Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41. I decided to tackle the effect of our lack of watching and that leads us to fall into temptations. I gave them facts on temptation and how to overcome temptations!
The Art of Ministry conference has been held in Accra Ghana by Bishop Edwin Morgan Ogoe.
A medical doctor -turned preacher is the host of the conference dedicated to teaching shepherds or pastors.
This year’s conference saw many pastors from different denominations sitting down to be taught the rudiments of the shepherding work.
Pastor Dr Buertey made this call during a one-day retreat organised by the Shalom Worship Centre Friends of Missions, on Tuesday, March 7, 2018, at the Aburi Botanical Gardens as part of the 2018 Missions Week Celebrations.
The Friends of Missions is a group of believers in the Worship Centre who make monthly contributions to support the work of the Missions Directorate of The Church of Pentecost. The amount they contribute is used to complement the Missions Offering received from members during Sunday Communion Services.
Speaking at the retreat, Ps Dr Joseph Buertey, who doubles as the Projects, Development and Estate Manager at Church’s Headquarters in Accra, painstakingly narrated the history of The Church of Pentecost to the members which special emphasis on the Church’s involvement in Missions Work since the 1930s. He noted that the Missions Week has been set aside to commemorate the missionary work of Pastor James and Sophia McKeown in Ghana, which gave birth to The Church of Pentecost.
He began by taking participants through the call of the McKeowns to Missions, their acceptance to the call and the impact of their work in the then Gold Coast.
In his presentation, Pastor Dr Buertey brought to light some of the major challenges the McKeowns faced and the sacrifices they had to make to ensure that The Church of Pentecost was established.
“Pastor James McKeown lived in a compound house with their Landlord and his family. They ate local food, drank local water and mingled with the people he came to minister the gospel to,” he said.
According to the Resident Minister, these acts of Pastor McKeown and his wife, Sophia, endeared them to the people. This, he said, went a long way to make the gospel very practicable to the people.
The event was attended by Apostle Professor Peter Ohene Kyei (Winneba Area Head), Apostle Emmanuel Offei Ankra Badu (PEMEM Director), Apostle David Nyansah Hayfron (Youth Director), Apostle CSP James Tetteh (Chaplain General, Ghana Prisons Service)
Also in attendance were Pastor Ohene Asa-Otu (Deputy Evangelism Director), Pastor Isaac Annor (Publications Officer), and Mrs Gina Asante (Content Manager, Pent TV), among others.
Reviewing the book, Apostle Prof. Ohene Kyei, described the book as a powerful and timely one, as it brings to the fore the importance and benefits of boldly proclaiming the word of God as believers.
“In this book, Apostle Amos Jimmy Markin, who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and has committed his life to the service of the Lord since his youthful days, gives us a call to action. He recognizes that words are very important and each word one speaks has tremendous significance and consequences on his or her life. God created this world by the power of His word and sustains His creation by His word which is reliable and cannot be broken, “he said.
He noted that the power in the word of God is not only limited to the written form but the spoken word is equally powerful, saying that “We are instructed as believers to speak His word, for it is a great weapon and strength to every believer.”
He mentioned Jesus Christ, David and Caleb and Joshua as examples of people who proclaimed the word of God to victory and urged believers to imitate them.
The dedication service coincided with the Chairman’s 3-day working visit to the Koforidua Area. He was assisted by the Koforidua Area Head and Executive Council Member of the Church, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, as well as the pastorate of the Area and their wives.
Present at the event were: Apostle Anthony Kingsley Miah (Berekum Area Head and immediate-past Koforidua Area Head), Apostle Daniel Yeboah Nsaful (Effiduase Area Head), Pastor Ebenezer Amartey Ahuakese (Resident Minister, Evangel Worship Centre in the Teshie-Nungua Area), Mrs. Grace Opoku Onyinah (Wife of the Chairman), Mrs. Mary Nyamekye (Wife of the Koforidua Area Head) and Mrs. Rebecca Ahuakese (Wife of Pastor Ahuakese) as well as some representatives of the New Juaben Traditional Area and the New Juaben Municipal Assembly.
