By Bridget Ikyado
Evangelist Emmanuel Akegor of the Anglican Church of the Pentecost, Mabushi, Abuja on Sunday admonished Christians to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness to enjoy encounters with God.
He gave the admonition as guest speaker at the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja, during the church’s 2022 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
According to the cleric, to walk closely with God, Christians will have to imbibe the spirit of forgiveness and have a clean heart.
“Forgive one another and stand firm with God. When Christians pray to God with a clean heart and have faith, their prayers will be answered,’’ he said.
Evangelist Akegor advised Christians to always believe in God to provide all their needs.
“Don’t forget, you must also forgive others when they wrong you. If you forgive others, God will also forgive you.
“Always show love and forgiveness; stand firm with God and unite to propagate the gospel of God.
“Jesus is inviting us today to love without limit because these two virtues – love and forgiveness are key components of our Christian lives,’’ he stressed.
On the sermon’s topic: “Immanuel’’, he said “it simply means God is with us, and as God is with us we have to be with Him.
“To be in Christ we have to show forgiveness and love and if Christ is with you, you have to be in Him,’’ he said.
Akegor added that Nigerian Christians had every reason to thank and praise God as He had always been with them.
“Some months back, even Americans evacuated their country, while other nations issued terror warnings
“We had a jail break in Nigeria and so many other challenges, but God is with us as He has always promised,’’ he said.
The cleric also advised Christians to express their love for others through their actions and care.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Carol was superintended by the vicar of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Ven. Festus Nwafili.
The Nine Lessons centred on the creation of man, his fall and redemption by God who sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ.
The theme: “Immanuel’’, derived from Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1: 23. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)