Preached By Apostle Peter Odoemena The Son of Man On WEDNESDAY 17th April 2019 @ The Bridal Lodge, Nsugbe
1
THE ALL SEEING EYE
1. The word of God is sharper than a two- edged sword. Do we have Amplified bible here? Good! Read the two versions. You hold one while he holds the other.
2. Hebrews 4:12 LB, ‘For whatever God says to us is full of living power : it is sharper than the sharpest dagger,’ sharper than the sharpest dagger, that is the Word of God,
3. ‘Cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires,’ the word of God enters our hearts, knows what we are thinking and even the desires of our hearts, thoughts you had in your heart which nobody knew about, thoughts I had in my heart which nobody knew about, you never told anybody about it, you are still ruminating over those things in your heart; those desires are in you, the word of God goes there and touches them.
4. It is only the person harbouring such thoughts that knows that God has discovered them. When the Word of God goes forth bringing out all you do in life; all you are thinking in your heart; exposing all you are harbouring in your memory which you have never told anyone, is there any other way God can reach out to you other than this?
5. What God is trying to tell you is that there is no need hiding yourself for hiding yourself amounts to deceiving yourself because the word of God has seen you. What is God? God is His word.
6. There is a message called, THE WORD OF GOD; His Name is the Word of God. ‘cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts,’ with all their parts; there is no part of the human body the word of God does not enter.
7. Anyone whose body does not facilitate the entry of the word of God is dead. It is just like injecting a drug into a corpse, does it make any meaning? It is meaningless because the drug will not enter.
8. The word of God is an injection you give to a living being who is sick so that he could live. The bible said the word is full of living power; living power that enters a human being and transforms him. That is the power of transformation.
9. By the time it enters your body and touches your body parts: your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your heart and your heart’s desires, there will be a great change.
10. If you don’t know when the word of God touches all your body parts, even your innermost thoughts which nobody else knows, know that you are dead. And before the person gets up again, in short, it is impossible.
11. It is just like expecting a corpse to rise up and walk: a decomposing corpse rising up to walk, do you expect that? It is impossible. It will only wait for the Judgment Day. Continue, ‘exposing us for what we really are.’
12. The word of God does what? It exposes us for what we really are. Anybody can impersonate anything, claim to be anything, once the word comes to us full of living power piercing every aspect of our being, revealing and bringing it into focus, it will expose us for who we are.
13. That is why nobody can hide from God. No matter the way you think it up. God cannot tell lies against you; He knows how to expose you for you to see yourself in the mirror which is God’s word.
14. I will also see myself in the mirror. A hypocrite will see himself. He that worships God in spirit and in truth will also see himself.
15. It is just like the message we have been hearing since Sunday. This is not the first time we are hearing it. There is a message titled: KNOWING GOD CANNOT GIVE YOU SALVATION, handled by Apostle Orjiakor.
16. That you know who God is, can that give you salvation? Is there anyone that got salvation because he knew God? St. Paul said there is a sickness that infects those that know God: they do not accept Him as God.
17. And because they do not accept Him as God, they will not give Him honour neither will they worship Him as God because the thoughts of their hearts are corrupt.
18. They have ulterior thoughts in them. They started thinking up what God could look like: ‘How can He become human? How can the Creator of Heaven and earth turn out to be human? Who can believe this?’ Yet they knew who He was. And they said they believed.
19. As they were ruminating over those things, God said their foolish hearts will be darkened so that they cannot see again. The eyes may see physically but the heart is blind.
20. A human being is not blind because he cannot see; the worst kind of blindness that can affect anybody is spiritual blindness. When he sees God, he calls Him devil; he sees devil he calls him God. He sees the truth, he calls it a lie and when he sees a lie he says it is truth. That person is blind spiritually.
21. When the word of God comes into him to work in him, he will not accept it because he is spiritually blind. There is no truth in him for there is no spirit in him to accept the truth again.
22. ‘he knows about everyone, everywhere.’ God knows about everyone, everywhere. Everywhere means everywhere.
23. Even if you like run into an animal’s burrow in the ground; fly to the sky, He knows where you are. ‘Everything about us is bare and wide open,’ everything concerning us is naked and open to God. ‘Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God;’ everything pertaining to us on the inside, on the outside, everywhere, they are naked and open to the all seeing eyes of our living God.
24. He does not tell anybody to go and do and come and tell Him, no. His eyes see everything whether good or bad.
25. That is why in the Judgment of God nobody can come and argue with Him. You cannot come and make God a liar saying that He does not know; that you were not the one that did this and that. God does not have time for that.
26. There is nobody that has ever bandied words with God and it can never start with me. It only takes one that does not know what the word of God says or that does not have the fear of God to play with the word of God.
