Preached on 13th September, 2015 At THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD ONITSHA By APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE SON OF MAN “THE ETERNAL ONE” “Truth has no substitute” © BRIDE OF CHRIST MINISTRY WORLD-WIDE
BY APOSTLE KELECHI UWAKWE
1
THE LOVE OF GOD
Remain blessed brethren. We thank God for this morning tea. This is our family altar. Really, if not God, we can do nothing. At any stage in our lives, God will come down, opens our eyes, and shows us what we are—what He made us to be.
2. We are very grateful to Him. We thank Almighty God for that. And I am very sure that this morning message, this very tea which we have heard, that is why in the time of Peter, when the Holy Ghost fell on them, people thought they were drunk.
3. He said, “No, this is early hours of the morning, nobody can be drunk at early hours of the morning”, and we have never tasted any physical alcohol this morning.
4. But God has given us spiritual alcohol that can intoxicate us into action, make us stand on our feet and know what we are and what God has made us to be. That is why, anytime we come to fellowship like this, I say we are not in the Church rather, we are in seminar.
5. For you cannot get this thing in all these gathering of people that say they are going to Church. We are under the teaching or lecture from God Himself. For so the scripture says that, “God’s people must have God in person for their teacher.”
6. Let us turn to the message, “The Greatest Manifestation Of Love Is Forgiveness.” This message was preached 28th June 2015 at the Household of God Onitsha. By the Son of Man; Apostle Peter Odoemena, the Supreme Intelligence.
7. “Every day brings us closest, not closer but closest to the D-day. Do not allow these blessings we are enjoying at this closest hour to distract your attention.
8. Remember, we are enjoying them according to His promise that “We will never enter paradise with sad faces. Towards the end, that He, the Almighty God must put smiles on our faces.”
9. You see how God is putting smiles on our faces? As many that believe, God will come down, open His word and impact His will into us, cause all of us to start smiling immediately we obey His teachings which are His words.
10. “…If you know that those who abandoned this faith are better than you, show by raising your hand; spiritually, physically, morally and materially. Not even one…”
11. The Lord speaking: Somebody that is lost from the grace of God, lost from the presence of God, how can he be better than Me? I am standing in the presence of God everyday covered in His righteousness and Holiness which has been His unfailing sign to present Me Holy to Himself. We that stand before Him covered by His presence.
12. “…I want to ask another question. If you are sure and convinced that your neighbours are enjoying better peace than you, in your personal life, in your family, show by raising your hand…”
13. The Lord speaks: No way!
14. “…Great riches do not offer peace. There are people that are bestowed with great riches of the world, yet, there is no peace in their families, in their lives. Their lives are filled with troubles of all sorts. Why is it so, they may have those things, they do not have Christ the Author of Peace.”
15. The Lord speaks: Christ is our sufficiency.
16. “DO NOT FORGET MY ANTHEM, MY NUGGET. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU. AND, DO YOU KNOW THE MEANING OF LOVE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO LOVE? IT GOES BEYOND BOY FRIEND, GIRL FRIEND. WOMAN FRIEND, MAN FRIEND. IT GOES BEYOND GIVE ME, I GIVE YOU…” The Lord speaks: That is truth!
17. Such is the love that exists between David and Jonathan that made David to say, “The love of Jonathan in him is far beyond woman friend and man friend.
18. “…BEGIN TO CONSIDER THAT INIQUITY WHICH YOU THINK YOUR NEIGHBOUR, THAT MAN OR WOMAN COMMITTED AGAINST YOU WHICH YOU HAD NOT AT ANY POINT IN TIME COMMITTED AGAINST SOMEBODY ELSE…”
19. Hence the book of Proverbs said, ‘When you listen to every word people say concerning you, then you will come to a point where you will hear your servant cursing you. At the end, you will remember that some time ago, you yourself have done similar thing to others.”
20. “…Who should be our example? The scriptures said, “Let Christ be your example in everything, who was accused falsely instead of defending himself, he openeth not his mouth.
21. Assumed that He committed crimes He never thought of. That is why He claimed no right. Rather He said, “Suffer yourself to be defrauded that peace will reign. Forfeit your right; forfeit your privileges if it is what will bring about the needed peace…”
22. In your family, in your heart, just like the message God gave to us this morning. We must add value to ourselves first before adding value to the society. You must have that peace in your heart before you can extend peace to someone near you.
23. “…You must arm yourself with the truth as proclaimed by the Master. He said, “Offences must surely come.” Things that will make somebody to err, to sin must surely come.
24. But be on guard against them. How do you be on guard? By preparing your heart and mind ahead of time before those offences will come, enough accommodation had already been made. Saving your heart from being defiled…”
25. Are we taking it? Yes sir!
26. “…For what the enemy is attempting to achieve is to inject a little thing into your memory, into your heart that will keep on troubling you…”
27. That is what the devil is planning against you and I.
28. “…When you are eating, when you remember it, your appetite will snap. If you are driving and you remember it, you lose concentration. If you want to sleep and you remember it, you become the watchman of the night…”
29. Watch what God is saying concerning that little thing the devil will inject into your memory.
30. “…When you want to enjoy your drink and you remember it, peace stops.”
31. Because you cannot drink in anger. It is peace and joy that bring about merriment. Is it not true? It is true.
32. “…You see what the devil is looking for…”
33. You see what the devil is looking for from you, from me, from us as a body of the family of Christ? The only family God has on earth is the Bride –the true Church of God.
34. And God, in one of the messages I am went through, said, “I have been thinking, I have been ruminating in My heart to find out what the Church, the wife of Christ will commit and I will abandon her.”
35. He said He has never seen that thing. And these are the things God is giving to us this morning to make sure that we must be perfect, stainless before His eyes.
36. “…You see what the devil is looking for? To make sure that a child of God is constantly upset and confused…”
37. Once he succeeds in making you upset and confused, then he has deprived you of that joy.
38. “…For the devil can never get advantage of you without first of all upsetting you. Once you are upset, confusion sets in. In your attempt to grapple it with human knowledge, spirituality will give way…”
39. Spirituality will do what? Will give way! And you cannot talk the extent, the havoc you can do at that particular moment. Amen.
DOING THE WILL OF CHRIST
BY APOSTLE KELECHI UWAKWE
2
DOING THE WILL OF CHRIST
I just want to thrill you up. WHEN I PRAYED, THERE WAS NO OTHER THING THAT WAS LAID IN MY HEART, MORE SO, AS WE ARE ABOUT TO ENTER PARADISE THAN TO GIVE YOU THE SOLUTION TO ALL THE GRIEVANCES, GRUDGES THAT HAVE ACCUMULATED IN YOUR HEARTS, IN YOUR MEMORIES, IN YOUR SYSTEMS…”
2. You understand what God is saying? He is giving us solution, the only way to solve this accumulated grudges, evil thoughts and grievances in our hearts of evil done to us by our fellow human beings.
3. If there are no grievances in your heart which somebody did to you, can you hide it in your heart? IT IS THE ACTION OF YOUR FELLOW HUMAN BEING, HIS UTTERANCES THAT CAUSE YOU TO GRIEVE – CAUSE YOU TO HAVE A LOT OF THINGS IN YOUR HEART AGAINST SUCH A PERSON.
4. And God is saying after His prayer and meditation, He is giving us the solution to all these things. And there is no other purpose, we that found ourselves standing in His presence now, if not to get the solution against all these trials and arrows directed to us from the enemy against us.
5. That is why we come to His presence every fellowship day to receive these words which are able to protect and preserve us in the land of the living and make us perfect in His sight.
6. “…ONE, AGAINST YOUR BRETHREN, TWO, AGAINST THOSE THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE FAITH…”
7. You see the solution God is giving to us? First of all, the solution He is giving to you and me for the ones we have is against ourselves, and against those outside the faith.”
8. “…TWO, AGAINST THOSE THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE FAITH. WHETHER THEY ARE WITHIN OR WITHOUT. YOU OWE NO MAN NOTHING BUT LOVE. AND TO LOVE IS TO FORGIVE.”
9. Without love, no forgiveness. If you say you forgive, it is just on your lips. The thing is ringing bell in your heart. Whenever you see the person, you remember the wrong.
10. “…Why? Because of the joy that was set before Him, he endured humiliation, he endured cruel mockery, He endured cruel ridicule, He endured cruel accusation falsely. Why? He was watching the future by revelation.”
11. Is there any glory before us as the Bride of Christ? Yes sir! By revelation, we ought to watch the future that the joy you will get at the end will be nothing to be compared to all these ridicules, humiliations they have given to him. Accusation and beating, cruel mockery and laughter.
12. “…The suffering He is getting will be nothing to compare to the joy, the glory, the honour, the exaltation that awaited Him.”
13. Just like students that are in school now passing sleepless nights, passing through troubles of all sorts. At the end of their study, they would be crowned because of their efforts.
