cross is still the relevant and the same,” he stated.