27. You heard His word, He said, ‘The word of God comes to only those who fear God and honour Him; not everybody.’ And they are the only ones who will understand that it is not a mere human being that is talking but God and that, that was the way God said it before it was documented in the Holy Scriptures; Mohammed confirmed it; Enoch also confirmed it; Jesus Christ confirmed it; St. Paul confirmed it; David confirmed it; Solomon confirmed it; same for all the prophets. Paul confirmed it in the Hebrew Book.
28. It is very important that from time to time, even if you didn’t read the Epistles, go to the Hebrew Book, you have a lot to learn there. That is the Book that is common to all religions and it contains something.
29. ‘Nothing can be hidden from Him to whom we must explain all that we have done,’ so we owe explanation to God.
30. If you didn’t do it today, you will do it tomorrow. And nothing must be hidden. This is the way it is written in the scriptures.
31. Even if you erase it, it won’t make it ineffective. You refuse accepting it, it won’t make it not to come to pass. So, it is very important.
32. If you don’t believe in the Spoken Word, you don’t believe in the written word which one will save you? You don’t believe in the spoken word, you don’t believe in the documented evidence that was there since all the Ages, which one will you then believe?
33. That is why it is very important that we must study the scriptures from time to time, study the holy writings and then believe the apostles, believe the prophets.
34. These are the people God sent to you to make you know this truth. Where we read yesterday in the Quran said that God sends apostles who come in form of humans as angels, to come and make people know the truth from God; to come and explain to them the holy writings but the problem they had was that those they met never believed that it was God Who sent them.
35. For that reason all they tell them bear no fruit. How can it bear fruit when you don’t believe in the person giving you the information? Two, you don’t believe in what he told you. Then you have the hope of eternal life? Yes, another person should read another version Hebrews 4:12-13.Amp ‘For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit , and of joints and marrow [of the deepest part of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.’
36. Judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart; exposing us for who we really are. So, there won’t be the instance of somebody opening his mouth to say, ‘God knows my heart.’ Yes, God knows your heart that you are an unbeliever. ‘Ehm, God knows my movement,’ yes, God knows your movement in deed; whether good or bad, He knows.
37. Have we believed in our hearts that today or tomorrow, sometime, someday we are standing before God to give explanation for everything we have done? Will anyone come there to speak useless grammar? God asked Adam a question: ‘Why have you done this?’ Adam didn’t know he was going to give explanations.
38. He turned to Eve also, ‘Why have you done this?’ They didn’t know they were going to give explanations. It started from the very beginning.
39. All of us must give explanations for what we have done before One Man; before One Person and that is The Almighty God.
40. We should bear it in mind that it is the Word of God which you are hearing now with what it is doing in your life that will put the fear of God in your heart. And you should know that the way you think is not the way God thinks.
41. The way you see things is not the way God sees things so that whatsoever you are doing, whatsoever you are thinking, you do all with restraint. Let us go to Hebrew Chapter 10. I want all of you to clean up your ears. We will do a lengthy reading. We will read up to verse 39 from verse 20, ‘This is the fresh, new life-giving way that Christ has opened for us,’
42. This is the fresh, new life-giving way that Christ has opened for us, who knew this truth before now? Who knew this way before now? It will take Christ to come and open it for us so that we will understand it and it will be a new way, a living way, a life- giving way.
43. Oftentimes, we sing a song giving God praise that He opened the Door for us to come in. Yes, the truth of the matter is that He opened that Door, that Way by coming with grace and truth.
44. Anytime Christ comes in an Age, He comes with grace and truth; He comes to open the Way. He comes to open the eye of the blind. He comes and says, ‘See the way, the fresh, new and living way,’ but how many will see it?
45. If Christ had not come during our time, we would have remained blind like the others. The reason why Israel is different among people in the comity of nations is because Christ is with them.
46. This is because all the Prophets God sent to them had the Spirit of Christ in them. They had Christ in them; they were sent as Christ to the people to open the eyes of the people; open their understanding; show them the fresh, new and living way through which they can come to God; through which they could come into God’s rest which God has been talking about which they knew not. Even some of their fathers knew it not.
47. ‘This is the fresh, new life-giving way that Christ has opened for us by tearing the curtain-his human body,’ by tearing the curtain, his human body, the veil was rent into two. It was no longer the case of God hiding Himself.
48. Christ no longer conceals Himself. He has come out in broad day light. He tore the whole thing. From there we now recognized He that is having dealings with us so that anybody that wants to perish will perish.
49. ‘By tearing the curtain-his human body–to let us into the holy presence of God.’
