THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE GREATEST GIFT OF GOD
First Bible Lesson: Matthew 7:7
"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"
Second Bible Lesson: Acts 4:29-31
"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."
Golden Text: James 1:17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Brethren, we are going to introduce the theme of this wonderful and inspiring sermon with the following choruses:
1. The Holy Spirit is now on earth, let my people shout: Amen - Amen. Hallelujah.
2. The Holy Spirit is life, He is the root of life for the children of God.
3. Seek ye first the kingdom of the Lord and all other things shall be added to you.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has already left these spoken words before his departure. He said: "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." (John 16:7) So you realise that our Lord Jesus Christ bore testimony to this glory. He told them, "If you love me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father, for my Father is greater than I." (John 14:28).
Since that Comforter, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit has arrived, it does not call for much preaching, you only need to be told things in clear terms. Therefore, my duty, your duty and the duty of all the inhabitants of the world is to sing songs of praises, dance and rejoice because we are saved. We just want to scratch the periphery and show to you what is expected of you.
This week that has just passed, the Pastor's Week, is very powerful indeed. Because the things the Father has revealed during the week had never before been revealed. Now you have heard what the scripture has told you, that is: "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." But when you stand up, you close your eyes and bring your palms together and pray, Oh God give me a child, a husband, a motor vehicle, or money. Are those the things you are expected to ask for? These are not the things you are expected to ask for, because these are the material things of the world.
Mundane Things Lead To Death
Neither should you pray for money. Just go out and you will see somebody carrying a heavy load, help the person out and at the end of the exercise, he will give you some of the money you have been praying for. If you go to somebody's premises and you find it is overgrown with weeds, get your machete clean the whole thing and at the end of the exercise you will find that money will be given to you. Help somebody fetch water, break firewood, and clean his environment, and money will be given to you without your praying for it. These are not the things we are referring to. These are mundane things and they lead unto death. What we are going to talk about is what you are expected to ask for. It is exactly the theme of our sermon today.
Ask For The Holy Spirit
Can you see the arrangement? You are told to ask, knock and all these things shall be given to you. (Matt 7:7) What then are you expected to request or pray for? It is the Holy Spirit. Recall what the disciples did, when the chief Priest and Elders threatened them not to preach in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. They gathered together and prayed, "And now, Lord behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of the Holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:29-31) Right from that period, they feared nobody. They entered into the streets and lanes of the city and into all places and preached the gospel of God without fear. This is exactly what you are told to request for. The Holy Spirit is what you are expected to ask for from God and He will give unto you. The Holy Spirit is the greatest of all gifts.
The Holy Spirit Is Everything To Every Man
And that was not the end of it all. They prayed for the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit descended on them. "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that ought of the things which possessed was his own, but they had all things in common." (Acts 4:32) Brethren, you can see the situation clearly, that even if somebody has money would not want to part with any kobo. But he will rather desire to collect more from others. When you pray, God give me money, so that I will use same to do your work, the question is, those to whom God has given millions and billions and trillions what have they done with all this money? You may have the money in abundance and yet you die of hunger, you abandon the money and would not want to make use of it. Money is carnal and cannot help you out in anything.
As the Heavens are higher than the earth so is the wisdom of God higher than the wisdom of man. (Isaiah 55:9) Tree, man, fish, money and all things you find around you are just one. No matter how populated a place is, that does not serve any useful purpose. No matter what you think you possess, those things do not come into estimation. What matters is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is life, the Holy Spirit is love, peace, joy, wealth, good health. He is patience, humility, self-control and other virtues. The Holy Spirit is everything to every man. The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that man can ever receive.
Brethren, I want to do a little arithmetic for you. "God give me life," that is one of your requests. "God give me health," that is another request, "God give me a wife," that is yet another request, "God give me a child" is yet another request. "God give me money so that I may take care of the children." Do you know what you have asked God? What you have asked of God, (all these things), increase your sorrow. I want to prove to you as one proves the theorems in geometry and algebra.
Now, let us examine your first request. You prayed God to give you long life, and He has given it to you. When you look around, you find that your age-mates are all dead. You are left alone with no association. Your teeth are all gone, your hair has gone gray, you can no longer see clearly. Your limbs are weak, you cannot walk. You cannot do anything. You cannot even control the loin cloth on your waist. You become stationary, and cannot pass urine. Some people even turn around to pray, "God instead of suffering like this in life, instead of living this kind of life, please take my life and let me rest. I tell you that the suffering an old man has endured, somebody who had asked God for a long life, cannot be compared to that which satan himself has suffered.
