(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

SECOND LESSON: LUKE 12:22-23

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

GOLDEN TEXT: 1ST CORINTHIANS 8:8

But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

THE PROBLEMS OF FOOD:

This sermon is revealing because it unearths recondite wisdom of God, which is rare to come by ordinary human being. And the startling thing to know is, food is man's worst enemy on earth. Ironically, food which is thought to provide man with strength is the real enemy of mankind. Paradoxically, if we do not guard against food, it will cost our lives. Man is so interested in food that he is oblivious of the fact, food is one of the major enemies of Christ and to some, it is not food per se in the real sense of it. A local adage has it that, 'what is savoury in... the mouth of a dying person, is what he eats to breath his last.' This means that the food you develop mania for, is what destroys you. In other words, the food which you crave for, is what causes your sickness. Pestilence, suffering, frustration, wretchedness among other problems are associated with food.

To confirm this fact, the period we normally observe three-day-dry-fasting is the period we are free from illness, hunger and it is a problem free period. But if you observe carefully, you would realize, when we do not observe the fast, such periods are punctuated with problems of all magnitude and such are the periods we actually wallow in hunger. During the period of dry fasting, everybody is at peace with himself and the heart is free from thoughts. This is the period you are being fed spiritually. The period you do not fast is the time you come here to make noise when gospel is delivered.

The under-development of the black race spiritually and materially is caused by the high premium which the blacks place on food. They give priority to food at the detriment of any other thing in the world. This informs the reason why I enjoin you to de-emphasize the lust for things of this world, which is your impediment to do the work of God. The things we regard, as important in life, are the very things which bring problems to mankind. Having known the problems associated with food, it is your duty to think less about it.

God passed through Paul to tell us the bad effects of food as explained in the lesson. To some people, there is no justifiable reason for them to fast. For these types of people, their notion is, they eat to live. But it should be known, the moment one eats, the Holy Spirit departs from such a person. As such, the food which man craves for, is antagonistic to spiritual development. To live without the Holy Spirit is to die a continual death, which is associated with conglomeration of problems.

Many people see themselves as important, when they eat sumptuous food and develop plump cheeks and stomach. It is a wrong thing for one to be over-weight as a result of overfeeding, but suffer from spiritual malnutrition. In this case, you are dead alive. Many people are happy when they are overweight as a result of eating between meals, oblivious to the fact, the plump cheeks and potbellies do not connote good health spiritually. These set of people are empty vessels. Such knowledge is concealed from the world that is why I enjoin you to always come here to receive the accurate knowledge of the truth, from God Almighty.

The entire people of the world are alienated from God as a result of their insatiable desire for food. In this way, food becomes an enemy of God. And it is this same food that brings death, pestilence and wretchedness to mankind, which people attribute to ghost, witch, juju and other things, which are not in existence.

Food does not allow man to think about God, and man cannot reason well, when he is overfed. Once you finish eating, you suddenly become tired and at last, fall asleep as a result of the tiredness. When you later wake up, you become weak and have ailment, but later attribute such minor sickness to non-existing things like ghost, witch, juju etc. In this case, you forget, it is food that courts all that problems to you. Some do ascribe the weakness to poison, which is a blatant lie, anatomy has no problem and you cannot be hungry. And if you eat, on the other hand, you would later defecate and your stomach would be empty. Therefore, fasting does not have any adverse effect on you. It is the time you fast that you behold the glory of God in you. More so, it is during fasting that all kinds of sicknesses would disappear from your body, and that is the time you would be at peace with yourself. And this is the time the Holy Spirit will come to you.

Whenever God mentions a particular thing, it means there is something significant about it. The Holy Spirit reveals the secrets and mysteries of the world to us; and the things, which can bring unpleasantness to us. It is said:

Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. (1st Corinthians 6:13).

So note, the Holy Spirit has come to destroy all the made things of this world.

