THE WORD OF GOD IS SUPREME

First lesson: 1 John: 4:19 “We love him, because He first loved us." Second lesson: 1 John: 3:7 “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." Golden text: 1 John: 2:29 “If you know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him." Brethren, hear the word of God. You are true witnesses to the fact that no other factor brought you here except the word of God. It is not dance or song, which has brought you here but the word of God. The first thing that every person, even a newly born baby should seek after is the word of God. It is a grievous mistake for any person to begin seeking for money, or child or wife, or husband or academic knowledge. It is the word, which was given to you by our Lord Jesus Christ when He said, “seek ye first the Kingdom of God”. What is the Kingdom of God? It is the word of God. Seek ye first the word of God, hear the word of God, receive the word of God and put it into practice. It is said: “seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you”. This statement by interpretation means that you should first hear the words of God, then put them into practice, and all other things will be bestowed on you. Many people erroneously claim that wherever they are, God is there. Yes, God is every where, but does not manifest His glory everywhere. And I ask them is God at any place where there is no word of God? If you are told somewhere that there are juju, charms, evil machination, ghost, concoctions and mermaid, but that God does not exist again because Satan has taken the reign, is God manifested in such a place? If you are advised to steal, fornicate, drink, take snuff and smoke, that God does not forbid you from indulging in them, do you believe that God is in such a place? The scripture has forbidden you from listening to evil communications because such speakers would surely lead you astray and deaden your spirit. If you find yourself among people who engage in idle conversations, conversing about fornication, politics or about women, the spirit of God is killed. 1.1 The word of God will not be taken from you I want to let you know that the most precious thing is to listen to the word of God. Mary was a damsel who was always sitting at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ listening to the word of God but Martha was always busy preparing food for the flesh and making certain that there was always something ready for our Lord Jesus Christ. She even reported Mary to our Lord Jesus Christ that she did not help her in the domestic duties. She said: " Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her, therefore, that she help me." Jesus answered her saying: " Martha, Martha, thou are careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful: and Mary had chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." 1.2 Practising the word of God comes by hearing Brethren, notice that if every person were to listen to the word of God, they would have known God. This is so because if you go to work in the Government Office, you will be taught about office routine and clerical work, or simple accounting or management. If you go to a firm, you would be taught how to buy and sell and keep account. There is no place in this wide world, which teaches you about God and the ways of righteousness. Do not blame any person whatever. Our Lord Jesus Christ had through the mouth of Saint Paul charged Timothy, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead, to preach the word and to be instant in season and out of season, to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all suffering and doctrine; for the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. Have you considered that statement which says: " For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they keep to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." Are these not true of this generation? Universities are built to teach people about politics, tricks, money and worldly things. This is that time. Since the disciples were assassinated, the world has been in great lack of the word of God. 1.3 It is the word of God that reforms Money cannot reform you; it cannot prevent you from stealing, fornicating and committing of other vices. It does not give anyone love or faith, yet you all regard money as the most important thing in your life. It is observed that you have never prayed to God to give you the word of God, which is the source of everything you can desire. To show you the significance of the word of God, the Pentecostal periods have been specifically scheduled not for any other thing but for the word of God. The word of God is life and that was why Christ told people who were thirsty to drink of the water of life. He told the woman of Samaria that He would give her the water of life which when she drank would not be thirsty again. The word of God is power; it is light. That which is impossible with man, is possible with the word of God. The five loaves of bread and two fishes our Lord Jesus Christ used in feeding the five thousand people, refer to the word of God. If it were fishes and bread, one would be hungry again after eating them; but the word of God opens the eyes and ears and penetrates into your bones and marrow. You can fire a gun at somebody because he has stolen, or has committed murder, but the more you kill criminals by firing squad the more others steal and kill and you will continue to fire these criminals until you fire at yourself. 