Discovering Treasures 2008 – My Personal Experience

Beloved,
Where were you
From first to third
Of February
During Discovering Treasures?
If you were not there
I lie not when I say
You missed an awesome time
Of hearing from God;
But if you were there
I hope you discovered the treasures
Prepared for you
For the secret was revealed those days;
Whether you were there or not
Beloved, come with me
As I recount the experience
Of Discovering Treasures
2008.

The Inspiration
The mining of my treasures is still on going. As I listened to the message of Discovering treasures 2008 over and over again, and I pored over my scanty notes which get fatter as I listen to the message, I realized that discovering treasures from the Word of God is a never-ending process.

Discovering Treasures is the Annual Word Conference of The Carpenter’s Church (TCC), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It is no ordinary conference. During this conference, the word of God is shared and expounded on in relation to our word for the year. This year, the conference took place from the 1st to the 3rd of February. The theme was “Infallible Proofs” in line with the word for TCC for 2008. Reverend Sola Kolade of The Vine Branch Charismatic Church (http://www.vinebranchurch.org/) was the guest minister.

Listening to the message made me relive the experience of two awesome days I spent in the conference. Though I wish I was there during every moment of the three days, I know my two days were better than one day or not being there at all. I had walked into church full of myself on Saturday evening, the second day of the conference. I had just been promoted and for a month I had been living in the associated euphoria. I became a bit defensive when Pastor Sola announced that the message for the day was “Who are you?” I held my peace.

The message went on and he said, “An understanding of who you are makes you know what you are supposed to do!” My mind went straight to my immediate achievement. It was only logical that if I am truly what I regarded myself as based on the achievement then I should be working towards another achievement. While I was still trying to analyze his statement, he said “You are a person with a great destiny facing temporary challenges”. This brought me out of my reverie and made me focus on the statement. It reassured me that whatever I am passing through will surely pass away. Even good things pass away.

Before arriving at the answer to the question “Who You are?” Pastor Sola said several things about whom / what I was not. First he said, “You are not your past”. Hallelujah! Then he said, “You are not your present (circumstances, needs, achievements).” It was as though my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw much more than I had ever imagined myself to be. It made alive the words by apostle Paul “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” [2 Corinthians 4:16-17]. More importantly, it made me realize that living in my present was limiting God. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think [Ephesians 3:20].

Pastor Sola continued with “You are not other people’s opinion about you; You are not your background; You are not your exposure; and You are not your location.” With all these things he had said, I was expecting a seven-point statement of who I am. He simply said “You are a child of God!” Hallelujah! What great truth, weight, nay power lay in those simple words. Had I not heard the words before? Of course. Yet again, it was like a revelation. Understanding that I am a child of God made me know I should not be living below God’s best for my life. It made me know that I should be reflecting the image of God. It made me realize that I am of God [1 John 4:4].

If you think that destiny means “What must be must be”, then you should be excited as I was to learn that destiny does not mean “what must be must be”. Pastor Sola made me understand that prayers and intercession can change destiny. Repentance can change your destiny. There is hope and a future for every one of us [Jeremiah 29:11].

There were so many profound words and truths Pastor Sola shared on that day which if I start to recount could become a novella. It then reminded me of the statement “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” [John 21:25]. My faith in God and His words grew that day. I came into church that day full of myself, but I left knowing that without God, I am nothing.

Let me take you to Day three. God is awesome! During the week, a friend of mine was talking about a passage in the bible that had something to do with “Ask for the old paths”. We could not trace that verse of scripture. I had never heard of it before. You can imagine my excitement when Pastor Sola’s opening verse was “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein” [Jeremiah 6:16]. Several times we approach crossroads in our lives. Decisions need to be made. This verse of scripture my friend and I concluded as “light unto our path” [Psalm 119:105].

What was Pastor Sola using the verse of scripture for? The topic for Day three’s message was “Old Time Religion”. I wanted to experience infallible proofs in my life but I needed to know what principles to adopt. God is never changing [James 1:17]. Pastor Sola explained that the principles that were true of old time religion still remain true for Christianity today. Then he went on with the four principles. First was Commitment. “This is the master key that opens all doors”, he said. I paused to reflect on various areas of my life. I compared the things that were fruitful and the things that were not. The underlying word causing the difference was “commitment”. I quickly agreed with Pastor Sola’s first point for that day.

The second principle he mentioned was “Contentment”. I thought of the words “greed, envy, strife, dissatisfaction, competition, impatience and unhappiness”. Being content, being happy and satisfied yet knowing that better things lie ahead could erase those negative words that easily creep into my life. If I can be content then rather than spending time on what I do not have or how bad my situation is, I can have time to thank God for His goodness. I can have time to be sensitive to others, to show love and care as Jesus did while on earth. What then would stop the manifestation of my infallible proofs?

Pastor Sola went on to mention the third and fourth principles to be “Consistency” and “Carefreeness”. I thought that was the end of the message until he mentioned that there are three seasons in a man’s life: the season of prosperity, the season of adversity and the season of restoration. It does not matter which season I am at the moment. What gives me joy is knowing that there is restoration no matter what I go through. All I have to do is trust in God and take His Word simply, the way a child will [Luke 18:17].