14. The joy alone that he succeeded all these years, because not all the students that entered the school the same year you entered were alive at the end.
15. Some died along the way; some were frustrated out because they could not continue their education. But God saw you through.
16. The joy alone will make you forget all you passed through. Hence you will not even remember the troubles you passed through. The same thing is applicable to us now as we are waiting for that great D-day. The joy alone of stepping into that theophany (immortal) body will consume us.
17. “…That is why, having passed through life because He was a man born in like passion like us. We are humans, He became human. Because He passed through such experiences, He became our succourer”
18. A helper, a comforter, a consolation to all of us.
19. “…Succourer in the sense that He has paved a way. We can no longer say there is any offence we cannot forgive.”
20. Because He has passed through this way, He has paved the way, He has experienced what we are passing through in this flesh, hence, He could recognize, for He is the only God that can hear, “I am sorry”.
21. Hence, He is the only God that can look upon us and say, “I know what manner of people they are. I know what I have made them of.”
22. No other god can have pity on human being except the Great Jehovah whom we worship in the person of Peter Odoemena (blessed be to His Holy Name). He is the only One that can look at you and shook His head and show mercy, show pity.
23. So, there is no offence that will come our way which God will say, “I am not able to forgive,” or waves it by the side.
24. “…REMEMBER, THE DEVIL HAS NO OTHER TARGET THAN TO STOP YOUR PILGRIM JOURNEY…”
25. Record all these offences and troubles that come to you, those things you never dreamt of doing, all of them are coming upon you. Just have this one thing in mind that the devil wants to stop your pilgrim journey. He wants to hinder you from putting on this immortal body we are expecting.
26. “…FOR HE FORFEITED IT WHEN HE WAS DRIVEN AWAY AND VOWED A VOW THAT NO HUMAN BEING WILL EVER ENJOY PARADISE WITH CHRIST…”
27. You see what the devil did? He forfeited it and vowed that no human being will enjoy it with Christ.
28. “…The bible said, “He sort a way to repent but he found it not for it was too late.” FOR THAT REASON, HE STOPPED TROUBLING US WHEN WE RAISED A STANDARD AND NOW WAITED FOR US AT THE END.”
29. For that reason, he stopped troubling us and he (Satan) waited for us at the end.
30. “…REMEMBER, THERE CAN NEVER BE MATERIAL PROSPERITY WITHOUT THE DEVIL AROUND IT.”
31. Whether in your academics, materially or in any form, the devil must stand behind.
32. “…THE DEVIL USES IT AS A BAIT, AS A TRAP. WHETHER IT WILL BE BY CHILD BEARING OR CONSTRUCTING A NEW HOUSE, BY BUYING VEHICLES, IN ANY FORM OR SHAPE, EVEN BY THE ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT OF YOUR CHILDREN. IN YOUR WORK PLACES, EVERY PROMOTION, EVERY ASPECT OF PEACE YOU WANT TO ENJOY, THE DEVIL HIDES AROUND THE CORNER USING IT TO GET YOU TRAPPED.”
33. You see what the devil is doing? And God is giving us all these information ahead of time so that we should be wiser than the serpent. For every good achievement you attain, the devil is behind you, looking for a way of causing sorrow. Looking for a way to cause you provoke your Maker to anger.
34. “…WHEN HE ANNOUNCED WHAT WE SHALL ENJOY TOWARDS THE END, THE DEVIL RUSHED TOWARDS THE END.”
35. Just like in one of our messages, the Lord gave to us an illustration that, if God says that you should cross Asaba Bridge, that towards the Asaba end, you will see a “Ghana must go” bag that is filled with money, that you should carry it, it belongs to you.
36. Now, you heard it, the devil equally heard it that it must be after the bridge. You cross the bridge, towards Asaba end by your right hand side, you will see a “Ghana must go” bag.
37. Now, the devil will rush and place his own before the bridge. Whatever is there you call money is full of trouble and suffering and anguish and trouble of all sorts. Immediately you are moving, remember God said towards Asaba end, the devil will keep his own before the bridge.
38. By the time you get there, you turn your eyes and say see it. He will not allow you to remember that God said, “After the bridge towards Asaba end”. And if you carry that one there, you have forfeited what God kept for you.
39. And that thing you carried is trouble upon trouble, sorrow upon sorrow upon, everything that will cost you your pilgrim journey.
40. Thus, we must pay attention knowing that the only solution we have to all these trouble has remained love, to forgive whatsoever thing has been done to you.
41. “…ONE, TO MAKE SURE WE DO NOT ENJOY IT. TWO, TO MAKE SURE WE ENJOY IT WITH SORROW AND PAIN. THREE, TO MAKE SURE HE USES IT TO DISTRACT OUR HEARTS AWAY FROM THE REALITY…”
42. You see why David said, “God, do not allow me to be poor so that I will not steal and cause your Name to be reproached. Do not allow me to be rich in such a way that I will forget who you are. But place me in the middle so that I can remember and worship you rightly.”
43. “…THREE, TO MAKE SURE HE USES IT…”
44. Uses those good things God has given to us, those blessings that have come our ways, cause our heart to be distracted from God – from the reality.
45. Is it not because of our strict obedience to His words from the beginning, sought Him, moving with Him that He promised that towards the end He will put smiles on our faces?
46. “…If you can notice one thing that happened in the end time as we wait patiently, it is like all our enemies are pretending, all that hated us with perfect hatred are now drawing nearer pretending that it is now they have understood us. It is now that we have arrived.”
47. Yes, because they have seen that God has started blessing us, we start having little houses with big compound, blessing us with material things, now they start coming closer. They are not coming closer with all their heart. They are coming closer with such evil intent to harm us.
48. “…IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE INDIRECTLY PRETENDING TO BE COMING TO US WITH THE WORD ‘PEACE, PEACE, UNITY, ONENESS OF THE FAMILY’ AND THINGS LIKE THAT. DO NOT EVER TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY…”
49. Do not ever take them seriously.
50. “…THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY HAVE DEVISED TO BREAK THROUGH INTO YOUR SPIRITUAL HEDGE, YOUR SPIRITUAL FENCE…”
51. The only way they can come to you is to find out that thing that hedge you around. That is the only way they can come to you. When they find it out, they will hit you.
52. “…FOR THAT REASON I SAY, WE SHOULD BE WISER THAN SERPENT. WE THAT HAVE BELIEVED AND REMAIN STEADFAST TILL TODAY PROFESSING THE RESURRECTED CHRIST SHOULD BE WISER THAN SERPENT. WISER THAN HIS SUBTLETY, WISER THAN HIS ANTICS BY WHICH HE TRICKS THE ENTIRE WORLD. If he should come in opposition, you can withstand it…”
53. If he comes in opposition of words, speaking something against you, you can withstand it – you take your time for he is coming in subtlety, pretending to be your friend, pretending to understand you, pretending that he is paying attention to your teaching and doctrines. No! They are not doing it.
54. “…But he doesn’t come this way. He comes by the way of peace, peace, peace and then with that word of peace, word of praise, encomiums, you think they are with you. They are gradually creeping in. Before you know it, the foundation of your building is rocked. A small wind can break it into pieces…”
55. And they will start laughing at you. They start jesting at you because they have come in. and if you are not wise, they will cause havoc.
56. “…That is why God said, “LOVE THE HEATHENS WITH THE LOVE OF GOD…”
57. REMEMBER, ANYBODY THAT IS NOT IN THIS BRIDAL FAITH IS A HEATHEN. ANYBODY THAT IS NOT IN THIS BRIDAL FAITH WITH ALL HIS HEART IS A HEATHEN.
58. The Lord speaks: I saw it with My eyes.
59. Whatever that happens to you, if they do not come near you, they do not have the opportunity to come near you when they are still planning evil against and they have not found that opportunity to come near you, whatever that happened on your side, whether death, they will use that opportunity to come near you.
60. They will say, “Yes, at another time I will get him.” They will try by all means even using your biological brothers and sisters that are not in this faith to see where they can get you.
61. “…That is why God said, ‘LOVE THE HEATHENS WITH THE LOVE OF GOD. DO GOOD TO THEM. BUT WHENEVER THEY ARE SURROUNDING YOU, DO NOT EVER WINK YOUR EYES. DO NOT EVER BLINK YOUR EYES ONE BIT.”
62. When they are surrounding you, love them with the love of God. If they surround you, do not ever wink your eyes. Let your eyes be wide open like that of fish. Do not ever try it, that you want to sleep.
63. If you are the type that eats anyhow, stay hungry whenever they are around you. If you are the type that drinks wine, do not ever drink. Tell them that you are on drugs, so as to make sure you do not give them any chance where they can get you.
64. If they bring it out to drink, tell them to drink. If you dare go to their place and give them a gift of wine, next time, that wine you gave them, they will keep it for one year.
