Everlasting Gospel
Text of discourse: John 21
2.1 The benefits of belonging to God
Have you realised the benefits of your believing in God? If you really believe in Him and keep His commandments, the word of God will live in you; it will be your food, life, clothing and every other thing in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Consider the words of Christ as recorded in John 21 :15-22.
“So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon Son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs He saith to Him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?. He saith unto him, yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him. Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said, unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shaft stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, Lord which is he that betrayeth thee?
Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.”
2.2 Follow God sheepishly
The above excerpt teaches that you should no longer be inquisitive, trying to know what God wants to accomplish. Instead follow Him sheepishly and be mindful of your ways. You are to follow God sheepishly. If He commissions you to go to Lagos, the depth of waters or anywhere, do so without questioning. He. has the reserved right and authority to use us for anything He desires, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are expected to love Him wholeheartedly with our soul and thought.
If we do not possess the love of God in us, then we are worthless. When we love Him wholeheartedly, He will live in us, wherever we go, He will accomplish everything for us. His words are like flames which He uses to heal our Infirmities, cleanses the leper, takes away our tribulations, protects you and accomplishes everything for us. If you realise that Christ is the one doing every work in our life, we should not doubt Him any longer. He lives in you. He is equally in front and behind you, He talks and answers questions on your behalf, heals your sicknesses, sings, dances and does everything for you. It is erroneous to say that Jesus did this or Peter did that, for nobody takes glory for any work accomplished by God. Christ is the one who accomplishes everything in heaven and on earth.
Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Peter if he loves Him three times consecutively. He did that because Peter denied Him three times. This question was asked to affirm the extent of his love to God. This explains why, at any time you are sent to do a job, God tries to affirm your commitment and loyalty. Where these are ascertained, he will assure you of His wiliness to have the job accomplished. In other words, you should be mindful of your negative stand towards the work of God. You are expected to declare your preparedness to serve God because every utterance you make, must surely come to pass.
You may recall what happened after the death of Jesus. Peter did not do the things that pleased him but believed in Christ. In the same manner, you should no longer live for yourself but live according to His divine directives, for He is the architect of our fortune. Presently, you are of the view that you should live as it pleases you but this is detrimental to your well being. Always listen to your spirit and adhere to His divine directives. Whatever He instructs you not to do, flee from it. In the same vein, whatever He admonishes you to do, try and adhere to the instruction. Be guided by Him alone. If He instructs you to stand or sit, run or walk, try and carry out the instructions.
Do not live for yourself any longer neither for any person but for Christ and allow Him to live in you. Obey Him alone. He is always in front and behind you. He is the one who asks questions and provide answers; He does virtually everything. Undoubtedly, He does not forsake you for a second, hence you have nothing to do for yourself than to surrender to God and bear eloquent testimonies of His glories and manifestations. This is why the Father reiterates that you should speak the word, and every word you speak must surely yield good fruits. Luke21 : 13-15 states:
“And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.”
2.3 The wisdom from God
If your Father admonishes you to speak, do so and by so doing it will come to pass as if He was speaking directly. Whenever you attempt to speak out of your own volition, you will fail. At any given situation, if you preplan your speeches, it is an indication that you have failed. Instead of this, remain mute, He will speak His words. Whenever you are to preach or are asked of anything, allow, the Holy Spirit to do His Will. You should only bear eloquent testimony of His works.
Matthew 10: 19-20 states:
“But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
Brethren, as you walk, is it not the same Christ who is guiding your footsteps to wherever you go? Similarly, the compliments you give to some one is Christ's. Therefore, whatever you see, as well as the words you speak are from Him for we bear eloquent testimony of Him. People erroneously claim knowledge of one thing or another; whereas Jesus the Christ is the phenomenon doing all the works we are seeing today.
Wherever you are sent on an errand, you are not the one going but Christ Himself. It is unfortunate that you know neither yourself nor the person who is accomplishing all these great feats. As a result of your ignorance about this fact, you attribute these achievements to a chorister or spirited child; whereas the glory of these achievements should be credited to Christ. In John 7 : 16- 18,
“Jesus answered them, and said. My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will. he shall know of the doctrine. whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.”
2.4 Christ: the architect of all things
Surrender yourself completely to God and not speak on your own volition. Follow Him sheepishly for He is the architect of all things. Furthermore, you should testify about His glory and do not glorify yourself or any person and do not attempt to do anything on your own volition. As a matter of fact, if you attempt to speak on your own volition, you will fail, for whatever you say by your volition shows that you are glorifying yourself. On the other hand, if you seek to glorify the one who sent you, you will be. Wonderfully glorified by God, to the amazement of everyone. Realise that if He commissions one on an assignment, He does not leave the person desperately. He is the way, life and the truth. The songs you sing and the dance steps and every other thing belong to Him, Him alone.
