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The Dansoman Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Prophet Ebenezer Kofi Appiah, has called on Christians to strive to live holy life in their walk with God.

Prophet Appiah said this while speaking on Day-2 of the 2021 Ministers’ and Wives Conference (Greater Accra Regional Session) underway at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa.

Delivering the sermon on the topic, “A Church Called To A Holy Living,” based on Ephesians 2:12-13, Prophet Appiah noted that the word ‘Church’ signifies a people who are called out to belong to God. This, he said, means that the church (Christians) must separate themselves from the mundane things of the world and present themselves as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to the Lord.

Prophet Appiah explained that God is holy, therefore, when God calls a person, He expects the person to separate himself from his old life and walk in holiness.

“Throughout the Bible, whoever God chose to use were people who separated themselves and set themselves apart for Him; Abraham, Noah, Moses, Esther, and Job, were all people who walked in holiness. Since God is holy, He can only have a relationship with holy people,” he stressed.

Reading from 1 Peter 2:9, he revealed that “God has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light. The kingdom of darkness is a place of sin and death, where man is depraved and walks in destruction, not knowing that what they are doing is sinful and detrimental to their soul.”

He added: “When a person lives in darkness he doesn’t know the difference between what is right and wrong, that is why many people who are living ungodly lives defend themselves and fight against anyone who tries to tell them otherwise. This is because their minds have been corrupted and hindered from knowing the truth.”

Prophet Appiah further expounded that believers have no choice than to live in holiness. “Therefore, if you do not tell a lie or commit adultery alone doesn’t make you holy, rather it is a complete lifestyle of doing what is pleasing to God,” he stated.

He, however, indicated that some people believe that they become holy at conversion, thus at the time they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. “This is erroneous because holiness is a constant effort to make a daily walk in purity,” he said.

Prophet Ebenezer Kofi Appiah concluded by saying that “holiness is the core of Christianity. The God we serve is holy and if we are to have a relationship with Him, we must walk in holiness.”

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Achimota Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle David Tettey Tekper, has indicated that God’s goal for instituting the church is to prepare a special kind of people for Himself, holy and unblemished, who will serve as His ambassadors on earth to manifest/reflect His glory among the nations.

The former Executive Council Member of the Church made this assertion during a presentation on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, at the Greater-Accra Regional session of the ongoing Ministers and Wives’ Conference at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.

Speaking on the topic, “The Goal of the Church,” with Ephesians 5:22-27, 2 Corinthians 11:2 & 4, Ephesians 1:4 and Exodus 19, as scripture references, among others, Apostle Tekper stressed that the Lord is a God of purpose because there is always a reason for everything He does.

According to him, right from the beginning of creation, God gave a clear indication that His goal for creating humankind was to have a deeper relationship with them. This, Apostle Tekper said, has always been God’s desire and it is evident throughout His interventions and dealings with humankind.

In his presentation, the Achimota Area Head defined a goal as “an end towards which efforts are directed.” He explained that the efforts and activities directed toward the goal serve as the groundwork (preparation) for its attainment. In this sense, God chose Christians to prepare them to be holy and blameless so that through them His glory would be manifested in the world, thereby leading many to be reconciled with Him.

Expounding further on the goal of the church, Apostle Tekper revealed that the Church of God (the Church Universal) is meant to be a Militant Church – that is, one that is always at warfare with the enemy of God (devil) and his cohorts, who are determined to stall the realisation of God’s intended goal for the church.

“We are at warfare as victorious people because Jesus, our captain, has already won the battle. So, we are not fighting a ‘lose-battle,’ but a victorious one,” he said, stressing that, “We must, therefore, fight with the mindset that we are already victorious.”

Apostle Tekper further noted that believers, who form the Church of God, need to be constantly revived to meet the goal for which it was instituted by God. He said that through revival, the church would not only be rekindled to work towards becoming a glorious one but be equipped to prevail against the “Gates of Hell.”

Apostle Tekper, therefore, urged believers to avail themselves for the continuous touch of God (revival) through a consistent prayer life, the study of the Bible and obedience to God’s word, bearing in mind that they are a special kind of people called to bring honour and glory to the Lord in the world.

PENTECOST NEWS

The former Winneba Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Professor Peter Ohene-Kyei (Rtd) has admonished believers to make conscious effort to ensure that the glory of God does not depart from the Church.

