“Modern-Day Church Has Failed To Respond To The Holy Spirit” - Pastor Emmanuel Samuel Thompson

Christians who are deemed as the modern-day children of Israel have been told they have failed to respond to the Spirit of God which gives guidance for a righteous and blessed living. In effect, God called Israel on one purpose to reveal His glory – the same purpose for which God has called the Church today. God will therefore bring His purpose to pass (and make the Church great) when the Church (Christians) obeys Him by responding to the call of the Holy Spirit.

According to Pastor Emmanuel Samuel Thompson, District Pastor of the Accra South-East District of the Adventist Church, just like the Children of Israel who years ago grieved the Holy Spirit when they took to apostasy (worship of other foreign gods) after God has prospered them, the Church or believers today have taken to foreign gods in different ways today (such as visiting other spiritual places for prayers, rituals, and worshiping money), thereby grieving and forsaking the call of the Holy Spirit.

Consequently, the Church of God is going through a lot of challenges today, as people are fornicating and doing a lot of things that are not good in the sight of God - and thus grieving the Holy Spirit. Christians are therefore called to repentance and taking the mantle ot preaching the good news to the dying world.

“We are trying to compare the Church today to the Church of Israel. In the time of Israel, they went wayward and flouted the law of God and lived their own lives. Because of that they could not achieve what God intended to do with them. God intended that through Israel, many nations around them will come to know the true God, but because they failed God, they were not able to achieve that aim fully.

The same thing is happening to the Church today. God called the Church and gave it the three angels message to preach to this dying world, but we are doing things other than preaching this message to the dying world. The message is to call people from their sin to know the true God, to call people not to worship the beast and its image, to call people to obey the commandments of God and to call people that Judgement is awaiting them; and so they should live a good Christian life”, he elaborated

The man of God therefore urged Christians who are having various difficulties in their lives to examine themselves and make right the wrongs they’ve committed towards the Holy Spirit, in order to have a peaceful and godly life that will lead them to eternal life.

Pastor Thompson was taking members of the Nungua South Adventist Church in Accra through a Pre-Camp Meeting studies to lead to the main Camp Meeting that is currently ongoing from Tuesday, 18th to Sunday, 23rd August 2015, at the Adidome Senior High School in the Volta Region of Ghana.

He added that just as God intended to make Israel a great nation to arouse curiosity in uplifting Christ, which He did so whenever Israel was obedient to Him, God still does the same with believers today.

Picking his main text from the Bible from the book of Acts 7: 51-52, noted that many believers today are ‘stiff-necked’ though they hear the Word of God, but do not obey it and therefore deny and fail to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit. In effect, they have become hard-hearted to toe the wrong way, though the truth of righteousness is presented before them always.

“The Bible assures us that when we pay heed to God, He will listen to us. Why then do we pray and yet are still with the same bad attitude or character, sicknesses, poverty and numerous challenges? Why do we go to camp meeting every year and still come back home with the same problems? Friends, we are disobedient to God. Even in the Churches today, things that are abominable to God are done, weakening also the evangelism spirit in the Church”, he noted.

According to the District Pastor, humility and submission to the Spirit of God was instrumental in the success of the many people God used to achieve feats among the Children of Israel.

“Elijah triumphed over the prophets of Baal because he submitted himself to the will of the Holy Spirit. He was human like us, but humbled himself before God for His glory. Friends, if we will do likewise, God is calling us. God’s last-day witnesses like Elijah and John the Baptist will emphasise obedience to the Lord. We are to strive to prepare the way for the Lord’s second coming. God has called the Church for one purpose and we must stand for that – to preach His Word like John the Baptist (1Kings 18:28-40, 1Corinthians 7:17-20,”.

Pastor Emmanuel Thompson also warned those who go to camp not to take the religious pilgrimage lightly, as the intention with which one embarks on the camp will determine their blessing: “Some people take camp meetings lightly – some attend just to know the places camps are held, and others to listen to peoples testimonies. Friends, God will bless you based on the intention with which you go to camp”.

Earlier, he explained the need for the Pre-Camp Meeting Revival saying “we need to revive ourselves to focus on what we are going to do. We want our people to know that it is not a funfair or an entertainment ground, but we are really going to seek the face of God. In fact, it is going well from the report we are getting from all the Churches. Yesterday I was told that churches like Tsuibleoo, Blessed Hope and Tebibiano had them filled in their numbers. I was also told that members of Nautical and Beach Road also came in their numbers. Am doing it at Nungua South and am telling you the attendance is very great”, he exclaimed.

In addition to the various lessons at the Pre-Camp Meeting Revival, prayers were said on various prayer topics for God to lead them in the camp ongoing.

The theme for the camp is that of the church for the year being;

‘Revival and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ’.

This is backed by the theme song of SDAH 213;

‘Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring

Jesus is coming again’