Obong Akpaekong
The General Overseer of Bible Standard Church, Pastor Umoh Ekwo, has told Christians how to tap God’s abundant blessings.
The Church Overseer lamented that there are many people who desire the blessings of God, yet they do not know how to go about them.
In his sermon entitled Instrument for Divine Release during a five-day Annual Convention of the church, Ekwo said people seeking the blessings of God must sometimes take certain actions that would move God to bless them.
Speaking on the theme Divine Release which ended on Monday at the Miracle Campground at Ndon Uruan, off Akwa Ibom Airport Road, Uyo, he listed the factors to include prayer, outstanding deeds, sacrificial giving, service in God’s vineyard, giving for God’s work and to man, paying of one’s tithe and covenanting with God,
Stating that many in the Bible took extraordinary steps to receive from God, he cited that at the yearly convention at Shiloh, barren Hannah went into profuse prayer and made a costly vow to God (1 Samuel 1:1-20).
“You may be having barrenness problem like Hannah. Your husband is not caring. Your marriage is not working. So is your business. It may be poor health. Use prayer to fix it.”
He said that the three-day prayer and fasting that Esther organized ended Haman’s plan to destroy the children of Israel, (Esther 3:8-9.) “When you feel helpless, God is there for you. Pray to God,” Ekwo said.
The man of God cited how King Solomon went the extra mile to sacrifice 1,000 animals and God responded by giving him wisdom and wealth (1 Kings 3: 3-5, 11-13).
He said that living in poverty was painful, making people get angry often and they beat their wives and children easily.
The man of God urged people to give wisely and reasonably, pointing out that prayer does not take the place of giving.
Specifically, he mentioned the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4) as another Bible example.
‘‘The woman and her husband loved God and served Him faithfully but they had no children. They accommodated and fed Prophet Elisha and God gave them a son. It was a great breakthrough.’’
Ekwo said that God does not only provide for His people rather He protects and fights for them.
He illustrated this with the Bible story in Joshua 10:11-14, where Joshua ordered the sun to stand still while God dropped hailstones to kill enemies of Israel – the Amorites.
The case of Maurice Edem, one of the pastors in his Mbiakot branch church in Uyo, which he shared with the people was also very touchy.
The clergyman recalled Edem’s testimony of a painful lump in the breast that was suspected to be cancer, saying Edem testified in church how he cried to God and was healed.
Pastor Ekwo told the convention participants to always go the extra mile in prayer and supplication to God, with sacrificial giving and service in God’s vineyard and they will receive God’s blessings.
Akpaekong is a veteran journalist
