The Sunyani Area Head and Executive Council Member of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Mark Obeng Andoh, on behalf of the Chairman of the Church, Apostle Prof. Opoku Onyinah, has dedicated the Yamfo District Mission House.
The construction of the 10-bedroom apartment was started in 2006 under the leadership of Pastor Kofi Anyane Asare (then District Minister) and Prophet James Osei Amaniampong, the then Sunyani Area Head.
Preaching the sermon on the topic, “The Unwavering Faith,” Apostle Mark Obeng Andoh mentioned that the many challenges that Christians face today make it difficult for some Christians to trust God. He said the problems pose a potential threat to the faith of believers.
The Area Head mentioned four types of faith that people demonstrate. These are: natural faith, head/intellectual faith, saving faith and gift faith.
The combination of saving faith and the gift faith makes the Christian successful, he said. According to him, sometimes people compromise because of lack of faith.
Quoting from Hebrews 11:1, he explained that without faith the Christian life would be full of hypocrisy. “By this faith our forbearers received a good report,” he added.
The Area Head used blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10: 46-52 as a case study to expound the need for an unwavering faith. “Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing and was determined to have an encounter with the Messiah, the Jesus he had heard about for a long while. Persistently, he whined despising all the obstacles to catch the attention of Jesus.
“The mention of ‘Raboni’ by the blind man was an indication that he had heard about Jesus Christ and His healing power. For him, he believed that Jesus is able to restore his sight, while those who had eyes only saw many people gathered around Jesus,” he said.
Apostle Andoh noted that there are certain things he termed as ‘destructions’ which fight against the faith of believers. Amongst them are the words we hear, what we read, other people’s experiences, etc.
He added that God has not said anything evil about an individual. It is rather Satan who whispers negative thoughts and evil into people’s minds just to distract their focus on Christ.
In an address, the Chief of Susuanso, Nana Obrempong Antwi Tabiri II, was of full praise to God to have been part of the programme, which he described as historic.
He advised Christians to make Christianity more practical than theory by putting into action what the scripture instructs them. The traditional leader expressed concern about the rise in crime in the Ghanaian society even though Christians constitute about 70% of the population.
He entreated Christians to hold unto the teachings of the Bible as preached by the ministers of the gospel.
Report by Pastor Cornelius Edem Lotsu, Sunyani