65. Any day you come around, one of them will come with that wine, “Yes, that wine you gave to us that time…” you will be wondering when you gave them that wine.
66. “…Yes, the one you gave before you came to us, that is why our people said I should bring it back to you. It is open, you can taste it.”
67. If you dare drink it, you are gone. There is nothing they cannot do to get any one that is a child of God.
68. “…ANY DAY THE HEATHENS BEGIN TO SING YOUR PRAISE THAT IS THE DAY THE HEATHEN HAVE PUBLISHED YOUR OBITUARY.”
69. Do whatever you like to them, they will not appreciate it. Whatever they are planning against you, they have gotten it. That is why they will start praising you.
70. Remember the message which you are using to swallow the one God gave us in the morning is: “The greatest manifestation of love is forgiveness.” And forgiveness has no limit. It goes to everybody even the devil. Amen.
71. “…SOMETIMES, HE MAY BE BRAGGING, TELLING PEOPLE YOU HAVE FINALLY SUBMITTED: ‘I THINK HE HAS BEEN PROVING STUBBORN. DO YOU KNOW HE CAME TO ME LAST NIGHT WITH HIS WIFE AND EVEN KNELT DOWN AND SAID, ‘I AM SORRY, FORGIVE ME?’
72. BECAUSE A CHILD OF GOD PLEADS FOR FORGIVENESS FOR OFFENCE HE NEVER COMMITTED.”
73. If you are a child of God, know that Christ has been saying that it is in our power to live peaceably with every human being. It is in our hands to live in peace with everybody. For that, we pursue peace.
74. That you are pursuing peace does not mean your enemy is looking for peace. The person is still your enemy. But you are doing it in obedience to instruction of Christ whom you worship. So, that you and Christ will be in harmony, to be in good terms. You will be perfect in His sight. Not in the sight of your enemy.
75. When you tell your enemy that you have forgiven him that you are sorry for offence you did not commit, you are not doing it to please him. You are doing it to please Christ who gave you instruction. Is it not true? It is!
76. “…WHO IS COMPELLED TO GO EXTRA MILE WITH HIS ENEMY? A CHILD OF GOD. HE GOES EXTRA MILE. IF THE ENEMY WANTS HIS SANDAL, HE GIVES HIM NOT ONLY HIS SANDAL; HE GIVES HIM HIS WHOLE DRESS. YET, IT DOESN’T CHANGE ENEMITY.
77. YOU DASH HIM YOUR HOUSE, ‘BROTHER, INSTEAD OF QUARREL, TAKE MY HOUSE’, DOES NOT CHANGE ENEMITY. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT CHANGED; YOUR ENEMY WILL NOT CHANGE. WHY? CHRIST IS NOT IN HIS PROGRAMME. Amen.”
78. You see what does the change? What does the change is Christ in you, Christ in me. Just like Almighty God told us this morning that “The divine content is stored into earthen vessels that make the vessel to bring forth the Excellency of the glory of Christ which belongs to God.”
79. God thought it wise that He placed those things in weak bodies. Those weak bodies are you and I. That is why, ministers say that, “We are not preaching ourselves but we preach Christ.”
80. We show you the Excellency of Christ, what Christ can do. That was why Paul said that when he saw those things he cannot do, he just rejoiced in his weakness for in his weakness, Christ is made perfect.
81. “…YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT CHANGED; YOUR ENEMY WILL NOT CHANGE. WHY? CHRIST IS NOT IN HIS PROGRAMME.”
82. But you, Christ is in your programme, you make a change. You change continually.
83. I strongly believe that this morning we came in here, after hearing the morning tea, the family altar we had in the morning, a great change was wrought in our lives.
84. “…TO THE ENEMY, TO THE HEATHEN, FORGIVENESS IS A SIGN OF WEAKNESS. A SIGN OF WILFUL SURRENDER TO SUPERIOR AUTHORITY.”
85. That is the interpretation that a heathen has already given to forgiveness: “I thought he said he will not listen to us. He has come to beg us. He came to plead for forgiveness today. He came to beg. He was even kneeling down, pleading. He came with this wine to plead. He has been pleading. He sent the other man to come and plead on his behalf. He sent this so, so person to come and plead on his behalf.”
86. He saw it that you are surrendering to a superior authority. But to you as a child of God, you saw it as you are doing the will of Christ whom you worship.
87. “…If after going through a message, and the question is thrown to the congregation: “How many will like us to produce this message in print?” We see hundred hands up. And we produced seventy copies. Nobody purchased even one. You have broken the word which you give in the presence of God.”
88. Brethren, we should not take this matter very lightly. It always repeats every fellowship day being on Sunday like this, Message we raised our hands up last Sunday, that we desire it, we will take it.
89. Everybody will raise up their hand, write their names, the message has come out now, nobody will collect it. Are we guilty or not guilty?
90. Now, you start to ask: “Why is my business not moving? Why is my life not changing?”
91. For the scripture says, “When you make a promise before God, it says, do not tell the angel of God that you made a mistake. Because of that, he will destroy your means of livelihood.”
92. We should not take this thing for granted. Many promised to collect the message last Sunday or two Sunday’s back, when those messages come out, they will not collect it.
93. Today, another message has come out now. You will see those that raise up their hands last Sunday, they will not collect it. You are just hindering yourself from getting blessing from God.
94. If you know you will not collect, just keep your hands down. If you raise your hands last Sunday, you come here, you collect the message.
95. “…But with the sermon book, you can go to bed with it, wake up with it. Go to your office with it, go to school. Anywhere you are your message is there.”
96. But it is unfortunate that majority of us here do not go out to our working places, our business sight, our schools with any of the messages in our hands.
97. I remember this message, the day I studied it, I have never forgotten that quote that “Any good thing that comes my way, the devil is there watching the means of causing it to be sorrow on my side.”
98. “…Look at one thing with our messages, if there is a problem perplexing your heart, you do not know what to do about it and you have a library, enter your library, lift up your head before the Almighty in prayer, call the Name of the Son of Man, select any one you want to take.
99. Do not look at their topics, simply dip your hand and pick one. Open it, if your problem is not solved, I am not the Son of Man.”
100. This is truth! This is the vindication. The testimony is the vindication of truth. No more, no less. Amen.
YOU CAN BE GREAT IF YOU WILL By APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE EASTERN STAR
3
YOU CAN BE GREAT IF YOU WILL
YOU CAN BE GREAT IF YOU WILL. NOBODY CAN CHANGE YOUR CONDITION BUT YOU. THIS IS PURE TRUTH.
2. Brother Ben has a testimony to share. Brother Ben, please go straight to the testimony because I want to talk a little there.
3. Brother Ben gives his testimony: Brethren, you are already blessed including myself. Whatever I am today, the Son of Man made me because the inspiration He gave me, the motivation He gave me made me to see success all around me. I believe His word, I believe His promise.
4. The Lord speaks: Go straight to the point.
5. The point I want to give brethren. The Lord packaged me to come before the Executive Governor of Imo State. I cannot tell how it happened. I do not know how it happened.
6. The executive chairman of Izuben once saw me made a speech and that was in response to our promises just like a kind of thanksgiving. And after giving that speech, he noticed me from that day.
7. Whenever any state of rotation concerning the teachers comes, she will say “Go and look for that man. That teacher that gave vote of thanks.”
8. For about three years now we have been employed but we have not been regularized. Each time I come before the Lord, I will say, “Daddy, I am waiting for appointment letter.”
9. He will say, “Go.” I will go. Each time, I will be meeting Him, briefing Him up.
10. Brethren, God did it in His own way. What I never thought could happen, happened. We are seven thousand in the whole state. In that group.
11. For about two years now, Brother Ben has not done that. What happened is that, we made a move. God inspired a move because when He wants to cause His word to come to pass, He stirs up an event.
12. He stirs up a cluster program where teachers were being trained. I was not shortlisted but God said, “Move” I moved. He said “Watch this place,” I watched the place, I saw what was happening, I entered there.
13. The education officer said, “Come, are you not there?” I said, “I do not know what you are doing.”
14. He said, “Go and check the name.” My name was not there. He said, “Go and sit down.”
15. From that point, God started His miracle. I came back and told Daddy. And He said continue. I kept on briefing Him how we were doing it. Until they told the director of the state concerning me. The director in charge said, “Remove somebody and place that man there.” And before my eyes, somebody was removed and given transport fare and I replaced the person.
16. The miracle started. They elected people that represent at the state level. Because I did not start on time, I was not selected. But then, one of those speech I made as vote of thanks to our supervisors, the whole place so noticed me because God has trained us that if you open your mouth, you won’t know what you are saying. But people will be shivering.
17. And then, when we went to the state, I that was not in the list, the state chairman picked interest in me personally just for few minutes he heard me. She now decided to project us to the governor. And gave me a message, “You will deliver speech that day for I have seen that you have all it takes to package this people very well.”