All the evil things done by your brothers are referred to you. All the evil things done by your family are referred to you. All the evil things done by your ward, your village are referred to you. All the evil things done by your community are referred to you. Whatever evil is done around that vicinity, is referred to you. Everybody calls on you for whatever has happened. You do not have any rest at all, because you are to answer for whatever happens to your age-mates, your brothers or sisters. These are things you suffer. When you ask God for long life, you are to face these calamities.
Disadvantages Of Good Health
Let us examine another request of yours. You ask God to give you good health, good and fine. But around you is a brother who is sick and another brother who is also sick. One has a court case and another is afflicted, in addition to other numerous problems around you. Since you have good health, you have to attend to the sick, those with court cases, the afflicted and all those who are troubled. You had asked God for good health and you are to minister unto those who need your help. What then is the usefulness of good health if you cannot sit down in one place? What is the usefulness of a "restless" good health?
Of What Profit Is A Wife And Children
In Akwa Ibom State, if you go to somebody's house and maybe asked a little child, where is your father and he tells you, 'oh, my father has gone out to buy trouble,' that means his father has gone to marry. The moment you marry you have invited all forms of trouble to yourself. Here you were as quiet and calm as possible. The moment a woman comes into your life you will be forced to talk. All forms of trouble must come to you. You have to change your former way of life. You will be forced out of your concealment. This is the wife you had wanted. Is this not a situation whereby "trouble de sleep, yanga go wakaam?" As if the trouble of having a wife in the house is not sufficient, later if your wife gives birth to a child thereby increasing your problems. When a child comes, you know what it means. The troubles you have to take to wean a child and care for him in addition to other prevalent problems, your child is constituting yet another problem and you have other problems here and there to attend to. What sort of life will you be living? This is exactly what you encounter when you are praying God to give you a wife and children.
The Burden of Possessing
God give me money and the money comes. You have become a storekeeper for every Tom, Dick, and Harry. This is another problem you have created for yourself. Because everybody around will come to you for money. This brother will come asking you for money, if you do not give him, he will start abusing you. Another one will come telling you. "Aha, you have given to the other brother, why do you not give to me? Another person will come asking you for money, and if you refuse giving him, he will look for ways of charming and hurting you. Troubles will come from left and right, since you have money. You will no longer be free to move around because the money is there. Armed robbers will visit you, all kinds of things will come to you because you want money.
Your family will be calling on you. At every launching you will be called upon to launch and finally you will even hide never to be seen again. Just as we have launching here and some people are hiding, because the money is there, but they do not want to spend it. Now tell me what useful purpose it serves when you begin to ask for money and is given to you. You have asked for money and this is the money. You are a storekeeper, use it as it is supposed to be used. All these things do not give you peace, do not give you love, do not give faith, hope, patience, none of the virtues of the Holy Spirit is derivable from these mundane things you are requesting for, rather they bestow upon you tribulation and death.
The Holy Spirit Brings You Freedom
Now the whole world can be compared to a stagnant water which does not move to any direction; it is stationary. The inhabitants of the world are complex. The troubles and tribulations of men are numerous. They are found within. The sons of men are gluttonous and insatiable. No matter how much money is paid to somebody it is not enough for him. That is why you find robbers, and thieves, swindlers and extortioners everywhere. Because nobody knows what to do again. The problems of men have become numerous.
That is why you are to ask, seek and knock. All things belong to you, whether it be money or men or wealth of any kind and these things are carnal. But what you are expected to ask for is the Holy Spirit, which is the embodiment of everything, you have everything and you are free, free indeed.
The Holy Spirit is the gift that comes from God.
When you ask God for children, from where do you want Him to give you children? He has only the Holy Spirit. If you want children, find a woman and impregnate her and she will give you a child. If you want money, mint money. Those things are found around you that are carnal, they are mundane. You can always find them when you want them. What God gives to you is the Holy Spirit.
I often hear people say God loves me so much, He has given me money, He has given me children. The question is, do you possess the Holy Spirit? If you are devoid of the Holy Spirit, what do those things mean to you? Do they not tantamount to death? Brethren, let the first lesson be read.