If someone hears this gospel and puts same into practice, such a person would behold the glory of God. And such a person stands a chance of being saved. On the other hand, anyone who scoffs at the words of God would definitely experience destruction. And this is not a jocularity for it has been confirmed and affirmed in the first lesson. None of those who give priority to food and the mundane things of this world would be saved.

As the enemy of mankind, food destroys man's thoughts. And this explains why, the people of the world, who crave for food believe, the Holy Spirit does not exist. Food however, is that which brings darkness, hunger, plights, frustration etc to us. Food is solely responsible for man's plight on earth, because it is those things, we find to be appetising and palatable that bring to us the problems which we cannot solve.

FOOD BRINGS LAZINESS:

In retrospect, recall the statement made by Our Lord Jesus Christ in response to Satan's question as recorded in Matthew 4:3-4 :

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Sequel to the portion above, we are made to understand, food is not as important to man as the words of God. From this portion, I am sure you must have been made to understand the fact, anyone who gives you food does more harm to you than good. But anyone who does not give you food, doest no harm to you.

Food does no good to anyone here on earth. More so, anyone who abstains from food, is not worst off in any aspect. To be candid, food is a the major obstacle between God and man. Food is then thing that confuses you, by making you not to see and perceive the glory of God, here in the kingdom. However, many people in different places have come to the awareness, and they are trying to refrain from foods, to avoid the adverse effects of it. 

The scripture at Revelation has it:

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. (Revelation 7:16).

Using this excerpt as our source of information, it is imperative on us to shun too much food. And whenever we try it, God being on our side, would aid and help us to admire our goal. Being aided and helped by God, you would hunger no more and we would not be thirsty.

We need to know, a lot of people here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star do not feel hungry anymore. This lack of appetite is what people misconstrue to mean sickness.

If you can practise the Father's teachings, you would no longer hunger for food and would not be thirsty for water. This is the time you would live a very good life, for God can now dwell in you. Hunger per se cannot kill anybody, but one can die when he eats. This is, because, the Holy Spirit is not in you and there is no life in you at that material time.

Any place which had food in abundance, cannot have money and is not interested in the acquisition of knowledge. The people of such a place would not heed to other people's advice. They do not have any regard for anyone. People in such a place are all daft because they are "drunk" with their food. But where there is not much food, that is where there is money, knowledge, common sense, understanding and peace. Those who fast are always capable of doing any type of work because they make use of their senses. But those who are overfed can never do any tedious work successfully, because the latter are always weak and soft minded people. The last and worst enemy of Christ is food. And for us to be part and parcel of Christ, we need to refrain from His enemy which is food. Some of us find it very difficult to accomplish spiritual tasks as a result of much feeding.

Read the first lesson again.

FIRST LESSON: PHILIPPIANS 3:18-19

(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

TOO MUCH FOOD IS BAD:

Many people become impoverished because they use all their money on food. And this is the reason why people go on stealing and committing other atrocities so as the make their ends meet, that is to have enough food to eat. The reason why a lot of people cannot practicalise the words of God is because of their thoughts of what to eat and drink. But John the Baptist, who was an ordinary man like you and me, did not eat and drink anything throughout his life time on earth. The only thing John the Baptist ate as food were locust beans and lovely honey. Yet, he was still healthy and sound in mind. Nothing worried him while on earth. And Our Lord Jesus Christ did not regard food as an important thing.

Food is nothing to the children of God and they cannot be worried about food, or the other carnal things of this world. All they need do is to surrender themselves to God completely so that, they may be used by the Holy Spirit to make his glory manifest. Nothing good has ever come out from the mouth of an overfed person. This is because, an overfed person does not heed to any advice and he scoffs at gospels. An overfed fellow feels contented in life as such, he is not prepared to listen to anybody because of his false assumption.

You cannot possess the Holy Spirit, if you are still indulging in taking too much food. Anyone who has an insatiable desire for food is devoid of life, good health and peace of mind. And to crown it all, he is devoid of the Holy Spirit.

