BROTHERHOOD OF THE CROSS AND STAR
First Bible Lesson: John 20:17
"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
Second Bible Lesson: Ephesians 4:4-6
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
Golden Text: 1 Peter 2:17
"Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honour the King."
Dear Brethren, we want to reveal an important thing to you today. The three lessons will give you an idea of what we are going to reveal. So please, Brethren, be attentive.
You may say that you know what Brotherhood means, but we know from our hearts that no one knows what Brotherhood means. People have given it many meanings.
It is as a result of these misconceptions that we have decided to take this opportunity to preach this Gospel. Therefore, today shall go down into history as a great day, a day of revelation, a day that Brotherhood was revealed to the world.
Professors, historians and many others from different universities have from time to time been coming to us inquiring about the origin of Brotherhood. We have in each case laughed at the limitation of their wisdom, and have asked them to go and love one another. Anybody on the surface of this globe who tells you that he has known the foundation of Brotherhood is a liar.
In this Gospel, we are not including the words, "Cross and Star", but Brotherhood only. Search yourselves, you who say, that you are Brotherhood, whether you are really Brotherhood. Search yourselves, you who say that you are not Brotherhood, whether you are not Brotherhood. What is the meaning of Brotherhood? It means God, Christ and the Angels. It means the people of this world, the fishes in the water, the trees in the forests, the grasses that grow in the fields. It means the ground on which we walk. Brotherhood means the Sky, the Wind, the Moon, the Sun, the Stars.
It means the worms, the ants, the birds. Brotherhood means every four-footed animal and every creeping thing. In short, Brotherhood means oneness. God and everything created by Him put together are Brotherhood.
Who owns Brotherhood? It is God who owns it, rules and leads it. But Christ takes charge. What are the duties of Angels. They are servants in Brotherhood. What are the duties of the Spirits? They are workers in Brotherhood. What are the duties of the People? They too are workers in Brotherhood. The Stars, Moon, Fishes, Animal, Birds of the Air, etc., are all workers in Brotherhood.
Brotherhood Means The Word Of God
Brotherhood does not mean two things. It means oneness. It is the word. It is the Truth. What is the word? It is God, Christ, human beings. It is everything in the world. Brotherhood is the word of God. Why is it that the people of this world do not know what Brotherhood means? It is because it is not given to them to understand. Brotherhood is not a Society, it is not a Cult. It is the Spirit of Love. I am Brotherhood, you are Brotherhood. You do not need to say, "I want to be Brotherhood". You are Brotherhood whether you like it or not. Everybody is Brotherhood. To those who want to know its origin, we say Brotherhood has no origin. It has no beginning, it has no end.
Except such a person wants to know the origin of God. Brotherhood was not founded by Christ, Angels or men. It was founded by God himself. God the founder is Love. Brotherhood means Love. It is truth, it is good manners, mercy, patience. It is humility, meekness, unity. It is oneness, it is one thought, one mind, one spirit, one faith, one hope. There is no division in Brotherhood. From the smallest village to the biggest one; all the countries in the world put together are Brotherhood.
The Garden Of Eden
God the Creator of Heaven and Earth, created Adam and Eve when He found out that everything was perfect. They were quartered in the Garden of Eden. There, angels, animals of different kinds, fishes, birds of the air, etc., had their abode. God made Adam the Overseer of everything in the Garden; from the angels to the smallest animals. They were his messengers and servants. (Gen. 1:26).
`God told him to speak to him direct for His ears were always opened unto his call. Finally God told him, "As for the fruit of the tree in the center of the garden taste thou not." (Gen 2:17). Everything started to work according to God's plan. Oneness which is Brotherhood started to bear fruits. Suddenly something spectacular happened. What was that? Adam had tasted the forbidden fruit after Satan had deceived him unto believing that it was the tree of wisdom. Tragedy had struck. Adam had disobeyed God. (Gen 3:1-11).
Then confusion, division and chaos set in. Darkness, death, sufferings, want and fear followed. The angels stood apart, the animals grouped themselves together; the fishes, the birds took different directions. The materials of war had been scattered. Sin began to reign. Destruction followed and angels refused to serve him. Animals and fishes which were created by God to be friends of men became edible things. This tragedy, the disobedience of Adam in the garden of Eden formed the First Chapter of Division in the history of Brotherhood.
