BEARING THE CROSS:THE GATEWAY TO GLORY

First lesson: John 3 : 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Golden text: Hebrews 12 : 1 - 4 “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 1.1 No cross, no crown These lessons affirm the fact that, without cross, there is no crown. If you do not bear the cross, you cannot be given the crown, no matter how numerous your worldly achievements are. Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ bore the cross before He received the crown. This fact cannot be altered by anything; not even prayer or any degree of benevolence. Spiritual choruses: 1. Endure in times of tribulation, for suffering strengthens a man spiritually.. 2. I will take you across the sea. For the battle is not tough. If you refuse to bear the cross by doing good works, alternatively, you would bear the cross by perpetrating evil, and consequently, you and your soul will suffer a great deal. In other words, if you are not ready to suffer for righteousness' sake, you will suffer for your evil practices, and the consequence for this would be the condemnation of your soul to hell. Beloved, it is a matter of compulsion, you have to bear the cross in order to obtain salvation. This is the irrevocable condition for grace and salvation. You have no cause to rejoice if you have not experienced tribulation. This is so because there is no other way that leads to salvation apart from treading the path of tribulation. Tribulation, which means bearing the cross, is the gateway to salvation. It was for this reason that our Lord Jesus Christ said, as recorded at St. John 10 :1; “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber”. 1.2 The irrevocable condition A lot of people have the willingness to become part of the kingdom but are unable to bear the cross. This condition is not revocable. The crown of glory would not be given to you if you do not bear the cross. The kingdom would have been very congested with people if the clause "no cross, no crown" was revoked. Everybody seeks the kingdom of God, but sees the cross as a great impediment. The Scriptures maintain at Hebrews 9 : 27, that: ...it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgement: The meaning of this excerpt is that, it is ordained that we must pass through cross into the kingdom of God. All of us belong to one Father, Teacher, Lord and Supreme King. For this reason, we must demonstrate love among ourselves. There are no two ways to this issue, you must "shed your blood" before you are allowed entry into the kingdom of God. There is no other way that leads to the kingdom of God besides bearing the cross. Carefully study the first lesson. Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated His love by laying down His life for us. It therefore becomes a must that we reciprocate this love by also giving our lives as ransom for other brethren. Endeavour to forsake all evil practices and carry the cross, for this is the only way to salvation. You have also been told that whoever does not reject his parents, children, husband, wife and his own life cannot be a true disciple of Christ. This fact is confirmed at Luke 14:26: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and his children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 1.3 The exemplary pathway This is a divine law; without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Man regards life as the most important thing, but God considers bearing the cross as the greatest accomplishment. Having had this knowledge, you can now understand why our Lord Jesus Christ stressed on the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of God. You must forsake all worldly things, refrain from all evils and surrender completely to the will of God. Truly, the abundant riches of a man cannot grant him entry into the kingdom of God. On a certain Wednesday night, our Lord Jesus Christ was arraigned before Pontius Pilate, the governor. Finding no fault in the Lord, Pilate decided to secretly send Him away from the reach of the Jews who earnestly sought His crucifixion. He handed over Christ to two Roman soldiers whom he instructed to lead Christ to a reasonable distance outside the Judean province where He could safely escape from the fury and jealousy of the Jewish people. The soldiers took the order of Pilate and led our Lord Jesus Christ away. But as they were leaving Jerusalem, a strange thing happened; Christ vanished and reappeared before Pilate. He did this for the will of God to manifest. In another instance, when Christ was overshadowed by the agony and sorrow of His imminent death in the garden of Gethsemane, He willingly allowed the will of God to prevail. This has reference at Matthew 26 : 36 - 39: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Geth-sem'-a-ne. and saith unto the disciples. Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'-e-dee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them. “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying. “0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt”. This portion of the scripture confirms that without the shedding of blood, there cannot be remission of sin. Cogitate over this question; is it possible for the redeemer to appear when all hopes are not lost? Any attempt to solve a problem when it is not yet God's appointed time always results in failure and hopelessness. Mark you, it is always when you are hopeless that the redeemer appears. We have only one Father, Mother and God. 1.4 The cross is inescapable The plain truth is that there cannot be any glory without the cross, and it would be self-deception to seek the crown without having borne the cross. Even if you have lived for many years, and have been in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star all along, you cannot be considered to have taken part in the services of God, if you have always avoided the cross. It is obvious that the kingdom of God would elude you. If I may ask, do you consider yourself greater than our Lord Jesus Christ who bore the cross? A lot of people make huge monetary and material donations towards the services of God, in a bid to escape the cross. These people, through these donations, console themselves that they would be admitted into the kingdom of God. It is absolutely impossible to gain admission into the kingdom of God without bearing the cross. Christ would have achieved it if it were possible. A lot of people are ready to give huge sum of money to be exempted from putting on the white soutane. The reason being that they do not want to be identified as members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. Many people fear being laughed at yet, they continue to nurse hope of entering the kingdom of God on the last day. This .is unfortunately impossible. 1.5 The aftermath of pride Lucifer was the closest angel to God and the choirmaster of all the heavenly choirs. In fact, Lucifer knew God much more than any other angel. Considering this unique position of Lucifer, what then could have been responsible for his fall? The cause of his fall was pride. Lucifer regarded our Lord Jesus Christ as a human being and so could not imagine himself condescending so low as to worship Him. So he outrightly refused to bow to Christ when God demanded all the angel to do so. Proudly, he claimed that the order was meant for the junior angels and not a superior angel like himself. This empty pride had resulted in Lucifer's dismissal and ejection from the presence of God. Lucifer, it should be understood, did not steal, kill, commit adultery or fornication. All he did was outright refusal to humble himself to worship our Lord Jesus Christ. It was this simple act of disobedience that caused his removal from heaven. You are now enjoined to be careful of what you indulge in, now that there is still an opportunity to call yourself to order. 1.6 God requires humility Be cautious in whatever you do. Considering what you have read so far, do you see any possibility of the world submitting to the rulership of God? Or what are the chances of the emperors, emirs, dukes, and other traditional rulers and royal highnesses submitting to the will of God? Every deed of righteousness centres around humility and reverence to God. Whatever is your status in society, you are required to be humble as a child. It is a standing order that you worship the Being that the heavens, earth and all creatures adore. He is the ruler of the heaven, the planetary bodies, planes and spiritual world of existence. The truth is, salvation would elude you if you refuse to worship Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly missionary activities, on a particular day, said to His disciples: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10 : 32 - 33). Our Lord Jesus Christ did not mince words, He clearly revealed that whoever is ashamed of Him before men, He would be ashamed of such a person before His Father and His angels. And whoever glorifies Him before men will also be glorified before His Father and angels. Refer also to Luke 12 : 8 - 9. 1.7 The three guiding principles in life The whole world is still not aware of the meaning of peace and reconciliation. Moreso, a lot of people do not understand the meaning of love. Actually, there are three guiding principles in life. They are Love, Peace and Unity. However, what underlines these three principles is forgiveness, and you should note that without the shedding of blood, there cannot be forgiveness of sin. Let me expatiate on them one after the other. 1.8 The meaning of peace It is said in the scriptures that: "blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."( Matthew 5: 9). What then is peace and who are the peace makers? Peace simply means completely forgiving your brother of his wrong deeds against you and also forgetting that he had ever wronged you. Peace does not indulge in retaliation but in whole-hearted forgiveness of his offenders. This practice brings about purity of heart. The only way you can have peace is when you have completely forgotten what your offender had done to you. And by so doing, you no longer impute sin to him. 1.9 The explanation of unity Whereas peace means complete forgiveness, unity signifies absolute togetherness. What has been united should, not. for any reason and under any circumstance, be separated. Whatever disagreement may occur in your midst, you are enjoined to remain together as an inseparable flock. 