Republic Day - Streams of Living Water

Republic Day - Streams of Living Water

REPUBLIC DAY

Streams of Living waters

July 1, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:7-16

Exposition:

Today is Ghana''s republic day. It is a celebration of when Ghana became a republic state. A country is said to be a republic when its affairs are a “public matter” and not the private concern of the rulers. Public offices are appointed or elected rather than inherited, and are not the private property of the people who hold them. That is, it is not a monarch.

Currently, 135 out of the world''s 206 sovereign states use the word “republic" as part of their official names. In a republic, the sovereign power is vested in one or more people elected by the community and held answerable to it. independence brings freedom and power to a nation but becoming a republican gives the power to the citizens.

Through the finished work of Christ, Christians are in a Republic. The power is ours! Christ liberated us from sin and the bondage of the devil, gave us grace and distributed His Spirit among us. In addition, He Himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. But He did all this for one reason-to equip the saints and build us up to the oneness of faith and of the knowledge of God and of unity and maturity.

Through this, His grand plan is to join us all firmly together in Christ who is the head. This is the government of God. The power flows from God through His leaders to all Christians and it flows back to God. lt is the Republic of God! That is not to say that God is not sovereign but rather to say that through His goodness, He chooses to empower us to make us partakers and partners with Him in the building of His Kingdom here on earth. To wit, we must fully exercise the powers given us by both God and the Sovereign Republic of Ghana for the development of both Kingdoms. This is what Jesus truly meant when He said “Give to God what is God’s and give to Caesar what Caesars." We must be responsible citizens of Ghana by becoming interested in national issues, exercising our franchise, being illustrious and ensuring that the right things are done. We must also learn to hold our leaders to the task, as citizens of a republic.

Prayer Guide:

Pray for Ghana. Ask that rule of law and the creation of equal opportunities for all shall characterize us as a people always. Pray that God will always help us to choose for ourselves good leaders who will help us to improve our lot as a republic. (EH)\

MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) ~ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!