The Tamale Area Head of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle John Budu Kobina Tawiah, has admonished Christians to live a life that reflects the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Speaking during the climax of this year’s Easter Convention for districts within the Tamale Metropolis on the theme, ‘Living The Resurrected Life,’ he opined that the daily live of the Christian can be lived more meaningfully through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.
According to Apostle Tawiah, believers who are in Christ have also died to sin, hence their lives must reflect the character of Christ. He stated that the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the Holy Spirit who lives in believers, and that He quickens believers’ mortal bodies and makes them alive for good works (Romans 8:11).
‘With the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we carry God’s power which makes us fearless when we confront evil powers,’ he said.
He indicated that living the resurrected life introduces two things to the believer. The first, he siad, is the power of transformation. This power transforms people from sinful lives to become instruments in God’s hands for good works. Citing the woman of Samaria from John chapter 4, Apostle Tawiah stated that the people in her community saw a changed life, which is why they followed her to see Jesus as she testified about Him.
‘Our resurrected lives will attract people to Christ,’ he stated, adding that no human system can effectively deal with sin except Jesus Christ living in them. He urged believers to back their service to God with their character, something made possible when they empty themselves of their human agenda and follow God’s agenda (Romans 8:12-14).
Apostle Tawiah advised Christians to let people know their identity as Christians wherever they find themselves. He went further to say that people say evil things about the church in Ghana because many Christians are not living the true Christian life.
Reading from Galatians 2:19-20, he mentioned that Christians do not have a righteousness of their own but one conferred on them through Christ – the imputed righteousness (Philippians 3:19-20), which is a direct product of the resurrection. This confers a life of holiness and pure conscience unto the believer.
He explained that the transformation is through an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works on believers by prompting them when sin enters their lives. It is important to be responsive to such promptings, repent when one is convicted, and go on to repair their relationship with God. According to him, such promptings come through the study and hearing of the word of God and other forms of communication, saying, ‘It is the responsibility of the believer to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He works on him or her’ (1 John 2:27).
Secondly, he advised that believers should be intentional towards living the resurrected life.
‘As recorded in Colossians 3:1-4, we should think and behave with heaven on our minds. We should make every effort to live as resurrected Christians,’ he said, adding, ‘Let heaven fill your mind and do not be greedy for the things of the world, for you have an integrity to protect as a believer. We should therefore make every effort to reflect our new character as those who have died, been buried, and resurrected with Christ. Sin should not have dominion over us.’ (Romans 6:1-14)
Ending his message, Apostle Tawiah urged Christians to endeavour to live a resurrected and new life to make a difference in their communities. The occasion was graced with the presence of some chiefs and heads of security agencies in the Northern Region.
Report by Tamale Area Media Team