18. I relied on the Lord and I prayed. And on that day, that was last Sunday. Somebody was frustrating me before the coordinator. But God has talked to me. The state chairman told that director, “This man has what it takes to lead this people.”
19. When he came to me, I said, “No, no, no, allow the man to continue, the Lord knows what to do. I remained where I was until the D-day, a Sunday that proceeded the day which the great event will happen, that man who was frustrating me was arrested and detained by the Anti-kidnapping squad.
20. An arrest nobody could say how it happened, for him to give way so that the Lord would present me directly before the governor.
21. On that day, I was the one commanding all the teachers in Imo State to go and line up for the march past. When we got to the governor, I went to the governor and saluted him.
22. The next time he saw me was standing face to face before him making a speech on his birthday ceremony. After the speech, which I noted what the Lord said concerning education. His quotes were used, and it made great impact before the governor.
23. The governor sat back said, “What? He said, come, come young man, who are you. What is your name?” I said, “I am Okezue Benjamin.” He said, “From where?” I said, “Ohaji Egbema.”
24. He said, “No, no, no, no. what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Now, I am confirming your appointment.” In fact, the name of the Lord was lifted high.
25. The Lord speaks: This is just the summary of the whole thing. As many as are acquainted with Brother Ben for a long time, will know him for one thing. Brother Ben has been sharing testimonies. I thank God for this one also. But greater testimonies lie ahead.
26. He never ceased coming, telling Me and Apostle Kelechi his experiences pleading that their appointment might be confirmed in their Local Government.
27. They were recruited as community teachers tied to traditional rulers. They were doing their works without payment for years. Some were screened out, he was screened in.
28. He wanted to go to abandon the job, I said, “No.” He devised another way of helping himself by creating a self-employment, I said, “No, it will not work for you do not have the wherewithal. Stay there. Wait until the elections are over.”
29. When the election was over, the incumbent governor was voted out of the office. Now the struggle continued. All the heads of schools that were affected had a meeting, assembled. Their photograph is here.
30. See their photograph, Brother Ben was not there. He was not the head, he was not even a confirmed teacher. His name never entered the pay roll. They deliberated. But look at how it started.
31. When I made the promise to Brother Ben that he will not have a child that he will call his own until he has settled down with a visible and viable means of taking care of the family. That if he gets it and then God fails, that he should blame Me.
32. We reasoned together. He wanted to indulge in fish farming, poultry management, I discouraged him. He said, “Daddy, what do I do?” I said, “My friend, you need to add value to yourself. Go and pick a form with National Training Institute. You have that talent. I can see you have a flare for teaching.”
33. He picked the form, few years he finished the TC (II) program. He presented the certificate to me. A merit certificate. I said, “No, this is a starting point. Go and pick another form. Go for your NCE.”
34. He said, “Daddy, the finance.” I said, “My friend, will you leave this place. Go and pick your form.” He obeyed, picked his NCE Form, few years after, he graduated with upper class. He brought the certificate to Me. I said, “Now, the stage is set. You are now valuable; you are now marketable. You have now obeyed Me.
35. “A three years sacrifice, can change your whole destination for better. If you can bear the trouble, go to school, stay in the classroom or register for an apprenticeship with an occupation that is in tune with the economic stage we are in.
36. Off your eyes from money. If you place money first, you are going to fail.” He accepted My words and went back to school. At the end of the day, he got that appointment in spite of temptations and trials. One day, he came with the wife.
37. I said, “No, this is not the matter we should discuss with your wife. Just be patient, relax your mind, God is coming your way.”
38. When they shortlisted the people that were involved in that trouble, his name was omitted. He called Me over the phone he said, “Daddy, look at what is happening, my name is not there, should I follow them?”
39. I said, “Brother Ben, go there. There must be a seat for you there whether your name is there or not. Just go there.”
40. At the end of the day, he gave Me the testimony of what took place. He became the speaker leading others. From there, to the Local Government Chairman. From there now, to the state level.
41. He came here on Sunday, said, “Daddy, we are going to meet the Governor of the state. Daddy, what do I do? I am among those that were selected.” I said, “Brother Ben, you are not only selected, you are going to be the speaker of the day. Arm yourself well, well.” I am waiting for the testimony.
42. You have heard him, how the man that was billed to lead was arrested by anti kidnapping gang-creating opportunity for him. When God is all out to bless, nothing stand on the way.
43. This newspaper, “The express,” an Imo State newspaper announced it. Look at the front there. The man wearing suit, holding the hand of the governor is Brother Ben Okezue amidst others.
44. If you go to the inside story, because of the impromptu speech he made, touching on the plights of the teachers, the problems of unequipped schools in the state, touched on education in particular. Addressed the youth, the governor showed keen interest.
45. The governor himself made a proclamation. It is inside the newspaper, you can read it. He said, “By virtue of my office as the governor of Imo State, I have not only confirm his appointment, I have given him a state appointment as a confirmed teacher with immediate effect. Forward his document to my office immediately.”
46. Am I not vindicated? You are! Why is he given the whole thing on the spot? If he had remained what he was when I met him, there won’t be any way out. He believed the message; he improved himself, he added value to himself. People that needed him automatically called him, presented him. Today, he is there. Amen.
ADD VALUE TO YOURSELF By APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE EASTERN STAR
4
ADD VALUE TO YOURSELF
YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT. YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT. IT IS POSSIBLE. THERE IS NO MAGIC THERE. NO MIRACLE. THE MAGIC IS: HARD WORK, VISION AND THEN FOCUS. FOCUS MEANS TARGET. DO NOT TELL ME IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. BROTHER BEN IS A LIVING TESTIMONY.
2. BEFORE THEN, HE HAS BEEN GOING ABOUT TRYING HIS LUCK. LIFE IS NOT A MATTER OF TRY YOUR LUCK BUT A MATTER OF SETTING OUT A PLAN. THERE CAN NEVER BE ANY MEANINGFUL DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT A DEVELOPMENT PLAN.
3. WHEN YOU ARE NOT HAVING ANY PLAN, YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO SUCCEED, DEFINITELY, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL. A MAN THAT HAS NO CUT CLEAR PLAN HAS NOTHING TO IMPLEMENT.
4. DO NOT SAY, “I AM AS GOD MADE ME.” YOU ARE AS YOU MADE YOURSELF. FOR YOU ARE THE EARTH VESSEL, THE PERISHABLE CONTAINER WHERE ALL THE ATTRIBUTES, VIRTUES, POWERS, EXCELLENCY OF GOD ARE STORED. BUT YOU FAIL TO MAKE USE OF YOUR OWN BECAUSE YOU DO NOT KNOW THE VALUE OF WHAT YOU POSSESS.
5. DO NOT ENVY THOSE THAT MADE USE OF THEIR TALENTS BECAUSE YOU BURIED YOUR OWN IN THE GROUND MAKING HE THAT PLACED YOU THERE A LIAR.
6. THREE YEARS SACRIFICE, FOUR YEARS SACRIFICE CAN CHANGE YOUR WHOLE DESTINY. FOR DESTINY IS NOT A MATTER OF CHANCE BUT A MATTER OF CHOICE. WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, FIND OUT WHETHER GOD IS THE ONE THAT PLACED YOU THERE.
7. IT COULD BE YOUR PERSONAL CHOICE. IF IT IS NOT WORKING AND YOU REMAIN THERE, HOW LONG WILL YOU REMAIN THERE BEFORE IT STARTS WORKING?
8. A brother came to Me one day and was talking what he was talking. I pretended I was sleeping because there was certain things you will present before Me that will cause Me to dose off. For I know you are just a fool coming to tempt Me.
9. At the end of the day, I called him, “Young man, I was not asleep. I heard you well. Were you not the one that said you came to Onitsha to pursue money?” He said, “That was that time.”
10. I said, “Okay, thank you very much. THIS OCCUPATION YOU HAVE EMBARKED ON NOW, DID YOU CHECK IT VERY WELL? HOW MANY CAN YOU MENTION THAT ARE DOING THAT WORK THAT HAVE BECOME MILLIONAIRES OR LANDLORDS? OR THAT HAVE EVEN FED THEIR FAMILIES VERY WELL? DO YOU WANT TO CREATE A RECORD THAT HAS NOT BEEN CREATED FROM THAT OCCUPATION, FROM THAT BUSINESS?”
11. YOU DON’T JUST PICK BUSINESS ANYHOW; YOU MUST SURVEY THAT BUSINESS VERY WELL. KNOW WHETHER IT IS AMONG THE LEADING BUSINESSES. FIND OUT THE STATE OF THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR THIRTY, FORTY YEARS. SEE WHETHER YOU CAN CHANGE THE RECORD. IF THE ANSWER IS NO, DO NOT VENTURE IN.
