God’s Perfect Purpose
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The Church of Pentecost in Ghana, previously called the Ghana Apostolic Church, came out of the Apostolic Church of Ghana; because of a simple doctrinal difference: whether to depend solely on divine healing, or to combine divine healing and orthodox preventive and curative medicine!
Apostle Peter Newman Anim, who founded the Faith Tabernacle Church in the Gold Coast in 1922, and converted it to the Apostolic Church of the Gold Coast in 1930 (which later became the Christ Apostolic Church 1939 after the split), believed in divine healing only. Pastor James McKeon, the Irish missionary sent by the British Apostolic Church to help Anim, believed in orthodox medicine with faith in God. Tragically, they could not come to a consensus, leading to a great split!
The McKeon group later split from the UK Church due to a constitutional disagreement, to become the Gold Coast Apostolic Church; then Ghana Apostolic Church after Ghana’s independence. The Ghana Apostolic Church, later renamed The Church of Pentecost on August 1 1962, went on to become a great global church; currently operating in 99 countries, with 20,863 local assemblies, 2386 ordained ministers, and a global membership of more than 3.5 million!
God knows why the various splits had to happen; and ultimately they are all fulfilling God’s purpose, to the glory of God.
God is a God of order, but He sometimes uses conflict and confusion for His purposes.
READ Acts 8:1-4
“At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:1-4)
In the text we just read, the church in Jerusalem suffered persecution; but the vs. 4 said,
“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)
It might have been very traumatizing for Saul to be causing havoc, entering houses and dragging men and women off to prison; but God was still fulfilling His will — to get the Good News, the Gospel; to the world.
Remember, when God realized that the world had one language, and had gathered in the plain in Shinar to build the tower of Babel, He confused their language, and scattered them all over the world! (Genesis 11:1-9)
At the time, it must have been painful not to understand one another. Some might have fought, and some might have gotten hurt. But in all of it, God’s purpose was being fulfilled
The phenomenal growth of the Church of Pentecost is another testimony to this fact.
Another confusion is unfolding right now! This confusion is compelling churches — which had become very comfortable in their huge, beautiful, impressive and monumental chapels — to go online and preach the Gospel to the billions of souls that roam there everyday!
The outbreak of Covid-19 took all of us by surprise; but God is using it for His purpose.
Those churches that had the Gospel of Christ have gone online and are thriving there. Those which did not have any gospel have died out. It is the Lord’s purpose being fulfilled.
MEMORY VERSE
“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)
QUESTIONS
1. Have you been shaken and confused by the changes that are happening?
2. Can you see God’s purpose being fulfilled? His purpose is far bigger than our purpose!
PRAYER TIP
Father, give us the eyes to see Your perfect purpose being fulfilled, even in the current global confusion.
Written by:
BENNY MALM
For:
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Amen