Sober reflection part 2

Sober reflection part 2 Preached ON Sunday 4^th December 2022 AT THE VOICE OF GOD STUDIO The Bridal Lodge, Nsugbe Anambra State, Nigeria BY Apostle Peter Odoemena THE SON OF MAN

Transcribed by Deacon David Mbah Students’ Fellowship, MOUAU, Abia State

Verily, I am Allah. There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise. ¹⁵“Verily the Hour is coming – My design is to keep it hidden – for every soul to receive its reward by the measure of its Endeavour. ¹⁶“Therefore let not such as believe not therein but follow their own lusts, divert thee therefrom, lest thou perish!”.

The Holy Qur’an – Surah 20:14-16 Abdullah Yusuf Ali Translation

⁷How many know by revelation that marital life is a Ministry? How many sees marriage—either man or woman—as a Ministry that must be fulfilled with joy? If it is not a Ministry, you don’t mention anything “shipwreck” around it. Marital life is a Ministry. ⁸Because marriage is a Ministry, somebody is “bound to make a shipwreck” of his marital Ministry-man or woman. Some are likely to make full proof of their Ministries. Strive to make full proof of your marital life. ⁹… if you see your marital relationship with your wife as a “Ministry” and your wife sees it as her Ministry, both of you will strive earnestly to do everything within your power to make full proof of your Ministries, making sure that nobody will look down on you.

-THE SON OF MAN-

When The Sparks Fly In Your Marital Life; Preached on 1^st June 2008; Pg. 8 vs. 7-9

GIVE MARRIAGE THE RIGHT INTERPRETATION, DEFINITION AND APPROACH

We can never thank God enough. Testimonies reaching me this morning are the same. Reports coming from the two weddings we had, one in Lagos and the other one in Umuahia, Abia State.