1.10 What love signifies The third principle which is Love plays a significant role in the life of man. No discrimination, segregation, division and hatred is found in love. There is neither man nor woman, old nor young, rich nor poor where love flourishes. The idea of having the lion's share has no place where love is found for everybody is one. If you live in love, you would accept all conditions and submit to the will of God. How possible is it for man to tap the abundant resources of nature if he refuses to abide in God by having faith in Him and adhering to His teachings? How can you acquire the various things you restlessly seek, by day and night, when you, being a branch, are cut off from the tree, which is Christ? The problem identified amongst you is fighting and claiming of right. We find it difficult to concede to others, but would want others to accept our ideas. Frantically, we make sure that everything is done to our favour and satisfaction. Those who always want to make profit without any loss do not lead a good life. 1.11 A call for universal equality In the world today, the Catholics see the Roman Catholic Church as the root or origin of all other churches, and so do not accept teachings from elsewhere. But remember that whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and those who would not submit to the power of God shall be crushed, knowing well that any one who collides with the power of God will be ground to dust and extinct from existence. Recall what befell the men of old such as Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Herod and Pilate. Nothing about them is heard anymore. What happened to them should serve as a frightening lesson to everybody. Whoever fights against the word of God shall cease to exist. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the perfect church hence does not ordain women as priests, despite serious pressure from various quarters. The church does not consider the status of a woman as worthy for priesthood. Take note of this pronouncemen: "the Roman Catholic Church is at the brink of extinction unless she becomes humble and submits to the supremacy and rulership of the Father. She has to practically demonstrate equality among all men, for inequality is the cause of all the problems that abound in the world. What God has shut, nobody can unlock, and what God has opened nobody can shut. Since God has personally descended to dwell with man on earth, He has put an end to strife, division and disputes. Moreso, there is an end to segregation, hatred, envy, discord, quarrelling and other unpleasant acts. His coming into the world has eliminated all forms of obstacles and malicious tendencies in men. His advent is accompanied with great joy, lavish peace, abundant love and eternal life. 1.12 The Father of unity is here The era of segregation is over; there is no more such identification as the white, black, red or coloured race. Very soon, segregation and division will cease completely in the world. There exists only one God, King, Lord, Kingdom and Father of all. And since the Father of unity has come to establish oneness in the entire universe, He has put an end to all problems. According to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, any person filled with the old wine cannot accept new wine. This is true because he would always commend its taste. This revelation is found at Luke 5 : 39: “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better”. A lot of people who claim to have loyally served their communities and done great works would never ever accept the rulership of young men in such communities. The problem of the whole world stems from her refusing to allow young men to rule. It is not uncommon to find people who claim to have founded chains of churches, or been loyal to a particular church for several years. Having accumulated so much worldly fame, they find it unthinkable to be under the control and rulership of a young man. These groups of people are those who seek the lion's share and their continuous advancement. And so, the young ones are discouraged from aspiring and advancing. 1.13 The stronghold of disunity The claims made by the Roman Catholic Church as being the first and best church existing is causing confusion and sectionalism in the world. In a situation where any government decides to embark on a project to improve the welfare of Christians in Christendom, it is the Roman Catholic Church that would claim the prominent position thereby relegating other churches in the entire Christian world to the background. Also, if somebody is needed in the Christian world to fill in a post somewhere, the papacy would make sure such a person is a Catholic, in spite of his barbaric, repulsive and wicked nature. The Roman Catholic church would do everything humanly possible to get the position for her member, even if he comes from the remotest part of the world. 