First Bible Lesson: John 3:8-9
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and heareth the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every on that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Second Bible Lesson: Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Golden Text: Luke 8:21
And he answered and said unto them, my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it.
Beloved, the above texts constitute the word of the Father for you in this sermon. What this sermon seeks to highlight is hidden to you and the world in general. The name Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is so wonderful that whenever the people of the world hear you mention they will think you are insane. Following the above texts, unless you are the doer of God's words, you cannot refer to anyone as your brother or sister. A great many of you are not free to recognise one another as brother or sister, simply because you feel that such are not your blood relation.
At the moment, people are greatly surprised to see that I call everyone my child, and they call me Father. But you should not be surprised about this development because this is the reason why you are advised to stop thinking that you belong to a particular geographical area and that you are a son or daughter of so and so person. You should accept to do away with tribal tendencies and see everyone as your brother or sister. The scripture has said that the wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know whence it comes or whither it goes. All of you who claim to be indigenes of one place or the other are rebels. And this means that no one has started to practise the word of God in the actual sense of it. Anyone who is asked to mention the church he attends and he mentions Brotherhood of the Cross and Star as his/her church is to practise the word of God.
Our concern in this gospel is on the first lesson which has it that: the wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know the whence it comes or wither it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. What this kingdom wants is for everyone to see the other as a brother or sister.
All those who claim that God has only one child, (Our Lord Jesus Christ), do so because they do not practise the words of God. As long as you practise the words of God, you are God's child. Hence all the members of this fold who practise the word of God are God's children.
In fact, those who do not practise the word of God are the people who profess that Our Lord Jesus Christ is yet to come the second time as He promised.
What qualifies us to be God's children is our ability to practise the word of God. Hence, Christ said, all those who hear my words and practise them are my brothers and my sisters. Ipso Facto we have been joined together as one family of God. The people of the world do not have God as their Father and they have bluntly refused His words. But so long as you have accepted God's words, you are His children and He is your Father.
God has not used any of the material things which abound in this world to beget us, instead He uses the word to beget us. And so we are God's children. Your earthly father, mother, uncle, sister, brother, aunt, among other blood relations, do not mean anything. But God is the only one who is sufficient to you at all times. And He cannot disappoint you, come what may.
Many people get astonished on becoming so close to well meaning people of the kingdom immediately they get baptised into the kingdom, whereas there was no such cordiality even in the families they are born into. The reason for this is not far-fetched. The closeness is not due to the fact that you are filled materially by them, but it is because of the fact that birds of the same feather flock together.
What differentiates you from the people of the world is that while you accept the word of God, they on the other hand, reject it. And that is why you are God's Children. In the same vein, what makes you special from your father, mother and blood relations is the fact that you accept the word of God whereas they scoff at the word of God. The moment they resolve to accept God's words as you do, you are one with them.
All those who scoff at the words of God belong to Satan while those who practise the words of God belong to God. So stop wondering why you differ from the other members of your family. You have practiced the words of God. This confirms what Christ told Nicodemus that: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:3).
This shows that your failure to be born anew deprives you of entering this kingdom and belonging to God's family. Take Our Lord Jesus Christ as an example. By the time He was not yet born anew, He had no disciples, and He was alone and empty, but right from the time He was baptised, taken into the wilderness and brought out of it, He started to have disciples and to perform wonderful works. He did these works because of the power which was given Him from above.
It is a fact that the activities of the world are earthly and frivolous. That is why you see different tribes founding different kinds of churches for themselves, and there is disintegration in these churches. But there is no such disintegration in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. This accounts for the jealousy, envy and open campaign of calumny from various quarters against B.C.S.
Hitherto, you did not know how you became God's child and brethren in Christ. But the opening address of this Pentecostal has revealed this hidden truth to you. Sometimes, people do wonder why some people belong to Satan. But note from today that anyone who refuses to practise God's words is a child of Satan. And all those who practise the words of God are God's children, irrespective of their place of abode and origin. Hence there is no distinction among such people for they are one.
The material things of this world do not qualify you to be God's child. Rather, it is your acceptance to practise the words of God that qualifies you to be God's child. The preachers who tell their followers to practise what they preach and not what they do are children of Satan, together with their followers. This is so because none of them practises the words of God.
