Everlasting Gospel
First lesson: John 1: 17
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Second lesson: Matthew 22 : 37
“Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Golden text: Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
6.1 Total surrendering
Beloved, from now on till eternity, we will not talk about any other person but Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is so because He alone loves God and in Him lies the hope for the world's salvation.
He is the only one that has taught us the truth and our lives depend on Him. The first lesson reads that, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came from Jesus Christ.
The problem of the entire world stems from the fact that you do not hear the word of God and you neither accept it nor practise it. If people of the world had loved God with all their hearts and minds; and above all, believed and seen Him as the only hope for man's salvation, they would not have lamented, experienced lack, or had any problem at all. If we had sanctified our heart, refrained from sins and practiced His divine teachings all would be well with us.
A lot of people may not have realised that the attendant rewards gained from practising the word of God is far more than a whole world to be owned by one person. After all, His word is more than the whole world. You have been enjoined thus;
“This is my commandment that ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12)
Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is actually the real kingdom of God you have been hearing about. We shall continue to preach love to you at all times. When you have this love richly endowed in you then you will not commit sin and you will be perfect and pure as He is. And above all, you will be saved.
If you listen to, assimilate, accept and put to practice all that you have been taught about the kingdom of God, I am convinced that the world will be problem free. And in addition, peace will return to the world.
6.2 have a perfect heart
It is through a perfect heart that you can practise righteousness. Mercy comes from the heart, patience, love, humility, benevolence, honesty, obedience and all virtues are the function of the heart. Even truth is a fruit of the heart. And so, if one's state of mind is negative nothing good can ever come from such a man. This accounts for why our Lord Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees:
“0 generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12: 34}.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of evil treasure bringeth forth evil things (Matthew 12:34-35). And so you will realise that loving God with all our hearts, minds and lifes is nothing to yoke with if we must be joint heirs in the kingdom of God.
If we are rich in righteousness we will behold God in our life and we will not have time to commit all sorts of sinful acts. We will spend all our times and lifes in doing the work of God. For Christ said:
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my word, hath one thaf judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall 'judge him in the last day.” (John12: 48).
Let us abide in the love of God. And if we allow this love to dwell in us it will be our armour. In so doing we will not commit sin.
I am revealing to you in clear terms that the problem of the whole world emanates from the fact that, the world has rejected the one that has come to lead mankind (among other creation of God) to the perfect knowledge of truth.
Wife, children, husband, money, houses, cars, jewels, position, academic qualification, clothings etc. as you often say are not the problem of the world. The problems of the world are traceable to the fact that you have bluntly refused to heed God's instructions.
He has brought grace, salvation, life, health, mercy, truth, love, goodness and all virtues of God to mankind. But unfortunately, we do not want these things, instead we relish wallowing in vices all life long.
A local adage has it that the first person who goes to the stream at dawn fetches the cleanest water. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God. He knows God and loves Him. Hence, He advises us to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls. And right now, as many as those who practise these words are saved. It was for this reason our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
If indeed we reject His teaching, where do we go from here? First look at what is happening in the world today, What do you think is the cause?
Recall that our Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples, why they called Him Lord when they did not keep His words. Let us start now to practise His words noting that, if we reject Him we have rejected our lifes. Do not be boastful of anything either in the west, east, north or south rather rejoice that you have practiced His word. Life can not be gotten from the north, south, east or west. In God do we have life and without Him we are perished.
Grace, mercy, truth etc. are brought to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ. The only short cut to your salvation is to accept Him, practise His word which is love and teach others so to do.
Do not pre-occupy your mind with any frivolous thing other than to practise the word of God. You have to love Him with all your mind, heart, life and indeed soul.
For bringing grace and truth to us, we have to appreciate His love for mankind by giving Him our selfless service. How can you do this? There is no way you can go about loving God with all your heart, mind and soul unless your heart is pure. Good enough the bible discloses to us that;
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5: 8}
People die because they lack this true perception. After all, no one that has seen God ever dies. He can never die. God brought you into this kingdom, but the fact that you still wallow in sins and do not practise His word that is why you cannot see Him.
