Pastor Inyang Okutinyang took to the lectern as the third speaker for the afternoon sessions on day 7. The title of his message was, When Things Go From Bad To Worse. He commenced the session with prayer and the confession about the Word of God and taking a stand as a blessing to the church, community and family.
If the Word of God is kept simple the way it is, it will always work. However complicating it is akin to using diesel for a petrol engine…it will eventually break down.
Mark 9:17-23
With the scripture in Mark 9 as an example, Pastor Inyang pointed out that the emphasis should not be placed on the power but on the individual’s belief i.e. we receive from God on the basis of faith and not on what He can do.
He said the hardest thing for people is to believe their own words, not the Word of God. If people believed their words there would be less divorce, since pronouncing, “I do, until death do us part,” means I will rather die than be out of this relationship.
Mark 5:21 – 40,
Making reference to Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood, Pastor Okutinyang taught that there are fundamental spiritual/kingdom rights as there are fundamental human rights. These fundamental spiritual rights can be banked on and used to initiate things. This is what the woman with the issue of blood did, in spite of Jairus being a ruler in the synagogue that could have seen her punished for being unclean. Taking a risk with her faith she stepped out. Sometimes we need our faith to be challenged rather than looking for ideal conditions before putting it to work.
There is something definite about faith, it is not about trying something out. In verse 30, Jesus acknowledged the touch of faith and not one of curiosity. In verse 32, Jesus placed emphasis on her faith and not His power. Believers are to put responsibility on their faith in the Word of God by attending to it, inclining their ears, keeping it in their heart and not letting it depart from their eyes.
Pastor Inyang pointed out that in verse 35 when Jairus’s daughter was pronounced dead, things went from bad to worse. In such a situation these are the things one should do;
In rounding up, Pastor Okutinyang reminded the house that faith is not required for what can be seen or perceived, but faith is needed for that which cannot be not seen or perceived.
The only evidence to belief is the Word of God. If you can see it you don’t need to believe it.
We are believers by nature!
Faith can eventually become a stronghold.
The Word works, when you do your part there’s nothing the Holy Spirit cannot do.