Easter Celebration: Cleric Tasks Christians on True Worship

Easter Celebration: Cleric Tasks Christians on True Worship

Mary Nnah

As Nigerians celebrate Easter this weekend, Diocesan Bishop of Lagos Diocese, Anglican Communion, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. (Dr) Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye, has tasked Christians on the essence of true worship.

The essence which he said is the way to live a life of worship, the need for revelation and renewal of the spirit and also the essence of worshipping the father in pure understanding.

Olumakaiye spoke on the topic, “Renewal of the Spirit and Re-born Worship in Nigeria: Life in the Spirit, Life of Worship”, as guest speaker at the Annual Lenten Talk, Choral Renditions and Breaking of Fast, organised by The Island Club, held on Monday at the club premises in Lagos Island.

He said, “We must know that God is a spirit and must be worshipped through spirit, which means all worship must proceed from the spirit.

“Every gesture of worship, every extemporal and spontaneous prayer must come from the heart, from our spirit under the influence of the Holy Spirit. We must recite from the heart in the true spirit of what we are saying.”

He said however that this kind of worship is impossible without renewal of the spirit, which simply is the revitalisation of one’s spirit by the spirit of God through the baptism of the spirit.

Describing Easter season, especially Good Friday as, “the day we remember the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, he said, “It is a day of sober reflection”.

“It is called Good Friday not because the events of the day are good but because of what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross.

“Good Friday was an awful day for Jesus. He was tried, declared innocent but condemned anyway. He was whipped almost to death and then led to his crucifixion”, the cleric explained further.

Expatiating further on the significance of the death of the Lord Jesus, Olumakaiye said; “Jesus’ sacrifice, suffering and death for sin of all generations teach us the virtue of selfless living, giving, loving, caring and serving.”

On his advice to the nation, he said: “My advice is to go back to God and to be more prayerful. The truth is that we cannot pray enough. A praying nation is a great nation and must work in the path of righteousness, dignity of labour, honesty, sincerity, and we should imbibe the spirit of Christ, which is total love and sacrifice. We should all be our brothers’ keepers and live in righteousness.”

Speaking further, he said, “Beloved Nigerians, it is no longer news that there have been several attacks on innocent Nigerians and several ups and downs in our nation. These developments are disturbing.”

He said however that, “as we are celebrating Easter, our leaders, security agencies and all of us should remember that we have a duty to perform in order to have a peaceful nation.”

The cleric encouraged leaders in Nigeria to live a life of sacrifice and love for others, adding that they “ should be committed to governance in such a way that will make life better for the masses”.

He encouraged further that “as a nation, let us remain resolute in our prayers for Nigeria. We shall continually overcome both internal and external forces competing with the glory of this country

“As we celebrate Easter, let us determine in our hearts to be committed to God in every way as individuals, families and as a nation. Let us have living faith in God to move our country forward”, he said as he declared that , “Nigeria will know peace, unprecedented progress and transformation”.

Commending members of the Island Club for imbibing religious activities in their social activities, he advised them to remain united and focused, while thanking God for their contributions to the society by making life worth living for other people.

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