05/08/2024
Christians have been urged to avoid establishing factions and groupings in their religious journey with the Lord here on earth. This was contained in a sermon delivered by the North Suntreso District Minister of the Church of Pentecost, Kumasi, Pastor Gyasi Benson, on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at North Suntreso Central Assembly.
Speaking on the theme,” Do Not Rebuild The Wall Of Hostility”, the Reverend Minister explained that the early “believers were together and had everything in common” which made them do what they were able to do- establishing the churches in fallow lands. “Every day, they continued meeting together in the temple courts, broke bread in their homes and ate together in sincere hearts, praising God, and enjoying favour of all the people “.
Taking his main texts from Ephesians 2:14, Acts 2:44,46-47, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 and Galatians 2:11-18, Pastor Benson said that hostilities in the church were warfare, conflict, strife and enmity against the foundations of the church which Jesus Christ Himself had destroyed - mainly between the Jews and the Gentiles, masters and slaves, the clean and unclean, the ceremonial law - especially circumcision, mode of worship and the law of offering- with force through the Cross.
Pastor Gyasi Benson, who doubles as Bompata Area Secretary, compared the creation of divisions among believers today to what persisted among the Jews, Pharisees and the Sadducees. “Today, our divisions are based on tribalism, ethnicity, partisan politics, personality cults, and other divisive groups. How can a believer deny their wards from marrying from other tribes, and still states they hold on to the faith “? He quizzed.
Pastor Benson posited that it becomes worrying when church members build hostility towards leadership, some officers against elders and some elders against presiding elder, thinking they were better positioned to hold the forth. This he said had the tendency to divide the church, and those who do not agree with leadership would build a cult that would seek their failure. Rev. Gyasi Benson revealed that when the walls of hostilities become well established in the church, there is envy, bitterness and development of selfish ambitions among members. Again, he said “such development has far-reaching consequences of creating back doors for people to exit through unknowingly”. He further argued that when the wall of hostility grows, there’s the development of tension, fear and panic growing from the unconscious belief of betrayal of one another, loss of trust, true love and hope for the future. He was also of the view that such churches become re****ed in growth, missing the workings of the Holy Spirit and all His Gifts.
Concluding his message, North Suntreso District Minister prayed that all members should be one, follow Jesus’ example that “everybody will know us as His disciples if we love ourselves”. He also encouraged members to stop anyone trying to rebuild the wall of hostility, else they all become law breakers.
