The General Overseer of the Living Grace Ministries, Rev. Dr. Richard Owusu Akyeaw,
has observed that discouragement is the single most powerful feeling that influences
people with potential to exit their dreams and visions leading to poor individuals
and communities.
He added that many have given up on their God given assignments as a result of
discouragement and therefore urged christians not to be discouraged for any reason.
Describing discouragement as the ill feeling that drives away courage, he pointed
out that when it is fired at you, your entire personality is subdued if you allow it
to grip you.
Dr Owusu Akyeaw was speaking to the press after the launch of his maiden book “The
Pathway to Fruitfulness” at the Living Grace Chapel in Sunyani.
The General Overseer noted that discouragement is a reality of life and can be
caused by lack of respect, miscommunication, misunderstanding, conflict, criticism,
verbal abuse among others.
He pointed out that discouragement hurts and can change your entire body’s
chemistry, and cause you to throw away all your dreams, intents and purposes. Rev.
Dr. Owusu Akyeaw noted further that discouragement can dampen your mood, scar your
heart and enrage your response to God.
He charged Christians not to allow discouragement destroy them or stop them from
being fruitful, adding that to overcome discouragement, one needs to develop a
healthy spiritual life. “The level of our discouragement is reduced by the level of
our spiritual life”, he said.
He pointed out that when we are strong spiritually, the arrows of discouragement can
only sting, but can not pierce and wound the soul.
“A spiritually healthy person is better positioned to repel the arrows of
discouragement. Therefore, be encouraged and be strong in the things of the spirit
by being connected to the Holy Spirit”, he said.
In the book, Rev Dr Owusu Akyeaw discusses faith, righteousness, understanding,
inspiration, time consciousness, favour, giving, as some of the pathways to
fruitfulness.
The General Overseer also touched on some key principles leading to fruitfulness
including, prayer, perseverance, persistence, determination, indomitability,
tenacity, toughness and endurance.
Rev Dr Owusu Akyeaw also spoke about other enemies of fruitfulness including
troubles, frustration, accusation and fear, and urged Christians to overcome them by
the word of the Lord.
The General Secretary of the Temple of Praise, Rev. Adu Kyeremeh, expressed concern
about the poor reading habit among Africans and called for a radical change in that
direction.
He was worried about the saying that when you want to hide something from the
African, you put it into a book, and charged Christians in particular to cultivate
the habit of reading every useful materials.
Rev. Adu Kyeremeh pointed out that the information age demands deeper reading before
one can achieve success.
Reviewing the book, the Head Pastor of the Redemptive Power Ministry in South
Africa, Rev. Dr. Lloyd Kwesi Annan, commended Rev. Dr Owusu Akyeaw for writing the
book which would motivate Christians in several ways.
He said it takes excellent men of God to put their thoughts into writing to serve
future generations and described Rev Dr. Owusu Akyeaw as an excellent man of God
whose appetite for success knows no bounds.
Rev. Dr. Kwesi Annan urged christains to always tap into the grace their pastors and
avoid running from church to church.
He challenged the congregation to acquire the book and read it thoroughly to know
how to be fruitful as christains.
Present at the launch included, the Deputy General Overseer of the Living Grace
Ministries, Rev. Lawrence Gyamfi, the National Outreach Director of the Living Grace
Ministries, Rev. Collins Tettey, the Dean of the Christian Leadership Institute,
Rev. Aning Stephen Edward, the Proprietress of the Solomon Bennet Memorial School,
Grace Sheila Bennet.
