This year’s Summer Fast is held in the Embassy Of God’s new, spacious and bright premises, with the auditorium decorated with God’s promises printed on flags. Men and women of faith from 11 countries around the world are gathered with such a hunger to feel God presence and about all to hear God’s word from His servants; Pastor Sunday and other ministers of the church. You can see people’s faces expressing joy and gratitude to God.
The event was officiated by Pastor Sunday and Pastor Larisa Kruvocuchko giving thanks to God for upholding the church and for His guidance in all endeavours.
The congregation worshiped God declaring… “You are alone my refuge, O Lord, my help and shield! In You trusted my heart, and You heard me”.
Pastor Sunday, in agreement with the congregation, extended his invitation to all those who could not make it this year to consider attending next year.
This year’s theme is “Father-Son Relationship”.
Bishop Anatoly Belonozhko was the first speaker who started by saying, “…the first day of our Summer Fast in new premises is not a coincidence. It is a spiritual breakthrough on our relationship with God in our families and our service”.
Quoting Luke 15, he emphasised on the importance of Sons knowing their Father; understanding his ‘heart’.
From the story of the prodigal son where he quoted, we can see that ideally the eldest son lived as if the son knew his father; being with him always, working for him, but in reality he did not know him – he did not understand his father’s reaction towards his younger brother who squandered his wealth. He could not fathom the idea that his father embraced him, decorating him with the finest clothes, a ring and even holding a feast for him…In fact he was angry – it is because he did not understand his father’s heart.
“The same applies to us, if we are to understand our Father’s heart, we have to desire to know Him. Successful believers are those who took time to understand God’s heart. Once we get to know Him, we start perceiving things in a different dimension since His ways are not ours. Once we get to understand His heart, we walk with Him much easier”.
He continued by adding that it is the responsibility of the son to seek to understand his father’s heart; who is he, what he does, how he does things and why, how he relates with people, how does he responds to situations, etc.
Back to the parable of the prodigal son, “The problem was not the father, but the son who did not understand his father! It is essential to understand the heart of the father and honor him”.
The evening session was packed with people hungry to know more about Father-Son relations and also receive blessings through the word of God. Testimonies of how God answers prayers were shared.
Then the Apostle and the Senior Pastor of the Embassy of God church, Pastor Sunday Adelaja welcomed everybody before praying for the needs of all who were present. He mentioned that ‘God has started a new thing in each and everyone’. He continued saying that there is a new beginning in father-son relations in the church and such relations releases grace in day to day life.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12)
Elaborating the theme, Pastor Sunday explained that the coming of Jesus aimed at reinstating fatherhood even though the Pharisees did not understand. He said that “God’s dream is for us to reveal Him. He created fatherhood so as to display His image manifesting His Fatherhood”.
Even thought a father does not give birth, he is the one who is responsible in the upbringing of the child; a father ought to manifest qualities of success.
Pastor Sunday continued to emphasise on the fact that ‘it is the father whom we tend to imitate’; children do not learn from words, but through imitating their parents on how they walk, talk, etc. Learning is choosing what is suitable but imitating is trying to be like him, Therefore for a child to imitate his father, means trying to be like him, it is a form of self-reproducing. Failure to honor our fathers, raising voices or lifting hands against him can result into curses, because the word of God tells us, “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Ephesians 6:2,3).
The devil knowing this, will always seek to tempt us not to honor our fathers. As children we have the responsibility of hornoring, respecting and thanking them despite their character, condition or circumstances because we are all not perfect.
Even though Pastor Sunday was never raised by his parents, he never saw his mother until when he was 11 years, he still honors her and helps her out…because she is his mother. He continued saying that all of us are created to imitate somebody; those who brought us up and shed some light into our lives; such brings blessings. At times we face challenges in life because we failed to honor those whom we should have. We have a responsibility of honouring they that have ‘lifted’ us up.
Pastor Sunday continued explaining that we are all an image of someone who ‘labored’ in our lives; it can be a father, a mother, a grandmother or sister. Even without a father, there will always be someone to lead us into our destiny. He asked the congregation, “Does each of you have a father? Who do you consult in a new beginning – whose words are important? Whoever labors in you for your to become a respectable person, then consider such as your real father.
After such glorious teaching, the Senior Pastor prayed for the establishment of Father-Son relations in the church.
Testimonies followed on how God transformed relations amongst close relatives by pouring out his blessings as opposed to when there was not such relations, they experienced attacks from the evil one.
From the Summer fast in the “Embassy of God” church
July 30, 2012, Kiev City
Press centre of the “Embassy of God” church
Translated by Anna Krets
Edited by June Clare Bugenyi
