God in Adversity- Pastor Sam Afolabi.

"It's not as if everything is bad when it comes to adversity. As far as children of God are concerned, at the end of every situation we face, our God will be glorified". Dripping in a grey suit with plaid shirt, Pastor Sam Afolabi mounted the pulpit of New Covenant Church of Iju, today 13th of September 2020 to teach on "God in Adversity".

Explaining how Adversity helps in toughening our characters to become stronger and better at the end of the day, Pastor Sam listed raw gold and diamond as examples that require hard refining to attain true value. Just like Paul in Acts 27, same goes for storms of life similar to the adversity faced by Job, whose wife even encouraged him to curse God and die.

Eccl. 11 vs 8-9 and 1Cor. 4 vs 16-18 discusses our attitude during diversity, and when everything seems to fall apart, God will be glorified at the end of the storm.

2Cor. 5 vs 1-4 also assures that God is always at our side in times of adversity and Pastor Sam shares facts from the Bible to support.

Matter of Prayers.
Prayer is like a telephone that allows us to commune with Christ. Sometimes our situations can be too overwhelming to pray but don't give up on God because doing so is an insult. So why not cultivate the habit of praying.

Give thanks always
Whenever people murmur and complain, it signals that they've given up on God. And Job Chapter 13 highlights Job's submission during his adversity, with Pastor Sam Afolabi advising the congregation never to follow counsels from the likes of Job's wife.

Allow Him to be Glorified & Honored
Isaiah 42 vs 8-9 helps us understand that God doesn't share his glory. When Daniel refused to worship a strange god, good things were said about the God of Daniel. Daniel 6 vs 24 shows that the king even testified to the glory of the God of Daniel.

Also the inspiring story of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego refusing to bow in Daniel3vs2 prompted Pastor Sam to ask "Will God be glorified in your current adversity", then he shared his personal experience of divine intervention concerning his rent, emphasizing on how the situation endured till "last moment" and added "Regardless of what adversity you're passing through or passed through, God will make things beautiful in His time"

Pastor Sam Afolabi interestingly rounded up today's teaching with "When God answers your prayers, He's increasing your faith but If God delays as sometimes would, He's increasing your hope in Him, with patience, character and definitely preparing something better for you"

So Note: heads or tails, Christians can never lose in times of adversity.

19th of September was announced as the date for Back To School Prayer- Seminar, which will focus on Life within the schools after resumption.
Time: 10am inside the Iju centre auditorium.

Midweek service continues: Friday Prayer Meetings and Tuesday Bible Study.