BY COURAGE MENSAH
Many members and associates of the Church accross the world partake in this [ads1]seven day Anniversary celebration which is as well, a spiritual event.
Before I get to the main concern of this write up, let me just give you this usual happening in my office every year towards the Anniversary celebration. My office is located in Ho off the Ho-Aflao road. And because of the location of my office, all those coming from the northern side of Volta taking that route are often noticed by my colleagues in the office. As always, they often tease me and remind me of our celebration as they peep through the window alerting me of vehicles heavily loaded with items including goats and other animals with singing. Some of their shouts go like, “Courage Yeeeeeeeee, your Atadzewu people are passing again ooo, come and see how the buses are loaded with people, mortar and pestle, animals etc”. This has been the usual trend for my Eight Years, 8 years of working in the Hospital where I work. These comments by my colleagues give me a sense of pride and recognition as an ARS member considering what our Founder, Prophet C.K.N Wovenu has achieved with my lovely Church. I believe it’s not going to be different this year but unfortunately, my annual leave has been granted so my colleagues will only make the comments in my absence as I prepare my spiritual being to commune with God for Seven Days in Tadzewu.
Now, moving to the cause motivating and inspiring this write up. Two recent events provoked my thoughts to pen down this write up. The first one is my very Good friend who can’t talk and has been bedridden by mild stroke struggling for his life survival for over a year now and the second is the recent happening in Abelenkpe where the police have to be invited to maintain law and order at that branch supposed to be our Greater Accra regional headquarters.
Sadly, the youths who hold the future for this church are rather seen at the center of these unfortunate events. Over the years, I have noted with deep concern that, the spiritual purpose informing our attendance and participation in the anniversary celebration is reducing drastically. Our desire to grow in faith and in readiness to position ourselves spiritually for the coming year has been replaced by our sole desire to meet family members, make acquaintances and unnecessarily chasing after the opposite sex in the name of “Hamevi Nede Hamevi” with no clear motive of marrying them. I believe the motives stated earlier must be a thing of a past considering the times that we are predicting by the Revelations of Prophet Wovenu and the Holy Book. Times have changed and the devil is very serious with his many schemes to destroy our souls hence, as such, we must also position ourselves spiritually to wrestle against him as well.
For the Bible says and I para-phrase, “….for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities….”. The devil we are fighting is unseen by our physical eyes therefore only God who is unseen as well can fight him for us since he defeated him many years ago. Many of us are facing spiritual and social issues at our homes and work places. Some of us are having issues with finding a job, finding a life partner, marital challenges, barrenness, maltreatment at work places, promiscuity etc. And with all these issues, I believe our participation in this year’s 78th Anniversary should be motivated and informed by the call to spiritually communicate with God to solve all our challenges for us.
I have a strong conviction that, the seven days is a sacred moment to diligently set oneself aside from things of this world and in simplicity and a sense of holiness present oneself before God for re-dedication and sanctification of one’s spirit, soul and being for our Faith’s upliftment and spiritual maturity and empowerment in Christ Jesus in readiness for the coming year. Let us look at one of the scriptures which moved our founder through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to institute the Seven Day Anniversary celebration in Leviticus 23:4-9.
These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work”
These scriptures give a justification to the sacredness of the Seven Day Celebration.
As a result, in order not to engage you in reading too much, since I have more to write, I will urge all ARS members particularly the Youths to annull any idea of going to this year’s Anniversary with the sole purpose of making acquaintances and meeting family members but have in their minds first, the spiritual purpose of communing with God through Christ so we can gain spiritual and physical strength to grow our lovely Church which will manifest in the protection and upholdment of the incomparable legacy of Prophet C. K. N Wovenu in the Christiandom.
ARS is a great Church. Let us leave this earth with the legacy and fulfilment that we touched lives with the love of God and not that we fought one another. Our challenges in this Church are not doctrinal as many may think but it is *largely attitudinal*. It’s my fervent prayer and hope that, these Year’s 78th Anniversary celebration will catapult the faith of members particularly the Youths in Christ Jesus so the Future of ARS shall be secured with Christlike virtues to build the Church in Christ Jesus. Amen.
God bless us all.
It is ARS till I die.
Courage Mensah
*Note
If Man is a Spirit which has a Soul living in a Flesh then the true growth of a man must be spiritual and not fleshy