Ministers of The Church of Pentecost have been admonished to assimilate the church’s 2022 theme by absorbing, teaching, and living by it.
Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, made the call on Wednesday while speaking to ministers and their wives in the Eastern Region at the Koforidua Central Tabernacle as part of the Eastern Regional Ministers and Wives’ Conference.
The General Secretary believes that if ministers own and teach the theme at the local level, members would be better positioned to make a positive impact in society.
The Church of Pentecost’s theme for this year: “Equipping the Church As An Army to Possess the Nations,” among other things, seeks to fully equip members with Kingdom values and principles in order for them to possess their spheres of life with godly lifestyles.
The thematic areas are as follows: The Church As An Equipping Centre In Carrying The Possessing The Nations Agenda, Mobilising The Squads For Effective Impact In The World, The Power Of Faith For Possessing The Nations, Righteousness: The Authority Of The Kingdom, Equipping The Church With The Word Of God As The Sword Of The Spirit, Equipping The Church To Put On The Belt Of Truth, The New Creation And The Possessing The Nations Agenda, The Power Of The Gospel Of Salvation, and The Ministry Of Intercessory Prayer.
Speaking on the topic: “Righteousness, the Authority of the Kingdom,” Apostle Kumi-Larbi emphasised the importance of Christians pursuing righteousness, indicating that in God’s Kingdom, righteousness is the believer’s authority. He explained that believers have no power without righteousness, saying, “If we want the church to have power, our moral standards must be high.”
According to the General Secretary, believers are expected to live lives that conform to God’s will, mercy, and justice because they are in constant relationship with God.
“We can only exercise spiritual and moral authority to correct the world’s injustices and cruelty when we live in godliness.”
Using Proverbs 14:34, Romans 14:17, and Hebrews 1:8-9 as his key scripture readings, he opined that Christians will be able to do effective Kingdom business when they stand right, by separating themselves from the way the world does things.
He defined righteousness as “morally justifiable or righteous behaviour before God.” Such behavior, he noted, is characterised by accepted moral, justice, virtue, or uprightness standards.
According to Apostle Kumi-Larbi, righteousness validates believers’ authority as children of God’s Kingdom and as a militant church operating on Earth.
Reading from Ephesians 6:14, he urged believers to put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect their hearts from the devil’s schemes, adding that, wearing the breastplate of righteousness is the only way to protect one’s heart from sin.
“The breastplate of righteousness represents moral character, which serves as a defense for believers and keeps their hearts from sin,” he emphasized.
According to him, the spirit of the year’s theme is not about listing God’s armours as stated in the book of Ephesians, but about how believers should live their lives.
In order to put on the breastplate of righteousness, he charged believers to guard their hearts against all evil (Proverbs 4:23) and to be determined not to harbour any evil in their hearts.
According to Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, in order to influence every sphere of society with Kingdom of God values and principles such as goodness, mercy, justice, and sincerity, Christians should model lives of righteousness as breastplate, disclosing that it is a defensive armour that cannot be hidden.
PENTECOST NEWS.