Christ's Blood Unites Us
From that time till today, anybody who caused disunity and confusion in Brotherhood finds death staring at him. From the beginning of the world Brotherhood has been unity and love. God does not reign in anything disunited. The same thing is applicable to Christ. Wherever God and Christ rule, you find the angels, the spirits and yourselves there. The angels have no special form; not even the spirits. The angels and spirits belong to God. The human beings belong to God. We are all one. Christ said: "I and My Father are one". (John 10:30) He shed His blood for us so that we may come together again as we were before in the Garden of Eden. The fact that we had scattered because of the disobedience of Adam does not mean that we are no more in Brotherhood. God is still reigning over His people. The shedding of the Blood of Christ means the making of peace for all the scattered Brethren. This peace clears the way for all to come together again in the same fold in Brotherhood.
When He had not shed His Blood, He told his disciples to go only to the lost sheep of Israel and not to Samaria. Finally, He told them that there was another flock that was not there. (John 10:16). This flock He emphasized must be brought together under one shepherd. He was referring to the episode in the Garden of Eden that caused the disunity among God's creatures, the tragedy which caused everybody to wander into the furthermost part of the world. He was referring to those who had taken to different ways of life, which was at variance with God's. This class of people thought that God had forsaken them.
Spreading The Good Tidings
After His resurrection He empowered His disciples to go the Samaritans and to the outermost part of the world to preach the good tidings unto the people. This means that the world became one again as from the day his Blood was shed on the Cross. What is Brotherhood we ask again? It is the Children of God. What are the children of God? They are human beings. Who is the Son of God? He is God Himself. Everything is now one. One thought, one voice.
The voice of God is the voice of all human beings. His love is also the love of all human beings including the fishes in the waters and animals in the forests. God is everything. There is no more division among His children. We are no more branches, nor leaves. We are one solid body, one faith, one hope. You cannot do the will of God. To support what this means, Christ said, "I did the will of the one who sent Me". (John 5:30).
First Bible Lesson: John 20:17
"Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and unto My God, and your God."
Do you see what Brotherhood means? My Father, your Father, My God, your God. Just as He is your God, so also He is the God of the flowers, the God of the trees, grasses, animals, the God of Heaven, the sea and the stars, the moon and sky. He is the God of all human beings.
He is in all things and all things are in Him. Just as I give him glory, so do you give Him the same glory; the trees, birds, the insects, and animals have the same right to give Him glory. Just as He has divided Himself into everything so has He collected Himself together into one solid Body again. We know that this kind of language is strange. It is a universal language that ought to have been understood by you all.
You remember that people spoke one universal language before. But because of their quest to see God they started the building of the Tower of Babel. God saw the evil in this sort of adventure. To bring this wicked adventure to an abrupt end, He caused division among the builders by introducing different languages which made it impossible for one to understand the other. (Gen 11:6-9).
The Solid Knot
We cannot be Brotherhood when we are divided. Therefore even though God has asked Christ to take charge of Brotherhood, Christ alone cannot make Brotherhood, nor even the angels. Take away God; there is no Brotherhood. United we stand, divided we fall. There is Brotherhood when all these component parts are put together. When a nut in a car gets missing it is no more a complete car and does not move smoothly.
Similarly, God created all things and brought them into one solid knot. This knot again is Brotherhood. In this knot you find fire, water, sand, air, earth. We want you to understand this point very clearly. You are created from earth and a part of you is water.
If you say that water is not Brotherhood, why do you drink it. If you say that fire is not Brotherhood why do you use it. You can only take what belongs to you. If you ask why God is Brotherhood we tell you that you are in God. You can only walk with one who is with you.
If you ask why we say that leaves are Brotherhood, we ask you back, don't you eat them? Can you take what does not belong to you? They are all part of you. We eat fish, drink water, eat meat so as to live.
The same blood in you is the same blood in animals. The same water from your body is the same water from the tree. Why do you say that this or that man is not Brotherhood? Are you correct when you say that animals are not Brotherhood because they do not speak the language you understand? But does not God use the same earth to create both the animals and human beings. The same water that you find in a woman when she takes in is the same water you find in an animal when it takes in. God allows it for the building up of the body in the womb of a human being and also in the womb of animals. They go to prove further that we are all one.
Second Bible Lesson: Ephesians 4:4-6
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God, and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all."
White or Black, The Spirit Is The Same
Whether you are a European or an African, the skin is the same, the spirit is the same. The fishes, the animals, the birds of the air, etc., have the same Spirit that human beings have. The fact that you see trees and grasses in your dreams prove conclusively that they have one faith, one hope and one baptism. The plants, the flowers, the trees and the grasses have their baptism. Without this they too cannot grow in Spirit and in truth. The little plants that have now grown into tall and huge trees were watered when they were first planted. The little flowers which have now grown into blooming and fragrant flowers were watered when they were first planted. There is also the watering of the grass you have planted; the rain that falls from time to time which makes the immersion so complete from the kind of baptism they have to take.