Apostle Ohene-Kyei said this at the 2021 Ministers and Wives’ Conference (Greater Accra Region) which is currently underway at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa.

Delivering a sermon on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, on the theme, “That There May Be Glory in the Church,” based on Ephesians 5:20-21, Apostle Ohene-Kyei noted that “God desires to constantly reveal His glory in the lives of His people. However, we must make conscious effort to maintain the glory by walking in holiness and the light of the word of God so that the glory will not depart.”

Apostle Peter Ohene-Kyei, who is also a former Rector of the Pentecost University, revealed that the word ‘glory’ which is translated from the original Hebrew word “Kabowd” connotes splendour, honour, beauty, magnificence, strength, and greatness. He, therefore, indicated that “if a person carries the glory of God, that person is excellent, beautiful, magnificent and has splendour.

Reading from Genesis 45:13, he explained that “because Joseph carried the glory of God, Pharaoh did not want Joseph to leave Egypt but insisted that Joseph invites his father and his entire family to come and live with him in Egypt.”

“The glory of God made Joseph an excellent man, loved by Pharaoh and all the Egyptians. So if we carry the glory of God, we will be unique in all our endeavours and the world will behold the glory of God in our lives and seek to know God,” he stressed.

Apostle Ohene-Kyei added that the glory of God in a church is not seen in the beauty of its edifice, or the vastness of its auditorium. He, however, said that “the early believers did not worship in magnificent auditoriums, but people came from far and near to witness the spectacle of God’s glory and the power of His might at work in them.”

He further expounded that “the glory of God in the church is marked by holiness and purity. It is also a place where worship and sacrifice flow spontaneously without compulsion. The glory of God in a church is also marked by the constant communication of the gospel and vibrant evangelism. When the glory of God is present in the church, there is the experience of the supernatural power and manifest presence of God.”

He, however, cautioned that “Paul’s prayer in Ephesians denotes that the glory of God can depart from the church, therefore, let us all as believers ensure with all steadfastness that the glory does not depart from the church.”

“The believer who wants to maintain the glory of God in their lives must cross the lines of comfort and worldly pleasure into a place of holiness and purity, and strive to be revived constantly,” he concluded.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The immediate past Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah (Rtd.), has disclosed that real revival begins from the almighty God himself and not from any act of perspiration.

Speaking at the opening of the Greater Accra Regional session of the 2021 Ministers and Wives’ Conference on Tuesday, January 25, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, on the topic, “The Significance of Israel’s Conquest of Sihon and Og to the 21st Century Church,” the former Chairman advised church leaders to find the source of revival in their quest to revive the church.

“Revival is when a person begins to know who the Lord is and acknowledges him as such, there comes a change in the life of the person,” he said, adding, “It is the Holy Spirit who quickens the knowledge of God within us. As we acknowledge the greatness of God and honour him, something changes in us and the result is what people see as revival.

“The actual revival is within you – if you listen to the Holy Spirit who helps you to know God – certainly, there is going to be a change/revival in you.

He implored church leaders to find contemporary ways of doing things in order to be effective. According to him, when leaders become used to the methods and principles of doing things in the church, they can perfectly perform them without being inspired. “We need to find out the spirit behind everything we do as a church, because revival is not just doing things as the old people used to do it,” he stressed.

According to him, true Pentecostal spirituality is about spontaneity (allowing the immediacy of the Holy Spirit to take over the affairs of the church thereby resulting in the variety of spiritual giftings/activities working in the church), orality (the ability to share spiritual things with the brethren), and then simplicity, saying, “When the Holy Spirit takes over our services, people see it because the atmosphere changes; people feel his presence and they are satisfied and revived.”  

Taking his key texts from Nehemiah 9:22-23; 35-37; Deuteronomy 2:24-25; Joshua 2:10-11; Philippians 3:10, he revealed who Sihon and Og were, how the Israelites came across them and why the Israelites kept referring to the duo anytime they told their children of their story from Egypt to the Promised Land.

He said that both Sihon and Og were kings of the Amorites nations, and were related. They were both descendants of Esau and therefore brothers of the Israelites. He said that the Israelites had to pass through the land of the Amorites to get to the Promised Land, so Moses sent a peace message to King Sihon, to allow them pass through his land peacefully without being attacked since they were relatives.

