The outgoing President of The Church of Pentecost in Cote d’Ivoire, Apostle Sidiki Traore, has asserted that remaining in Christ is a sure way of transforming one’s character and ministry.
According to him, Christians will take on the glorious image of Christ when they remain in Him and His word as the Adamic [sinful] nature is crucified.
Apostle Sidiki Traore said this in a sermon at the Heads’ Meeting on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, ahead of the 43rd General Council Meeting at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh, near Kasoa in the Central Region.
Speaking on the topic, “Remaining in Christ: God’s Set Norm for a Perfect Christian Living” taken from John 15:1-11, he indicated that for the Adamic nature to be broken to pave way for transformation in character and ministry, one needs to remain absolutely in Christ and His basic message.
Quoting from 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Romans 8:29, the outgoing President who has led the Church for 22 years in the Ivory Coast, asked believers to endeavour to look like Christ in character and behaviour, saying, “In heaven we will be like Him and we must try to look like Him here on earth.”
He also said that Christians receive the thoughts of God when they remain in Him. This, he said, will positively affect the decisions they take for their families, church and their nations. “If you want to know the mind of God you must enter into the council of the Lord. If we all have the mind of God our work will be easier,” he added.
He explained that every believer is expected by God to live a perfect Christian life. He stressed that the basic principle is to remain in Christ because without Him life would not have any meaning.
“By remaining in Him our lives have a full meaning and His perfect plan for our lives will definitely come to pass.
“Remaining in Christ is to be in a perfect communion with Him, so we become one with Him. He [God] can then take full possession of us. Without Him, we don’t have life in ourselves. Christ is life. He is the purpose for our lives. Without Him, we can’t do anything and we are nothing,” he stressed.
Apostle Sidiki Traore noted that without Christ, no one can bear fruit, saying, “Our lives can be productive only when we remain in Christ. Our ministries will be fruitful only if we remain in Him. If we don’t remain in him, we will dry up.”
He posited that it is only in Christ that believers are justified because He is their justification, sanctification and holiness.
According to him, many prayers are not heard by God because the people do not remain in Christ since no one can receive anything if the person does not remain in the principles of Christ. “The solution to everything we need is found in Christ,” he indicated.
He also said by remaining in the Lord, Christians receive His life. “We receive a divine life that flows like a river in our lives. When this living water flows in the minister, life will also flow in him; death gives way to life, sickness give way to health, and revival takes the place of spiritual sleep,” he said.
“We also discover what we are in Christ when we remain in Him. We discover our capacities, our ability to work and giftings as we are set apart by the Lord for a special work. We become vessels of honour for the accomplishment of the great things the Lord has set to do,” he pointed out.
Apostle Sidiki Traore further said remaining in Christ gives security to the believer as all fears go away. “We are in a place where there is nothing to fear about,” he stated.
“When we remain in Christ we become His property. We don’t live for ourselves anymore but we live for the One who has called us. It is no more our desires but the will of the One who has called us. What we should desire is to live for the Lord and we will affect our generation.
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