Except you love God with all your mind, heart, soul and indeed all your life, you can not have life. You have no share in the Kingdom of God.
Afterall, what does it cost you to love God selflessly? You only stand to be rewarded bountifully and in addition, all your problems will cease. All you will see is God and His blessings will be showered on you. And you will not hear or take advice from anybody apart from Him. This is so because, you have seen Him face to face. And you will have peace, life, love and all good things in abundance. If you are rich in love, you will only think and practise love and nothing more.
One is enslaved to what he loves best. If you love God alone, we will not have anything to do with sins. We will take Him as everything to us. He is grace and truth.
Anyone who loves God with all his heart, mind and soul has no problem whatsoever. Such a person too does not bother about how, where and when to see God for he has God lavishly in him. Such a person does not lack anything because He is the embodiment of all needs. Our first lesson:
First lesson: John 1:17
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ "
6.3 The age of grace
Beloved, do you not see the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ brought for us love, life, power, truth among other virtues? This is so because Moses had condemned the world, but Christ came and salvaged mankind by sacrificing His dear life. Was it not for this reason that Peter asked Christ the number of times that one could be offended and still forgives the person? In his answer, Christ told him that.... “until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18: 21-22).
Since Our Lord Jesus Christ condemned both the counting of sins on people and hatred but advised people to embrace the love of God, it means He was one with God. It was because of this that He conquered every adversity at ease. You may have heard that right from the inception of the world, only Our Lord Jesus Christ has seen God. He is the only one that has remained in God's bosom and also revealed God to mankind.
6.4 Only Jesus Christ saw God
The story that, Moses, Abraham, Jacob and the rest of such prophets saw God is a fallacious statement. This is because such a story has no element of truth. But it is true that Christ saw God because, He loved God with all His mind, heart and soul. The instruction that we all should love God with all our heart, mind and soul is from God. Therefore, it is imperative that we practise same, should we desire to be blessed. You are asked to practise this and see if it will not work. Do you not know that, it was as a result of Christ's interest and love for the Father that, He always called on Him? Also remember that when Philip asked Him to show them the Father, He said:
"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? They that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then. show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." (John 14:9-10).
It does not cost us anything to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew the essence of loving God wholeheartedly, hence. He strongly enjoined us to practise same. It was as a result of Christ's total love for God that He did not encounter any problem. He does not only live for ever but also successfully hands over all that the Father had given to Him to us. But it is really pathetic that we have left such goodness and gone to embrace evil.
The parable illustrated by Christ in Matthew 7:6 is solely about us. This is because we have rejected His teachings which would have solved our problems to embrace wrong ideas and values that constitute our problems. This is a demonstration of the fact that the pearl has been thrown to the swine. You have been sending diverse requests to God but how many of you have loved Him wholeheartedly? God is not in money, house, cars etc., Rather He is in your heart. And you would be made whole if you should love Him wholeheartedly.
Have you not heard what Christ said to Philip? "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake." (John 14:11) Once you accept God wholeheartedly and believe in Him, He will dwell in you and you will feel His existence in you. You will also have His bountiful joy. Having been told of the importance of loving God wholeheartedly, it is imperative that you turn a new life and imbibe the culture of love. You should from this moment start to cultivate the love of God in you. It is mandatory for all to love God wholeheartedly. By so doing, nothing will hurt us.
6.5 Loving God is primary in life
When the Pharisees demanded Christ to show them how the kingdom of' God is. He replied them thus: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17: 21). Most of you request God to bless you with money to enable you serve Him diligently. You want to get money to help buy motor cars and build houses for Him. But this is just the secondary aspect of it all; but the primary aspect which you ought to do is to love Him (God) with all your heart, mind and soul. God needs nothing apart from a holy and spotless heart. If you have such purity of heart, for sure, you will see Him.