50. To let us into the holy presence of God; if God had not come to remove what He used in covering Himself, if He had not come out from hiding because God had been hiding Himself in a human being not counting it robbery; it has been his nature to conceal Himself. He is not fond of shouting and barking ‘gbo, gbo, gbo, gbo,’ like you see them do in the world today. No. He just goes on His way.
51. If you are told He is God, you won’t believe it. It has always been like that.
52. How many people easily recognize a prophet? Have you ever seen a real prophet that moves about with a trumpet? He just moves on in a simple manner.
53. He just walks across the street and goes his way, not troubling anybody, yet he is the Prophet of The Most High God. There is no prophet from God that makes noise.
54. There is no Man of God that makes noise. Even to make people know him is extremely difficult for him to do. For Jesus Christ, I knew the extent He labored to make people recognize Him.
55. For John the Baptist also, I knew the extent he tried to make people recognize him. Even some people took it upon themselves to ask him who he was. ‘Are you Elijah? Are you so, so and so prophet? Tell us who you are.’
56. In the time of Jesus the Christ this was also the way they asked and asked and asked: ‘Why not make us understand so that we can have our rest. We don’t want to be deceived anymore. Tell us who you are. If you are God, let us know.’
57. They thought He would come up and start telling them stories. This is the new, fresh and living way Christ has opened by renting the veil into two; that is the human body. He now made us to come face to face with God.
58. Anybody who finds himself in this Faith today, who understands what is being taught, knows that he has come face to face with the Almighty God. It is no longer a story. It is real.
59. If it is not real to you, number one, you don’t know scriptures. That was what killed the Jews: ‘You are a mere man but you maketh yourself God.’ That was why He told them, ‘You err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.’ If God had not removed that veil; that human veil for which cause He was now made manifest, saying, ‘Come and see He that has been having dealings with you all these years to banish unbelief,’ yet unbelief refused to be banished.
60. God has been seeking acceptance in the midst of His people. He said, ‘All animals created know their owners but My people do not know Me, My people do not know Me.’ He still went ahead and said, ‘The devil will testify against you in this generation for you do not know who God that created you is.’ Satan will testify against this generation! One that does not respect, honour and worship God, will he then honour an idol? Will he honour his fellow man?
61. God said during the days of Moses- because the children of Israel never regarded the man Moses-‘I will do great wonders through you before the people of Israel.
62. It will make them believe in you, fear and honor you.’ God then did it and fear gripped the Jews for a while. After that while, the unbelief in them came out again.
63. That was why Prophet Mohammed judged them by telling them that they left the God that brought them out of the land of Egypt, Who showed them the way out of captivity; they abandoned Moses and the covenant God had with them to mould an image after which they brought calamity upon themselves. That is how it is in the world today.
64. You cannot forsake God and devil at the same time. If you forsake God, you must embrace the devil. Can it happen? You can never reject light and darkness at the same time.
65. You cannot reject life and death at the same time. It is as clear as the day. Try as much as possible to look into the Holy Scriptures from time to time. It will help you to understand what God is doing in your day.
66. Don’t turn your backs on the bible for that is what you were given. Quran is still foreign to you. It is only God and few persons He gave it to. There are many ancient writings but just hold this one that is common and study what it contains.
67. William Branham said that Christ will be here on earth in the last days in the form of a human being, that it is the bible that will help people to find out who He is: the scriptures will declare who He is. He didn’t say someone will fall down from the sky and say, ‘Here I am; I am he.’ Or ‘It is I; I have come.’ But before scripture will tell you who He is, it is through the scriptures that you must know the identification of Christ in all the Ages.
68. You must know the things used in identifying Him in all the Ages. You must know all the Supernatural attributes of God.
69. You must know what the prophets said; you must know what the apostles said so that when those things come to pass, when you see them, you will stand still.
70. Just like the wise men said, ‘We saw the Star and we have come to worship the King.’ They didn’t start investigating, scrutinizing or asking questions. They were sure and certain.
71. It was because they knew what the prophets said. They were mindful of them. They knew what was about to happen. When it happened, it was not a surprise to them. If it took others by surprise, it was not those people because they were waiting in the Word.
72. When you wait in the Word, you will never be misled. If you don’t believe in the Written Word, to believe the Spoken Word is impossible.
73. The foundation of the Spoken Word is the Written Word. If you don’t believe in Moses, you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, who then do you believe in? You believe in nobody.
74. If they had believed in Moses, Jesus said they would have believed in him, Jesus Christ. ‘We are Moses’ disciples; concerning this man, we don’t know him; we don’t believe in him.’ He said, ‘Shut up! If you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me because Moses pointed all of you to Me and he saw my day and rejoiced.’
75. There is no prophet that never saw the coming of the Son of Man. They saw it and rejoiced; the last of them being William Branham. Enoch prophesied about Him; seventh generation Prophet. Jesus prophesied about Him; Prophet Mohammed prophesied equally about Him.
