Pastor Charles Kpandei who took over from Pastor Idowu Iluyomade at the City of David parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, formally resumed in the church on Sunday, June 9. He introduced himself to the church and then preached on the subject of heaven.
Iluyomade, the erstwhile pastor of the church was suspended on June 1 following complaints and allegations against him.He was asked to resume at the Church’s headquartres.
The parish is currently being audited by KPMG, which is not an RCCG financial and audit practice. A source told Church Times it was necessary to get an external auditor because before now, most of the provinces under the Apapa Family were not audited by RCCG auditors.
Pastor Bola Kpandei, wife of Pastor Charles Kpandei at City of David on June 8
I am called Charles Kpandei
At the service on June 8, Kpandei first had to formally introduce himself. He urged members to welcome themselves to church during the second service of the City of David monitored by Church Times.
He said, “Are you really happy to be in church today? For those of you who are just coming for the second service, it is important to tell you that I am called Pastor Charles Kpandei. You need that name because you are going to tell somebody that on behalf of Pastor Charles Kpandei, you are welcome to church today.”
He assured the congregation that God was bringing up their matter while pleading he had to tamper with the theme for June for the parish.
Kpandei said, “In this service, I should be preaching on a theme, Remember me Oh Lord for good according to the theme of June for the City of David. But God decided to give me a special message slightly different.”
Before going to the main message, he prayed that God would remember the City of David for good, quoting Nehemiah 13v14.
City of David congregation on Sunday June 8 2024
About Heaven
On the message, he said, “I received a particular message. Ordinarily, I would have liked to have a different message. But this morning God wants me to talk about heaven. God wants to use this service to refocus us.”
Quoting John 14v1-3; he said, Heaven is the place where God is. Jesus while he was going says listen, I want to go and make sure when you come to heaven you will have a good welcome. I am grateful we are all gathered under the auspices of the RCCG. I don’t know how long you have been in the church. But the essence of being a member of the church is heaven. If you spend all your resources in the Redeemed Christian Church of God and you miss heaven, you have missed the whole purpose of why God brought you.”
He emphasized that RCCG was established so people could make heaven.
Kpandei noted that God is at the centre of all activities in heaven adding, “Nothing on earth should make you miss heaven. God brought you to this service today changed the topic and made you listen to this sermon.”
He emphasised the beauty of heaven noting however that “not everybody who is in Church may want to go to heaven or can even get there.”
Only the righteous will get there
According to him, only the righteous will get to heaven. “God does not send his word to condemn you but so you can do something about his word. Your hand must be clean, your heart must be clean and you must have no pride.”
He referred to the story of the publican and the Pharisee as told by Jesus urging the congregation not to rely on their good works like the Pharisee. “Jesus justified the publican who asked for mercy compared to the Pharisee who prided himself in the things he had done.”
Kpandei said nothing unclean would get to heaven while emphasising that those who love and make a lie will not get their too.
Salvation is key
He said the most important preparation for those who want to make heaven is to have clarification about their salvation. “Invite Jesus into your heart. Ask him to be the Lord of your life. And he said he will make you a child of God. There is a lifestyle you will live after that encounter which is the life of holiness. I used not to like the word holiness until Pastor Enoch Adeboye made me understand that total obedience to the word of God is holiness.”
Those who want to make heaven according to him must also utilise their time, talent, and treasure in a godly way.
City of David Finance
At the service, the church announcer informed that about N15 million was paid by the church concerning the Trinity Tower between June 1 and 8. He however told the congregation that the parish had an outstanding N320 million debt as indicated in the financial sheet displayed by the church. A section of the financial sheet is captured below:
City of David Finance sheet as at June 8 2024
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