1.14 The reward for the humble It is stated in the scriptures that “the first shall be the last, while the last shall be the first”. Whoever has accepted to worship a human being, as the "wise men" of the world put it, shall rejoice exceedingly. The people who have accepted to be called fools and have abandoned their possessions for the sake of the kingdom shall be rated first, and they shall have great joy. Furthermore, all those who have accepted to worship "man" and be led by 'man' shall be exalted. God was crucified for the sake of sinners.. He forgave our sins, not because of our righteousness. Why then do we vow not to forgive our brothers of their misdeeds? You have also sworn not to forgive your debtors unless they defray their debts. This action shows that so soon, you have completely forgotten the suffering, agony, shameful, death, and have disregarded the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which He shed for your sake. Each time you refuse to forget and forgive your brother of his wrongdoing, you directly challenge the powers of the Almighty God. Do allow the sleeping dog to lie. Remember that so long as you refuse to forgive your brethren, you also would not be forgiven. But when you forgive your brother of his fault, in turn, you would be forgiven, and such a noble deed would make you worthy of acceptance to God. A local adage says: "'when a child cries and points at a particular direction; if his father is not found there, his mother would be there.” During our Lord Jesus Christ's ministry on earth, each time He appeared before His disciples, His salutation was, "Let my peace be with you." You should always seek and dwell in peace. Expunge from your mind the wrong deeds of your brother; love everybody and have hope for the future. Do not pass judgement on anyone, for Brotherhood of the Cross and Star does not practise that. Peace demands complete forgiveness of all offences committed against you. It is a situation where you do not find any fault with your brother or neighbour. Vengeance does not exist where peace is profoundly found. The reason why our Lord Jesus Christ came to the world was to ensure the reign of perpetual peace on earth, so that mankind may have peace. Do not gather people for peace talks. Rather, you should make up your mind to forgive and forget all the wrongs perpetrated against you. The old world has passed away, this is a new world. Re-examine the First Lesson: First lesson: John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. 1.15 Seek the peace of God The First Lesson reveals the path that all men should tread. Any other path besides this one leads to perdition. Do not seek any other way; you should completely imbibe and adhere to the words in the Lesson above. Recall what transpired when Jacob and his children journeyed to Shalem. While there, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob was defiled by Shechem, the prince of Shalem. This did not please Levi and Simeon, the two sons of Jacob. Hamor, the prince's father hurriedly and remorsefully arranged a peace deal with Jacob; he pleaded with Jacob to allow peace prevail by allowing his son to marry Dinah. Meanwhile, Levi and Simeon, pretended to be satisfied with the peace arrangement. But unexpectedly, a few days after the peace settlement, Levi and Simeon went back secretly and killed the king, his son, Shechem, his brother and all the males in the city. The two sons of Jacob completely devastated the city of Shalem. For details, read Genesis 34 : 1 - 31. Enraged, Jacob pronounced curses on them, that the sword shall not depart from them. This has reference at Genesis 49 ; 5 - 7: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 0 my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. Jacob's curse on his two sons is responsible for the spirit of ingratitude and cruelty that is in whoever is a descendant of Levi and Simeon. Whatever good you do to them, you would be paid with the sword. Allow the injunctions of God to indwell you; be humble, do not impute sins to people and refrain from discriminating against people. God has given us numerous examples to show His impartial nature and they should be sufficient to lead us everyday in the path of righteousness. God provides rain and sun for everybody. The rain cannot fall neither can the sun shine without God's approval. There is nothing that happens on earth that is unknown to God. Everything done in the kingdom is done by God. He does not require the assistance of worldly wealth, power, wisdom and authorities to carry out anything in the world. Similarly, He does not need academic or secular knowledge to straighten things in His kingdom. You do not have any suggestion to make in the kingdom. 1.16 An illustration on peace Beloved, to drive home the lesson on forgiveness and peace, let me use an earthly event to illustrate a heavenly situation. There is a certain community in Abia State of Nigeria called Arochukwu. The community is broken into the north and south. It happened that at a certain time, the northern Arochukwu began to exert influence and superiority over the southern part. It claimed control of the central shrine which was the centre of worship for the whole community. This undue and unlawful hegemony culminated in a fierce war between the two parts of the community. In the course of the war, the men in Arochukwu were almost wiped out. Peace gave way to insecurity; love was supplanted by hatred; and chaos took the place of order. Amid these widespread confusion and death, a young man from one of the warring factions thought deeply over the unpleasant and wanton killing of human beings and decided that the war must be halted. And in order to achieve this, he built another shrine for the southern part of Arochukwu which happened to be where he came from while the northern part was allowed to control the central shrine. After this aim had been achieved, the young man did not gather both factions