“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.”

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Brethren, you should realize from the text above why and how our Lord Jesus Christ was able to overcome the whole world. It is often said that the end crowns it all and that he who laughs last, laughs best. Anything that has a good start will surely have a good end. And as far as you are doing it to the glory of God, you will be rewarded accordingly.

Some people only go to church when they have problems, but when their problems are over they backslide and indulge once again in evil practices. Some remember God when they have court cases or when they are in lack, but once they have their request considered they would return to the world to continue in their former lives. Some go to register and receive baptism in the church at an old age, when they have only a few weeks to spend in the world. Others go to church at the peak of their affluence so as to display their wealth for people to see. Those who go to church at old age expect that the church would provide a decent and well organized burial for them when they eventually die. Those who go to display their wealth would forget the church when things go wrong with them or with their wealth.

Whatever is your motive in going to church, I want you to note that God knows your thoughts and plans. He is an all knowing God who reads the heart of every man. Therefore whatever reason you have for going to church is known by God. You can only fool yourself but not God. You can deceive the whole world that you are serving God but you surely cannot deceive God. God sees every sinful person as a sinner and every virtuous person as a righteous one. And so the issue of one trying to fake his or her person before God does not arise because God knows us much more than we know ourselves.

If you are serving God diligently, it behooves on you prove your honesty and it would also be acknowledged by all. Recall that at the age of twelve years, our Lord Jesus Christ taught in Synagogue at Jerusalem with the Scribes and Pharisees listening. He asked them questions , but none of them could answer though they claimed to knowledgeable and wise. Note that He went to Jerusalem in the company of His parents but he abandoned them and went about teaching the word of God. His parents searched all over the place for Him but they did not see Him. They went back home without Him but later they returned to Jerusalem only to find Him teaching in the temple. They were not pleased with His action but He turned to them and asked, “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke2:41-49). This goes to confirm the fact that we are to do the work of God right from our birth till our last day on earth.

It is rather unfortunate that man has never learnt his lesson from that which is good and acceptable in the sight of God, rather he prefers to copy that which is evil.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only acceptable model for every man. We should emulate Him and practice His teachings. I teach you nothing apart from the works of our Lord Jesus Christ because I know that it is only the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ that gives life.

You may say that there existed some other prophets of God as revealed to us in the scriptures, but I do not teach about them because their work were not perfect and worthy of emulation. Till today, people still see the work of God as that which should be taken up after retirement from public service; they see the work of God as a work meant for old people. Some will always refer to Abraham who was called by God at the age of seventy-five (75 years) and Moses whom God raised at the age of eighty (80 years old). But this is not the truth. God demands that you should serve Him from your youth and in fact throughout the days of your life on earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ did this and He is our role model. He rightly said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6).

If you emulate another person apart from Our Lord Jesus Christ, you are moving towards your destruction. If you listen to His teachings as given to you in this kingdom, then you are sure of life. It is only His teachings which you should practice. Apart from that you have nothing else as your guide. Salvation comes from the teachings of Christ. If you search through the Scriptures for the teachings of Christ, you would realize that His lifestyle was unique. None has ever exhibited the life of Christ. Today we have been told to emulate Christ and follow in His footprint. You can never work for God and go unrewarded.

You should establish a close relationship with God by abiding by His divine will so that whenever you are in need of His help He can listen to you. But if you waste your youthful life in sinful acts only to seek God when you are old, and also in times of need, God will not know you. In such a situation, your problem would not be solved. God has a way of saving those who reverence Him when they are in trouble. But you who is fond of despising God and everything that has to do with God, why do you call upon God? Recall that you are seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness first, then all other things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33).

If you want to dedicate a child to God you would dedicate the child at his tender age so that the child would grow in the house of God. Such a child has to be brought up and disciplined in the ways of God. Recall that even Our Lord Jesus Christ at His tender age was taken to the alter for blessing by Simeon. (Luke 2).

Hezekiah also had His turn of blessing and more years were added to him when he pleaded with God to remember his services to Him during his youthful days.