76. There is no prophet from God that never prophesied about this Day. All have spoken concerning this Generation; this Age where the accumulated judgment of God that started in the Garden of Eden will break forth on our heads; why we must be very careful; why we must be diligent while studying the scriptures so that we don’t take these things for granted. Repeat that verse again,
77. ‘This is the fresh, new life-giving way that Christ has opened for us by tearing the curtain-his human body-to let us into the holy presence of God. And since this great High priest of ours rules over God’s household,’ thank you; since this great high priest of ours rules over God’s own Household, ‘Let us go right in to God,’ let us go right in to Who? To God, Himself. There is no other person I am introducing all of you to.
78. That is why you must know your status in Christ; know your status in the Son of Man because in Him is the Father revealed.
79. You can never see God outside the Son of Man; He is the One where the Father is tabernacling. So you cannot bypass Him and see the Father. You come right in through the Message and you come face to face with the Almighty God.
80. There is no other thing you are going to see. When a masquerade raises the mask on its head and says, ‘come.’ What will you see? Is it not what is in the masquerade? That is what you will meet.
81. If it opens up the head and says, ‘see me.’ You want to run? He says, ‘come; don’t fear.’ Then you walk to him. Have you not seen the masquerade face to face? Life! Go ahead.
82. ‘Let us go right in to God Himself with true hearts.’ With what? ‘With true hearts fully trusting Him to receive us because we have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood,’ we have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood, ‘To make us clean and because our bodies have been washed with pure water,’ because our bodies have been washed with pure water and I have told you what that pure water is. That pure water is the word of God. Come that I may cleanse you with water by the word.
83. Jesus told His disciples, ‘You are cleansed; you are now cleansed by the word which I have spoken unto you.’ If you get home, this word becomes water, soap, bleach. The blood is for the atonement. Both the blood and the water the two testify of your salvation. Yes, now, we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us; now we can look forward.
84. That is when we then have hope of salvation; the salvation God promised us because we have come in with true hearts trusting Him to receive us because we have been washed by the word. We are now clean. Our hearts are now clean; we have been purged from evil consciences.
85. ‘Now, we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt.’ There is no room for doubt again.
86. Anybody in our midst now who still has room for doubt; who still has something confusing him; who is still dabbling between two opinions, asking whether it is this or that, ‘let me wait for another; who is even sure of all this?’ Is the person a believer? No room for doubt, ‘and we can now tell others that salvation is ours,’ amen.
2
DO NOT NEGLECT THE WORD OF GOD
1. When you are in this condition, you will now be in the position to tell others around you that salvation has been given to you.
2. When we were reading Hebrews 4, in the fellowship which we read from verse 1 where God was saying that we should be careful because this message we are hearing we were not the first to hear it; that our fore fathers in the day of Moses heard it but did not mix it with faith and for that reason it didn’t benefit them.
3. God prepared salvation and showed everyone the Kingdom, the Place of rest and then He bid them come, but the people that were told to come rejected the call because of unbelief; that we ourselves that believed have entered the rest, but for somebody that is still having double mind, still harbouring unbelief has he entered? He has not entered. Can he tell others that salvation is his? there is no longer room for doubt and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that he will do what he says.’
4. There is no question that God will do what He says even if He delays. The fact that they heard it during the time of Moses does not make us lose hope in eternal life.
5. Eternal life is still being awaited. It is still real. The word of God still holds sway because God never said that it will be split amongst generations, no. We will all enter once. It will not be divided according to generations, no, no, no. We are entering once.
6. One day everything will come to an end, from Genesis to Revelation, all of us will enter at once. The bible is testifying of this eternal life; the word of God you are hearing is testifying of the fact that you are on the right road as they were; that you are not going to be condemned in the end just like they themselves.
7. ‘In response to what God has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good. Let us not neglect our church meetings, let us not neglect our Church meetings, as some people do.’
8. When we meet, we meet as a gathering of God’s people, let us be serious with it. Don’t neglect it the way some do because they have more important things to attend to other than fellowship and they feel God doesn’t know about it: ‘God knows my heart; God knows everything about me; God knows this; God knows that.’ That is what is killing many of us.
9. Another one is: ‘It doesn’t matter.’ On that day, that one that doesn’t matter will matter very well. If it has dawned on us that the Person we are having dealings with is God and that He is not coming from any other place but is already here with us; that His eyes, His Mind is on every teaching He has giving us, we will be careful.
10. ‘let us not neglect our Church meetings as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near,’ especially now that we are near the end of all things. ‘If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Saviour,’ listen attentively here.
11. If anybody sins deliberately by rejecting the Saviour after knowing the truth, why won’t the person go blind? The Lord gave them over to a reprobate mind.