First Bible Lesson: Matthew: 7:7
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and Ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
The Holy Spirit Is The Key To All Things
Brethren, have you heard that? God, after creating the world, did hand over the rulership of everything to man. You can see that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so is the wisdom of God higher than the wisdom of men. (Isaiah 55:9) After creating the world, He kept the key that opens everything and appointed man as the overseer. That key was the Holy Spirit. If He were to bestow the Holy Spirit on man, man would have possessed the qualities of God. There would not have been any death, nor suffering for man. Man would have possessed all virtues. God kept back the Holy Spirit, the key to all things. That is why man is beclouded with problems and suffering. Nobody knows exactly what to do in order to become problem-free and liberated. To that effect, this key has been given to you. The provision has been laid down. That the moment you ask for the Holy Spirit, it shall be given unto you. That is the recondite wisdom of God.
The Holy Spirit is that "tree of life" in the Garden of Eden which God referred to. When man has transgressed the coded commands of God, and fell from the grace of God, He asked that man (Adam and Eve) should be bundled out of the Garden of Eden so that he may not eat the tree of life and should live forever. After eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was not allowed to eat of the tree of life. That is why you find sufferings and sorrows among the sons of men.
Our Lord Jesus Christ knew about these sufferings. He knew about the tribulations and sorrows of men, that was why He said, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is for your own good, that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." When the Holy Spirit comes, all problems, and difficulties cease, but without the Holy Spirit, you will continue to face the kind of problems that you are facing now.
Things Lead To Death
No matter what you do to ameliorate the situation, it will always become abortive. No matter what you do to help yourself whether you take injections, tablets, drugs, leaves, barks and roots of trees the odd situation will still persist. Whatever you inject into your body becomes problems. Whatever tablets you take, you take in problems. Whatever kind of leaves, or root, and barks of tree you want to use they constitute problems to you. There is no kind of eye salve which you put into your eyes that will not constitute problems. All these things are problems unto you. The only salvation for man is the Holy Spirit which can lead man out of these predicaments.
Have you heard that God has said, all sorcerers and idolaters, the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and all that loveth and maketh a lie shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Rev 19:20) And this lake burns eternally. The moment you consult or seek for any of these things you remain in perpetual hell. As you seek for ways of helping yourself, you initiate into secret societies and you are given monographs and secret books to read, you are given talisman, amulets, you are given many protective charms, and concoctions, you have increased your sorrows. Those things lead you to no other place, but death.
What the Father had asked us to request for is the Holy Spirit. The moment you have the Holy Spirit whether you are sickly, whether you have no love, whatever had been your needs would be bestowed unto you. The moment you have the Holy Spirit you are on top of the whole world and you lack nothing.
The Holy Spirit Ends Your Lack
Let the second lesson be read so that you may realize what God wants you to ask for. Not that when you are encumbered you rise up to pray, "Oh God help me", "my mother who is in hades, come to my rescue", and so on and so forth. When your mother was alive, what good thing did she do for you? Listen attentively to what is going to be read to you about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only thing you can boast of. You cannot boast of money, you cannot boast of wealth, you cannot boast in children, you cannot boast in any of these worldly things. It is only in the Holy Spirit that you should have your boast. You can walk majestically everywhere and nothing will challenge you, because you possess the Holy Spirit.
Second Bible Lesson: Acts 4:29-31
"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."
The Holy Spirit Is All And In All
Brethren, have you heard the scriptures? If you do not possess the Holy Spirit, how can you preach? Where lies your boldness, or where will you have power, love, humility, peace, joy, meekness, self-control and other virtues of God, and where will your foundations be?
Upon all the evil things in the world, no church denomination practises the word of God, no prayer house, no government practises the word of God. No human being practises the Word of God. Who is there to tell them? There is nobody to inform them, because they do not possess the Holy Spirit. Now that you want to go to the University and spend twenty years, what are you going to learn there? What are you going to do in the University? The Holy Spirit is the custodian of love, peace, joy, mercy, power, humility. He is the truth, patience and all virtues. The Holy Spirit is the kingdom of God. Everything good is found in the Holy Spirit. He is the dean of all faculties. He is everything to every man.
The Holy Spirit is the dentist; He is the doctor, He is the educator, the pharmacist. The Holy Spirit is the engineer, the lawyer. He is found in whatever profession that you can mention. He is love, peace, power, patience; He is the truth, The Holy Spirit is everything unto man. He is the Father, mother; He is children, he is relatives, friends, He is wealth and good health. He is life. He guards and guides you. He teaches and counsels you. He fights and overcomes secret wars for you. He does not want anything from you, because He is wealth, food, clothing, whatever you may think of - He is the motor car, ship and the aeroplane. He is present everywhere, He is all knowing and He is all powerful, He can do and undo.