Delivering the sermon titled, “The Church In Smyrna” at the service, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah highlighted some of the lessons that could be learned from the Smyrna Church in Revelations 2:7-11
He explained that the Smyrna Church was one of the six churches (Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) in the Book of Revelations that the Lord wrote to. He explained that the pattern of the letters was such that it began with commendation of the church, condemnation of their wrongs, and then ended with words of encouragement.
He, however, noted the Smyrna Church was the only church that did not receive any condemnation. This, according to Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah, showed that the church was one of very high standing before the Lord.
The decision to put up a permanent place of worship for the Koforidua District Central Assembly was envisioned by Apostle Opoku Onyinah as far back as 1989 with the late Pastor Sintim Koree as the District Minister, but due to the exigency at the time, coupled with the dire need to get a bigger place to accommodate the ever-growing assembly, a decision was taken to construct a wooden structure instead, so that work on it could be expedited to ensure an early completion to house the church temporarily until a permanent building was built. On completion, it was christened “The Central Tabernacle” by Apostle Opoku Onyinah. The Central Tabernacle hosted some General Council Meetings of the Church including the 1998 General Council Meeting which saw Apostle Dr Michael Kwabena Ntumy elected as the 3rd Chairman of the Church.
In 2002, the then Area Head, the late Apostle Onyame Tsease, assisted by Pastor George Yaw Asiedu cut the sod for the commencement of the permanent place of worship.
Since then, successive Area Heads and Pastors including Prophet Ebenezer Appiah Agyekum, Apostle Anthony Kingsley Miah and Pastors Samuel Tetteh Doku, Edmond Yorke Sackey and Akwasi Amo Afropong played very roles till its successful completion 16 years later under the leadership of Apostle Eric Nyamekye as Area Head and Pastor Akwasi Amo Afropong as District Minister.
The Central Tabernacle was constructed at a total cost of GH¢1,480,120.73
According to her, she grew up in the Apostolic Church from her infancy and later got married. She gave birth to three children but none of them survived. She became desperate and started seeking help from other sources for the fruit of the womb. In her search for a solution to her problem, a friend wrongly advised her to join the Nankaba church for protection and a solution to her problem.
As part of her initiation into the Nankaba priesthood, a white cross was erected in the middle of her house and other rituals were also performed in addition. As part of her duties, she attended to sick people, revoked curses, and foretold people’s fate which fetched her a lot of money.
Auntie Veronica lamented how she spent her money on an incurable sickness which she believed was inflicted on her by the deities. The sickness started afflicting her after a misunderstanding arose among the company of the Nankaba priestesses. The sickness kept tormenting her until she made a solemn decision to seek the face of Christ for divine healing.
She expressed her joy when she was confronted by Pastor Solomon Yennumi Dong (the District Minister) and two of his officers, Elders James Ackon and Ambrose E. E. Mends. She quickly accepted Christ as her Lord and personal Saviour and handed over the following items to be burnt: incense, candles, Sixth and Seventh books of Moses, red and white linens, bottles buried at the four gates of the house with concocted water, a white concrete cross among others.
The district pastor and his team prayed for her and burnt the items. Miraculously, she received instant healing after the prayers. She was baptised and has since become a full member of The Church of Pentecost. She is forever grateful to God for securing her total liberty.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi made this passionate appeal when he fellowshipped with members of the Santasi District, Kwadaso Area at the just-ended Area Apostolistation. He spoke on the sub-topic: “Be Ware Of (Shun) Unsound Doctrine“ as part of his series on: “Upholding Sound Doctrine.”
The General Secretary defined false doctrine as a teaching that opposes some fundamental truth or any teaching that refutes any biblical truth that is necessary for salvation.
He noted that teachings that erase the idea of hell and denies the truth about eternal damnation (Revelation 20:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:8), teachings that claim Jesus is not the only way to God but proposes that there are “many paths to God” (Jeremiah 12:17; John 3:15–18), as well as teachings that deny the deity of Jesus Christ, are all false because they directly contradict Jesus’ words.
The true gospel, he explained, is a simple message that underscores the need for every human being to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal saviour in order to be saved and escape eternal damnation.
“The basic gospel message is ‘I am a sinner, and if I die in my sins, I will go to Hell. However, God loves me and sent His Son, the Lord Jesus into the world. Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead. If I place my faith in Him, then I can and will be eternally saved,’” he said.