12. ANY BUSINESS THAT IS EMBARKED ON BY ONE HUNDRED PERSONS AND IT FAVOURS ONLY TWO; IT IS NOT WORTH EMBARKING ON. THAT IS WHY, TO ADVENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN, IT REQUIRES AN IN-DEPTH STUDY AND ANALYSES. AN IN-DEPTH STUDY AND ANALYSES. OTHERWISE, IT MAY BE THE END OF THE ROAD; THE END OF YOUR CAREER AS A HUMAN BEING.
13. I believe in change. That is why I gave you the message titled, “Time for Change.” You are not a rubber stamp. I do not believe that I am here just for one purpose: for eating and drinking. No, no, no. There are too many other things that inform My existence as a human being.
14. If you see some brethren that want to line up in one line of business, do not blame Me. Almost all our youths are plumbers, tilers.
15. So, in no distant time, Onitsha will produce national union or national association of plumbers and tilers. When those that formed the association have not wriggled out, others are venturing in. Am I making sense? Yes sir!
16. It is like somebody trading on stationeries. Stationery is like its name. If you remove ‘e’ and put ‘a’, they sound the same thing. At any point, stationery must be stationary. I say, stationery must be stationary.
17. One is ‘ery’ another one is ‘ary’. I mean, it is a seasonal business. From time to time, the business must be stationary. To God be the glory. Amen.
18. We share the joy of Brother Ben and his family. And we are wishing you greater heights ahead. Thank you very much. When one washes his hand, he will eat with the wealthy.
19. You do not stay in the house and kill an animal that is condemned to die. Brother Ben washed his hand, that is why he could be able to shake the governor. And was given immediate appointment by the governor.
20. Assuming he did not have the requisite qualifications for a teacher, do you think he could have been considered? No sir! What if he had it without talent? You see, talent has to be harnessed. Somebody has to harness your talent.
21. That is why I handled one of the topics during one of the seminars in one of the schools in those days titled, “Misplacement of Values: the Bane of our Society.”
22. Tomorrow, a lawyer will be the honourable minister of health. I think you are getting what I am saying? Then, a medical doctor will be assigned Antony General of the Federation. “Misplacement of Values: the Bane of our Society.”
23. Recognize your potentials, your talents and let education help you to harness them. Education plus talent gives you all you need in life.
24. I saw that Brother Ben has that flair for teaching but he knew it not being an Evangelist – a man of God. So, I “cowaciated” (explained) everything very well. Today, you can see it materializing. I won’t be surprised if by next section you hear another testimony.
25. Brother Ben, take your newspaper. Keep it in your file. Do not throw it away; it will speak something in the future. Amen.
GREAT IS OUR GOD By APOSTLE PETER ODOEMENA THE EASTERN STAR
5
GREAT IS OUR GOD
I have a testimony to the glory of God. If I do not share it, it is a sign of ingratitude to God for His kindness, for His utterance.
2. Last week, I travelled home to attend a meeting with My maternal relations on invitation, preparatory for the burial of My late mother. We were all here in Nigeria, no matter the state you come from, no matter your tribe, It is a well known fact here that it is easier to bury a man than a woman.
3. The burial of a woman involves sometimes, different countries, different tribes, different communities with variegated customs and traditions that are difficult to break.
4. In My own area, My mother came from a community that differ from My own. But in general, Mbaise as a whole, women are married twice. You marry a woman when she is alive, in death, you remarry her.
5. The cost of the latter is by far higher than the former. It has always been the case. In most cases, the second marriage that is in death, a cow is required. But nobody has ever been charged to bring a cow in order to marry a wife. It is unknown. When a woman dies, a cow is involved. And in many other traditions. Too many rules and things like that.
6. You see, the rule has been giving Me a lot of concern. What happened to Me when My dad died, I do not want a repeat occurrence. I prayed, reasoned within Myself and the spirit of God spoke to Me. I said, “I must break all traditions and customary protocols.”
7. It is unheard of in the whole of Igboland that the person that lost his mother can courageously go to his maternal home to tell them that his mother died. Nobody attempts it.
8. Emissaries are sent, relations are sent. The protocol lies by telling them that the woman was sick. If you like to come next time, come and see how we are faring o-o-o.” All those things, I jumped all those formalities.
9. I went Myself with Pastor Obinna only. My relations never knew that I was at home. They only saw Me when I was going. I went there on a commercial motorcycle. I was beaten by the rain. I was happy. They were all sitting before I arrived.
10. They came from different states; I was warmly welcomed. I opened My mouth. Those that were strong adherents to their tradition flared up: Questions upon questions. Traditional rites upon traditional rites. Penalties upon penalties because of series of infringements according to them. I kept quiet.
11. At the end of the whole thing, I saluted them as elders. Even those that were junior to Me, I regarded them as elders: I said, “I am not here to come and dispute with you over this and that. I only came here to tell you that My mother is dead. And to tell you the date I wish to bury her. And to know from you what you want from Me to enable Me bury her.” Full stop! I sat down.
12. Tempers were high. At the end of the noise, they turned to Me again and said, “Sunday, did you consult elders in your family before coming or you just decided to come because you think you can frighten us?”
13. I said, “Well, that one does not arise. I am the head of My father’s family. I am living in My first compound. All My brothers and sisters are accountable to Me. My father died in 2009. I became the husband-man to My mother. I am not asking for My people’s cooperation.
14. “If they want to be with Me, no problem. If they do not want to be with me, no problem. My mother will be buried according to her faith in Christ which I profess. Which her late husband professed. I thank God; you have two reverend fathers in your family. You have different denominations. You have also the chief cultist in charge of marine base in your compound. Deliberate and let Me go, I am going back to Onitsha.” I closed My mouth.
15. They brought one example from somewhere. That is My mother’s relations married from somewhere died. The mother of the controversial man called John.
16. I said, “Please, please, please. I am Sunday Ohaeri Odoemena. I am not even from that village. The name of My father is Ohaeri Peter. That one was John. Treat Me for what I am. If you mention that name, I will walk out on you and I will bury My mother. The highest you can do is to invite police or go to court. I am not afraid.”
17. They said, “Why are you sounding like this? Are you angry?” I said, “Surely, yes! My heart is heavy against all of you. My mother’s heart was heavy against all of you. All of you that are claiming her to be your most senior, this and that, if you know you ever visited her for the period of fourteen years she was bedridden, please, signify. If you know you ever telephoned Me or asked Me even when I brought her to Onitsha whether she was faring well or not, testify. What makes her your senior sister?”
18. There was silence. I said, “Let Me tell you what I have come for. I have come to identify with the person who will receive the corpse if I bring her corpse here, so that I will know the person I will liaise with. I cannot be liaising with everybody.”
19. They said, “Now you have come down.” I said, “No, no, no. I have not come down o-o-o.”
20. They now delegated somebody. He happens to be an Assemblies of God man. The head of the family. The other one is a reverend in the Anglican Church. I said, “Praise God.”
21. They now talked, talked and talked. I said, “When you are talking, you are provoking Me the more. Make no mistake of going that way, asking Me who authorized Me to put the corpse in the mortuary. This is an ancient question that takes care of itself.”
22. They said, “Talk with respect.” I said, “RESPECT MEANS SPEAKING THE TRUTH.”
23. They now went outside. Reasoned and reasoned and reasoned and reasoned and reasoned. I overheard one saying, “You know Sunday is very stubborn. And if you do not listen to Him, you may forfeit all.” I heard that one.
24. When they come back, they pretended as if there was no agreement. They were talking as if they were attacking themselves. I said, “Gentle men cool down ………, there is nothing you can do to resurrect My mother again. She is gone. All references to her are now past. Tell Me what you want to tell Me.”
25. The head of the family said, “Sunday, it is like you came to fight. We are not ready for fight but we have understood you. Now, I speak on behalf of this family Ngbagu, remember, your grandfather was a royal king. Your mother was married as a princess.”
26. I said, “Are we going back there again? If you go back there again, definitely you cause trouble here. I know she was married as a princess. I know My grandfather ruled your community for sixty-five years and died at the age of hundred and twelve. What is special about it? Tell Me what you want to tell Me to enable Me go back to Onitsha. I have a lot to do!”
27. They asked, “Why do you fix the burial in November? What will happen in December?”
28. I said, “Look, look, look, make no mistake of mentioning December. In short, I wanted to bury her that week.” One said, “Then we will accuse you of killing her.”
29. You know, funny things can happen when you are talking with heathens. You become too soft, they will ride you, they will intimidate you. They act like the police. Make no mistake of telling the police you are sorry, you have committed crime. Rather, tell the police the truth. Allow him to clamp you into cell. The court will bring you out.
30. At the end of the day brethren, God gave Me victory. You see, the man said on his behalf, on behalf of the family, the community that they have now authorized Me to go and print all the biography, posters and things like that to enable Me bury My mother as I stipulated on the 26th of November.