This is the first time in the history of this Bridal Movement we had three weddings on the same day in three different states, and they were all allowed to hold. And God officiated in the three at the same time.
What is more? Yesterday was the 3rd of December. The same yesterday, three weddings took place. We give God the praise that in all they were hitch-free. The turnout was encouraging in Lagos.
The same story was heard in Abia State. All the brethren from Rivers, Abia and Imo states emptied themselves at Umuahia, while Lagos was a bee-hive of activities because our Brother who wedded happened to be a Road Safety official. It was glorious.
Here in Onitsha [I mean] we had a field day. There is no human being in his right sense who participated in the wedding that went home yesterday without glorifying the Name of God.
It was orderly. It was peaceful, contrary to some expectations in some quarters. It started very badly and ended very well, fulfilling the Scriptures that better is the end of everything than its beginning.
How I wish it will happen like this in our individual lives, for there is not even one of us that can stand and say that he started very well in serving God. We all started very badly.
Our prayer is that our end will be better than our beginning. If you do not make such prayers, you hate yourself. Let the latter part of my life be better than the beginning of my life. It is a wise prayer and God takes delight in answering such prayers.
It takes a stupid fellow to continue with his evil habits from the beginning till the end. It takes one who is out of his senses to do that. From the time you realized the awful implications of remaining disobedient to God’s instructions, that is the time you must make a U-turn and a change of heart.
Continuing means hardening your heart in evil. And the more you journey along, the Almighty God will permit hardening insensitivity to becloud your heart and your conscience so that no matter who talks to you, no matter the way God appeals to you, you will set everything at naught.
Whatever you have purposed to do, you go ahead doing it because you think you have the power to execute it. But there is one thing human beings do not realize.
There is an All-seeing eye watching us. And the swiftest writer is the Almighty God. Allah is very swift in taking records of all our activities. He sees us. He hears even the voices we have not voiced out, because the inner voice speaks loudest in His ears than the words of your mouth.
That is why the Bible said, “There is not even a word that is in our mouth which He does not capture before we ever utter it out.” Is He not worthy to be feared?
Be seated. I wanted to interpret a part of the Message we heard yesterday in the interest of the married couples here, but I realized that if I do it now, I may not have the time to publish it again.
From the look of things, it is like we are all heading to disaster, and we have not recognized it. Disaster in the sense that you must be bodily present, physically present and listen to Him speak with your own ears, or else, you may be cut off from now, for the means of getting it across has been tampered with. It has been seriously tampered with.
Any moment from now, I will stop posting Messages on the platform. Do not ask Me why. So far, the publication has become a story of the past, until further notice.
By Tuesday, I am paying all the staff there off and then, I will gather all the equipment together, and know what will become of them with time.
I do not need any consultation to do that because I consulted nobody when I established it. And nobody gave Me a kobo. I did it single-handedly. I nurtured it and monitored its growth.
The same is applicable to the websites. Nobody knew what I was doing. I just came up one day and said, “Brethren, pray for Me. In the next three months, the whole world will know about this Faith in the website. How I will go about it, nobody knew.”
To their greatest surprise, the following week, they gathered here, only to hear the instruction from Me, “Can you please open your handsets if you have data. Look at the Bridal web address. Go there.”
And they opened it, only to see that the Bride of Christ Ministry worldwide has been launched in the website single-handedly. No consultation and no contribution from anybody. No announcement, just like the Great Sermon.
The Great Sermon came up and took everybody unawares. How I went about it, nobody knew.
It has always been My manner. Before I announce what I want to do, I had already accomplished it midway. Then I will make it public in the interest of those who will like to participate because the work of God is not meant for everybody, just like salvation is not for everybody. I do not know. Things that are very vital are not meant for everybody.
You know, in sciences, we have vital sciences. No matter how vital, they are not for all the students. Only those that know the importance of vital sciences will go for it. The rest will be ignorant.
You see marriage yesterday, it wore another look. I clothed marriage with another uniform yesterday.
And what is more? I was very much pleased seeing Brother Clifford and the family together with the bridal train and everybody appearing in another look. Never have we wedded anybody in that type of attire.
And that was where I was pleased that he had the boldness to come to Me, “Daddy, is it mandatory that I must wear suit.” I asked, “Who said so? Put on a very nice costume that is your choice.” And then, he made it to suit the occasion. In fact, I was very glad when I saw the sight.
And all the young men were no longer in suit. I saw the bridal train wearing something that made them look like human beings.
Of course, you know that Chiamaka might be the last that will wear that useless Roman catholic wedding gown.
Let Me pray that there could be another wedding tomorrow, and I will be the designer of the dress. That will be so that when you wed, you will know that you are not wedding twice. The material will remain useful to you. You can go places with it, and not the one you will put on [on] the wedding day, and the next will be in the casket. That is what makes it useless.
The men will be wearing their suits going places, but the women will pack their wedding gown, waiting for death. Is it not madness?
Well, I do not think there will be a continuity again. We are at the terminal point of this movement. And that is why I clothed marriage with a new garment, and I gave it the original name. I say, the original name of marriage.
Yesterday also, it became clearer that whoever that is married has not achieved anything. Rather, he has decided to take one step towards his destruction.
I know why I do not speak hard on such matters, and that is because of the weaknesses of people. But now, I am about to go home. You must hear it, whether you like it or not.
WITHOUT MARRIAGE, THERE WAS NO INTRODUCTION OF SIN IN THE WORLD. MARRIAGE BROUGHT ABOUT SIN.