“When sound doctrine does not form the basis for one’s faith, the door is left wide opened for the pied pipers of false teachings to lure one away to ‘another faith’ and ‘another Jesus,” he said.
The General Secretary said that those who fall victim to such false teachings are believers who have no proper foundation in the Christian doctrine, and are easily swayed away by persuasions of false teachers because they are unable to discern the truth from falsehood.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi, therefore, called on Christians to commit to studying the word of God and to be firmly rooted in the Christian faith so that they do not fall prey to the antics of false teachers. He also advised them to be vigilant so as to distinguish between the truth and false doctrines.
The Wassa Akoreso Assembly Church building in Wassa Saa District of The Church of Pentecost has been dedicated by the Dunkwa Area Head, Apostle John Osei Amaniampong, assisted by the District Minister, Pastor Benjamin Kufordjie, and the pastorate in the Area.
The event took place on Thursday, 22nd February, 2018. The total cost of the building was GH¢60,848.00 and it was funded by grants from the Area, the district and offerings from the local assembly.
The foundation stone was laid on 9th May, 2017 by the Area Head, Apostle Osei Amaniampong.
In a sermon, Pastor Sampson Dzefe of the Twifo Agona District urged believers to bear fruit for the kingdom. Quoting from John 15: 1-6 and preaching on the topic, “Remain in Christ and Bear Fruit,” he said God’s desire for mankind is to bear fruit.
According to him, during creation God told man to be fruitful and multiply. “God wanted man to bear fruit spiritually, financially and physically,” he said, adding, “Christians are called to bear fruits for God, but most believers cannot bear fruit because they don’t remain in Christ.”
Quoting from John 15: 4, he said Jesus is the source of fruitfulness and God is expecting believers to bear the fruit of righteousness, fruit of the Spirit and bring the lost to Christ.
Pastor Dzefe explained that fruitfulness comes with pruning. He therefore admonished Christians to allow themselves to be pruned through the word of God under the tutelage of God’s ministers.
He encouraged Christians to deal with the flesh and put away the old nature and not conform to the patterns of the world (John 12:24). He also charged believers to maintain contact with the Holy Spirit.
Climaxing the week, the Resident Minister, Pastor Kwabena Darko-Mensah, who also doubles as the Area Youth Pastor, gave a sermon on the topic: “Remain in the Spirit.”
He revealed the three spirits which existed during creation: the Spirit of God that hovers upon the earth; the created spirit (Lucifer) that got corrupted through sin and man’s corrupted spirit.
“Man died after coming in contact with other corrupted spirit and, therefore, became flesh,” he stated. He encouraged Christians to dwell and remain in the original spirit of God.
Touching on the differences between the flesh and the spirit, the resident minister said the flesh is visible and tangible whilst the spirit is invisible and intangible.
“The flesh struggles with faith and do not believe the things of the spirit and cannot please God- Hebrews 11:6,” he pointed out.
According to him, Christians living in the flesh live on the bases of carnality, because the flesh believes in temporal things whilst the spirit believes in eternal things (2 Corinthians 4:18).
He encouraged the congregation to live with heavenly mindset and seek God’s things first.
Ministering the Word of God on the theme, “Remain In Christ,” at the service, the Bampenase District Minister, Pastor Mathias N. Bogolo, advised believers to abide in Christ and His simplicity lifestyle. “To remain in Christ simply means acknowledging Jesus as your personal Lord, Saviour, King and the Son of God. It is also about keeping the Word of God and doing what He wills,” he explained through 1 John 4:15.
Apostle Samuel Osei Asante, on his part, assured the assembly of his commitment to ensuring the early completion of the project. He personally pledged GH¢15,000 to support the project.
The Area Head was impressed with the work done so far. The District Minister, Pastor Jerry Kusi Acquah, on behalf of the district extended their appreciation to the Area Head for the support.
The Mt. Zion assembly started at the house of one Elder Zacharias at Mamponteng during the time of Pastor Samuel Owiredu. They later moved to a temporal structure which was demolished to give way for the new building.
Present at the service were some ministers and their wives in the Area.
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