Pastor Samuel O. Oladele
By 'Gbenga Bankole
As Christians across the globe commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the President of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Samuel O. Oladele has said anyone who claimed to love Jesus Christ must have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
He noted that Jesus Christ is more than what people call Him and until people recognize that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, they don't love Him.
Pastor Oladele stated this while ministering recently on the topic "Men’s revolt against the king" at the 2022 Christmas Carol organised by the church held at CAC All Saints' Chapel, CAC General Secretariat, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Taking his text from the book of 2nd Samuel 20:1-2, Pastor Oladele described how Absalom, the son David and Sheba revolted against him, which made David abdicate the throne in search of safety. He said the people refuse to honour and recognise the divinity in David.
The President said: “this is same way people of those time and now fail to recognise divinity in Jesus as Lord of lords as some called and ridiculed Him because He is son of a carpenter.
“But Jesus is divine because he came down from heaven to save humanity. We should see him as the head of rulers of the earth and we should recognize divinity in Him and hearken to His teachings.
“We should eschew excuses and obey his teachings just like God instructed when He was baptized by John the Baptist at the River Jordan,” he advised.
Citing the book of John chapter one, Pastor Oladele said; "the Jesus of Christmas whom we are celebrating has been there before the foundation of the earth was laid. He's God came down in human form. The God who condescended to the level of humanity. No ordinary person can lay claim to all what Christ said He is and despite this, the Jews revolted against Him like how Sheba revolted against David. The Jews never refer to Him as beloveth son of God. Today there is revolt raised against Jesus everywhere you go. Many people take Him as a religious leaders, a good man, a Prophet etc. Truly Jesus was a son of a carpenter, son of Mary, but above and beyond that He's the King of kings, the Lord of lords and Savior of mankind. There is no way you want to say you love Jesus without recognizing His divinity. Jesus Christ is more than what people call Him. Until we recognize that Jesus Christ was Lord in the flesh, we don't love Him. He's the answer to all questions of life. Once you recognize the divinity in Him it won't be difficult to submit yourself to His teaching. When you refuse, revolt will set in."
The Clergyman further said that; "many people dwell on the mistakes of the church as a reason for not accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They will tell you they know of Pastors who are homosexual. Some will say the Christians who they know are not behaving well. Anyone that is bent on resisting the Christ will never be in want to plausible excuse. The truth of the matter is that there could be homosexual pastors, false prophets, there could be those who mismanaged church fund, there could be moral failure on the path of the church, the question is that what had Christ done wrong? Christ went about doing good and there was no fault in Him. Nobody can convict Him of any sin. The Christ we are celebrating is the coming King who is coming to rule and reign in this world. Jerusalem will be the capital of His government and He's going to reign for 1000 years after which He will handover the kingdom to His father. Let the whole world come to Him. Stop your revolt. Stop your rebellion. Accept Him as savior and King of kings."