1.4 Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the word of God Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is nothing else, but the word of God. It is not a church; it is not a prayer house; it is the word of God. This word of God, brethren, is the thing that opens your heart. The word of God is love, truth and money. As a matter of fact, the word of God is everything that you can think of. It is the word of God that we have here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star that is why you see all these spiritual virtues- joy, love, peace, wealth, health and so forth. In fact, everything that you find in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star emanates from the word of God. Brethren, you know that people are filled with the belief that there is juju, Beelzebub (Ekpinon), during the end of the year. You must therefore, sacrifice to appease the gods so that they may be happy with you and keep you alive. You must pour libation and sacrifice so that you may pass into the New Year. All such false beliefs are rampant in the whole world and are also in the heart of men. Here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, the word of God has made it clear that there is no evil spirit, witchcraft, Beelzebub. There is absolutely nothing else in the whole universe. It is only the Word of God that is supreme and controls everything. Here the word of God makes it clear that you are absolutely mistaken in your own mind, when you allege that a person is against you and that the power of Satan is out to destroy you. It is only an erroneous thinking. What you call evil spirit is just fornication, hatred and the lies that we tell. These are the things that can kill us and not the imagination of your own minds. You will note that it is only one God that we have. It is this God who created heaven and earth. It is the only God in existence. It is that very God who said: "Thou shall have no other god before me." Instead of listening to that and complying with it, human beings take consolation by saying that God helps you; you should also help yourself, because God helps those who help themselves. Then I ask you: "Is that the word of God?" I am telling you that any day that you enter into the house of a native doctor to take herb from him, probably, because you believe that a witch is out to destroy you or your children, you have been thrown into total darkness. You should remember when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the commandments for the children of Israel. They approached Aaron saying: "make a god for us and let us worship, for as for this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him." They handed over to Aaron their trinkets, rings and earrings. With these, Aaron made a golden calf for them to worship. They started to pour libation and sacrifice of cows and goats to this golden calf. They also offered burnt offerings and the people danced, ate and drank. It was because of worshipping that idol that God forsook the children of Israel. There is no need saying that since you have never stolen or killed there is no reason why you should suffer. There is no need of boasting, because if you have a little ring or amulet to protect you from evil people, that is sufficient reason for God to forsake you completely. This is why when you come here, the first thing you would be advised to do is to throw away all your charms, talisman and concoction which, hitherto, you had considered would have protected you. Thereafter, you would be asked to submit yourself to the baptism of the Holy Spirit which we have here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. As soon as you do this, you would realise that God indeed was not in any of those idols, which you were depending upon. What says the word of God as far as illness is concerned? The word of God says that if there is any person sick among you, let him call the elders of the church and before them confess his sins. The elders will pray and anoint him and the prayers of faith will heal him. That is the instruction of God. The word of God does not say one should go to the native or medical doctor; neither does it encourage one to go to a magician or even take herbs for one's cure. It does not direct you to do any other thing, except the instructions given above. 1.5 To call on angels is to prefer a servant to the master Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest doctor, lawyer or any other professional in the world. He controls everything. He is in your house. He dwells with you there. He is everywhere. Why then do you not call on Him? Why do you not believe in Him? Why do you not confide in our Lord Jesus Christ? In times of difficulty, He is ever ready to help you, protects you, saves and rescues you. Many people, when in difficulty shout: "Jesus! Jesus or they call on Saint Michael or Angel Gabriel or Raphael or Jehovah Jah, Jehovah Elohim to save them from their trouble. The scripture does not teach you so and that is why, since you have not received and complied with the word of God, you cannot be saved. Cherubim, Seraphim are all angels of God, they are under the control of Christ who is their King and who rules over them. They are only messengers to Him. See how piteous the world is. Instead of calling on the master who is our Lord Jesus Christ, they call on the servants, the messengers who cannot however, help them without receiving express permission from their master. 1.6 Christ is the Monarch of all creations It is a truism that God creates man, trees, animals, fishes, birds and all other things but since our Lord Jesus Christ existed before these things were created, they have to be subjected under His rule as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The time of His reign or rulership is now consummated. Every creation of God must therefore, remain in perfect silence. You mistakenly address Him “Jesus.” That is not His name. His name is our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the ruler of heaven and earth. