It is another time for an awesome
encounter with God.
It pleases me to announce that
the theme for this year’s VBS is Faith and Obedience. I have particularly been
observing the dealings of the Lord with us in the years before. I have noticed
that God is very deliberate about this meeting.
The main purpose of having a
three-day meeting with young people then was that I wanted an atmosphere
whereby we could study the Bible together as young people and be blessed by the
Lord. God meant more!
AN ARROW FOR TOMORROW - 2016
In 2016, I cannot forget how
youths and children gathered together for three days of studying God’s word and
prayer. The theme then was ‘An arrow for tomorrow’. I still remember how Bro
Gideon taught on the altar of an arrow. Bro Paul too was inspired by the Holy
Spirit to minister to us on ‘Power for God’s arrows’. I will not forget the
labour of love of the trio – Biodun, Emma and Peter. We knew that God had great
plans for our future but that we must be made.
CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE - 2017
God is very orderly and
progressive in His ways with His people. I say this because in 2017, the Lord
led us to examine the matter of conforming to the image of His Son. It was a
further effort by the Lord in polishing and fashioning us to become like Jesus.
We knew that as much as the Lord is determined to transform the nations and
usher in a great move of God in these last days through young yet, He is not in
a hurry. Proper representation of God is imperative. A distorted display of the
personality of Christ is a great challenge to the advancement of the gospel
today. Conformity to this world’s system, men, traditions, philosophy and
scientific beliefs is not God’s will. We must be conformed to Christ.
In the course of the meeting, it
was clear that God wanted us to attain to the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ. Bro Ken helped much with the Bible Studies. The power of
God was at work. The Holy Spirit was present. Can I forget the music rendition
by Bro Nathan? No. No. Thank God for Sis Bukky for the review of the Bible
Study on the last day. Our hostel pastor (smiles, I still remember), Bro Femi reverberated
on the matter of our devotional life as the platform for becoming changed into
the image of Christ. Internet Apostle Sam also helped with the online
transmission. I also remember the session where we analyzed the cause of poor
performance among students.
The meeting ended with a charge
to ministers by Bro Taiwo. What a great moment before the Lord it was!
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2018’S EDITION
– FAITH AND OBEDIENCE
This year’s edition promises to
be greater! It will be a time of understanding the divine concepts of walking
in faith and obedience. There will be abundant grace to be obedient to the
apostolic faith. The greatest challenge of the times we live in is that there
is an abundance of spiritual information without corresponding life.
Mental knowledge of the Bible
without faith will still lead to disobedience. This is the reason for the gross
iniquity in our generation. We are trusting God for the power to not only know
and teach but also to do God’s word.
At this year’s VBS, we trust the
Lord to help us achieve a biblical balance on the subjects of faith and
obedience. Some folks clearly misunderstood the ‘Faith movement’ led by Kenneth
Hagin. For some people, it began by confessing their position in Christ. From
that point, sadly, it degenerated to faith without works of obedience.
Some believers who belonged to
the ‘Holiness movement’ led by John Wesley also gradually moved from sound
faith in Christ followed by good works to a system full of rules, tradition and
legalism as the basis for acceptance before God. We trust the Lord to grant us
spiritual understanding and give us the right balance in this meeting.
Furthermore, faith and obedience are two imperatives in
experiencing God’s blessings in our lives and becoming a channel of blessing
unto others. These two are very important in receiving blessing from the Lord.
Do you want to be an agent of revival?
I urge all students to make plans to be there as we will be
examining subjects that are very crucial to our development as young people. We
shall be treating the issue of having right relationships with people in our
lives as young people. We shall discuss academic issues and entrepreneurship
issues as well.
I also ask that parents should encourage their children to
attend. Schools that are also interested should make necessary plans as to how
they can participate in the programme.
The VBS is a 3-day programme that brings
together people (young people especially) for series of Bible teachings,
prayers and special programmes that are targeted towards their all-round
development. It is indeed a platform for spiritual refreshing and revival. In
this school, you will also secure an understanding of God’s definite agenda for
your life and you will be empowered to fulfill it.
No comments:
Post a Comment