In this New Kingdom of God, we do all things in accordance with the desires of the Holy Spirit. Since by eating much food we poison ourselves and bring great problems to ourselves, we then need to abstain from eating much food. This explains the reason why God said in Genesis Chapter 1:29 : "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." The things counted above, are the food to be consumed by man. This does not mean, you should overfeed yourselves with them; rather, take a little of them, so that they might not weaken you.

We all should see food as nothing but a sort of medication. And when we eat it as instructed above, we would not have any problems. But if you dare eat it much, you are bound to encounter sickness of various kind, tiredness of all kind and weakness of all kind. Although; food is to hunger, as medicine is to sickness; this does not mean we should eat in excess.

If you forget about food and all other carnal things of this world, you would find out, you will be living a life free from problems and in addition your life span will prolong.

Anyone, who does not have something to eat should not perturb himself, because it is when you fast that you behold God's glory. You are to eat a little food which will help your body building. Our desire to eat anything that comes our way voraciously is the source of our problems. This is nothing short of greed which is a vice itself. Many people do not know the harm which food causes to them.

All the inhabitants of the entire world lack the truth of this gospel which the Holy Spirit imparts to us. This explains the inapplicable problems of mankind. You should minimize the rate of what happens day in day out.

Pestilence, wretchedness, poverty and frustrations all emanate from food. Some people are now physically abnormal; either as a result of their excessive food intake, or too much thinking of what to eat in the future. Whereas if you were to abide by this gospel, by forgetting food and other material things, there would not have been any problem with people.

Read the second lesson again...

Second Bible Lesson: Luke Chapter 12 verses 22 and 23

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

A NEW STYLE OF LIFE:

Brethren, you should pay particular attention to the above text.

It is said, life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. So do not worry yourself about how you would reciprocate another person's gesture, for there is no material thing; for none of these two things are of any significance to your life. Do not also long for the things of this world, for the mere fact, you have seen others acquiring them, for the wealth you see people acquire all over the globe are mere vanity. As a matter a fact, none of these things can fetch mankind life but death.

In some homes, people are busy with their various domestic chores. They cook their delicious meals to their delight. But I wish to make it clear, that such homes are vulnerable to evil attacks.

Some people always say that they cannot joke with their feeding. Little do they know that this food, is the source of their suffering and death. Always note and recall what Christ told His disciples and recorded in our Second Lesson.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. (Luke 12:22 -23).

We should be convinced, man does not live by food alone, but also by the words of God. So brethren, you need not quarrel with anyone over food or raiment. We should never believe, food is the source of life instead, it is a source of death and problem. Food is our worst enemy; as such, we should desist from our old life style and turn a new leaf. We should live according to the new style of life taught to us today by the Holy Spirit.

We have been repeatedly warned to limit our appetite with regards to the quantity of food intake. We are advised to tune our appetite to fruit. You may recall, the Israelites lived in the desert for forty years and they ate nothing that period. Have you now seen what your foolishness and greediness have caused. Most of your problems today emanate from your killing of animals for food.

EVERY CREATION IS IN PAIRS:

Everything in the entire world has its rightful partner. And it is only the suitable partners that go with it comfortably. The cock is made to suit the hen and the ram suits the sheep. Any other thing apart from the right partner is bound to cause some problem. The same is applicable to human beings. If human beings do not eat the suitable food; they are bound to die or fall sick. That is the more reason why most people take ill and/or die at all times. Whenever you see such, do mot attribute them to the activities of ghosts, witches, mermaids, juju etc.; rather, you should know, their problems are caused by the type of food taken.

The adverse effect of putting unsuitable food into the body system has caused many problems for the inhabitants of the world. There was none to lead the entire world from the deadly path, into the path of life. But now the Holy Spirit of truth has come to make this fact well known to all humanity.

God alone is the keeper and protector of mankind. There is no human being who can protect a fellow human being. This is because, once the Holy Spirit descends into you. He would then direct you on what to do. Whenever you abide by His divine advice, you are bound to be protected and saved.