31. That is number one. Number two, that I should bury her according to our faith. Three, that they will give Me no condition. That all the traditional rites and all those customary things, that I am completely insulated. That they are giving Me liberty to bury My mother as I feel is befitting and in accordance with My faith.
32. But I should bear in mind that the necessity is there that I must bring the corpse with a cow. I said, “That one is indisputable. Even if you did not tell Me, I am above that. I know I must do it but not as tradition but as My own voluntary gift.”
33. They clapped their hands in support. One ran into the backyard, cut off one plantain head and then gave it to Me, blessed Me, blessed himself. That is how I fared.
34. And since yesterday, calls have been coming from the north and south, east and west; from My maternal relations, all jubilating over My victory in that meeting because nobody has ever been given a blank cheque to bury his mother no matter the Church. Great is our God. AMEN.
BY APOSTLE LUKE OJIAKOR
6
TIME FOR CHANGE
You are blessed brethren. To God be the glory. God has been showering His blessings upon us since morning. We have been hearing from Him.
2. You see, the tonic we heard this morning please, please, is both for the children as students, those that are learning any craft, parents. I mean, fathers and mothers. In short, the total man.
3. When our Brother Ben was giving his testimony, God spoke. And He said, “It is time for change.” All we have been hearing since morning, what we have been hearing even before today, what is the essence of God talking to us? And at the end of the day, we go and continue in the way we have been doing. Does it mean we are not understanding?
4. I want us to look at something. I will read something from “Time for Change”, the message Time for Change preached on 22nd November, 2009. Chapter two, page 21.
5. Word in block. “You cannot continue in usual way and move forward. This is the time when you will do things in the “unusual way”…”
6. The Lord speaks Romeo, Romeo. “…for that is the only way forward.”
7. The Lord speaks: For that is the only way forward.
8. He did something in unusual way and has created a record that never existed. In other words, the Son of Man will stand quoting. What He did becomes a reference point. He has created a path that others will now look at and try to follow.
9. We heard it this morning that the light that came forth out of darkness is what has come into us. The Excellency, the power is now in us. We must know who we are.
10. “We are living in a changing world, everything is changing. The weather is changing, the climate is changing. Even human beings are changing. From time to time, we change from one environment to another. The moment you change your location, automatically, your environment must change.”
11. When you change your location, automatically, your environment must change. Where you are dwelling, where you found yourself. You have shifted from where you were before and landed in another place. That environment is not the same as the one from where you took off. God is challenging us.
12. “…Am I making sense there?…”
13. That is a question God is asking us. Have we understood what God told us now?
14. “…We change even our apparels. From time to time, we change even our languages. We are living in a changing world. Situation can make you change. Even our characters are subject to changes from time to time…”
15. And we have been hearing God…, He will go to face a challenge somewhere. He will say, “He will check a number of persons depending on the situation. He will ……… then overcome the situation. He meets another one, He changes.
16. And we have heard the testimony this morning how He got there and actually tied the whole people, lumped them together and they were struggling. All to yield to all His request. This is a perfect example.
17. Lift it up with what we heard this morning. The potentialities that is in us. He said, “That latent power that is in you, that talent, knowledge will sharpen it.” And Brother Ben’s testimony is now a real example.
18. “…That is why I have said time without number that there is nothing in this life that shows any guarantee of permanence. For that reason, it will be arrant stupidity for us to make permanent decisions in a changing world…”
19. The Lord speaks: What? “…it will be arrant stupidity for us to make permanent decisions in a changing world…” “…It is stupidity to setup permanent standard, permanent principles in a world that is subject to changes.
20. There is nothing as stupid as that. I have told you that God is not rigid. God is very flexible. God is never rigid in His decisions. God can take s decision in the morning and rescind it in the afternoon.
21. Too many places are bound in the bible and from other areas where God took decisions against some nations, against some individuals and later rescind His decision.
22. It does not make God a changeable God. he remianeth the same God; but He changes His decisions to suit His purposes…”
23. God changes His decisions to suit His purposes. That is why He has told us, time for change. That thing you are doing, that profession, that work, is it actually giving you what you need – what you desired? Is it actually helping you to live up to standard?
24. God told us this morning, in other words, I have to set a standard for myself. Know what is in me. If what I am doing is not actually helping me, I must shift. Human capacity building.
25. He told us, which means, He has set an example for you, for He is our perfect example. When He was asked to stop work – civil service work—we saw what He did. If you do not have that same mind, do not worry, I will read something from here: “Let the spirit that was in Christ be in me.”
26. If you do not have that humble mind that you are nothing but what God has made you; you may have self ego. A whole you, bragging about answering big name but living from hand to mouth.
27. God said, “Humble yourself, check what you can do well. Check the talent that is in you then go for knowledge. Which means, taking sometime to be exposed to the rudiments, the knowledge of that thing. And with that, you sharpen your talent. That means, moving forward.
28. “…Remember that whatever God does, He does it according to His purpose which He planned in Himself. He never consulted anybody on the matter…”
29. God has deposited a lot of potentialities in each and every one of us. And He did it on His own. We heard it this morning that, all you have to do is to fully surrender to God in total obedience. Even as He has obeyed and laid example for us. When we summit, definitely, He will sharpen us. For without God, we can do absolutely nothing.
30. “Once it suits God’s convenience, that settles the whole matter. The way you see it is immaterial. In other words, we will be stupid to make ourselves rigid. Rigid means gluing ourselves to a system and insisting that the system must remain that way come what may; whether the system is favourable or not. No!”
31. Gluing ourselves to a system insisting that that system must remain the same no matter what is happening. That is being rigid.
32. Listen, God is flexible and His children are made in His own image. He is imparting His life into us. Therefore, we must equally be flexible.
33. Human beings are not rigid and should not be rigid. A tall man coming into a room, I am using physical example. And the door is just like this. The man is tall, he is rigid, he is walking, he is rigid, he is entering the room.
34. What will happen? ‘kam gba, kam gba.’ He will keep on hitting his head. But if that man is flexible because his creator is flexible, he must do what? Bend!
35. This is exactly what I am trying to say, that which is ahead of us now seeing the situation. No wonder Jesus the Christ told them, “Do not ever think of what you will say when you are called before the kings and rulers.
36. For in that very hour, the spirit that is in you will make you to know what to answer and what to say.” And this is exactly what is manifesting in our midst. Teaching us that we should behave that same way.
37. “…Remember, when the Lord taught us on the need to reposition ourselves for a better tomorrow, He gave us a key statement that the time of doing things in the ‘usual way’ is over. You cannot continue in the usual way and move forward. This is the time when you will do things in the ‘unusual way’ for that is the only way forward.
38. There is something in this life, if you setup a principle for yourself, people will say something. If you do not setup a principle for yourself, people will still say something. It is better now for you to setup a principle and achieve your objectives. Let them say what they want to say…”
39. That we should setup our principle, achieve what you want to achieve, your golden objectives, let people say what they want to say.
40. Our students here, it is heartbreaking for parents to toil night and day, only to send you to school. In the school, you are not doing any other thing than studying. Why is it you find it difficult to be on top of the class?
41. Is it not a human being that took fist position? Is it not a human being that got distinction? Is it not a human being that is achieving it? Why is it that you are the one saying “That person that got distinction in course so, so and so GS 101, or course so, so and so PHY 103?” Are you not a human being? Why is it that people are not quoting you?
42. Let me ask a question: Is there any other thing you are doing if not studying your books? You are given feeding money. You are given provision. Your accommodation is paid for. You are given everything by your parents to be sure that you will not say, “It is because of this.” You are given everything Why won’t you be the best? Why won’t you make distinction? Where do you aim? Where is your target?
43. If you are aiming to be on top of the roof, do you aim to be on top of the roof, you aim higher. You aim higher and achieve higher. Before you know it, you are landing above the roof.
44. The Lord speaks: Low ambition leads to low achievement.
45. There is something we call, “merit award.” I mean university. At the end of the first year, the university will select brilliant students that have made extraordinary, exceptionally, excellent result.
46. They will line up the names and then start giving them financial reward. It is happening till today. Even, some are given kind of scholarship. Why can’t you aim at such? That you must be the one. More so, when your parents have given you something to enable you make it.
47. I am talking to our students. I remember all of us are once students. And we are the students of Almighty God. Do you know that?
48. In the message “Learn of Me”, He asked us a question, “How many of you can stand up and say publicly that they have learnt this and this from the Son of Man?”
49. Let us talk to ourselves and tell ourselves the truth. How many of us in the same school, in the same calling, in the same system. As we are landing on our children, so the Son of Man is landing on all of us. How are we aiming? Are we aiming higher spiritually?
50. I remember, in one of the messages He said, “I am looking forward to seeing somebody that will take it upon himself or upon herself to be more than the Son of Man.” That is, to aim high. How are we targeting?
51. Time for change. It is time to start putting everything into practice. Putting all our messages into practice. God has taught us in every aspect of this life, He has never left any.