Isaac represents the fruit of the word of God for he was begotten by the word, while Ishmael represents the fruit of Abraham's blood.
Isaac who was begotten by the word of God brought about remarkable things while Ishmael was unable to do any meaningful thing. And this confirms what Christ said through Paul that I do not have hope in that which is seen but in that which is not seen. For the former would pass away while the latter will endure forever. This is why you see the Moslems, Christians, blacks, whites are different from one another.
Our Lord Jesus Christ had this knowledge. That was why He said, "I would return to the Father." All of you who practise the word of God are heirs and would return to Him as Christ did. While those who reject the words of God are begotten by Satan, and they have no share in this kingdom. As many as practise the words of God are with the Father always. Hence, it is the Father that accomplishes everything for them.
This wisdom has eluded the entire world. The only one who has this wisdom is Our Lord Jesus Christ. Anyone who practises the word of God cannot do any wrong, and such a person is spotless. Hence, Christ said: "Verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto everlasting life. (John 5:24). He also says, "It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63). The above means that we should be ruled over by God since God is the only doer of all things. If we all were to be in the spirit, all the segregation, hatred, differences, etc. that abound in our different status would have ceased. In the same vein, if people were to be in the spirit, they would not claim to be natives of certain places. If you are in spirit, you will know that Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is for everyone that is from above, and that we are all one irrespective of our places of origin. Read the First Bible Lesson again.
First Bible Lesson: John 3: 8-9
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou heareth the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
The fact that Joseph and others were in the flesh necessitated them to instruct the Israelites to unearth and bring home the bones of their dead kinsmen anywhere they met death. (See Genesis 50:25).
This is the reason most people today have been taking home the remains of their dead ones from far places. But this is insignificant and means nothing. We are all one and we are from the same place. Carnality causes problems in the world. For instance, when Noah wanted to die He instructed all his people not to marry any strangers, other than their kinsmen and women. This gave birth to racial differences and problems in our society today. This is exactly what is happening in South Africa today. Because the whites have gone there, ruled over the natives, and worst of all marginalized the natives, thus resulting in the present apartheid situation.
The word of God was in the beginning and the word was God. Therefore if we practise the word of God, we would become one with God and there will be no division of any kind among us. Brotherhood of the Cross and Star has no business with the flesh, and that is why it has overcome the entire world.
Some people claim that 34 Ambo Street, Calabar is the Headquarters. But if this is so, what then are 26 Mbukpa Road, Calabar, Biakpan, Lagos, London, Israel, etc.? Do you not know that as many as practise the word of God are one?
You are told to love one another as God loves you. And if we can possess love in every bethel where we belong, where then will be the headquarters? Here in this kingdom, there is no division, for it is the words of God that do everything. And once you practise the words of God, you are all one in the Lord. Here in the kingdom, people possess nothing because we are all the children of the Father.
There is no preferential treatment as far as this kingdom is concerned. That is why I instruct that everything that is to be shared among you should be shared equally. Here in the kingdom, there is no discrimination among those who practise the word of God. Rather, it is only those who reject the word of God that segregate against those who are the heirs of this kingdom. Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the kingdom of God. Hence you see us boasting about what is not seen since such endures forever. We do not boast about the physical things which are felt and touched for they are temporal in the world. This notion helps Brotherhood of the Cross and Star to penetrate every part of the world. All the buildings in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star do not belong to anyone other than the Father. Hence, you see Brotherhood of the Cross and Star children not having problems because they have one Father and they live in the house owned by their Father.
You are told to love all, practise the word of God, believe in God and fear nothing. If you discriminate against anyone on the basis of age, mode of dressing, educational attainment etc., you are satan and in fact insane. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a native of Israel. But due to their refusal to adhere to the words of God, Israel has become the land of Satan.
BELOVED, DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY ANYONE THAT THERE IS ANY OTHER PERSON WHO IS GOD'S CHILD APART FROM THE ONE WHO PRACTISES THE WORD OF GOD . ANYONE WHO PRACTICES THE WORD OF GOD IS THE BEGOTTEN OF GOD AND EVERY TIME HE IS LED BY GOD AND IPSO FACTO, HE HAS NO PROBLEM IN LIFE. THIS IS BECAUSE THE WORD OF GOD IS IN SUCH PEOPLE AND THEY OFTEN LEAD A PROBLEM-FREE LIFE.
