It is commonly held
that a considerate followership is usually led by a generous leadership. One of
the most powerful resources any leader should endeavor to bequeath to his
people is the testimony of a changed life. This value symbolizes the life of
servant of God and President at Omega Fire Ministries (OFM) worldwide, Apostle
(Prof.) Johnson Suleman.
Usually, the
‘Restoration Apostle’, as he is fondly addressed, realizes that his followers
are desirous of good news bigger than themselves, thus, he makes it his duty to
empower them not just with a compelling vision and goal that guarantee them a
righteous life, he also does invite his followers into his vision through
series of events. One of such events is the special service organized to mark
the 2018 Christmas Day during which he doled out cash gifts for the pleasure of
his church members while the season lasts, as well 2000 bags of rice to go
round the flock.
Giving his lessons on
the spirit of Christmas while the charity and empowerment programme proceeded,
Apostle Suleman educates his audience on the significance of Christmas and a
certain error that is associated to celebrating it.
He lectures;
“There is this
misconception I would like to correct about Christmas. The first Christmas ever
was celebrated by an Emperor who became a Christian. He was called
Constantine. He was the first man to celebrate Christmas and the date he
celebrated it was 336. And Pope Julius 1 took over from Constantine and he was
the one that set aside the December
25th date for Christmas. Jesus was not born
on December 25th but
Jesus was born. So, we are not celebrating the birthday of Jesus but the birth
of Jesus. The early disciples, the early Church celebrated Christmas on January
6th.
There was a man who
emphasized the spread of Christmas; he was St. Augustine of Canterbury. He
emphasized the spread of Christmas. But Jesus was born and the Angels
celebrated him, so we should celebrate him. Isaiah 9; 6; Isaiah 7; 14, Luke 2;
8-15, the Bible says ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace to those on whom His favour rests’. Matthew 2; 11 says ‘they gave
gifts when he was born’. So, it’s our duty to celebrate the birth of Jesus. If
somebody says Jesus was not born on Christmas day; December 25th, we
agree. Jesus was born, and that’s what we celebrate. Let no one fool you. Study
the Bible by yourself.
The Bible is complex
but it’s not so big that you cannot read by yourself. The whole Bible is 1,189
Chapters. The Old Testament is 929 Chapters while the New Testament is 270
Chapters. The whole Bible is 23, 145 Verses. The Old Testament is 7,957,
while the New Testament is 31, 102. So, there is nothing big there. John 5; 39,
Jesus said ‘search the Scripture for in them you have eternal life’. 2 Timothy
3; 16 says ‘all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God’. In Job 23;
12, Job says ‘I have esteemed by words of his mouth more than my necessary
food’. So, eat the words of God. Colossians 3; 16 says ‘let the words of God
dwell richly in you in all wisdom’. Acts 19; 20, says ‘so grew mightily the
word of God and prevailed’. Acts 20; 32 says ‘I commend you to God, and the
word of His grace’. In case you do not believe in the season, I would direct
you to the Scripture; Romans 12; 15, ‘rejoice with them that rejoice’. So,
rejoice with us because we are rejoicing.”
Apostle Suleman says
his mission is to give the people a clear call to action and share with them
how they can be part of making positive life happen.
“That”, he states,
“provides a huge opportunity for the Church to play a part in the life-changing
activities happening in the world.”
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