This is the way it has pleased the Almighty to have them baptized. He is wonderful, and moves in mysterious ways. It serves as their food and baptism. The same water serves as our food and for baptism which means really that we all are one and the same thing, one spirit, one God, one Father and one faith.
The life of a tree is very much likened to the life of a man. A tree represents a human being just as a human being represents a tree. The world cannot understand this mystery unless the Spirit of understanding is given to them. We agree that we have taken you too far but we cannot help doing so because we do not want you to plead ignorance of these facts, though mysterious they are. The Spirit is the link between animals and human beings, between trees and human beings. The spirit is life because it is of God.
The fall of a big and prominent tree always follows the death of a prominent figure in the community. Also the death of a prominent person in the community always follows the fall of a prominent tree in the community. You are all living witnesses to these glaring facts. What is in you is found in trees. The trees converse just as you do. If you say you are wise, the trees are wiser. If you say you are stupid, there are dunces among the trees.
We ought to be friendly with everything created by God, from the fishes in the water to the animals that we kill for food. It is a hard fact that when you kill a fish you have killed a human being. God did not create these things to be destroyed by men because any attempt to do so is an attempt to destroy Him, for He breathes into them before they became living souls. They are one with Him.
Human Beings Are Animals
Very often when a man lies down, and somebody else passes by, you will hear him cautioning him to move gently for he was walking on his head. It means more than that ordinary expression.
Human beings are different animals. Some of us are goats, some of us are rats, some of us are snakes, some of us are fishes in the water, some of us are lizards, some of us are birds. Some of us are cows, etc. If you should go deep into the study of human nature and animals you will never kill any, even an ant much more fish or an animal. They are all Brotherhood. God created each of them for a purpose. Our love should be universal including the animals. Jesus Christ said, 'I have nothing because I know that everything created by my Father belongs to Him'. That is why we always tell you that before you start to do anything kneel down and give thanks to God.
Even if you want to cut grass, He is the Father of the grass. He cares for the grass and for every other thing. God cares for all that you plant. He waters them and makes them grow always. Before you cut down a tree, pray, otherwise you will be surprisingly knocked down by the tree you want to cut. You all are living witnesses to people falling into traps they set for animals. God exists in all His creatures. There is nothing you take that belongs to you. So you must give thanks to God before you undertake to do anything.
If Moses had known that the Rock he smote was God he would not have lost his temper to the extent of striking it with his staff. That water from the Rock was Christ and God His Father.
It would take us years without end, Brethren, if we should continue to tell you the story of this my Father, your Father, my God and your God.
Golden Text: 1st Peter 2:17
"Honour all men. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King."
The golden text has brought everything to an end. It has made simple our duty to our Brother, to God and to the King. Everything is now complete.
Why does God say that we should honour all men? It is because He is in all men. Why does He say that we should love Brotherhood? It is because He is Brotherhood.
God Is The King
Why does He say that we should fear God? It is because He is the creator of the universe, the Father of all beings, the God of all other gods; and why does He say that we should honour the King? It is because He is the King, He rules the world. As the Ruler of His world, He deserves all the honours.
If you say that you only worship God and do not worship the King then you do not know God. All The kings of the world are His kings. He feeds, clothes, protects and guards them. The fact that they are misruling, and that afflictions, wants, evil and pride have brought untold hardship to mankind does not mean that they are no more His children neither does that stop them from being Brotherhood. Your color, stature or language does not disqualify you from being a member of Brotherhood. Beggars, thieves, the lame, the blind, murderers and lepers are all members of Brotherhood. Everything created by God belongs to God and is good and is a member of Brotherhood.
Let us honour all men, love the Brotherhood. Let us fear God and honour the King. Both men and animals, big or small, young or old, poor or rich should be honoured and loved. If God ordains a King in your family, it is your place to honor him as a King, for it has pleased the Almighty to ordain him a King. And God has kept him there for a purpose. If you do not accord him the honour he deserves then you have no knowledge of God. If you do not love the Brotherhood, you have no love for God.
We told you that Brotherhood will be divided into four sections. Perhaps after going through the three texts you will understand what we mean. God is love. He has no origin and therefore has no birth certificate. Christ who is also God has no beginning and has no end. Similarly Brotherhood was and is, and shall live forever and ever.
In the end, the Churches all over the world shall become one solid Body. It will be controlled by Our Lord Jesus Christ. From then on the word "Churches" will exist no more. Anyone then who will try to pluralize this name will merely be creating division. The end of such a person will be tragic because one who causes confusion in Brotherhood cannot go scot free. The flock will be one because the Shepherd is one.
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. May the Lord bless the preaching of His Holy Word. Amen.
REFERENCE: Spiritual Sermon Delivered By The Sole Spiritual Head Of The Universe, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu on:-"WHAT IS BROTHERHOOD"
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