Former Chaplain of Aso Rock, Rev Williams Okoye has charged church leaders in Nigeria to address the moral decadence in the society if they indeed expect the country to experience genuine change.
Okoye gave the charge on Thursday, July 28 at the valedictory service for the outgoing president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev Samson Ayokunle.
Ayokunle completed his term as the president of the Christian body after serving for six years of three years per term. He is succeeded by The Most Rev Daniel Okoh, General Overseer of Christ Holy Church International.
Okoye told the congregation at the service that the time had come for church leaders to change the kind of sermons preached on their pulpits.
According to him, “unless there is an emergence of men and women whose commitment to Christ is total and their allegiance unquestionable, the church will continue to be ridiculed by the world and the name of our blessed God will continue to suffer shame.”
He made reference to the message of Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church in the Open Heaven daily devotional of Saturday 23rd of June 2018 titled, “Defiance is Allowed”
Quoting from the sermon, Okoye stated, “If at the expense of standing up for God, you melt in the face of threats to your life, comfort or career, you cannot call yourself a Christian.
“Are you in a situation where you are compromising on the truth? Are you falsifying records in your office or business to make more money? Are you collecting bribes before you do your work? Are you covering up for corrupt colleagues or friends?
“If you find yourself in such circumstances, you need to search deep within your heart and choose whom you will serve today. Serving God means every moment of your day, every action that you take and every utterance that you make are viewed as service to Him”.
He called on Christians to live like the Biblical Daniel, Esther and Joseph adding that the church should refocus the thrust of its preaching and teaching back to sound biblical values and principles.
Okoye called for a balanced and holistic approach to the preaching, teaching and interpretation of the word of God.
He also emphasised the need for the church to go back to the discipleship of members adding that “Christian leaders themselves should endeavor to live exemplary lives. People will take our Preaching or Teaching more seriously when they see that we live by what we preach.”
According to him, God will ask everybody three questions at the end of their lives.
The questions according to him will dwell on what people did with the sacrifice of Jesus, whether we lived for him and what people did with the talents God gave them.