One of our spiritual choruses says, “if your heart is pure, I will make it my abode.” Therefore, if your heart is pure certainly He will come in and live in you. It is only there and then you will be able to see Him instead of ghost, witches, juju. mermaid etc. In fact, should God dwell in you, you would be completely free from trouble. So, there is need to have a pure heart that is fit for God to live in. The Bible has it that:
"Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure: but even their mind and conscience is defiled." (Titus 1 :15).
You all have been commissioned to go into the world and teach this particular injunction to the people of the world. And if you and them practise this injunction, the joy of God will be yours. The injunction does not come from anyone here on earth or beneath the earth. It is from the Almighty Father. It is only when we practise this teaching, that we will know the source of the teaching. This gospel constitutes the key to knowing God and being with Him. Therefore, stop seeking for God in different parts of the world, instead, love Him wholeheartedly and be pure, for you will see Him at will. By so doing, you are saved. Read our second lesson again.
2nd lesson: Matthew 22 : 37
"Jesus said unto him, thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
6.6 The first injunction
Having read the above excerpt, what has Jesus Christ enjoined you to do? Has He not enjoined you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind? This is what you have to inform everybody. Then hardly would you see anybody asking about what God expects of him and what Christ enjoins all to practise. You should hold yourself responsible and your blood would be on you, should you fail to practice this injunction. The injunction given in this sermon by Christ constitutes the first and foremost commandment; It is the injunction that constitutes our joy, truth and love. Should we practise this gospel, we would see the reward instantly.
Whoever fails to see such reward should know that, he has not practiced this injunction. Should anyone fail to behold God, then he has not loved Him with all his heart, soul and mind.
6.7 Loving God with all your heart
If peace eludes you it means you do not love Him with all your heart, mind and soul. If you find yourself in an adverse situation then know that you do not love Him with all your heart, mind and soul.
When Christ told His disciples that He was going to Bethany, they asked why He should go back to where they sought to stone Him. So He answered them and said;
"Are there not twelve hours in the day? he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world" (John 11:9)
If you should love God with all your heart, mind and soul, you would never encounter any kind of problem. You would never see nor come across any thing evil. All you will see will be the Father and you would only talk about the Father at all times. Christ was always calling on the Father, referring to Him at all times. You can neither see the Father nor talk about Him for now because you do not love Him with all your mind, heart and soul. Can you now see the reason why when Christ attended a feast with His parents at Jerusalem and after the feast, the parents did not see Him for two days?. When the parents came back and saw Him, He asked them, what was their business with Him? He further asked them whether He should not abide in His Father's House? If you love God with all your heart, mind and soul, you would never encounter any problem, nor see anything evil. It is only the Father, that would completely occupy your thought.
With this type of love you will never be annoyed. It is only the Father that will be everything in your life. This is the reason why Christ warned:
'Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him' (John 2: 15}.
The main theme of this sermon and others to come shall be centred on how to love your God with all your heart, mind and soul. It was because of the lack of this love that Christ reminded the people that they only love Him with their mouth but not their hearts.
Now, search yourselves because, most of you only profess to love God but your hearts are far from Him. Since He does not wish that we should perish, this is the reason why He has seen it necessary to deliver this message to us so that we will go back to that first love. I feel that God loves us so much that He will not want us to perish. This is the reason why He has given us this gospel at this eleventh hour so that we will not forget these facts. It is written;
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candle stick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2: 4-5}.
Today has really proved the fact that God's love for us is great and so unfathomable. It is said, though you bestow all your wealth to feed the poor and give your body to be burned, if you fail to love God with all your heart, mind and soul, it avails you nothing.