God introduced a woman to Adam. The woman introduced sin to Adam. Who taught Adam to sin? Eve. Was it the original intention?
God presented a wife – a good companion to Adam. In return, she presented the devil to the husband, thereby truncating the whole idea of marriage.
From that day, marriage became the most destructive organ visible with human eyes, that has brought about death which has reigned over till this day, for which cause THE SON OF MAN has remained on the scene till today.
Instead of taking My vacation, I have been wrestling and fighting from the day the lamb was slain for the atonement; for the propitiation of that havoc that was wreaked there.
By one man, sin entered the world. true or false? By that one man, death followed. Death reigned from Adam till this day, and until the time of the restitution of all things.
And the LORD said, “I will restore all things saith the LORD God Almighty.” If nothing was lost, nothing should be restored. Where there was nothing lost, nothing will be restored.
Every effort God has been making from that day has been directed towards bringing mankind back to the lost glory – to that Eden from where man was chased away because of unchastity – unfaithfulness towards God.
I love one writer who said, “A man wants to avoid death by all means, but he uses his community and friends to bring death into his house. And takes delight in sleeping with death. Is he serious with his decision?” He said, “The answer is no.”
Does it mean that celibacy is the remedy? That is the worst. That is the worst thing a man can think of because I cannot tell you anything without telling you the implications straightaway.
This is because, a man, having tested evil from the mother’s womb, has already become evil. And he needs check-mating. The only human being born of a woman who can checkmate the excesses of a man is a woman. That is why they are bestowed with mighty force – mighty power.
We have to be sincere to ourselves. You can resist the voices of everybody very easily, but it is difficult to resist the voice of your wife and then remain in peace in that family.
Men in their honest attempt to bring peace to their homes have shattered the whole world by listening to voices that do not bring about God’s peace. This is because a woman goes for what favours her. Did you get the Message?
I say, a woman is known for that. She goes for whatever that favours her. She does not care about the implications. She does not care about how long that thing could last. That is why by nature, they are short-sighted – very myopic. The same way, they reason. They do not reason afar. They do not see afar.
That is why God made it clear that no woman is spiritual. There is no spiritual woman. I say, no woman is spiritual. How can a by-product be spiritual? A woman is not the original creature. So, she cannot be spiritual. God never breathed the breathe of life into her nostril. She is sustained with the life that was transferred into her from the one that is already created. A woman was formed and not created.
Consider this Reference: 1 Timothy 2:8-15. 8I desire therefore that in every place men should pray, without anger or quarreling or resentment or doubt [in their minds], lifting up holy hands. ⁹Also [I desire] that women should adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with [elaborate] hair arrangement or gold or pearls or expensive clothing, ¹⁰But by doing good deeds (deeds in themselves good and for the good and advantage of those contacted by them), as befits women who profess reverential fear for and devotion to God. ¹¹Let a woman learn in quietness, in entire submissiveness. ¹²I allow no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to remain in quietness and keep silence [in religious assemblies]. ¹³For Adam was first formed, then Eve; ¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived, but [the] woman who was deceived and deluded and fell into transgression. ¹⁵Nevertheless [the sentence put upon women of pain in motherhood does not hinder their souls’ salvation, and] they will be saved [eternally] if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control, [saved indeed] through the Childbearing or by the birth of the divine Child. AMP
Till today, a woman remains a forgotten creature that has gained prominence. She came last and she is domineering. Every facet of life now is being domineered by women. Is there any sector that is left? It does not exist. Globally, not only in Nigeria. And that is why evil is reigning supreme.
Are you in doubt of what I am saying? Where the devil is afraid to go, he sends a woman. A woman can pull down an oak tree in one second. That is why nobody underrates the power of any woman, no matter how small. No! Do not underrate it. She has a mighty force. And that is the most vulnerable instrument in the hand of the devil to turn the world upside-down. It has remained the woman.
So, he that has married a wife, it is not an achievement. If he has achieved anything, he has achieved in helping in his destruction, by destruction, I mean, eternal destruction.
Bro Iyke was extremely hungry. That was why he ate last night. I mean Iyke Ezindu. He was reluctant even to eat. I was watching him. From time to time, he paused and held the lump of food in his hand. I heard him proclaiming, “Oh! Man is gone! Man is gone!”
This is true because from the time falsehood gained prominence, human beings began to defend evil instead of defending truth. You can hardly see one that is standing for God anymore.
A man that is standing today, if he is married, he is standing by the side of the wife. I am telling you the truth. He is not standing for truth. He is not standing for God. He is standing for the wife. And the wife is standing for the husband. Who then is standing for Christ? A big question.
Until we give marriage the right interpretation, the right definition and the right approach, we can never escape where others got trapped. Marriage has trapped too many to the extent that it has become increasingly difficult for the Almighty God to break the bar.
HE THAT IS ENTANGLED IN THE YOKE OF MARRIAGE HAS ALREADY STARTED TESTING HELL ON EARTH.
Who is shouting hell? Is your father not testing it today? Are you not testing it in your parent’s house? Or do you want your own to come up before you will know what I am saying?
You do not know what I am saying because one that is at liberty – one that is enjoying freedom does not know how painful the prison yard is. True or false? Because you are moving freely, you think others are like that. No!
If you are in a family that is God-fearing, that is the greatest gift. It is better preferred to silver and gold. If you are in a God-fearing family, where the husband and the wife bound their hearts together like Zachariah and Elizabeth to do nothing but the will of God, if you are in that type of a family, you will never know what others are passing through.

