1st Service: Communion Service (March 3rd, 2013)

March 3rd, 2013

Good morning, all! We hope you had a blessed, relaxing weekend. Welcome to another uplifting time in God's presence, this beautiful Sunday morning, a Communion Service.

 (LISTEN ONLINE OR DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO MESSAGE HERE)

The first service, which begins at 7:30 a.m., started with opening prayers led by Joseph. The first worship session followed, led by Paulnams with "Create in me a clean heart." After that, it was time for praise and Maryann led this part of the service with the song "Bless thy name." A different Maryann took over with "What a mighty God we serve," Ufuoma led the song "Victory is ours." The second worship session was led by Ada with "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord," and “Great are you, Lord.”

Pastor Dexter took over with announcements. He mentioned that at the end of the second service, there will be a benevolence/outreach trip to Okwe General Hospital, and all members; newcomers included were encouraged to join in that trip. Today is CITH (Church in the Home), it starts at 5 p.m., Kingdom Partnership Group members were encouraged to keep up with their commitments, the position for a church driver was announced as the previous driver was a corps member who passed out in February. Lastly, the congregation was informed of a new media/PR campaign launched by the church on Facebook and Blogspot; where live feeds, updates, and pictures are posted during the course of the service and shortly after service.

Next, it was time for “De Masterpiece” to minister to us, and they did with the song “More than we can bear,” led by Paulnams and Maryann.

It was finally time for the word to come to us through His servant, the host pastor of HOTR Asaba, Cosfinney N. Udoka. He was introduced to the congregation by Pastor Chikelu, the assistant pastor.

After Praying, he reminded us that the Lord is coming back very soon, and we should be careful how we live our lives. Our lives should be in order so that the Master will be pleased with us when he comes.

The message was titled: "The Wheat or the Tares?"

Matthew 13 vs 24-30

When we have our seeds, we should locate our field (s). It will not be wise or profitable to sow our seeds in someone else's field. Seeds grow, but tares appear. Even though the wheat and tares grow together, the good seed will always triumph, especially at the time of harvest.

Before he went further, a member was given the opportunity to share her testimony: She thanked God for the health of her son who had running nose and cough for a while.After the first communion service of the year, the running nose and cough dried up, only to start up again about two or three weeks later.However,to God's glory, he was completely healed sometime after the second communion service of the year.

Continuing with the message, everyone is created with a seed; some call it talent, some call it a gift. It doesn't matter where you come from, what your background is. The seed in you is good because everything the Lord made is good. When God made us, He made us kings and gave us the right to rule in our rightful domains and territories. That is why we can not sow our seed in another man's field. The part of Eden where God placed Adam (and Eve) is Havilah, the land of gold. God knows where the gold is and he places us there so we can enjoy the gold. The Kingdom of God is a collective system and as long as you're in the kingdom, something is happening in you and around you, even if your life doesn't seem to be making progress and it seems you are moving backwards.

We need rest, it is vital to us. If you must win, you need rest. Since the Lord neither sleeps nor slumbers, it is an abomination for us to keep awake and take God's place. The more we worry about issues, the more stressed we become. Worrying about issues does not change them or make them better. God knows about our burdens because He has permitted them; they come to Him before they get to us. He is working on our behalf, we need to have that assurance in our spirit, no matter what.

The enemy knows what kind of seeds we have; that is why he comes when we are resting. He is a coward, and he sows the tares at the time we are resting because he knows the harm we can cause to him if he comes when we are awake. He attacks when we least expect it, when our guards are down at the moment of rest.

That notwithstanding, there are some things God can not do when we are awake. Some of the greatest miracles happened when the people where asleep, remember Adam and Abraham? God visited them (with a life partner and a child) when they were asleep. Rest. Do not struggle the way other people are struggling, your Father is in charge. He is at the steering.

Wheat and Tares are similar. The word "Tares" comes from a Hebrew word, which means "Bastard Seed." A way to look at it is that they have the same mother, but different fathers. We should be careful of people like that, those who have the same mother (the church), but have different fathers, God.

Pastor Udoka concluded by pointing out that just like the sower in the Bible passage knew that it was better to allow both the wheat and tares to grow together because the wheat have the capability to withstand whatever the tares bring, so does God know that He has equipped us with the ability to withstand the sorrows and pressures of any tares present in our lives. He has put good seeds in us and He will seperate the wheat from the tares on the day of harvest.

After the  prayer, the communion was shared among the congregation, while "De Masterpiece" sang "This is my body."

The communion was taken by the church only after the last person had received the bread and wine, newcomers were welcome, and the closing prayers and benediction were said.

LISTEN ONLINE OR DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO MESSAGE HERE