In John 14 : 6-12.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he 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. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that belteveth on me,the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go ' unto my Father.”
People, including you, are looking up to the sky, inside water, the abyss left and right axis, attributing these great feats to Olumba whereas these works are accomplished by Christ Himself, who is here on earth. The Father is also here and the Holy Spirit is here too.
Spiritual chorus
I have come by myself, sending no one for i have revealed myself unto the world that i have come to die no more as people presume . rejoice and sing 0 my brethren for i have assumed glory.
The above song explains why I have warned you not to be boastful of power. The ability to preach the word of God or raise the dead is purely Christ's. He dwells in us and does all things. That is why people are always surprised when they see a woman or a child preaching the word of God whereas it is not this little child who is preaching per se but Christ who indwells him. Before now, did you realise that these works are accomplished by the Father? If He does 'not reveal Himself to you, you will not know Him.
You erroneously proclaim that the little children are walking alone or only women are gathered without a man. But who tells you that the children are walking alone or that there are only women gathered. Similarly, you proclaim that there are aged people walking. Who tells you -that they are aged? If somebody points an accusing finger at you, is he doing so to you? The answer is no! He is pointing at Christ. The courage in you reveals that He is living in you. Our Lord Jesus Christ once said:
“For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak, and I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the father said unto me, so I speak.” (John 12:49-50)
2.5 God's command is life everlasting
The above test confirms the lyrics of the spiritual chorus which has it that, somebody is leading me, somebody is leading me, somebody is leading me Olumba is the one leading me. Have you realised that? Truly, He is leading us and until He utters a word, you would not know what to say. The prayer you offer, is He not the one praying? Everybody in the world seems to be attributing these great achievements to Brotherhood, whereas Christ is the one accomplishing all these things. How can you, on your own successfully teach the others? He is the only person who takes credits for all the feats accomplished in the morning, afternoon evening and every other time. Why do you not believe in Him? Many people are worried with thoughts about material things. By so doing, you seek to glorify yourself.
2.6 You are an over comer
His words are wonderful such that when they fall on the ground, they crush mighty rocks and rise to fulfill His will. You should fear nothing because you are His vessel, authorized to bear eloquent testimony about His glory. Undoubtedly, you are an overcomer. No one can withstand the courage which He has endowed you. In the same vein, He has conquered the entire world and His authority is unchallenged.
John 14: 16-18 states
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter , that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.”
2.7 The Comforter is on earth
With this assurance, why do you panic? Why are you afraid? An adage says that No masquerade can attack the child when the Father is present at the masquerade arena. Make bold to say the truth. If you realise that He is with you wherever you go, do not be afraid. One of our local adage says "He who steps first into the stream sees the water at its natural state". This is to say that He is at the forefront of everything. Therefore if He stands still, walks or directs you to go from house to house, try and abide by His directives.
When Caiaphas pronounced that, "it was good for one person to die than the entire community to perish," little did he know that he was setting fire on dry leaves. Many people are of the view that he killed Jesus, whereas that was the time he actually commenced His mission. When you throw a Brotherhood child on the floor, you have succeeded in doing him no harm but you have caused the truth to explode.
Lament and weep no more, do not mourn, speak no vain word, or nurture evil thought. He is the one who sends one on an errand and goes forth to accomplish it. Do not be afraid even at midnight or when thunder strikes, for He is always with you. You should not be afraid when you are confronted by battalion of soldiers, continue to move forward for He is moving with you. This is confirmed by His promise as recorded in Matthew 28: 18-20
".... All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Doubt Him no more for the Father has adorned you with His armour. No other thing can flap its wings against you. He is the soldier, police and even the custom officer as well as the Director and Minister. He is always with you while you are sleeping, running and wherever you find yourself. Do not be afraid any more, for you are no longer alone but with the Father. While you are walking on the road, He will be there to clear the way and create a problem free path for you. Why then should you be afraid? He is always in front and behind, on the left and right and everywhere.
When you are sent on an errand by God, be assured that you will have wonderful testimonies in the course of doing the assignment. It is profitable to attend Bible Class lectures and to practise God's injunctions, for they constitute the power and salvation from God, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Henceforth, be attentive to the admonition of the Father and do not preach what He has not directed you to preach. Whatever He admonished you to do, do it, even when it rains or shines. do not be misled by another person or attempt to accomplish your thoughts, for He does not forsake you for a second. He is like a guide, thunder, lightening, and can explode at will, to accomplish His assignments. If somebody tells you that Our Lord Jesus Christ is in the sky, do not believe him. Neither is He in Jerusalem, He lives in you.
May my peace and blessings abide with the entire world now and forever more. Amen.
THANK YOU FATHER