52. “…Let them say what they want to say. As long as this family is concerned, it remains the family of God. Christ the Anointed One is in the Bridal Faith as a Son over His Father’s heritage. He has a purpose to achieve in His Body,…”
53. Christ as a Son over His Father’s heritage, the father’s heritage is His family. He says He has what? A purpose to achieve. Christ has an objective to achieve. A purpose to achieve.
54. “…He has a purpose to achieve in His Body, in His family; so, He reserves the right to change the system from time to time. Any system that cannot work out, He will cancel it and initiate another one.”
55. Christ has a purpose in His family for He is the Son over His father’s heritage. Christ has a purpose. This is the secret or the guiding principle for an organization to progress, to succeed, to prosper.
56. And when God was talking, when Brother Ben stood here giving his testimony; He said, “ANY VENTURE THAT DOES NOT HAVE PLANS, DEVELOPMENT PLAN, THAT VENTURE CAN NEVER PROSPER.”
57. IN WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, YOU MUST HAVE A PLAN. IN THAT PURPOSE YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE, THERE MUST BE A PLAN.
58. Have you wondered? Have you asked yourself this question…, in 1993 Abagana version, we equally had Jos version. Jos version is 1995: God’s Plan To Establish His Church, building plan. God’s Plan to Establish the Church.
59. The Lord speaks: THE PLAN TOOK GOD A LONG TIME. THE TIME THAT IS TAKEN TO DRAW OUT A PLAN, TELLS EVERYBODY HOW IMPORTANT IT IS.
60. You see, it took God time to draw a plan. You do not just wake up one day and jump into something expecting to do wonders there. No! First of all, you must define your objective.
61. He said, “Christ as Son over His family has His own purpose, His own objective. And He has the plan.”
62. I say, in 1993, everything we are seeing, God make out A to Z. I mean from inception of this ministry. What is your plan? Pay attention. Students, pay attention. Mothers, pay attention. Fathers, pay attention. Everybody here, pay attention.
63. What do you have in the plan? I will say it if you can catch it. What is the purpose of God? What is His objective? In other words, the mission of the Son of Man.
64. The Lord speaks: Some are running away from Nigeria so that they will become millionaires either in South Africa or in Malaysia or Dubai.
65. Those that think that venturing abroad will make them millionaires over night are coming down now. We are here when they left; we are here when they are coming back. Amen.
TIME FOR CHANGE (2) BY APOSTLE LUKE OJIAKOR
7
TIME FOR CHANGE
Brethren, let us pay attention to what God saying. It is truth. Let Me say this. Brethren, we should learn patience from God.
2. If God has not been patient with us, we would have died. He said something from the world go and we grabbed what we were espoused to.
3. Just like what the prophet said, “To change a people from one generation to another has always been a fight and a fact.”
4. It is not easy flushing man. No wonder He said, “Even if you do not understand, keep on following. Towards the end, you will understand.”
5. Check what your parents asked you to do; you did not do that thing. They will hit you, from there you run outside. How many times has God done these things? Patiently, after teaching us, teaching us, teaching us, we still falter.
6. And He kept on looking forward to His purpose. For He has purposed it. We read it here that He is doing everything possible to make sure that nobody that has come into this faith with His whole heart will ever be dropped.
7. Coming to plan, you must sit down. In every plan, He said, “If you do not plan, you have planned to fail.” In every plan, concerning that objective, concerning that mission, there must be four elements.
8. The Lord speaks: If you refuse to plan, you have planned to fail.
9. Number one: You must first and foremost identify your goal, your mission, your purpose, your target—what you want to achieve. First and foremost, identify what you want to achieve, know what that thing is.
10. If you have a purpose that you are going somewhere, if anything comes along the way to distract your attention from your target, you will refuse, for if that thing diverts your attention, it will not allow you hit your target.
11. The Son of Man has a mission and that mission as the prophet said it is, “Show Me a people, a congregation that is so much addicted to the word that every of their action is ‘thus says the Lord’. And I will show you Christ standing in their midst.” Christ is here!
12. IF YOU UNDERSTAND IT, THAT IS HIS MISSION, AND WHO IS CHRIST? THE WORD! THE ANOINTED WORD! THAT CHRIST WILL BE FORMED IN EVERY ONE OF US. IS THAT NOT HIS MISSION? TO PERFECT US. AND THERE IS NOTHING EXCEPT THE WORD. OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD.
13. Now, if you understand the mission of the Son of Man, you understand His objective, His purpose. I SAID NUMBER ONE THING IS TO IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE, YOUR GOAL, YOUR TARGET, YOUR MISSION.
14. When you identify your mission, if your mission is in line with the Bridal mission, with the mission of the Son of Man, you know we have the first message given to the world since the inception of this ministry: “Cry out against the system.”
15. The Lord speaks: I have observed that whenever messages like this are going out, a good number of adults especially our parents begin to think that the messages are for the students. This is a very erroneous belief.
16. Hear Me well. There is nobody here who is not a boy except few. By few I mean, celebrated elders like Papa Uwakwe, Bishop Nnachor, Bishop Ebenezer, Elder Nwobu and the rest of them. Apart from these categories of people, the rest are young men. At sixty, you are a young man. At sixty-five, you are a young man.
17. IF YOU CAN EFFECT A CHANGE IN YOUR DECISION THIS DAY, AND CHOOSE THE PATH OF SUFFERING FOR FIVE YEARS FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING YOUR VALUE, I BET YOU, THE WORLD WOULD CELEBRATE YOU IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
18. Remember the time I started preaching this message. I said, “In the next ten, fifteen years…” But you can see I hit My target in less than ten years. Because as at the time we took off, we have just few graduates.
19. But today, I mean today, you can see. Vision of many concerning life changed automatically. Those that dropped came back. A new awakening.
20. THIS IS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA. THAT YOUR TRADITIONAL OCCUPATION THAT IS NOT HELPING YOU, YOU EITHER CHANGE OR ADD SOMETHING TO IT. IF YOU CANNOT DROP IT, DO SOMETHING. I SAY, DO SOMETHING. DO SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG WE ARE GOING TO STAY.
21. Challenge yourself, let me challenge myself. God is not talking in vain. Brethren, God is not talking in vain. Understand this. Who will enjoy? Is it the Son of Man or you and I?
22. The Lord speaks: All these university lecturers we have produced now, not even one has school certificate as at the time they enlisted into this faith. But they are now lecturers in the university courtesy of this faith. Some of them even ran away from school, got tired.
23. I remember the time I came into contact with Friday the younger brother to Sunday Akpuobi at Nsukka. His brother was a school dropout. I assisted him to write GCE. I helped Him to write Jamb. He went for OND, I said no. I inspired him to go for direct entry. Today, he is a lecturer in Michael Okpara University.
24. I met Chukwudi as a book binder, not as a student. I motivated him to write school cert. He did and he passed. I motivated him until today; he is a Master Degree holder and a lecturer in the university. You can achieve it if you will.
25. Brethren, it is a matter of decision. A matter of actually defining your goal.
26. The Lord speaks: DO NOT TAKE A DECISION YOU KNOW YOU CANNOT IMPLEMENT. IT WILL MAKE YOU A GREATER FOOL.
27. It is necessary we pay attention. I was saying, when you get the mission, your vision, my mission must be the same. Yes, it is God making you wealthy. It is God making you prosper.
28. The Lord speaks: That the Excellency and power may be of God and not of man.
29. FIRST AND FOREMOST, EMBRACE GOD. NUMBER TWO; IDENTIFY THIS MISSION, THIS OBJECTIVE.
30. THEN, MAKE YOUR OWN OBJECTIVE LINE UP WITH THE MISSION OR OBJECTIVE OF HE THAT HAS CALLED YOU.
31. Not when God is saying you have come, just like when He was saying somebody came to Him. He has said, “Do this for your own good.” He said no and went away. Only to come back asking again what he will do to succeed in life. He has not done what his Creator asked him to do.
32. The Lord speaks: He makes himself a bigger fool.
33. I was reading one of the messages. There is no standard God has given any of us that has ever failed. There is no standard God has given us, or the advice God has given us by saying we should do this, that has ever failed. Honestly.
34. YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED AND HAVE KEYED IN. THAT IS NUMBER TWO. NUMBER THREE IS, WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES? YOU HAVE KNOWN WHAT YOU WANT, YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO IT. WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES THAT WILL MAKE YOU HIT YOUR TARGET?
35. You have to know the strategies, the tactics you have to apply. Since He has given us the word, His mission is clear that He wants to see Christ in us.
36. Thus, your mission, my mission must be the same thing. That is number two. Then what are the strategies? Simply obey. There is no other strategy.
37. The Lord speaks: A MAN THAT FAILED HIMSELF BY HIS WILLFUL OMISSION, CAN NEVER, NEVER, NEVER INDICT, BLAME, REBUKE ON ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT HIS OWN CHILDREN.