12. There are many ways you can reject the Saviour after knowing the truth; they knew God and still rejected Him.
13. The same people that knew God very well and knew He is God, they are the same people that rejected Him. They never took His word serious. There was no other way the people of Israel rejected God if not by being disobedient to Him; to His word; to His instructions, having their way.
14. Was there any other way they became disobedient to Jesus Christ; to the apostles? It was through disobedience to their words. If they had seen these people as God, wouldn’t they have taken their words serious?
15. If anybody sins by rejecting the Saviour, Christ, after knowing the truth, what a horrible condition! If the person never knew the truth, that would have been a different matter, but the person knows the truth very well in and out but deliberately rejected it because he wants to have his own way.
16. Tell me the hope the person now has., ‘If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Saviour after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ’s death,’ this sin is not covered by Christ’s death, ‘There is no way to get rid of it,’ no way you can get it right because you willfully, you deliberately, you calculated it in your own sight and decided it was better the way you wanted it.
17. God will not fight you but you have heaped for yourself an eternal punishment; eternal judgment which you cannot remedy.
18. You may say you are ignorant of it but the bible is saying you did it deliberately. Ignorance only comes in when you never knew but to that thing you know very well, will you say you know nothing about it?
19. When you are rejecting it you know, when you are accepting it you know. You may have your reasons. But get ready; you have to explain everything before the Almighty whom you are having dealings with; the same High priest who is ours who opened the way for us and we came to the very presence of the Almighty God.
20. He told you, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it,’ God confirming everything with supernatural signs and wonders. Didn’t you read it in the Quran? The Prophet said that the Almighty God will come, send messengers, apostles and then confirm them with supernatural signs, with canopy of Cloud and the people will close their eyes, close their hearts and reject it all because they are looking for another way, not the provided way by Allah.
21. As the day breaks, we surge closer into the Judgment of God. How can you be in the river and have soap lather enter your eyes?
22. This is the question you should be asking yourselves. ‘There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God’s awful anger,’ nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God. It is not only in the bible. It is also in the Quran. I have also seen it in The Book of Enoch. ‘which will consume all his enemies,’ what made that person an enemy of God?
23. It is because of disobedience to the truth he knows very well. What came upon him that made him reject the truth, he only, knows.
24. The word of God is rubbish, yet he wants salvation through Him. Then he has become God’s enemy. What is it that creates barrier between man and God? Is it not sin? Why has God become an enemy to many people?
25. God is an enemy to them because they don’t want God neither do they want His Message. Then why are you milling around Him since you don’t want His salvation, you don’t want Him, why are you milling around Him? Of what use is it to you? They turn out to be mockers of God.
26. They do not know they are mocking themselves. If they really know that God does not joke; that His eyes are open; His ears are open, likewise His heart, they will comport themselves. God has no informant. This is where I raise My hands for Him. Nobody gives Him information. ‘The man who refused to obey the law given by Moses was killed without mercy,’ without mercy; The Law came by Moses, grace and truth came by Christ.
27. The man who refused to obey the law given by Moses was killed without mercy, if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated His cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit,’ The man who refused to obey the law given by Moses was killed without mercy;they insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit, the Mercy Seat, just think what will happen to such a person.
28. That is why when you are doing whatsoever you are doing, be careful, be diligent, be watchful, be sober. These are words found in the scriptures: be careful.
29. If there was no danger, will there be need for warning? It is for the salvation or safety of somebody that will warrant someone else telling him: ‘Be careful, be watchful’, because if he is left alone he may make a grievous mistake. ‘For we know him who said,’ for we know him who said, meaning He is a human being. ‘For we know Him who said, ‘Justice belongs to me,’ ehn! We know the Man who said, ‘Righteous Judgment belongs to Me; I don’t collect bribe; I don’t look at people’s faces.’
30. The stick used in killing one who doesn’t have pedigree is also the same stick used in killing one with pedigree. Brace up yourselves for God asked us a question in the message up there, ‘Why are you afraid of hell and you are not willing to walk righteously; you don’t want to do the right thing? You take delight in doing the wrong thing, yet you are afraid of hell.’ Why are you afraid of going to prison and you indulge in more criminal characters?
31. If one is afraid of going to prison, will he involve himself in anything crime; something he knows is against the law? If we are afraid of going to hell fire; we don’t want to go to hell, will there be disobedience to the word of God in our lives; not taking the word of God serious? If you don’t take the word of God serious, it shows that you don’t take God serious for God is nothing but His word. You can never find God outside His word. You can never deny God and accept His word; the two are one. Let us be very careful.