for a peace settlement rather, he forgave the other side and buried their past animosity. Beloved, by this noble act, peace, sanity, stability and love returned to the community of Arochukwu. Peace, by comparison, is much greater than all the wealth in the world; just like humility is greater than money. Having had this knowledge, you have been advised to desist from conceiving thought of being given exalted positions of authority and recognition in the kingdom. Do not, because of your high educational attainment and financial prowess seek to be exalted and recognised in the kingdom. Re-examine the Golden Text: Golden text: Hebrews 12 : 1 - 4: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” 1.17 Emulate the author and finisher of our faith Always remember that it was for our sake that our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood as the Supreme and final sacrifice, and therefore, has forgiven our sins. We should extend this forgiveness to others and no longer remember their sins. Why is it that you do not rejoice for being called into the kingdom? So long as you are in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, your entire household is protected by the Almighty Father. Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the only place in the world where you can have liberty. In the Kingdom, you are not requested to contribute in anyway to her growth. All you are required to do is to express unconditional love to one another. Henceforth, you should abide by the word of God and without complain accept His decision for it is only what God has planted that shall remain forever. 1.18 Biakpan: the panacea for all problems Whenever you are asked to embark on missionary activities, you choose to go to developed countries and cities like America, London, France, etc; where there is electricity, pipe-borne water, macadamised roads, decent accommodation and sophisticated buildings. But on your return, you bring with you diseases of various kinds. This is not what happens in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. In Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, when you go to Biakpan, a place regarded by people as undeveloped; without good roads and magnificent buildings, your illness iscured. By going to Biakpan, you become enriched, though you were poor; hope is restored to the hopeless, and the barren are made fruitful. Biakpan land is the panacea for all problems. This is the making of the Almighty Father. The deaf hear and the dumb speak by merely taking a bath in the Biakpan stream. It can be seen that Biakpan started from zero point. Nobody, including the government recognises the Biakpan community. The only person who has indicated interest in the development of the Biakpan Community is Apostle Odum,. who has built a nursery school there. People maintain that Biakpan is a remote village without motorable roads, electricity and industries. But I want everybody to watch and see what is going to become of that place in the nearest future. In no distant future, people will come to develop Biakpan, and the city would be developed to God's taste. Many people waste money on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Rome, and Mecca and the reason for their going to these places is because they have already been developed. You are free to embark on pilgrimage to Biakpan and other places that you choose. Personally, I left Biakpan in January, 1956, and have since not gone back there. People complain that going to Biakpan for Mother's and Father's day celebration is tedious. I am revealing that there will soon come a time when people would be begging to be allowed to go to Biakpan. 1.19 The dramatic changes in Biakpan Recall that there was a time when members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star were not allowed to operate freely. What is the situation today, has it not changed? The situation has changed tremendously. Brotherhood has spread her tentacles to all the nooks and crannies of the world. Even the Biakpan Rubber Estate has been leased to the Globemaster Services Limited. The question is, who is responsible for all these happenings? Is it man or the government? Neither of them is responsible. This is clearly the work of God. The Father has taken over the rulership of everything in the world. The obnoxious attitude of the members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star had, before now, been responsible for the criticisms initially leveled against the fold. This behaviour had also accounted for the rejection of the fold by non-members. Initially, the sole aim of members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star was to bathe in the holy stream at Biakpan so that their problems would be eradicated. Also, in the beginning, the Biakpan indigenes were hostile and never welcomed members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. But the reverse is the case today, their attitudes towards Brotherhood of the Cross and Star changed dramatically with the visit of the children of God to the land. The children of God, during their two weeks' visit to Biakpan in June, 1985, worked extensively, visited people, fetched water and wood for the inhabitants and paid courtesy calls to the chiefs and other dignitaries in the area. Very soon the glory of God will