Where did I start from? Listening to the messages that made me relive the awesome experience of discovering treasures. The message of day one was on Witnesses that Jesus Christ is alive and well. Pastor Sola spoke about Nature, Science, World events and the Church as witnesses that Jesus Christ is alive and well, and still performing the infallible proofs that took place after His resurrection. After listening to the message for that day I told myself that if ever I doubted God, if ever I doubted the Word of God and if ever I doubted the power of God, all doubts have been replaced by faith and love for my awesome God. I continue my mining of treasures on earth and in heaven, of tangible and intangible things, of treasures God had long prepared for me.

OASIS 2007

For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!

OASIS 2007 – A Time of Music
(See pictures at http://www.thecarpenterschurch.org/oasis.html)

It was going to be my first time attending the musical convention of The Carpenter’s Church. I did not know what to expect. All I knew was it was a Sunday and I should be in church that day. Little did I know that I would fall in love with God all over again that day. As I strolled into the compound where the church is situated, I was shocked by the throng of people moving around. I could not locate the tent I easily spotted from afar. It was only 9:20 a.m. and the church was filled. Filled with beautiful and handsome people dressed in colours and styles that appeals to the eyes.

But I held my breath as I finally made my way towards the tent. I could not recognize it – thanks to the decorating team. I began to have an idea of what the statement meant, “Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and beauty fill His sanctuary” [Psalm 96:6]. If King David was there, he would have felt at home. There were decorations of musical instruments and musical notes hanging on every part of the tent. The lightening inside was perfect, boosted by the glorious light from the warm, bright sunshine. None of the colours seemed out of place but rather complemented each other and made me wonder how beautiful heaven must be.

Sweet soothing background music floated through the tent extending to the nearby vicinity. I sat outside. King Saul needed to have been there too [1 Samuel 16:16]. It was a moment of refreshing and revitalizing as God was adored, worshipped and praised with sounds and music. The music ministrations were awesome – from the New Wine Choir, to the soloist and selected groups from the Carpenter’s Church choir. I knew God was there for HE inhabits our praise [Psalm 22: 3].

As I listened to the music that day, several things were happening. I was falling in love with my beautiful God. I call Him beautiful because from the lyrics of the songs I could perceive His unfailing love, His tender mercies, His loving kindness, His grace, His sensitivity, and His sacrifice which no one can repay. I heard words like, “It was not easy but it was worth it”. I meditated on these. It could never have been easy for Jesus to humble himself, die a shameful and painful death for me who was born into sin. To think that Jesus feels it is worth it that He dies for me. Me, who could commit one sin remorselessly in the next second. But He did it because He knows there is something good in me. And you. And He knew all we will experience. He died that we may live again and have a second chance.

While I was yet falling in love with my beautiful, lovely Jesus, meditating on all He went through for my sake, I could feel the music breaking down the walls of my thoughts and rebuilding with words of God; wiping away my fears and replacing them with faith; and erasing any trace of doubt and disbelief that I had ever harboured. I felt the lyrics of the songs were directly for me and no one else. I was learning something about my Heavenly Father that day. He was the one who loved me more than anyone else [Hebrews 13:5]. I confessed all my sins that moment and recommitted my life to Him.

God was at work through the music. Healing was taking place that day. Healing of the body, soul and spirit. Physical healing, spiritual healing and emotional healing. There was cleansing, there was forgiveness, and there was wholesomeness as the words of the songs permeated the very essence of our being. And then, there was the interlude when our Pastor (Pastor Mrs. Nkechi Ene) called out to people to give their life to Christ. She did not need to preach a sermon. She simply recounted the subtle, living words we’d been hearing all through the morning. I was not surprised at the number that responded to her words. Infact, I believe there were many more, who had the urge to come up to the altar, but were rooted to their seats out of pride, fear or self-condemnation. But thank God that many people streamed towards the altar in surrender to HIM. Many were tired of doing things their own way. Many wanted to start a relationship with the faithful Father. Many seized the opportunity to rededicate their lives to Christ. It was no wonder at the mass of people that responded to the altar call. God was there. There was fullness of joy and continuous pleasure [Psalm 16:11]. There was great rejoicing in heaven. I could imagine the joy in the presence of the angels of God as those people accepted salvation [Luke 15:7; 10]. And surely the word of God would come to pass in the lives of those who surrendered to our Lord, the word that says, “Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness” [Isaiah 35:10].

Oasis 2007, Glory be to God for that day! Thanks to all those who contributed in making that day a success. It was not only the singers nor only the decorating team. What about the prayers of individuals? That day I witnessed a combination, nay a harmony of gifts and talents. It made me realize that there is so much to our God from whom every good and perfect gift comes from [James 1: 17] and a bit is manifested in us, His children. Above all, the Glory of God was resident in that place. I did not stay until the end but I know I left there filled – filled with the Holy Spirit and filled with some knowledge of an awesome God [Ephesians 1:17; 5:18-19]. I look forward to Oasis 2008!

How great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! [Zechariah 9:17]