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end who was in existence before the foundations of the world were laid, who cannot die but lives forever and ever. Our Lord Jesus does not die for ever. From the beginning, He has been the Son of God, the heir of God, sitting on the right hand of the Almighty Father. The statement: "Let us make man in our own image and our likeness," the plural word "We" presupposes that the Father told our Lord Jesus Christ that they should make man. This explains most conclusively that Christ existed before God created heavens and earth. Since then He has been living. He is not dead. He is not sick. He is a man; He is also a Spirit, He rules over and takes control of everything. But now, people inadvertently assume that He is in the sky, or He is in the heart of the ground or that He does not exist any longer and that He was killed. Who can kill the Son of God? He comes to your house, if you like you receive Him or drive Him away. He is your friend. He continues to do His work everywhere physically and spiritually; but you claim that He is not in existence. It is wrong idea to say: “Until Christ comes back." Where do you think He has gone to? He was in existence and He was a King before He came down to the earth; that was why He said: “And now. Oh! Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." This is absolutely conclusive that He existed before the foundations of the world were laid. He has no beginning of days or end of life, nor has He a pedigree. It is therefore, fool-hardiness to guess when He was born. That also explains why He told the Jews; “Before Abraham, I was." This means that He was in existence before Abraham. Why is Abraham referred to as the Father of Christ? This proves that He will never die because God does not die. He does not die also. 1.7 The Lord Jesus Christ is always with us It is not true when people refer to the first and second advents of our Lord Jesus Christ because He has never gone to anywhere since the beginning of the world. He has always been in the world but He can appear now in any form. He can appear as a woman or as an old man or as a very sickly fellow. Some people always wish that if they were alive when our Lord Jesus Christ was on earth, they could have told Him their problems. Tell them that He is right here with you, call upon Him, converse with Him, and make your request to Him. It is an illusion that Christ was crucified. What were actually crucified on the cross were the sins of the world. The flesh was nailed to the cross while the Spirit went back to the Father. Since He is Spirit in a physical form, He resurrected on the third day and appeared everywhere. He walked everywhere and showed Himself throughout the world. If you like to receive the gospel of this day, make an effort to practise it. Love everybody, surrender yourself completely to God and believe that Christ is here on earth and that He has not gone anywhere else. He is victorious over death. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He can reveal Himself to you now if He likes and you will see Him face to face, though you would still doubt Him. He told His disciples: " If you love me you will keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that He may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him for He dwelleth in you." He also said: " He that has my commandments, and keeps them, He it is who loves me, and he who loves me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." If you want to prove that our Lord Jesus Christ has not gone anywhere else, that He is very much around on earth, that He is found everywhere, that He is doing all the wonderful works on earth, from today, love Him and love one another as He instructs you. Refrain from fornication, stealing, deceit and lying, forsake all vices then you will see Him. If you like, attend the Bible Class so that this point could be expatiated upon for your understanding. He had promised when He said: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." He again said: "Yet a little while the world sees me no more, but ye see me because I live and you shall live also." The word of God also tells you to follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. If, therefore, you do not refrain from malice, fornication, anger, murmuring, craftiness and concoction, even if our Lord Jesus Christ is standing in front of you, it will not be possible for you to see Him. Let us read our first lesson again. First lesson: 1 John: 4:19 “We love him, because He first loved us.” 1.8 Love God and love one another Brethren, have you heard that? When you are told to love one another it means that we should love because Christ first loved us. Greater love had no man than this that a man should lay down His life for His friends. Today He tells us that He has given His life for the sake of His friends and so you must also do likewise, by loving one another. Whatever you are doing, whatever preparation you are making against the arrival of Christ, one thing is clear, that is, you should love God and your fellow man even as He loves you. What do you think is the position of one who owns heaven and earth? He owns all the created things and the uncreated ones: men, angels, houses, cars and anything you can possibly conceive in your mind. What can you do to please Him? In addition. He rules over the