Phillip Barrett, a member of the Grace Bible Church, Barbados; Pastor Jesse Naitram of Solid Rock Baptist Church, St. Lucia; Pastor Willis Hackshaw of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, St. Vincent; and Derek Collymore, a member of the Grace Bible Church, speaking with The Barbados Advocate on the sidelines of the Kingdom of God conference recently.
By:
Patricia Thangaraj
Entering into the kingdom of God is an important aspect for all Christians and having the foundational knowledge on exactly how this can be achieved is critical.
This is the message that the Grace Bible Church hopes to achieve through its inaugural conference being held at their Paddock Road church last week.
Speaking with The Barbados Advocate recently on the sidelines of this conference, Pastor Jesse Naitram of the Solid Rock Baptist Church in St. Lucia, said that submitting yourselves to the will of God is one of the criteria.
“God’s plan for His kingdom, what He teaches about His kingdom and the requirements for His kingdom is really His entire purpose for us and it is the only thing that will really result in a blessed life, prosperous living in the eyes of the Lord and really eternal benefits to those who submit themselves to that.”
Another principle is to live a life that mirrors the one that He lived, said Phillip Barrett, a member of the Grace Bible Church.
“Change your mind about the way that you live. In God’s world, in God’s economy, He expects us to be like Him. He calls us to be the sons and daughters of Him, and to be a son of God means that we live exactly like Him – we bear His image out.”
Faith is another element that is required, stated Derek Collymore, who is also member of the Grace Bible Church.
“The focus is really for us as believers to understand the part that we have to play. It is not just about ‘you know, I am saved, that is it.’ I am saved and now I have to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
He continued, stating, that too often Christians tend to focus too much on themselves as they stress over everything that is going wrong in their lives. However, if they were to place their emphasis on God instead, He will take care of everything else.
“Many times we see the hardships of our Christian lives. We just feel that everything will go bad and it is about me, me, me, when our focus should be on the kingdom of God. When we focus on that as it is says in His Word, ‘seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,’ then God takes care of everything else.”
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