Those who are well-stabilized by the Holy Spirit cannot be attacked by any man. No machete can prevail over them. No gun can hurt them. No man can hurt them. No principality can subdue them. Nothing that you will try on them will do any harm to them. The moment you possess the Holy Spirit, you have everything and nothing prevails against you. Death and hades are subdued and subjected under your foot.
The Holy Spirit Is Everything
When you possess the Holy Spirit, what would you have to do with money, what have you got to do with wealth. What would you have to do with speaking English; what have you got to do with any kind of materialism. Because, the Holy Spirit is everything, He is love, peace, joy, mercy, humility and meekness. He is truth, patience, tolerance, endurance. He is righteousness and self-control and all virtues. The Holy Spirit does everything for you, nobody can hurt you. He speaks for you, He works for you and provides you all the things you lack and He overcomes everything for you.
The only thing in which you can have boldness and pride is the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is everything to you. When you possess the Holy Spirit there is no disappointment, no confrontation, there is no lack or poverty, no illness, nothing at all can prevail over you, no kind of encumbrances whatsoever because the Holy Spirit is everything unto every man.
What do you go to the Hospital for? He is the Chief Medical Officer. What do you find in an educational institution? He is the Dean of all faculties. What do you find in the market place? He is the Chief Merchant. He is everything you can think of. With Him there is no hunger, no lack, no tribulations, no suffering. In Him you have peace, genuine love, joy; and you have mercy. In Him you find every good thing and there is no variableness in Him. There is no deceit in Him, because He is always the same.
They Spoke With Boldness
As the student has said, when the battle is tough, call on the Holy Spirit and He will come to your rescue. That is exactly what the disciples of old did. When they were faced with great confrontations, they called on the Holy Spirit: "And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant unto us thy servants, that with all boldness we may speak thy word, stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of the Holy Son, Jesus the Lord and Christ," And when they had prayed the place where they were was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spake the word of God with all boldness. It is the same thing we have to do. When you are faced with all kinds of trouble when the war becomes topsy-topsy and difficult, tell Him: Father, the time has come, the situation has provided itself for You to come down and arrest." And you will find Him descending upon you like rain from heaven.
The Source of Power In Brotherhood Is The Holy Spirit
The kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is everything unto us. You will hear people make reference to the fact that here in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, you find power, power of healing, great wisdom is here, this is because the Holy Spirit is here. They also say, look at that man, he is a Brotherhood member, he has no work to do for his livelihood, and yet his child has gone to school and graduated successfully. Why would that child not go to school and graduate, when the Holy Spirit is money? The Holy Spirit is education. The Holy Spirit is wisdom, knowledge; it is everything.
The Christ Students Natural Choir often renders a piece which says that He has come in a secret way and the world does not know. Of a truth he has come in a manner the world does know and those of you here do not understand. Do you not hear what is said by the people of the world? They also confess, there is power in Brotherhood, but it is not known where this power comes from.
He Operates Throughout The World From 34 Ambo
The most surprising thing to the inhabitants of the world as you will hear them say is that their Leader is stationed in Calabar and yet you find Him simultaneously everywhere. They often complain to you that there is something underneath. "We cannot believe that it is an ordinary thing." You who are here also wonder and express surprise over the omnipresence of the Father.
Since you were born have you heard of any such man, have you read in recorded history that there is a man who is stationary at one place and operates all over the world? Elijah moved from place to place, Our Lord Jesus Christ moved from one place to place. The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and every religious leader all move from place to place. But here is a man at 34 Ambo Street, Calabar and operates throughout the world.
They move from place to place. What did they do? Or what have they done so far? What happens in this case, He stays in one place, but what has He not been able to do even as He is stationed in one particular place. Everything goes steadily and straight. He is doing His works, He does not call for members. He does not bother Himself about anything and yet the work is moving. Everything is taking shape.
In the sun the Holy Spirit is there, in the moon, in the stars, in the constellations. You find the Holy Spirit in the water beneath the earth. He is in your body, in your house, in your office, in your way, in the market, in your farm. He is found lavishly everywhere.
