Christians must exhibit love always - Apostle Dr Jackson
The reins of the Christian Praise International Centre (CPIC) passed on to Apostle Dr Stephen Owusu Jackson following the demise of the Founder, Rev. Dr Noble Annor Yeboah.
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Under the chairmanship of Apostle Dr Jackson, the CPIC has enjoyed a peaceful transition and continued growth to the admiration of the Christian community and some leaders of the nation.
The second of 12 children, he was born in October 1964 to the late Mr Joseph Nsia of Atwea via Nsuta in the Ashanti Region and Madam Esther Nkrumah of Abasua, also near Nsuta.
Having undertaken studies in Theology both locally and abroad, he was ordained into full-time ministry by the late founder of CPIC in 1988.
Dr Jackson has held various leadership positions in the church and is seen as an inspirational leader who continues to inspire people through counselling and the various programmes he holds on radio and television.
As CPIC gets ready to host its Easter convention in Kumasi, Apostle Jackson has called on Christians to exhibit love towards one another as a perfect example of Jesus Christ who offered himself as a sacrifice to save humanity from their sins.
The Chairman receiving an award for the launch of the Ghana Peace Awards.
In an Easter message on the theme, “The blood of Jesus Christ speaks better things than that of Abel (Heb. 12:24),” he stated; “If God regarded the blood of Abel as important and cursed Cain as a result of that, then Christians should be mindful of the importance of the price Jesus Christ paid by shedding his blood on the cross to save humanity from their sins.
“The blood of Jesus Christ speaks good things in the family, in the nation. The enemy has no power over anybody who is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. It is the blood that gives life. Rahab, for example, was asked to use red calico as a mark in her household, which saved her family from the enemy’s attack.”
He, therefore, admonished Christians to appreciate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and equally offer themselves as a living sacrifice to God and their fellow man through giving.
Citing an example from James 1 : 27, Apostle Jackson noted that one way by which Christians could continuously receive the blessings of God was to support the needy, particularly widows and orphans, in society as that was the best form of religion God expected from mankind.
The Praise choir of the CPIC with their executives and patrons.
“We can’t sit down as a people when others are faced with serious difficulties. I am not saying we are in a position to help everybody but let us offer the little help we can to save somebody as an example of Jesus Christ, as Christians all over the world celebrate Easter,” he stated.
The chairman asked the nation to prioritise and consider having a special programme that would support the needy in society as practised in developed countries.
“Developed countries keep supporting developing countries all the time; if they are able to support their people and extend such charitable gesture to us, then we should learn from them and also support the needy in Ghana. God’s guidance, blessings and protection will never elude any country that assists the less endowed in society,’’ he emphasised.
The late Chairman of CPIC, Bishop Annor Yeboah (right) with the current Chairman.
On the recent spate of suicide cases in the country, Apostle Jackson advised Christians, particularly the clergy, not to only fulfil the spiritual needs of members but also help meet their physical needs to reduce the rate at which people committed suicide due to hardship.
He noted, “Life is full of challenges, but there are situations where people get to a stage where they do not know what to do but believe the only available option is to end their lives. Identifying and assisting people in such conditions will help save their lives.
He, therefore, appealed to Christians to be one another’s keeper in order to be able to identify unusual behaviour in people and report quickly to the appropriate authorities concerned.
Apostle Jackson with his wife, Mrs Diana Owusu Jackson (2nd right) and their two children, Stephen Owusu Jackson Jnr (right) and Sarah Maame Yaa Jackson.
He, however, cautioned Christians not to resort to suicide as the solution to solving any difficulty they encountered, but should rather seek counselling and assistance during such challenging times; as every man would give an account of his life on earth.
Apostle Dr Jackson explained that Kumasi was chosen as the venue for the 2017 Easter convention to enable them to meet and build a closer relationship with members of the church in that part of the country, as most of the festivities were usually held at the headquarters in Accra.
The church’s convention is slated for April 13 to 17, 2017.
The writer is a stringer for the Daily Graphic