Brethren, do not emulate any other person apart from Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is your only model. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who lived according to the will of His Father and if we profess ourselves as Christians, we must of necessity emulate Him. That is why you find that everything done in this kingdom is in line with the true teachings of Christ. Above all, the Holy Spirit is the one who controls everything done in this kingdom. Following the footprints of Christ enables you to share in His suffering and glory because if you do not work with Him, you cannot share in His glory. If you do not die with Him you cannot resurrect with Him. We all have to follow his footsteps as His disciples so that we may share in His glory.

It is rather unfortunate that you steal, fornicate, hate, murder, covet, and indeed indulge in evil practices, believing that a sinful life is a way to enjoy your life to the fullest. You refuse to serve God because according to you, serving God leads you to temptation. You are always ready to run away from any slight temptation.

You do not seem to see the need to labor or accept to die for the freedom of your neighbor. You have by so doing exposed yourself to the danger of eternal death, for you cannot protect your life. Once you exclude God in your plans, it means you have not taken your cross and followed Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew this when He advised: “And he that taketh not his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for the sake for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:38-39).

You who avoid persecution for the sake of righteousness, are you saved? The question before the whole world is can anybody save himself? It is often said that God only helps those who help themselves. If I may ask how do you help yourself, and how does God help you? The only way you can help yourself is by practicing the injunctions of God as preached to you in this kingdom. If you practice the gospel you have helped yourself, for you will receive God’s blessing. But if you prefer to consult oracle, worship idol as a way of helping yourself, you have erred and also you have lost your life. Therefore brethren, there is no other way in which you can help yourself apart from practicing the injunctions of God.

You should ask yourself why you lack the type of glory Christ has when you claim to be serving God? The answer is simply that you are not ready to do the work of God. You prefer to serve yourself rather than serving Christ . Except you serve God with all your life and soul you are not worthy. If you devote your whole life and everything at your disposal in the service of God you would surely have your due glory. The sufferings experienced by the world emanate from the fact that mankind does not want to serve God with his whole life and soul. Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted to shed His precious blood for the sins of man, not minding His own righteous state. What love and indeed exemplary life could be greater than this?

Beloved, I implore you today to learn of Christ. We should be our brother’s keepers by selflessly serving the living God. This is because Our Lord Jesus Christ counted the things of this world as wasteful and unrewarding. He decided to forgo earthly glory in order to save mankind through the shedding of His precious blood. Today, he remains the King of kings and Lord of lord. He is the eternal ruler.

The people of the world claim to love their husbands, wives, children, friends, and parents and relation. Who in the whole world can surrender his life for the salvation of another? None. Only Our Lord Jesus Christ did it for all.

Who is that Bishop, Pastor, Reverend, Evangelist, or Pope who can bear the cross of men as Our Lord Jesus Christ did? All those who claim to be shepherds cannot withstand any danger for the sake of the flock. At the sight of any danger they will abandon the sheep and flee. If you as a shepherd should show such cowardice, what do you expect from the sheep? What qualifies you to be a good shepherd?

I want to use an earthly event to illustrate a heavenly situation for you. There was a king and the king had a son who was a prince. It was the custom of the people that their own princes and princesses should not befriend anybody who was neither a prince nor a princess. This was the tradition of the people and this tradition was respected and kept by the successive royal families. Incidentally a breach of this tradition attracted capital punishment. But in the reign of this king in question the prince broke this tradition and chose the son of one wretched farmer as his own friend. They loved each other so dearly to such an extent that they wore the same style of clothing, having the same design made from the same material and they even wore the same colors. On noticing this, the people were not happy hence they took offence and reported the matter to the king. The king in his reaction questioned the people on what they expected him to do? The people summoned the elders of the community. They demanded that the law should be enforced so as to restore sanity in the land against further breaking of the law. They resolved that the due process of the law must be followed and justice done by invoking the death penalty on the culprits accordingly.

After the whole community had resolved to deal with the offenders, the two friends went ahead and three days after they were caught the son of the farmer was arrested and detained in prison custody, pending when he would finally be killed. Throughout the period of his detention in the prison, the prince kept on visiting him and making sure that he was well fed. A day to when the boy was to be killed, the prince went there and exchanged his royal garment with the boy’s tattered clothing and he help the poor boy to escape from the prison. While the prince himself put on the prisoner’s attire and took the place of his friend.

