Salvation More Important Than Money – Rev Father Ilesanmi

The clergy has been urged to pay serious attention to the salvation of souls of members of their congregation and not their monetary contribution to the church.

Reverend Father Stephen Ilesanmi, the parish priest of St, Nicholas Catholic Pro. Cathedral, Otan-Ayegbaju, Osun state, gave this admonition in his message at the 2016 Adult Harvest of the church.

‘’As a church of God, what is of utmost importance to us is the salvation of the soul of our members not the money they bring to church. And that should be the attitude of all men of God in this end times. As Christians, we all need to individually work out our salvation by using all that God has blessed us with to serve creator and humanity.’’ He stated.

The priest urged Nigerians not to get bogged down by the current economic downturn in the country but look at its brighter side instead.

According to him, the current economic recession the country is going through should offer Nigerians the opportunity to re-order their priorities, look inwards and challenge themselves to explore new horizons.

‘’The current harsh economic climate should change our ways of thinking and drive us to do more for our country by being part of the solution rather the problem to get us back on track. And while doing these, Nigerians must always remember that a heart that is full of gratitude to God at all times will be at rest and get more from God.’’ He observed.

Father Ilesanmi charged the congregation to imbibe the spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude to God no matter the situation they found themselves insisting that Satan could be defeated easily by taking him out of his territory by showing gratitude to God all the time.

‘’If care is not taken, when you concentrate so much on the problems of daily life you may fall into the snare of Satan who always want believers to be sorrowful and full of complaints. We need to be careful not to make grumbling and asking for favours from God a daily pastime without gratitude to our heavenly father. The Bible says we should let our thanksgiving be more than our request before God.’’

The priest charged men of God to focus more on the salvation of their congregation rather than their monetary contribution to the church.

‘’As a church of God, what is of utmost importance to us is the salvation of the soul of our members not the money they bring to church. And that should be the attitude of all men of God in this end times. As Christians, we all need to individually work out our salvation by using all that God has blessed us with to serve creator and humanity.’’ He said.

He observed that it is when Christians look up to God in whatever situation they are passing through and wait upon Him alone with calmness in the face of storms of life that God will show His greatness by revealing the way out of the problem, while things will get more complicated if the attitude is being anxious and trusting on your ability to reverse the untoward situation.

Some of those who graced the occasion are Sir Ayo Adeniyi, the father of the day, Mr Dele, Oguntayo who represented the Special Guest of Honour, Elder Lekan Ogunbanwo, and the chairman, Mr Matthew Ayorinde.