32. From time to time, make out time to go through the scriptures. Let it not be the sermon book is deceiving you. Find out whether what you are hearing is in consonance with what is in the Sermon Book; find out from the holy writings of old., ‘we know him who said, ‘Justice belongs to me; I will repay them’.
33. I will repay them; good for good and evil for evil because any seed a man soweth that he must reap. I will repay them. Though it tarries, wait for it. ‘I will repay them, who also said, ‘The Lord Himself will handle these cases.’
34. The Lord himself will do what? Handle these cases. Is this not enough to instill fear in people? You see why people fall into trouble because they do not know the word of God? From time to time, crosscheck what you are holding with the scriptures again. St. Timothy testified about it that these scriptures you are holding, they are profitable for reproof, for teaching, in righteousness that a man of God will be thoroughly equipped unto good works.
35. Paul told Timothy, ‘Until I come, give your attention to study of the scriptures and to prayers.’ You think he didn’t know what he was saying? Pray that you do not get into temptation.
36. We pray so that we do not get into temptations. Jesus prayed. The prophets prayed. There is no teaching that forbids us from prayers.
37. We keep on praying seeking the face of God everyday making sure that we are standing in His presence with every amount of boldness. ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
38. When God Himself will handle our cases, look at what follows it: It is a fearful thing for one to enter into judgment with God.
39. If you are quarrelling with your fellow human being, another person can come there and settle the dispute but when it is between you and God, who will settle it?
40. Have you seen that man is filled with stupidity? Stupidity is inherent in human beings, especially those that call themselves children of God. They don’t have the fear of God.
41. That is why He asked, ‘If I am God to you, where is that fear you have for Me?’ That was the question He asked them in the Book of Isaiah. Patty Obasi even sang a song with it that Jehovah is asking us; The Creator of the earth is asking: ‘Where is your fear for Me? Where is your respect for Me?’ it is a fearful thing, ‘it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Don’t ever forget those wonderful days when you first learned about Christ.’ Don’t ever forget those wonderful days when you first learnt about Christ.
42. Is there any wonderful day in your life in your own experience so far, if you are a seed of God in this Faith? We sing it in a song: ‘Oh that day, I remember that day; I will never forget that day when Jesus took my sins away; when Jesus washed my sins away.’ I will never forget that day.
43. You should remember the day you embraced this truth; how wonderful it was. You felt as though you would go to heaven the following morning. Look at the zeal, the joy that greeted that warm embrace of the truth.
44. Anybody who said he accepted the message and never felt that way, ask him very well, he never accepted it. When the gentiles heard it, they rejoiced exceedingly.
45. That was what the bible told us. When this message of grace that brought salvation got to them, they shouted and jumped with joy; I mean exceeding joy. I don’t know whether there was even a single day you ever had joy concerning your salvation because you heard a message; something that was taught that opened your eyes and your mind and you saw God, saw salvation, saw eternal life. And he said, ‘Don’t forget that day when you had that wonderful experience.
46. ‘Don’t ever forget those wonderful days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you kept right on with the Lord even though it meant terrible suffering,’ remember how you kept right on with the Lord trusting and confiding in Him, believing more and more, wanting to be told more and more the truth about eternal life.
47. ‘Remember how you kept right on with the Lord even though it meant terrible suffering,’ even when you were suffering exceedingly. Some didn’t even see little food to eat: no food, no money for house rent, no shelter, no money for school fees, no motor vehicle, no motor cycle, nothing, nothing. Yet we were exceedingly joyful trekking many miles to fellowship at Ugwumba, at Amazu, at Abagana. Sometimes, rain beat the hell out of us. Sometimes, darkness caught up with us on the way and we never feared the attack of armed robbers.
48. We were moving about morning, afternoon, evening and we were not complaining. We attended daily fellowship everyday before three o’clock we were there. Our jobs never prevented us. There was no pregnant Sister that used pregnancy as an excuse.
49. There was no nursing mother that used her baby to give an excuse. And we were doing it not by compulsion, with every amount of joy and conviction waiting for God’s time. We kept right on with Him. Then the message was soaring higher and higher.
50. When He found fault with us we declared fasting and praying; we prayed until we made it right. Then our spirit was at peace. Then we were enjoying our fellowship with Christ. He said, ‘Don’t ever forget those wonderful times when you first heard this truth, embraced this truth. It gave you joy. You kept right on with Christ.
51. ‘Sometimes, you were laughed at and beaten. And sometimes you watched and sympathized with others suffering the same things.’ Sure! We passed through these experiences. ‘You suffered with those thrown into jail and you were actually joyful when all you owned was taken from you,’ everything; we forfeited all things. Yet we were joyful. ‘knowing that better things were awaiting you in heaven,’ better things awaiting us in Heaven; things better than houses, cars, money etc awaited us in heaven. Who knows about it? Who believes in it?