However, he stated, Sihon, thinking that he was very power and had built a strong nation, refused Moses’ request and rather attacked the Israelites, but he and the Amorites were conquered.

He added that Og, the last of the giants after the flood, instead of learning from what had happened to Sihon, decided to fight the Israelites, but he was also conquered.

Apostle Prof Opoku Onyinah stressed that the Israelites from time to time told their children about their experience with Sihon and Og, to indicate the power of God which delivered them from the hands of strong enemies.

Drawing some lessons from the passage, the astute theologian related it to the importance of the family to God. He, therefore, challenged believers to do whatever they can to help their nuclear and extended families to believe in what they have subscribed to, thus Christ. In dealing with family members, he entreated believers to be very careful, looking at how Noah’s curse worked on Canaan after his father Ham had watched Noah’s nakedness.

He stressed the fact that God sees things differently from human beings. “The Lord is greater beyond our imaginations; we have not been able to comprehend him well. He is far above our understanding, so he sees things completely different from the way we see it.

“Looking at the descendants of Lot – the Moabites and the Ammonites – their background was very bad, but for the Lord it does not matter how somebody joins the family, so far as the person has joined the family, he is a family member. That is why as leaders we must respect all persons who come to church – whether they are old, young, children, experienced or inexperienced – no matter where the person comes from, you must respect him and see him as one of your own.”

He also revealed that it is the Lord who owns everything including the land and he gives it as he wants it.

He further advised believers, especially ministers not to take anything that the Lord has not given to them. “If you take it, it will slip off from your hands and the consequences can be disastrous,” he pointed out.

PENTECOST NEWS.

The Goaso Area of The Church of Pentecost has launched the Pentecost Professional Guilds in the Area. The inauguration of the Professional Guilds which took place on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, was part of the church’s Vision 2023 overarching theme, “Possessing the Nations: Equipping the Church to Transform Every Sphere of Society with Values and Principles of the Kingdom of God.”

Addressing the participants on the topic, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it well,” Pastor Isaac Anane Yeboah of Sankore District urged them to demonstrate Christlike character in their workplaces without giving chance to any evil deeds from the kingdom of darkness.

Reading from Ecclesiastes 9:10 and 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, Pastor Yeboah admonished the participants to work with all their might; not to pretend to be working, do proper planning, acquire knowledge and apply wisdom in order to possess their fields of work.

According to him, the values and principles of the Kingdom of God enjoin Christians to be the light and salt of the world, imbued godly attributes such as integrity, love, patience, humility, hard work, and faithfulness. “We cannot transform the nations around us if we are not prepared to change the norms and face challenges,” he said, adding, “Transformation is targeting all weaknesses in the structures of the various institutions.”     

The Area Head, Apostle William Kojo Edzorhoho, who chaired the programme, asked professionals in the church to be light and salt in their respective professions, saying, “Christians, particularly The Church of Pentecost members should not continue to disappoint God at their workplaces.”

He implored the workers including ministers of the gospel to showcase godly attributes in their areas of specialization. He reminded the participants of the diverse challenges they are going to encounter in their effort to demonstrate Christlike attitudes in their workplaces. “Can we not get believers who can stand for Christ and mitigate the canker in our society?” he questioned.

The various guilds launched by the Area Head include Dressmakers, Drivers, Artisans, Health Workers, Education, Finance, Banking, Judiciary and Media.

Report by Overseer Benedict Ahiabu.

The La Area of The Church of Pentecost has granted scholarships totaling GH¢30,000.00 to six brilliant but needy students from various districts in the Area in Accra to pursue various courses at the Pentecost University (PU). 

The scholarship is for this academic year and renewable based on the performance of the students.                          

The six students made up of three young men and three ladies qualified for the scholarship based on their outstanding performance and meeting the requirements for the educational scholarship scheme of the church. The package covers their tuition, facility user fees, and accommodation, as well as SRC dues for their four years’ stay at the University.

The six will be pursuing courses in Nursing, Information Technology, Business Administration, and Physician Assistantship.

Presenting the letters of funding to the students, the La Area Head of the church, Apostle John Osei Amaniampong, cautioned them to eschew falling into bad companies, but rather associate with equally brilliant colleagues to improve upon their lives to ensure the continuous support by the church.

A parent of a beneficiary, Beatrice Toe, thanked the church for coming to the rescue of the students in their most difficult times.

Report by Peggy Ama Donkor.