38. FOR A MAN THAT IS NOT CHANGING FOR THE BETTER IS RUNNING A RISK: THE RISK OF RAISING CHILDREN THAT WILL PATTERN AFTER HIM. AND YOU CANNOT BLAME ANY OF THEM.
39. If you are a drunkard, your son is a drunkard. Will you blame your son? He patterned after you. Brother Shedrach, you dey hear am? Mike Udor, you dey hear am? Thank you!
40. HOW CAN SOMEBODY HATE EDUCATION AND ATTEMPT FORCING HIS CHILDREN TO LOVE EDUCATION; CAN IT WORK? A MAN HATES EDUCATION, THE WIFE HATES EDUCATION AND THEY ATTEMPT FORCING THE CHILDREN TO LOVE EDUCATION, TO APPRECIATE IT, IMPOSSIBLE.
41. Let us think over what God is giving us. This message is not coming to us so that at the end of the day we spend four hours or five hours then go.
42. If you are going back not having something, are we not fools if we do that? What then is the essence of transporting yourself to this place? I have come to God for God to correct me so that I will be better. And when He finds out that I am far better than I was, He will be happy. And I myself will also be happy.
43. The Lord speaks: One thing is common with all parents that hate education. They believe that paying school fees is a waste of time. And their children believe that going to school is a waste of time.
44. They believe that education has substitute. But education has no substitute. Ignorance is a self-inflicted injury. A deliberate misfortune.
45. When we obey, I am talking about the strategy. Then, what are the resources, whether materials, money, gadget, whether you as an individual is the fault.
46. Who will be at fault that will make the word of God not to come to pass? It is your family, it is my family. That which God puts in you, puts in me, is it not to make us to be Excellent glory. That Excellent power of the earthen vessel, God will now be glorified. For that glory goes to Him.
47. It is human beings like you heard it this morning, that is the fault. How many of you got it?
48. Now, the same man is here having his mission, all that He is doing is that we all will have the same vision like Him. Have the same vision like Him. Definitely, we must get to where He wants us to be.
49. “…What I am saying in effect is that this is the time for change. The hardest thing to effect in the life of a man is change.
50. The simplest statement we ever make with our mouth is change; but the hardest thing to achieve in life is change. This is because, by nature, man appears to be rigid.”
51. The Lord speaks: When was this message preached?
52. It was preached 22nd November, 2009.
53. Verse 30 0f page 30. “…If you are not enlightened, you are gambling with life; but if you are enlightened, you will know that life is not a gamble; that for everything, there must be a master plan, a plan of action, a clear-cut plan. There can never be success without a success vision.
54. Whether in business or in your marital life. In every career, there must be a clear-cut success plan. Success is not like wind. No! Even the wind has its own direction. With the use of a compass and wind vane, you can easily determine the wind’s direction.
55. Whether it is coming from East or coming from the West, you will know. For that reason, you must have your own compass. Your compass is your master plan. You know where you are coming from. You will know where you are heading.”
56. The Lord speaks: Some are walking like a mad man who does not know where he is coming from and where he is going. But all he knows is that he is on the move.
57. Know where you are coming from; know where you are going to. What is your target in life?
58. The Lord speaks: No defined objective.
59. You must have a defined objective. I remember when we were in the primary school, years back. That was in primary 3. I remember there was something, “When I grow up, when I grow up. When I grow up, I will be a …” you will now put what you want to be.
60. “I will be a nurse,” “I will be a medical doctor,” “I will be an engineer,” “I will be a pilot.” God has given us so many messages – motivational messages. Not neglecting the main thing.
61. The Lord speaks: You read day by day. My friend, you are a small boy.
62. Not neglecting the main thing our spiritual well-being. You must have direction. You must have an aim.
63. Students, I will come back to you. Do not make the mistake of making a negative statement. Do not ever see yourself in the school as whatever you see you take. You must target something.
64. Let me ask a question: I will land on my target. How many of you have set the type of class he will get? I want to see your hands up. If you know you have set a particular degree, a class of degree, I want to see your hand.
65. I mean now. You are in the school; you have already set a particular class. Even if you are not in the school, you are aiming to be in the school, in whatever profession. You aim high.
66. How many of you undergraduates are aiming at making first class? How many are saying, “This first class, it was said that this school hardly gives anybody first class but for me, I must make first class.” How many have something like that and have set their target? Anybody? In other words, you have defeated yourself before going in there.
67. Is it not a human being that made first class? The same thing applies to us adults in our different professions. Even in the profession of this ministry. Make foolproof of your ministry.
68. How many of us are saying, “It must be 2:1.” If you have targeted 2:1 and you are still targeting 2:1; let me see your hands up. Second Class upper. Are you angry, don’t you want it? Is there nobody that is targeting 2:1?
69. The Lord speaks: I am tired of 2:1. I have gotten a lot of 2:1.
70. Let me tell you. God spoke to me when I told him about my daughter Idinma’s performances. She actually made first class.
71. The Lord said, “Will God accept that and let it come from this child’s hand.” Look at the desire of God for her to get first class.
72. The Lord speaks: I knew she never started in ESUT, so they will never give it to her. I told you, I told her.
73. What am I saying? Target it. It is human being that achieves that. The same thing I am talking to myself. I am a student as you are seeing me here. I am going to write my project.
74. God said, “If you stop learning, you stop growing. You become old.” The same thing. It cuts across every sphere of life.
75. The Lord took me to a place, a furniture man. Come and see the furniture this man made. I said, in Nigeria? This is the type of thing you go to GAME at Enugu to see. Made in Nigeria, there at Onitsha.
76. The Lord speaks: We have first class here. The only thing is that they should be guided properly. There is one thing we call academic discipline. You must be academically disciplined.
77. What am I saying? This man is a human being. If your work is furniture, improve on it. Move higher. It cuts across all sphere of life – every profession.
78. Do you know that, that is why God said, “Students, because of your studies, you must not come Wednesday’s fellowship. But somebody that is not academically disciplined will keep on running here and there. If he goes to study, will from there, off!
79. That is why God said, “If you want your condition to be very wonderful, you cannot do anything. You can create a condition for yourself.”
80. The Lord speaks: IF YOU REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE, YOU WILL NOT BE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. YOU MAKE A CHANGE NO MATTER HOW SMALL.
81. NUMBER ONE KEY TO SUCCESS IS DETERMINATION. IF YOU ARE NOT DETERMINED, YOU CANNOT SUCCEED. DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED IS DETERMINATION TO CHANGE.
82. Why are we talking like this? God is a repository of all knowledge.
83. The Lord speaks: All that you need as a child of God to touch the sky is in you. You are the perishable container containing the treasure where the Excellency and power of God shall be made manifest. Then the world will stand up for you and say, you are the best.
84. Don’t stagger. Don’t be a big boy. Don’t be a big boy that takes delight in punishing junior ones, they hardly make it: “Hey, stop there. Kneel down, kneel down.”
85. You see him staggering claiming senior, senior, senior. Who ask you to kneel down? Senior. What made him senior? Class! What makes you senior is your brilliancy.
86. The worst thing to be in the school is for you to be school captain. You will be playing football for the school instead of facing your studies. Just like the son of Brother Abu. What is his name? Timothy!
87. Pastor Dan, Pastor Elijah, call his father that his son is an entertainer in the school playing Hockey in Nsukka. It is better he returns him to South Africa. I have been there before. There is nothing there. Any time spent in playing football can never be regained.
88. A BRILLIANT STUDENT THAT WANTS TO SUCCEED, USES THE TIME OTHER STUDENTS USE TO PLAY TO READ AHEAD OF TIME.
89. I was able to succeed because I employed My own philosophy. I will play in the day for the school, In the night, I do not know what you call sleep. My lantern will be on while I would be reading.
90. Verse 33, “Where are you coming from and where are you going? Secondly, this road you are following, are you sure it will lead you to where you want to go?” Secondly, this road you are following, are you sure it will lead you to where you want to go?”
91. The Lord speaks: You want to ride a car, you want to build an up-to-date mansion, train your children to an enviable height, command influence in your society, this your present occupation where you have been for donkey (many) years and yet, nothing meaningful has manifested.
92. Do you think it will take you to your promised land? This is a big question. It is not going to the university that matters; it is pursuing a course that is capable of taking you to your promised land. Am I making sense? Yes sir!
93. By now, we should have been in a position to tell ourselves the truth. If by now all you think you have put together have remained among us, nothing has materialized from it, rethink. I say, rethink. Lest you become Willy Obiano’s agenda which has remained among us.
94. We are yet to seeing anything crystallizing out of it. You know what a crystal is, chemistry students? You know what it takes for a chemical to be amorphous. I want something to crystallize out of that amorphous chemical. Something should be collect from it.
95. Do you see why a guide is needed?