The Primate and Archbishop, Metropolitan of Anglican Church in Nigeria, Nicholas D. Okoh, has charged Christians in the Nigeria to brave up and go forward in the face of a myriad of temptations, persecution, challenges and trials going on in some parts of the country.
Speaking to over 6,000 delegates at this year 3rd edition of Divine Commonwealth Conference of the Anglican Church, holding at Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, Primate Okoh urged them to “to look forward to each new day with great anticipation”.
But sometimes he said “we are left with disillusionment”, which according to him, “tend to drain all our excitement and zeal but we must learn to apply faith to cross our red seas and pull down our Jericho walls for us to go forward and take possession of our promised land.”
Most Revd Okoh thanked the Lord Almighty for bringing the participants to the event, saying: “The theme of this year’s conference: ‘Go Forward’, has been prayerfully chosen to encourage Christians in the face of current difficult circumstances and seemingly insurmountable challenges daring our faith. This theme obviously is a follow-up of last year’s theme: ‘Contending for the Faith’.”
He said that the theme was taken from Exodus 14:15.
He asked rhetorically: “How can one go forward in the face of opposition and constant attack to the church?”
To this end, Okoh said: “We need to operate the kind of faith that Joshua and Caleb exhibited when they silenced the faithless people.
“We must adopt a no retreat and no surrender orientation in our walk with God so as to ‘Go Forward’, for with God on our side we are more than conquerors.
“It is our prayer that in this 2013 DIVCCON, God will give you a forward ever spirit for there are still very large areas of land to be taken over (Joshua 13:1). As you participate in this conference, it is our earnest prayer that the Lord will enlist you in His ‘forward going’ end time army.
“We are glad to bring to mind that we are already in the 3rd edition of DIVCCON. May the name of our Lord be praised. We are also pleased to note that there is increased participation, warmth and zeal in this conference as can be seen in the number of participants this year. We commend all our church fathers, provincial coordinators, members of the Central Steering Committee and various sub committees for good grass root mobilisation and a job generally well done.
“Our prayer is that we will all encounter the Lord Jesus Christ in this conference and so have an unforgettable experience that will bring a new dawn in our lives and endeavours. Let us be open to the Lord to receive what He has for us and He will not pass us by.”
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