The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye took part in the inter-denominational church service of inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison on Sunday, July 21, 2019.
The Chairman, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Mary Nyamekye, was joined by a host of ministers of The Church of Pentecost including Apostles Samuel Osei Asante (Executive Council Member and Koforidua Area Head), David Tekper (Executive Council Member and Achimota Area Head), Dr. Jimmy Markin (Director, Evangelism Ministry), David Nyansah Hayfron (Director, Youth Ministry), and Pastor Dr. Nicholas Darko (Finance and Administration Director), among others.
Also present at the service were some high profile officials of the Ghana Prisons Service including Mr. Patrick Darko Missah (Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service), Apostle James Tetteh (Assistant Director of the Ghana Prisons Service), Rev. Fr. CSP Martin Padi and Rev. DSP Stella Ama Katso, among others.
Delivering a sermon on the topic: “The Heart Of A Man,” Apostle Eric Nyamekye explained that human beings are complex beings because they are created in the image of an “undefined” God. He also pointed out that just like the triune God, human beings are also tripartite beings, comprising of a Spirit, Soul and Body.
“The human being is a spirit, has a soul (the mind, will and emotions), and lives in a body. For this reason, the human being is not just his or her body, rather the body only expresses what the soul and spirit is. The Soul and Spirit of a man is what the Bible sometimes refers to as the heart. The heart can, therefore, be termed as the inner man,” he said.
Reading from Matthew 12:35, the Chairman noted that a good or evil person cannot be determined by his or her outward appearance, but by the condition or state of the person’s heart. He added that it is what is stored up in the heart that is expressed by the body through its actions.
According to the Chairman, as a person journeys through life, his or her heart stores up new things emanating from their interactions and engagements with people and things around them. “The heart is always storing up new things, we store things from our parents, peers, school, the things we read, what we look at, etc, and as we store these things, whether good or bad, it is expressed through our actions” he said.
Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, stressed that it is important for one to regularly conduct a self-assessment of themselves to know the true state or condition of their heart. This is because the human being is sometimes able to separate his or her actions from what is within. That is, a person could put on a smiling face, yet within, he or she may be unhappy.
Expounding further, the Chairman revealed that bitterness is the most dangerous malady of the heart, which if not dealt with, would cause severe damage to the individual and those around them.
Touching on the symptoms of a bitter heart, he observed that bitter people are vengeful and are always looking for an opportunity to retaliate a wrong done to them; as a result, they are always full of anger.
“Bitter people are also unforgiving and always keep records of the wrong done to them. They also have a callous heart and do not think about the consequences of their actions,” he said.
Apostle Eric Nyamekye also mentioned, Hypertension, bodily pains, High Blood Pressure and sleeplessness as some of the physical effects of bitterness to an individual.
Citing the beheading of John the Baptist in Mark 4:21-28 to buttress his point, the Chairman stated that Queen Herodias’ hatred for John Baptist, caused her to advise her daughter Salome to demand for the head of John Baptist, when the King had promised to even give them half of his kingdom at their request. The Chairman explained that the embittered Queen had been looking for an opportunity to have John the Baptist killed and saw her daughter’s request as an opportune time to strike.
“At the banquet, Queen Herodias may have appeared well dressed and looked very beautiful on the outside, however, on the inside she possessed the heart of a murderer,” he said.
He, therefore, reiterated that it is the inner man (heart) that defines who a person is and not their body or outward appearance, stressing that “this is why Jesus Christ is after the heart of a man.”
Apostle Eric Nyamekye, therefore, urged the inmates to rid themselves of any wrong that others may have done to them and look forward to a better and brighter tomorrow. He said that when they let go of any grudge they are nursing, they would, in turn, experience times of refreshing from God (Hebrews 12:15).
The Chairman also encouraged them to stop living in the past and rather embrace the future ahead of them.
“You cannot continue to live in the past, we have tomorrow to live for. What has happened is in the past, let us continue to be hopeful and expect a better future,” he advised.
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