3
Remember your reward.
1. ’knowing that better things were waiting for you in heaven, things that would be yours forever,’ things that would be ours forever, not temporary. That of the world is; if you touch it, another person will collect it from you. For this particular one, we will own it forever.
2. ‘Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away,’ Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away, fizzle out. Don’t let this flame of love; this flame of trust you have in God, die away. Because at this point in time, evil is widespread making the word of God come to pass that in the last days, evil will so topple evil that the love of the believers will begin to wax cold.
3. Anybody whose love waxes cold is one who is without hope. Here in the Faith, even if it remains only you or only me, I am sure and certain of what I believe; I have better times ahead, a place has already been prepared which is better than what I have here: a building better than this one I have in the world awaiting me. That is the faith of the saints which keeps them alive and afloat.
4. ‘Do not let this happy trust in the Lord die away no matter what happens. Remember your reward.’ Do what? Remember your reward. Which verse is that? [Verse 35]. Remember your reward. Whatever you do has a reward. Go up, come down, there is a reward awaiting you; whether good or bad, there is a reward from God.
5. And this is your reward according to the scriptures even eternal life. ‘You need to keep on patiently doing God’s will if you want Him to do for you all that he has promised,’ keep on; not when you move a bit forward, you then start moving backwards. If you want God to do all that He has promised, you must continue; don’t look back.
6. ‘His coming will not be delayed much longer.’ No! ‘And those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting him in everything.’
7. There are people whose faith has made them good in the eyes of the Lord; their faith has made them righteous; good people; people God will dwell with eternally in the eyes of the Lord by faith.
8. ‘And those whose faith has made them good in God’s sight must live by faith, trusting him in everything,’ they must live by faith. The righteous must live by faith trusting God in everything, not minus this one or that one, ‘otherwise, if they shrink back, God will have no pleasure in them,’ God will have no pleasure in such people if they shrink back. Instead of progressing you start retrogressing. God does not take pleasure in such people.
9. ‘But we have never turned our backs on God,’ never have we turned our backs on God; those of us that believed, never. What will make Me turn My back on God? What will make Me march backwards after having gone forward for a while? My testimonies will begin to change; my confessions will also change. No, unless I didn’t accept this truth from the very beginning. Go ahead, ‘but we have never turned our backs on God and sealed our faith. No, our faith in Him assures our soul’s salvation.’ Our faith in God assures our soul’s salvation.
10. If there is any other thing that is giving you that assurance other than this faith which is unshakeable, this faith that brings you complete obedience to the word and has made you a complete and perfect human being before God, I don’t know about it. Hebrews Chapter 12:4, ‘Strive to stay out of all quarrels,’ strive to stay out of all quarrels.
11. There is life in the Hebrew Book. No wonder all the prophets pointed at the Hebrew Book. Prophet William Braham, Hebrew Book, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2; St. Paul Hebrew Book; Prophet Enoch of old, Hebrew Book; Jesus pointed at the Hebrew Book. Try to stay out of what? ‘Quarrels of all sorts and seek to live a clean and holy life;’ stay out of quarrels of all sorts and seek to live a clean and holy life.
12. Even quarreling with yourself, stay out of it, ‘For one who is not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God’s best blessings,’ look after each other; try to look into the affairs of others, those people you have dealings with; those who are in the faith with you; make sure that there is no one who calls himself a child of God that will be found in quarreling or bitterness which defileth people.
13. ‘Watch out that no bitterness takes root amongst you for as it springs up, it causes deep trouble hurting many in their spiritual lives.’ Doing what? Hurting many in their spiritual lives, but today there are people who have their personal cups they use in drinking water.
14. It is now a way of life. Even if you try to bring them back to the path of truth, you incur their trouble.
15. They start demonstrating as if it is a light thing in the sight of God. You do not know Whom you are having dealings with; you don’t know He that is with you; you don’t know He sees everything.
16. If you are asked: ‘What is responsible for this?’ You have no reason. Making sure that no root of bitterness ever springs up from your heart which will hurt your spiritual life; hurt my spiritual life.
17. watch out that no one becomes involved in sexual sin or becomes careless about God as Esau did.’ If you read 1st Peter 2,
18. it will give you the interpretation, sexual sin; homosexuals. Continue, ‘Or becomes careless about God as Esau did: he traded his rights as the oldest son for a single meal;’ he sold his birthright because of food. ‘and afterwards, when he wanted those rights back again, it was too late, even though he wept bitter tears of repentance. So remember and be careful. You have not had to stand face to face with terror, flaming fire, gloom, darkness and a terrible storm as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai when God gave them his laws for there was an awesome trumpet blast.’ Finally, let us repeat this scripture Romans 1 verse 21, Amplified. We heard it on Sunday. ‘Yes, they knew about Him quite alright but they wouldn’t admit it or worship Him. Or even thank Him for all His daily care.’ No. That one is far. They don’t thank God for His daily care. ‘And after a while, they began to think up silly ideas,’ after a while when they went to stay on their own, isolated themselves, everything with which they knew God fizzled out.
