Bolgatanga, Sept. 28, GNA – Right Reverend Dennis Dabukari Tong, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, has entreated Christians especially Anglicans to be steadfast in their faith and active in service by responding positively to God’s instructions to service and to humanity.
“If you are steadfast in faith, it leads you to becoming active in service of the church and to humanity,” he said.
Delivering a sermon at the Saint Cyprian’s Anglican Church at Bolgatanga, the Bishop said entreated believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to endeavour to direct their riches and possessions into service.
He said “We can demonstrate our faith by action. Your works must be self-explanatory, self-exhibiting and self-demonstrating.”
Bishop Tong cautioned members of the congregation not to be over possessed by their possessions, saying as Christians they must have faith in God and learn to depend on him alone for direction to service.
“Only God is our refuge, he is the only one who can impact our lives. We need to use God’s gift to impact society, impact lives and impact the church,” he said.
The Bishop noted that God gave individuals wealth to use to support humanity, cautioning the congregation against selfishness and greed, admonishing them to learn not to allow themselves to be controlled by their possessions.
He reminded the members of their duties as Christians and said life was not measured by how much a person possessed, but by how much they could use what had been given them to support humanity.
The Bishop warned the congregation about greed, explaining that this sets in when individuals over-protect their possessions at the expense of human life, and indicated that the consequences were chaos, confusion and conflict.
He cited 1Timothy 6:7 as a precautionary guide to sharing and to service, advising that “Every evening when you are going to bed, add this to your prayer ‘I came to this world with nothing, I shall go back with nothing’, so God help me to help those in need.”
Bishop Tong stated that selfishness and greed had huge negative implication on the lives of people, and that everyone must learn to share what they had been blessed with, because though it was not wrong for people to be rich, it become sin when they failed share the wealth with others who were in need.
He reminded the congregation that it was not only individuals who must share, but the church too must share with its members and other people outside the church in need.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/ Christabel Addo