The Help of God

Delivered as an unscheduled message — one Rev. Koye-Ladele received only after the originally planned minister was unavailable — this sermon carries an urgency that reflects its unusual origin. The word he believed God gave him was simple: tell my people I am their help, and ask them to present their needs. Anchored in 2 Chronicles 26, he draws on the example of King Uzziah, who sought God and was marvelously helped, as a picture of what becomes possible when a life is oriented toward God as its source. He then outlines five ways to connect to divine help: recognising God as the helper and bringing needs directly to Him in prayer; seeking His face before knocking on any human door, so that when He does direct you to a person, the door will already be open; walking in faith as the impotent man at Bethesda did, taking a step even before the miracle is visible; casting every burden on Him, as Hannah did when she left the altar with her countenance changed; and persistent knocking, as the importunate widow refused to stop until her case was heard. The sermon closes with an extended time of congregational intercession, with members writing down seven personal requests and then praying over one another's needs.