19. They began to think up silly ideas. ‘After a while, they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what He wanted them to do. The result was that their foolish mind became dark and confused, claiming themselves to be wise without God,’ claiming themselves to be wise without God.
20. Can anybody be wise without God? ‘They became utter fools instead and then instead of worshipping the glorious ever living God, they took wood and stone and,’ that was when the worshipping of idols started. Their stubbornness and impenetrable hearts has led them into idolatry.
21. Have you now seen that if you reject God, you must embrace an idol? You can never reject God without worshipping the devil. Oftentimes, people worship the devil ignorantly. This is why the Almighty God gave us many forms of idolatry. He said beware of stubbornness which is idolatry; beware of covetousness which is idolatry and many others. The person may say, ‘I didn’t gather stones or wood to do incantations and bow down before them,’ but he said look at it here.
22. So this night, it is no longer a case of coming here to read sermon books; we have read truth as enshrined in the Holy Scriptures. It is standing before us; it is set before our hearts.
23. If we know all we have heard, it will be better for us to go back during our own private times and go through them in our jotters, that is, if we have jotters.
24. Look into these things; find out all the scriptures we read. When you read them and meditate upon them, they will lead you into many other scriptures. This is why David said that he hid the word of God in his heart so that he will not sin before God: ‘Thy word have I hid in my heart that I will not sin against You.’ He also said, ‘Thy word is a lamp onto my pathways; is a lamp unto my footstool;’ Your word gives light on the path I walk.
25. The moment you feign ignorance of this truth, you must grope in utter darkness. When darkness comprehends your heart, confusion sets in and you are then easily deceived. You will be carried away.
26. Let us go back and discover where we have fallen and then make amends.
27. Let us remember those good times we had with God. And where did it cease? Is it God that halted the good tides? Or is it we that drew back? Even when we had nothing; when we were suffering in different forms; suffering deprivations yet we were gloriously following the Lord;
28. we were getting on fine but today we have eaten, we have grown fat; we now have everything. The thought of God is: ‘leave it for a later date.’ Remember the warning we were given: do not forget what your eyes have seen and your ears have heard lest you offend God.
29. When the children of Israel ate, got wealthy, had children, got everything life entails, they forgot God. God became a later thought: ‘Later, we will talk about Him.’ Let us pray.
30. Promise from the very beginning you opened your ears and your heart lead us in prayer.
PRAYER
We thank you dear Lord who loves His children dearly. We bow before You; we honour You, let all glory be unto Your Name for You merit it. We praise You whose word is truth. Nobody can change Your word for it is ye and amen. From the time I was a kid till now, Your Word has remained the same. You are the Lord and you changeth not. The problem is with us human beings; we always want to have our ways. Thank You the One and only living God for the love You have manifested towards us. Thank You Lord for this night. Take all the glory, honour and adoration in the Name of Christ we have prayed. Amen. Lord, we have heard Your Word and how You have explained it to us and the need for us to understand who You are and the personality we are having dealings with. You have explained to us the need for us to be awake spiritually. Please, Lord don’t allow anything to remove thy word from our hearts because that is where life lies. Lord, may Thy word get deep rooted in our lives; this is our earnest plea. And let thy word also bear fruits in our lives that will glorify Your Most Holy Name. Let it not be condemnation unto us, rather let it bear fruit of righteousness. In the same vein, Lord, I pray that our brethren in this most Holy Faith will receive this same message and hide it in their hearts for all to recognize the need to know He that is having dealings with us; that despite the way He plays with us or relates with us, let us not lose sight of the fact that He is God. Lord, let the zeal that was in us from the very beginning when we first embraced this Faith come back. Lord, don’t allow it fizzle out of our hearts. Help us Lord for we are mere humans. We need your help; please help us to get it right. Let Your Spirit which is the sweetest of all spirits bear rule over us in whatever we do. Help us wherever we are so that we will be able to put Your word into practice. Father, this night as we retire to our beds, we are committing everything into your care, protect us and please don’t let us backslide in the heart. Remove all obstacles for us; both those we know and those we don’t. Take away all spirits that will not allow us obey Your word: spirit of disobedience, spirit of rebellion, spirit of demonstration against the word of God, Father please take them away from us. Help us Lord. In everything may Your Name be glorified for You are God. Take the glory, take the honour, take all the adoration for we have prayed in the name of Christ our Saviour. Amen.