DO NOT BE FOOD CONSCIOUS:

A lot of people you find around age easily, because of the fact, they have indulged in eating food unsuitable to the system. Sometimes, even the parents feed their children to the extent that, they get them fattened abnormally. They do this, feeling happy without the slightest knowledge of the great harm they have caused their children. Dear brethren, you should know, food is what constitutes the major problem in the world. Whoever is fond of eating much food should expect destruction. Anyone who wishes to live a good and peaceful life, controlled by the Holy Spirit, should be very mindful of the kind and quantity of food he eats. This is because, much food expels that Holy Spirit from you. It is said at Romans 14:16-17:

"Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

Let reference be made to our golden text...

Golden Text: 1st Corinthians Chapter 8 verse 8

But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

MAKE LOVE YOUR FOOD:

Brethren, have you taken note of this text? Do not count food as anything worthy. What you should concern yourself with at all times should be love, mercy, humility and all other virtues. Food does no good to mankind.

For one to possess life, he has to disregard food and abide by the pieces of advice given by the Holy Spirit at all times. Whenever we abide by the instructions given to us by the Holy Spirit, we are bound to have eternal life, peace, joy and goodness. It is because of taking food in excess that many are devoid of the Holy Spirit. But if we refrain from eating too much food, then the Holy Spirit, Himself will make His abode in us. When He is in you, you would than abide by His advice and this means, you are completely free from problem. A lot of people here in the kingdom prefer food to gospels and that is the more reason why they are plagued with problems.

Christ's witness Ime Akpan once said, when they (the Christ's students) were first called into the kingdom, the Father had wanted to give them half a cup of garri a day. This should have been a very good and sound teaching, but the Holy Mother intervened and gave them much food. And if not that, the Holy Mother had intervened, by now the students would have gone far spiritually.

I earlier told you, the first day I came to Calabar, I used only one penny to cook a pot of soup, which sustained me for eight good days.

Moreover, I also told you, I used to eat just half a cup of garri daily back then. Not that there was no money with me. There was much money with me because I was a trader and the item of my trade by then was yam tubers. However, I had little interest in money.

Moreover, during my infant age, I was not that interested in food, that is the reason why I used to fast constantly.

You should be informed, frustration is never an evil thing at all. Instead, it is a good thing because it draws man nearer to God. Whenever you encounter one frustration or the other, do not panic; instead, listen attentively to your spirit, for God has something to use you to accomplish at that particular period.

DISREGARD FOOD:

Therefore, we all should disregard food and raiment for they do not and cannot fetch us life. Rather, we should, at all times, have mercy for fellow men, tell the truth, be patient and do all that is good. It is these things alone, that can fetch us peace, longevity and joy in all our endeavours. Always live a righteous life. As for food, fornication, eating and other vices, they have nothing to offer. Where have you heard, someone has been given a certificate for such things. As such, all these things are sheer foolishness.

If a trader takes his article of trade to the market, he would not be hungry or annoyed if he makes a good sale but if he fails to sell, he would then be angry at the slightest provocation. In other words, food is satanic. Once a person has made a remarkable achievement, he feels elated. The news of such achievement would spread to many parts of the world. It is also someone's good work that awards him good certificate. Like that my printer in Uyo (the Director of St. Christopher Press Ltd.), it is his good work that makes me remember him at all times. This is what is expected of everyone of us here in the kingdom. We should, at all times, be righteous so that we may be awarded a befitting certificate of goodness.

I wish to reiterate, food does no good nor provides any reward. All that food does is to cause man to oppose his creator. Even the worldly medical doctors and the professors are not aware of the fact, food constitutes our problems. It is the Holy Spirit alone, who is capable of imparting this to His children.

If everybody should abide by this teaching, none would have had any problem. Once we practise this teaching the Holy Spirit will surely dwell in us, and we will abide in Him.

A word is enough for the wise.

May the Father bless His Holy words. Amen.

Thank You Father.

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