IT IS NEITHER MAN NOR SNAKE THAT IS SATAN. INSTEAD IT IS THE PERSON WHO REFUSES GOD'S WORD WHO IS SATAN. Read the Second Lesson again.
Second Bible Lesson: Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Beloved, the above is a demonstration of the fact that as many as are in the spirit and abide by God's injunction of love one another are God's children.
Always be righteous and as far as we are in this stage we have no problems whatsoever in life. DO NOT FORGET WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS OFFER GOOD PRAYERS FOR THOSE WHO HATE YOU.
It is true that once we love one another as God loves us, we will not have any problems whatsoever and all forms of segregation among us will end. You are also told not to resist an evil doer. You are told to love everybody equally, and to be merciful unto all people all the time. We are all one. Therefore if we believe in the Word of God, we are justified.
Some people profess that they would have had a better life if their parents were to be alive. But what about the people you see around you, are they not your parents? Some people also claim that if their father were alive, they would have taken good care of their fathers. But the man in your midst, what have you done for Him? Many people have been preparing palatable meals in anticipation of serving it to Jesus if He comes. But what have they done for the Jesus that is in their midst?
God instructs you to love one another as He loves you. Once you embrace love, all would be well with you, together with the people you love. God has not instructed you to love Him only, but to love one another. Therefore as many as keep this injunction are God's children and Christ's brethren. Anything short of this amounts to wasting your time in calling on the name of Jesus.
Any person who accepts baptism and is baptised has invariably put on Christ as his armour and he is automatically endowed with the Holy Spirit. And if every member were to be spirited as it ought to be, ten of this hall would not have accommodated us, especially during spirited children's fellowship meeting. But what differentiates us is that we have refused to practise the word of God.
Upon the teachings imparted to you by the Father, you are still segregating against people. This shows that you are rebels. You are told not to call anyone teacher, for God is the only teacher, while we are all brethren. You are also told not to call anyone Father, for the Holy Spirit alone is the Father, while we are all brethren. You are told not to call anyone Lord, for Christ alone is your Lord, and we are brethren. If we adhere to the words of God, we will become the children of God and the brethren of Christ and that is why we are free.
The word is with God and the word is God. Hence, Christ said: "I and my father are one." (John 10:30).
Once you practise the words of God, you are one with Him. The scripture has it that anyone who rejects the teachings of Christ cannot have Christ. But anyone who accepts the teachings of Christ, same has the Father and the Son.
God is the Teacher and Leader. Our duty is to emulate Him and follow His footprints. So stop discriminating against people and accept the word of God, for by so doing you are God's child. He has said thus: "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have we not cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And I then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23). The question now is, who are those who practise what the Father likes? Who are His brothers, sisters, mother, and father? Read the Golden Text again.
Golden Text: Luke 8:21
And he answered and said unto them, my mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.
Beloved, the statement above was given by Christ. In fact, whatever you may do, it does not matter how charitable you are to the destitute, if you do not practise the word of God, your works do not avail you anything. So what makes us God's children and Christ's brethren. It is our willingness to believe in God and to practise His words. And anytime you scoff at the teachings of Christ, you have derailed from the path of rectitude.
Recall when John, Christ's disciple, told Christ that he saw a certain man casting out demons in the name of Christ, and he forbade him? Christ told him, "Forbid him not, for he who is not against me is with me." See (Mark 9:40). The above shows that as many as practise the word of Christ are His brethren, sisters, father, and mother. It is sheer foolishness for people to erect buildings and call such buildings the house of God, Christ, Jehovah, etc. THE FACT IS THAT GOD LIVES IN THE BODY OF THOSE WHO OBEY HIM. AND HE BEGETS ONLY THOSE WHO PRACTISE HIS WORDS.
It is said that one stroke of the cane is sufficient for the wise. Let those who have ears, hear. May God bless His Holy Words. A-men.
Thank you Father.
REFERENCE: Everlasting Gospel By Leader Olumba Olumba on: WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN
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