No candle is required here, no perfume, no incense is wanted, no clapping of hands, no kind of orchestra whatsoever is needed. Realise that the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all gifts. When you possess the Holy Spirit, you have life, you have power, wisdom, peace, love, humility, and every good thing and you have salvation. But all other gifts, carnal gifts lead unto death. Brethren, I will not overload you. Let our golden text be read.
Golden Text: James 1:17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Brethren, have you heard what the scriptures have said? I have already repeated what the scriptures had written that "the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life." (Rom 6:23) When you ask God for any carnal thing, you are asking for death, but if you ask for the Holy Spirit, you are asking for eternal life. All those requests you put before God, "God give me wife, give me husband and children and money, give me a motor car and build a house for me, and many others. Do you know that you are asking for death?
I can remain where I am as long as I wish. You are true witnesses to the fact that I have never gone out to the guest house, or to the book shop or to the school premise there. I remain where I am. And I can remain in that apartment (vestry) for twenty years or more without coming out here, and there will be no problems whatsoever. But, it is not so in the world. In the world you have problems everywhere.
Those who saw me last week can attest to the fact that I was older than I am today. Tomorrow I will be younger than this. Next week, next month, next year, I will continue to grow younger and younger. It is not my work. It is the Father, it is the Holy Spirit who is doing His work. You call me Olumba Obu. Yes, we agree, look at Him. When you look at us you call us a small boy. Yes that is what we are too.
Ask, Seek And Knock For The Holy Spirit
You are given soldiers and policemen to guard you. But here the Holy Spirit protects your children and heals you of all infirmities and does everything for you. He is in your house, in your office. He is under your bed and under your pillow. He is everywhere lavishly. He takes care of everything for you.
The Holy Spirit is the only gift of God. When you possess the Holy Spirit you have everything. There is no occasion of your saying that, oh, I have forgotten. The Holy Spirit will abide with you forever. He is peace, He is joy, He is mercy, humility, kindness, He is power, love, life, good health. He is everything to you. And it is the Holy Spirit that you are told to ask for, seek for, and to knock for and it will be given you. It is not money, it is not wealth, not children, wife, husband, houses or any of these mundane things that you requested to ask for. When you have the Holy Spirit you have everything.
The Holy Gift Of God
All those who ask God to give them food, money, a child or husband or wife, these things lead to death. The Holy Spirit is the Holy Gift which the Father has had for us. When you possess the Holy Spirit you have everlasting life. The Holy Spirit is the embodiment of peace, joy, love, patience, eternal life, power and everything you require and you are on top of the world.
Think of this situation: Here is a man who has neither staves nor gun nor machete nor sword. He has no implement of war and yet, the whole inhabitants of the world rise in concert and wage war against him. In spite of sitting in the corner and laughing at them, overcoming everything, nothing challenges Him. What do you think about this phenomenon? When you come around after your futile attempts, the Father will still receive and embrace you, greet you, "my friend how now?"
That Eternal Kingdom
The Holy Spirit is that Kingdom Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream and was interpreted by Daniel. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever." (Dan 2:44) This is that eternal kingdom.
Right from today you should realize that the injunction, ask, seek, and knock refers to the Holy Spirit. You should ask for the Holy Spirit, seek for the Holy Spirit and knock and the Holy Spirit will be given to you. Whatever your problem is whether you are sick, do not tell anybody, just ask for the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is given to you, your eyes will be opened and you will find peace in your life and everything will assume its perfect and good condition. Therefore, you should strive to possess the Holy Spirit and all shall be well with you.
The Comforter Completed The Work and Glorified Himself
Our Lord Jesus Christ had seen this thing clearly. That was why He said, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. The Comforter will come. But if I depart, I will send Him unto you." All along who was able to do these works? The Son could not. The prophets and not even the angels could do these works. No man was able to do these works. Now that the Comforter has come, has He not completed these works to glorify Himself?
Can you see the result of God's long-suffering? When the world has lost its hope, indulging in all evil practices, exercising power here and there. Then within a twinkling of an eye, the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit emerged. Where is the wisdom of this world, where are the powerful men of this world, where are those who claim to be able to do one thing or the other? Has He not scattered all of them and subjected all of them to nothingness?
Brethren, one stroke of the cane is sufficient to the wise. Let those who have ears hear. May God Bless His Holy Words. Amen.
Thank You Father.
REFERENCE: Everlasting Gospel By The Sole Spiritual Head Of The Universe, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu
Preached On June 11, 1989. The Topic Was:-"THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE GREATEST GIFT OF GOD"