flesh, spirit, and everything is under His feet. He directs and controls everything. Whether you claim to know Him or not. He knows you and everything concerning you. If you comply with His commandments of loving one another, you have fulfilled all His commandments because He says: “A new commandment, I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." That is His commandment. You are owing and your creditor tells you to pay the debts to other persons, what will you lose if you pay the debt to others as advised? It is erroneous to try to recount what you have done to God. Whatever you do is an expression of love. He first loved us and what we do is valueless to Him for He is the one who loves us first. When Christ sat on the throne of His Father with the Holy Angels, it was He who volunteered to intercede for us as God wanted to destroy the whole world. At that time none was prepared to come down to save us from the destruction, not even the angels. But for the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ accepted to plead on our behalf, what do you think could have happened? It was after this that He gave us an injunction that we should love one another even as He loves us. Notice therefore, brethren, that no matter what we do, even if we refrain from fornication, theft, and falsehood and love Him, we still come to the same point that He first loved us. He is therefore, the person who loves us. If you steal, fornicate, tell lies, indulge in concoction, sow the seeds of segregation, you crucify Him the second time and have disgraced Him. Remember, He was crucified once for our transgression, it is not meet that any person should sin again. It is our duty to love all mankind, for when we love one another; it means that we have loved Him. You may not understand the statement that when you love one another, that you have loved Christ, but it is true. He told the righteous man, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty, you gave me water to drink, I was a stranger and you received me; I was naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to see me." The righteous man asked: "Lord, when did I see you hungry and fed you, thirsty and gave you water to drink, saw you as a stranger and took you in, naked and clothed you, sick and visited you, in prison and came to see you?" The King answered:” In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." The sick in the hospitals are Christ Himself; the prisoners in the prison yard are representing Christ, so also with the lunatics, the poor and beggars wandering along the streets. As you argue that man is not our Lord Jesus Christ; what is the meaning of Christian? What is Christ? Is Christ not one person and Christians the followers of Christ? This goes to confirm that we should love Him as well as loving one another because He first loved us. You have got to love one another. You should not tell lies to one another nor to deceive one another, neither should you intend to harm any person in the world, nor any creation of God. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords has enjoined us to love all as He loves us. That is His own order in this Kingdom of God. Brethren, let our second lesson be read, as I do not intend to take you any further. Second lesson: 1 John: 3:7 “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." 1.9 Practise righteousness If we claim to be Christians but we are not righteous, it means that we are deceiving ourselves for there is no truth in us. Do not allow any person to lead you astray by advising you to fight, cause trouble, steal or fornicate nor to indulge in any act contrary to God's commandment. Know that he who is righteous does righteousness always and such a person is righteous even as He is. This is the era of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is love, righteousness, truth, joy, mercy and meekness. The Holy Spirit is holy. Answering the name Brotherhood, Christ, Jehovah or Church, does not identify you but you will only be known by your deeds of righteousness. You are identified if you are righteous and live a righteous life. You who indulge in fornication and prostitution, in charms and concoctions, plurality of husbands, in initiating into secret societies, suing your fellow men before the law court, marrying many wives; are these what our Lord Jesus Christ enjoined us to do? Are you not aware of the fact that He died in order to put an end to these works of darkness? 1.10 Follow the examples of Christ God does not know the name of any church denomination, neither your name nor the name of your town, village or community, tribe or country but is after your becoming righteous in order to inherit this kingdom prepared for the righteous. Know that Christ did not belong to any church denomination. He went from place to place preaching the word of God, showing His love to all classes of people. He did not discriminate against any one neither was He pompous. He was righteous. Whosoever follows the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ will not hate, discriminate, kill, steal, impute sin on others; rather such a person will humble himself, will be merciful, will be meek and in short he will resemble our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, if you look round, you will notice that of all the church denominations, it is only in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star that people are taught not to drink, steal, fornicate, smoke, take snuff, kill, tell lies, hate, segregate and be drug addicted. It is only in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star that people are taught