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| Pastor Samuel O. Oladele |
By 'Gbenga Bankole
The President of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Samuel O. Oladele has charged members of the church across the globe to live according to the doctrine of the church, not just to mouth it, but live it to the letter.
He noted that when the Lord Jesus Christ called His followers 'Light' and 'Salt' in Matthew chapter 5, He means that we are to be the standard by which righteousness is measured because our lives are the Bible which the world is reading.
Pastor Oladele, ably represented by his Special Assistant, Pastor T.D. Asokeji said this at the just concluded 2023 International Music Ministers' Conference held at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State.
According to him, as Christians, we must prove that we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, (our) patience, and (our) kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power.
He stated that the theme of the church for this year is "Proving our Growth through Sound Doctrine" ( 2 Timothy 2:15), explaining that: "doctrine consists of what we believe in and stand for; the value that we hold dear. The Scripture from which the theme was drawn is quite instructive. There, the Apostle Paul was advising Timothy, his mentee and bishop of Ephesus, as well as other believers, to be deliberate about what knowledge they acquire, bearing in mind that as 'gifts from the Lord to the Church, we are to nurture the body of Christ in such a way that every believer will grow to the same level as the minister and be able to stand their ground against every wind of doctrine."
Pastor Oladele told the music ministers they should know that they are God's servants providing services to His people - the blood-bought Church of Christ, adding that the Lord expects us to function as 'Servers', not 'Chefs'.
"We are to serve what He prepares and provides. Like Paul, we must always ask, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' (Acts 9:6). There are many ministers today whose pots CONTAIN DEATH because of their poor, unsound, adulterated, unscriptural, corrupted doctrine. We must avoid 'death in the pot' by serving the meal which God prepares for His people and not our concoction. We are to be deliberate, direct, and diligent in getting the right knowledge of/from God that will equip us to 'rightly divide' The Word of Truth.
"First Timothy chapter four talks about the Great Apostasy when some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. We are in such times when the aforementioned and more despicable acts are committed even in the Church, especially in the music space. However, you are called and charged to be different by paying close attention to your life and what you teach or model. You are the book that the (people of the) world read (1st Timothy 4:16)," he stated.
Quoting 2nd Peter chapter 5 verse 1 to 5, the President implored the music ministers to acquire virtue, knowledge,self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly-kindness and love.