By Kayode Afolabi
It was a celebration galore as Christ Apostolic Church, Mountain of Fulfillment, Owo celebrate her annual harvest thanksgiving on Sunday
The annual harvest thanksgiving service was graced by different Pastors from Owo and beyond
In his sermon, Pastor Sam ifeoluwa Eyinla while speaking with the children of God on the topic" Abundance in the midst of scarcity" admonished Christians to seek God's face during the time of scarcity
Below are the excerpt
That we are in a time of economic recession is no longer news, it has been declared officially in most countries of the world, Nigeria inclusive. We can read the pain written boldly on people’s faces, we can see people’s fears and confusion. Life is hard and resources are scarce.
WHAT IS RECCESSION
It is a temporary period of reduced business activity, a period of difficulty in which money is in short supply. It is a period when prices of things, especially essential commodities, go up indices of Recession Reduced financial resources, increase in the prices of commodities, demand is higher than supply, a high level of inflation, government’s inability to provide basic amenities for her citizens, such as water, electricity etc, loss of ernployment and increase in unemployment, stagnancy in education, health care and infrastructure.
Worthy of note is the fact that economic recession is not new or peculiar to us in the modern world. It happened in the Bible, in the time of our patriarchs of old, for example, in the time of Abraham (Gen. 12:10-20; 20}, Isaac (Gen. 26), Jacob (Gen.41:53ff, 43:1-2), David (2 Sam. 21:1), in Samaria in the day of Prophet Elisha (2 Kings 6:25).
But in the midst of all the scarcity, want and famine, God always supplied the needs of His people.
FACTS ABOUT THE TOPIC
1. God doesn’t just give us enough, He gives us more than enough — more bread and fish than we can eat, more love than we can dare to ask for.
2. We can enjoy God’s abundance no matter the economic climate of our environment.
3. It is not the will of God for us His children to suffer lack (Phil. 4:19). God wants us to have not just money but wealth (Deut. 8:18),
God wants us to enjoy abundance in the midst of scarcity Our economy as believer is not determined by the policies of any government or nation. It is determined from above (Psalm 121:1-2)
5. God provides most of the time, in a way we would never expect.
He fed Elijah through ravens (1 Kings 17:3-6) - Manna came down from heaven for the children of Israel (Exod. 16:35)
Jesus fed 5000 men with a lad’s 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fishes 6. The Bible is a story of abundance from Genesis to Revelation
7. We are serving a God who has abundance at His disposal,
8. One moment of experiencing a breakthrough from Gad will transform the darkness hour into the brightness moment’
9. Our God is a resourceful God.
REASONS FOR SCARCITY
Scarcity can come when: The heaven Is closed (1 Kings 17:1-7} We are disconnected from God. There is disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15ff) Failure to pay our tithes (Malachi 3:8-12) Laziness ignorance of the promises of God insensitivity to divine signals God is angry with us (2 Sam. 21:1ff) Divine curses . sin
STEPS TO EXPERIENCING ABUNDANCE IN THE MIDST OF SCARCITY
1. We must accept the word of God (Gen. 26:2). There Is power In the word of God to bring something out of nothing. When God speaks, something happens.
There was drought In the days of Elijah, but the word of the Lord came to Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-8). Ravens fed him, and later, the widow of Zarephath.
2. We must be diligent and thorough (Prov. 21:5, 22:29). To be diligent Is to be hardworking, industrious, putting care and effort Into what one does.
3. We must develop the capacity to hear God: Those who can hear from God will not go through what others go through.
Once you hear from God, whatever men say don’t matter to you anymore. Your capacity to hear from God will make you to escape scarcity
We must obey divine instructions (Gen. 26:2-3; Deut. 28:1-14)
We must stay in the land. Stay in God (Gen.26:2-3), Spiritually, to stay in the land is to remain In the Lord in the time of difficulties.
Don’t stray away from Him because you may not have the opportunity of returning. Your location determines your allocation.
6. We must keep sowing seeds (Gen. 26:12; Eccl. 11:1-6). By obeying the law of seed sowing, we can enjoy abundance in the time of scarcity. Mike Murdock says “if what you have is not enough for your harvest, make it a seed.” The season of failure Is the best time for sowing the seeds of success,”
HOW TO GET ABUNDANCE
Paying your tithe promptly and accurately (Malachi 3)
Partnering with the church of God. Be a partner with the church in kingdom project. The most fertile ground to sow seed Is the church of God,
Supporting the ministries of men of God {your pastor/Prophet)
Honouring your leaders and mentors
Taking care of your parents
Helping widows and orphans
"Assisting the poor and the needy We must get connected to heaven: Connection to heaven gives you access to God’s riches from anywhere you find yourself on earth. When you are connected, you cannot be Ilmited by the economy of your environment.
"We must be creative and have extraordinary wisdom: If you are still waiting for manna from heaven, you will starve to death.
"Don’t Just pray, use wisdom, skill, creativity. Isaac didn’t depend on the covenant of his father alone, he still planted. Be alive to your environment, use your brain.
"If people who are non-Christians are surviving in the time of scarcity, as Christians, we should survive better because we have the promise of our Father in Heaven (Gen. 26:2-3; Psalm 34:10; Matt. 28:20).
"We have the power (Deut. 8:18; John 1:2). We have divine wisdom (Phil. 4:12-13). Use all the above mentioned assets and you will have abundance in the time of scarcity.
Chairman and Chairperson at this year church harvest includes, Pastor Sam Ajayi, Deaconess Isaac Tapere, Elder Kingsley, Elder Olatunbosun David, Deaconess Osuporu.
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