On Saturday, 12th September, 2020, Lead Apostle Samuel Oppong-Brenya visited the Sefwi Karlo congregation of the Akomtombra District in the Wiawso Apostle Area of the New Apostolic Church, Ghana. This was his first visit to the Apostle Area in the year 2020 since restrictions were eased by the government of Ghana to curb the Convid-19 pandemic.
“My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, let us give thanks to the Lord Almighty as His children, for how far He has brought us. Quite a short time ago, it would not have been possible for us to meet as we have today. This pandemic has let us seen there is joy in the Lord” began Lead Apostle Samuel Oppong-Brenya as at Sefwi Karlo.
The text word for the service was taken from John 16:32, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me”.
Explaining the text word, the Lead Apostle remarked at how the disciples betrayed Jesus after His arrest, despite their initial vow to follow Him everywhere event to the point of death. “Brethren, are we also going to run away from the Lord because of wealth or hardship? Are we going to distance ourselves from God because of the COVID-19 pandemic? No. We have to stay glued to the Lord Almighty, irrespective of the situation we find ourselves.”
He continued, “The desire for wealth and good living can also distance us from Our Lord. Many a time, when our prayers to God are answered, we become self-conceited and lose our focus on God. We must be very careful of earthly things for these can cause great a gap between ourselves and the Lord Almighty”.
“Brethren, we should not be so comfortable and joyful of the life we are enjoying on this earth, but rather we should think of the eternal life God has promised us after death. Everything we are seeing here shall pass but the word of God stays forever” he continued.
Bringing his service to an end, the Lead Apostle Oppong-Brenya concluded, “The word of God is the food for the soul whereas bread and wine are food for the flesh. As we toil for food for the flesh, so should we also try to feed the soul with the Word of God.” He encouraged the congregation to remain in trust of the Almighty God and pray to Him in times of difficulties, for the Good Lord who was with the Israelites in the time of their troubles is still with us.
The Lead Apostle also thanked the congregation for adhering to the Covid-19 safety protocols ordered by the government.
The service was assisted by Apostle Edward Hayford Nzimah, District Elder Yaw Ennin, District Elder Addae and District Elder Bernasco. About 85 members attended the divine service.