Commitment to Jesus: Surest way to stem corruption — Kolenda
The visiting International Evangelist, Daniel Kolenda, has indicated that the surest way to stay away from the attractions of corruption is to surrender to Jesus Christ.
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Preaching on the topic: “The Power of Jesus”, the evangelist recounted the story of a very corrupt tax collector, Zacchaeus, in Luke 19 who had a change of heart when he met Jesus, and drew an analogy between that one and the story of a very corrupt accounts officer who stole to build a house.
The evangelist said when that accounts officer met Jesus Christ, he confessed his misdeeds to his employer, who not only forgave him but also made him the chief accountant for being truthful and the most honest employee of the company.
He, however, cautioned the crowd not to go and steal and later confess, since they might not be that lucky to get away with it when found out.
Instead, Evangelist Kolenda asked them to strive to be truthful and honest in their work, which was possible if they gave their lives to Jesus.
Church Leaders
Leaders of the churches that collaborated with evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda in the four-day mammoth gospel crusade in Accra from November 7 to 10 also prescribed an encounter with Jesus Christ as the surest way to reduce the high incidence of corruption and crime among public officials in the country.
In separate interviews with the Daily Graphic at the ‘Greater Peace Gospel Crusade’ held at the Independence Square on Saturday, the leaders were unanimous in their thoughts that when people had personal encounters with Christ, they were bound to be faithful in their areas of work and thereby turn around the economic fortunes of the country.
The Chairman of the Church of Pentecost and President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Apostle Dr A. Opoku Onyinah, said, “When people accept Christ, truly their lives are transformed. When the lives are transformed, it affects the economy of the people because they will be faithful at their workplaces. Bribery and corruption will reduce when they begin to put the values of Christ into practice.”
He said every Ghanaian ought to pray for people’s hearts to be changed “in order for us to be faithful wherever we are. It is people whose lives have been touched by Christ who are transformed – Godly people who fear the Lord — and those people transform nations”.
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Apostle Dr Stephen Kwame Ntow Amoaning, the Chairman of the Christ Apostolic Church, intimated that the crusade sought to seek the prosperity and peace of Ghana.
“We all know that the country is going through challenges and so we’ve been praying so much for peace and stability and also for God to grant our leaders the wisdom and knowledge to manage the resources of our country. This is because we believe that where there is peace, there is also prosperity and so if we continue to experience stability in our nation, prosperity will be ours.
“When a person is changed, sometimes all that we talk about is the spiritual aspect of that person, but we also believe that when someone experiences change, that change has to be reflected on the outside,” he said, adding, “If there should be any change in the country, Christians must also reflect that change.”
Unity
Bishop Yaw Adu, the General Overseer of the House of Prayer Church International and Life Patron of the Local Council of Churches, Koforidua, said, “If we have many Christians in the nation, it helps mould the character of the people. People begin to understand the gospel and it takes people from the prisons; it prevents people from going to prison and also makes people do hard work because Christianity encourages hard work. It also lets people love one another, do the right thing and reduces crime. Christianity helps a nation economically and in all aspects of life.”
Bishop Charles Agyin Asare, the General Overseer of the Perez Chapel International, was of the view that the crusade would encourage many young men to know that God could use them and, therefore, asked them to make themselves available and allow God to use them.
Apostle Samuel Yaw Antwi, the General Secretary of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), said the crusade was organised to bring Ghanaians together in prayer and worship to God for the peace and prosperity of Ghana and also bring people to God.
Speaking on the significance of the crusade to the country, he said, “We believe that with the repentant message that has been preached and people coming to confess their sins, we expect that there is going to be a change of attitude in this nation and we expect that one of the things that we as a nation have been battling with — corruption — is going to come down because people are going to get changed hearts and it’s going to be a great benefit.”
Daily Graphic/Ghana