6.8 Earthly things are nothing
Whether you have money or not, you are beautiful or not, educated or not, these things are not important. All God needs from you is to love Him with all your heart, mind and soul and you will behold Him. He will dwell in you and take control of your life. You will not even need food, money or any carnal thing apart from the Father. Remember that Moses had said that when the time comes, God shall raise a Prophet amongst you, whom you all should listen to. And that whoever shall not listen to His voice shall be cut off from the face of the earth. If somebody should ask you the reason why we are faced with problems, the simple answer is that we have refused to listen to the voice of God.
6.9 The grace of God
If the people of the world should seek for the solution to all the problems plaguing them, you should advise them to start to love God with all their mind and soul. This is therefore, the grace and the truth. The reason why you keep talking about man, juju, ghost, mermaid, witch and aparison is because you do not love God with all your heart, mind and soul. Whoever loves God talks only about God, and sees God at all times. Such a person can never indulge in sinfulness because his testimonies are always centred on God. If somebody should come and invite you to Jerusalem or to the desert to see God, do not go for God can never be found in those places. He dwells in you. If you love God with all your mind, heart and soul, you will see Him. Also you will never be tormented by worldly things. You would never experience famine nor darkness in your life.
Christ had said that, blessed is he whose heart is pure for he shall see God (Matthew 5:8) Little did we know that the statement consists of salvation and grace of God. It is also the life and glory of God. The statement is nothing but the truth and is trust worthy. The moment you love your God with all your heart, mind and soul, you have been completely separated from the world. You would have nothing to do with any other thing apart from the Father. You would always testify of the Father alone.
I thank the Father so much, because He does not wish that the world should perish. For this reason, He has given this package and has reminded us of the things we had forgotten.
The Father in His infinite mercy shall continue to remind you of this from time to time, to love your God with all your heart, mind and soul. Put your trust in Him. You should practice this love and devote your entire heart into loving your God at all times. You should accept Him fully. Let the golden text be read.
Golden text: Matthew 5: 8
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "
6.10 Surrender your heart to God in love
Do not ask question, argue or doubt Him. Put these words into practice and you will surely see a change in your life. You would no longer talk about other worldly things, for you would talk about the Father alone. It is said that he who is heavenly speaks of the heavenly things only. When you get to that state, it means you are in heaven. It is said that, we err in everything but whosoever bridles his tongue is perfect. Who is everything but whosoever guards his tongue is perfect. Who is that person who does not err with what he speaks? It is he who loves God with all his mind, heart and soul. If you love God with your mind, heart and soul, you will never quarrel, fight or see evil. You will see neither the day nor night; you will only see the Father in all things.
All the money in this world would be nothing before you. You would never see any woman, man, dresses and other worldly thing. All that you would see would be the Father. This is also the reason why it is said;
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3 : 2).
If you want to know more, then start practising this gospel and teach others in the world to practice same. By so doing, you will discover that the kingdom of God is here with you. Since it is not too late to mend your ways, you should start to love your God with all your heart, mind and soul. The moment you practice these words you are free.
6.11 An illustration
Supposing a large house is built to quarter a group of women, and fenced around to prevent the women from being corrupt. Another building is set about a distance of 300 miles apart, for men, also with fence. Would that prevent the women from moving to and from where the men are confined? Have you not gone into the river to search for fish, no matter the depth of the sea? It is said that where your treasure is there also is your heart. When you say that money, women and other material things are the cause of all the problems in the world, I refuse to accept it.
The cause of all the problems in the world is that, man does not love God with all his heart, mind and soul; and there is no love of God in your heart. Whoever loves God with all his heart, mind and soul can never be burnt by fire. He can never see death or aparison. He would never see anything evil no matter where he finds himself. And to such a person, money would be nothing. But he would only see God and the things of God. You are all aware of the fact that I have no regards for the world. I do not even see anything apart from the Father.
Now you are happy and this happiness has been extended to the whole world. Right from now, I want you to put these words into practice.
May the Father bless his holy words. Amen.
Thank You Father.