¹⁰Nothing damages the reputation of a man more than shipwreck in his marital ministry. It is also applicable to a woman. How many by revelation, see marriage as “a calling” in Christ? If your marriage with your wife is not by election, it is by condition. Your marriage to your husband or wife must either be by election or by condition.

-THE SON OF MAN-

When The Sparks Fly In Your Marital Life; Preached on 1^st June 2008; Pg. 9 vs. 10

MARRIAGE IS ALL ABOUT COMPANIONSHIP AND PROCREATION

Maybe you never knew that Joseph, the foster father of the LORD Jesus Christ, ran a broken home. Hence, his family was never used as a reference for marriage. You can never hear “Saint Joseph” credited to the father of the LORD Jesus Christ.

And Jesus Christ never referred to him as “My father” throughout the whole Bible. And he never referred to Mary as “My mother” throughout the whole Bible. The mother remained, “that woman” or “the woman” or “woman”, and the father, “the man”.
A time came when he publicly denounced the mother at the marriage feast at Cana, “Woman, what have I to do with you? Please give way! My time is not yet come.”
Reference: John 2:1-4. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. KJV
At another point, he was abandoned in the temple during the Passover feast. All of them left, leaving him behind. While he was in his duty position, teaching and disputing with the Pharisees – doctors and lawyers, they came looking for Him.
Emissaries were sent to Him, “Ah ah! Gentle man, are you still talking? Your parents are out there all along waiting for you.” He said, “Who are those people? My father, my mother, my brethren. Who are they? My friend, get thee behind Me. You are a distraction I cannot tolerate. My brethren are these people who are paying attention to My Words.”
Reference: Matthew 12:46-50. ⁴⁶While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. ⁴⁷Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. ⁴⁸But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? ⁴⁹And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! ⁵⁰For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. KJV
Then Mary saw how serious the matter was when the LORD Jesus left on the Pentecost day. She became number one to be seated in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost.
The Acts of the Apostles recorded that they were there, one hundred and twenty, including Mary, the mother of the LORD Jesus.
Reference: Acts 1:13-15. ¹³And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. ¹⁴These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. ¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about a hundred and twenty,) KJV
She should have remained at home and said, “After all, I am his mother. Can one who has Jesus as his first son go to hell?” She would have discovered that hellfire is real. You say that you have Abraham as your father, and for that you would not go to hell. Shut up your mouth.
GOD IS WITH YOU WHILE YOU ARE WITH HIM. FORSAKE HIM, HE WILL FORSAKE YOU.
Who is your father? Who is your mother? Who is your brother? Who is your sister? The Bible answered it in the Book of Psalms. Whoever that feareth God, honoureth God and obeys His Word, he is your father. He is your mother. He is your brother. He is your sister. Not the errant ones. No! Not disobedient ones.
Reference: Matthew 12:46-50. ^[46-47] As Jesus was speaking in a crowded house, his mother and brothers were outside, wanting to talk with him. When someone told him they were there, ^[48]he remarked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ^[49]He pointed to his disciples. “Look!” he said, “these are my mother and brothers.” ^[50]Then he added, “Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother!” LB [Also found in Mark 3:33-35 & Luke 8:19-21]
So if you are to count the brotherhood or the sisterhood, count those who are obedient to the truth; who are committed and strongly devoted to the cause of Christ; those who are addicted by the Word of God and not those who are allergic to the Word of God. Is the one who is irritated by the Word of God your brother or sister in Christ?
You have no wife except in Christ. You have no brother; you have no children; you have no family except in Christ. Life without Christ is absolutely meaningless.
You see, it is very difficult to acknowledge this bitter truth. Go to your family and tell your parents that they are wasting their time. They will beat the hell out of you. They can even excommunicate you from the family and call you all manner of names.
But do you consider that as something? That is the price you have to pay. It is included in your cost of discipleship. You must suffer denial. Parents must deny you. Friends must deny you. Nature will hate you. Everything about you will turn upside-down.
FOR CHRIST TO ACCEPT YOU, THE WORLD HAS TO REJECT YOU. IF YOU ARE BEING ACCEPTED BY THE WORLD, IT THEN MEANS YOU ARE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD. GOD WILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU.
Be very careful. Know who you want to please or who you are pleasing already. Check to know whether you are pleasing yourself, the society or your parents.