The hour came when the prisoner was to be killed. As the custom was before a condemned person was finally executed, he was to disclose his identity to the people. The prison itself was built in such a way that a prisoner was completely hidden from the people. The face of the prisoner was covered so that when they were ready to kill the prisoner, they demanded that he should disclose his identity. The boy said, “I am the prince.” After removing the hood from his face, the people were surprised to discover that it was rather the prince of the land. He was the king’s son indeed. Being the prince, they did not kill him but they escorted him back to the palace.

From that day, the obnoxious law ceased to operate. This indeed shows you the impact created by love in this life. The same love accounts for the acceptance of Our Lord Jesus Christ to come and shed his precious blood to reconcile mankind to God. Let reference be made to the Golden Text:

GOLDEN TEXT: Revelation 14:4
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

The greatest love is that of a shepherd giving up his life as a ransom for the sake of the sheep. None can do this except the good shepherd. You can give someone cars, money, and every material thing but so long as you do not surrender your life for the salvation of others, you have not done anything.

It is not news to hear that some people claim that they are men of God. What qualifies you as a man of God when you are not ready to stand firm to help your fellow man who is suffering. The world is filled with people who profess to be righteous and they also claim to be endowed with the Holy Spirit. But if you look for just one person who is ready to give his life for the salvation of others you cannot find any in the whole world. If there is any at all, let us know his name.

You may not know the significance of the fat ram which Abel sacrificed to God. It signifies the surrendering of Abel’s life as a sacrifice to God. Had Abel not sacrificed himself to God, there would be no salvation for mankind. Abel sacrificed the fattest ram which again symbolizes Our Lord Jesus Christ, in being the sacrificial lamb for the salvation of mankind. Had Abel not done so, Christ would not have accepted to shed His precious blood for the salvation of mankind.

It is not true that God does not want anything from man but the heart. What will God use your heart for? God delights in seeing man engage in activities that lead to universal peace, love and that which strengthens the faith of others in God. If God demands the hearts of men only, why did He demand that Abel should offer a sacrifice to Him? Normally, God uses earthly things to illustrate heavenly glory. It was because of this practical love for God that Abraham was said to be the friend of God.

Abraham had only one son yet God demanded that he should sacrifice his only son to God. Recall also that Abraham begot Isaac at a very old age when all hopes for a child were lost. To prove to you in practical terms what God is capable of doing, God told Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac to Him at a specific place. The journey took Abraham from his house to the particular location three days and three nights.

Now think within you, had Abraham not accepted to sacrifice Isaac to God would he have been called God’s friend? If he had refused God’s request God would not have come down to this earth for the salvation of man. Love is reciprocal. That Abraham accepted to sacrifice Isaac to God accounted for God’s action of sending His only begotten son to shed His precious blood for the salvation of mankind in order that man may be reconciled to God.

God is good and merciful. It only takes faith in God for you to receive His favor and blessings. Recall that when Abraham and Isaac got to the alter, Isaac asked his father about the sacrificial ram. Abraham told his son Isaac that God would provide for Himself the sacrificial ram. True to Abraham’s faith, just before Isaac was to be slaughtered a ram from nowhere was provided in place of Isaac. Which ram do you think was provided here? It was the ram that Abel sacrificed to God. In short the ram was Abel incarnate.

If Christ had offered his life for our sake, why is it that those of us who claim to be Christians do not offer our lives for the salvation of others? It is God’s divine will that we love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. In fact, God enjoins us to live peacefully with all men.

We are therefore duty bound to do the right thing at all times. We should not hate or discriminate against anybody. If we follow the foot path of Our Lord Jesus Christ , we would never be moved. If you decide right now to serve God by accepting to be your brother’s keeper and seeing the problems of others as yours, it means you have done the greatest work. What do you lose in loving your enemy and reconciling with your adversaries?

Dear brethren, I do not want to take you further. A stroke of the cane is enough for a wise person. Let him that has ears hear. May God bless His Holy Words.

Amen.

THANK YOU FATHER.

[Home] [Gospel Explorer] [Anthology Explorer] [In Search of Christ]