to love one another, to do good to all, to be kind, humble, merciful, meek, righteous, tell the truth. It is only there and then that you will resemble Him. You are aware that our Lord Jesus Christ did not belong to any church, neither did He join any secret society or lead an unrighteous life. He did not hate any person. He did not fornicate, steal, or discriminate. You have never heard that He quarreled or fought with anybody. He regarded everybody in the same way. It means then that any person who emulates these examples of our Lord Jesus Christ lives in Him and He dwells in him also. Have you ever read that our Lord Jesus Christ founded a church or that He condemned any church or preached against man condemning him? No. All that He did was to show expression of love to mankind. Remember the incident in which a woman taken in adultery, was taken to our Lord Jesus Christ by the Jews who said to Him: “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act; and Moses in the law commanded that such a person should be stoned, but what do you say?" Our Lord Jesus Christ stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground as though He did not hear them. When they continued to ask Him, He lifted up Himself and said to them, he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. When they heard it and being convicted by their own consciences went away, one by one. When Christ lifted up His face. He did not see any one and so He asked: " woman, where are those who accused you, had no man condemned you? She said no. Christ said neither do I condemn you but go and sin no more." When you look at all the church denominations, prayer houses and even what individuals set up, none is founded on righteousness. Remember the word of our Lord Jesus Christ when He said, “take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your soul”. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only person we should emulate and learn from His examples. His life is being studied in all schools, colleges, and universities, seminaries, and Bible colleges. The life and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ is being taught in schools, in churches, it is taught to children, men and women. Whosoever does righteousness is righteous. Notice that nobody will judge you but righteousness. If you are righteous, it means you are justified. What happens in the world is that many argue that Jesus was the Son of God and that they cannot remain as he was, for that reason they indulge in charms, talisman and concoctions as a means to ward off evil machinations of Satan. And I ask you: did our Lord Jesus Christ indulge in charms so that you can console yourself that you are emulating His examples? Brethren, notice that the whole world stands condemned. There is no person or group or institution that condemns you, it is your unrighteousness that has condemned you. It does not help you to shout on Jesus every time without being righteous. Has He not told them " not all those who call me Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of God but those who do the will of my Father which is in heaven?" What is the will of the Father? It is righteousness, to love everybody. When you do not quarrel and fight, steal or fornicate, hate or discriminate against your fellow men but regard every person in the same way, this is God's will. If all the numerous church denominations and religions in the world were to follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, there would have been no quarrelling, fighting, hatred, discrimination and segregation. Let the golden text be read again. Golden text: 1 John: 2:29 “If you know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him." What is read to you is the identification of the children of God. Many suggestions have been made that we should have uniforms to differentiate us from others. Some say we should have badges. These things are not necessary, but if you are righteous, you have the mark of a child of God. You are identified by your righteousness. 1.11 do good always Brethren, remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was a righteous man. He went on healing, feeding and teaching people freely. People, at that time, slandered, talked ill of Him yet He did not relent His effort in that great assignment. Here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, we share the same shame, slanders and lack of peace in our lives from the world. This goes to prove that we are the disciples of Christ. Besides, none in the fold of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star boasts of money, wealth, or academic attainment nor any wordly achievements. We are only proud of performing the acts of righteousness. We neither steal, tell lies, fornicate nor consult necromancers. We are proud of the good we can do. Just as the Jews were about to stone our Lord Jesus Christ, He asked: “For which of those works do ye stone me?" They answered Him: " for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." Our Lord Jesus cited what was written in the prophets that they are gods. He added: "though ye believe not me, believe the works". Did they believe in the good works that Christ did? Brethren, in this New Kingdom of God, do not apply your university knowledge, worldly experience nor any design of man for what is needed is nothing but righteousness. No charm remover is needed for the Holy Spirit treats all types of sickness. What is needed in this new kingdom of God is act of righteousness. Brethren, I shall not take you any longer. Let those who have ears, hear and may God Bless His holy words; Amen. THANK YOU FATHER