manifest in Biakpan, and the city, in the nearest future, will become a marvel to people. This will certainly come to pass because the Father is about to manifest various wonderful things in the land. 1.20 The time of separation It would not take long time, you will witness the departure of a lot of people from the fold. Such people are those whose reason for coming into Brotherhood of the Cross and Star had been to accumulate wealth and seek positions of authority. Their exit would create room for those who are interested in developing the kingdom. Undoubtedly, the Father's words are very efficacious; whenever He makes a promise, unfailingly, such a promise must come to pass. Do not forget that you would remain unnoticed if you do not let people know that you are there. Since members of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star have not realised the significance, and blessings of the promised land, Biakpan, let alone thinking of developing it, I am asking you to watch and see what God intends to do. God will, in His appointed time, do His will. Certainly, you would be amazed and surprised when these sayings shall come to pass. Beware that the most important thing is the shedding of blood. From all indications, you have not fought to that point. The 'shedding of blood" is required of every follower of Christ, because without bearing the cross, you would not be crowned with glory. 1.21 The rejection of Biakpan There are records of many preachers in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star who have diligently joyously served in various stations but have refused to go to Biakpan for a similar assignment. An example of one of such preachers is Christ's Witness Ime Akpakpan who had conscientiously served the Father at Oyubia and Essene for eleven and five years respectively. But when the Father asked him to go to Biakpan and develop the land, he actually went there and was given a house, but he could not stay so he had to run back to Calabar. Sister Mary Peters who is now in London is another example of one of the preachers who neglected Biakpan and rejected going to work there for the Father. Christ Witness Okokon Tete is the third person. In his case, he only accepted staying at Biakpan because of his father's illness. To prove this fact, Brother Okokon, no sooner than he had settled, started exhibiting his real self to the people. He made himself a chief and from that time till now, he is known and addressed as Saso meaning father. 1.22 The might of God in Biakpan Biakpan is a mysterious land and has remained even more mysterious to the people. Do watch every bit of development in that land rather than claim to have done one thing or the other in the fold. Note that it is only water that extinguishes fire and not the reverse. There is only one Spiritual Leader and Commander, and He is the Father. Comparatively, the Biakpan people and members of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star are not tougher or more stubborn than the people of Nineveh who were subdued and successfully transformed by God. 1.23 A challenge to the world Take particular note of the statements I made in 1938 and 1942, for they were made by God, I decided in 1938 that I will never take any decision or carry out anything on my own volition. In 1942, the Father also said nobody would be able to cause Him to be angry. He promised, a handsome reward for anyone who would be able to do so. And since then, nobody has been able to cause me to be exasperated. I have not been angry with an ant, bird, animal or man. Moreso, I have never bothered myself about the cares of life. We are henceforth expected to hearken to the advice of the Father by desisting from the various obnoxious behaviours which He has ceaselessly condemned. 1.24The gradual growth of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star According to the African culture, no matter how bad a child is, he is tolerated by his parents, and such a child can only be tolerated by his family. This is a similar thing happening between God and man. Though man has continued to be sinful, God has condemned and forgiven his sinfulness. But who am I to condemn any man for being sinful? All your sins are forgiven and you are no more expected to continue in your former sinful ways. You do not have the right to impute sin to your brethren. The Almighty God has personally come to establish His kingdom on earth. Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is gradually developing. Recall that there was a time when Brotherhood of the Cross and Star did not have a single cathedral. There also used to be a time when it was difficult for us to raise five thousand naira in a fund raising ceremony. The situation has greatly changed, today everywhere in the kingdom, we have surplus of cathedrals. And the proceeds realised in fund raising occasions run into millions of naira. So when the Father has completed His work, He will call the people meant to develop Biakpan to do it to His taste. The most cardinal issue is forgiveness; it is a must that you forgive your brother's mistakes against you so that you may also be forgiven. Beloved, a stroke of cane is sufficient for the wise. Let he who has ears hear what the Holy Spirit has imparted to the whole world. May God bless His holy words Amen. THANK YOU FATHER.