I have to lift up this standard to enable you know that whoever that finds a wife had found death. Then, you will be praying for resurrection. I say you will be praying for what? Resurrection.
Are you surprised? Our Pastor use to boom before. From the day our Pastor brought his wife home, has he been booming? He has ceased from booming. I am seeing declining productivity spiritually, physically and otherwise.
Gradually, he is tilting towards the bandwagon, group of married people or “Married Men’s League”. You know it is a league. The same way we have the league of nations, we have league of married people.
We have exalted marriage above its worth to the point that any man or woman that is not married is worth nothing. Who told you that? Do not exalt marriage above what marriage is all about.
MARRIAGE IS ALL ABOUT COMPANIONSHIP AND PROCREATION. NO MORE! NO LESS!
If I go into marriage at this age, I am going for companionship. I am not going for procreation anymore. The ones I have are enough. Did you get the Message?
So, he that wants a companion should go for a wife. Why? She is readily available. Did you get the Message?
You want to have children, you call them your own, but are they your own? They are not your own. Children are not achievements. Children are blessings. They are gifts from God.
You do not buy them with money. You do not get a child by struggling. It is not by your effort that you conceive? It is not by your effort or your hard work that you have children.
There are many that labour more than you. Yet, up till now, they do not have one. Even in the Bible, too many married and remained barren for life.
What can you say about Michal. I mean, the first daughter of king Saul, and who was married to King David, the man after God’s own heart. Just a careless statement. A careless statement, not knowing that the husband was the Elohim En-morphe. And the husband turned and said, “Michal, for talking wildly, you will remain barren for life.”
Reference: 2 Samuel 6:16-23. ^[16](But as the procession came into the city, Michal, Saul’s daughter, watched from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was filled with contempt for him.) ^[17]The Ark was placed inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. ^[18]Then he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of heaven ^[19]and gave a present to everyone—men and women alike—of a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins. When it was all over, and everyone had gone home, ^[20]David returned to bless his family. But Michal came out to meet him and exclaimed in disgust, “How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the girls along the street like a common pervert!” ^[21]David retorted, “I was dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and his family and who appointed me as leader of Israel, the people of the Lord! So I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord. ^[22]Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, but I will be respected by the girls of whom you spoke!” ^[23]SO MICHAL WAS CHILDLESS THROUGHOUT HER LIFE. LB
She spoke wildly because David as the king danced naked. She never knew, that was God dancing naked.
EVERY ACTION OF A MAN OF GOD IS PROPELLED BY HE THAT IS DWELLING IN HIM.
That is why a Prophet could say, “Slap me!” but the young man refused to slap, judging the Prophet, his stature and everything – a man of God, “Why can I stretch my hand to slap a man of God.”
He started quoting Scriptures within himself, “Touch not Mine Anointed. Do My Prophets no harm.” He said to the prophet, “O Man of God, this would be the height of abomination for me to slap you. Please look for someone else.”
The prophet said, “Stand still there!” Another young man came and He [the Prophet] said, “Young man! Clench your fist. Slap me! Give me wound if it is possible.”
The young man examined him, “” O Man of God, is that what you want from Me?” the young man struck the Prophet and gave him serious wound. It is recorded in the Scriptures and that is Jeremiah.
What happened next. He said, “O a very gentle man who does not want to wound the Prophet. You do not know that God is hidden in the prophet. You are not disobedient to Me, but to He that is in Me. He knew you had been disobedient from birth. You want to be pious. You want to be much more virtuous than Me. Fine! Your PhD is rubbish. Quickly! Leave My presence. A lion is going to devour you now.”
Immediately he left, the same Prophet metamorphosed into a lion and tore him into pieces, that the residue of men will learn a lesson. That is why we call Him, “Lion from the tribe of Judah.”
Reference: 1 Kings 20:35-37. ³⁵And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. ³⁶Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ³⁷Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. KJV
The young man – the young prophet who was sent to Jeroboam with instructions. When he got there, he flouted the instructions and divulged the secret of his protection. And then a fallen prophet somewhere captured him, used the words of his mouth as THUS SAITH THE LORD.
He [the young Prophet] was the one that disclosed that he was under instruction not to eat nor drink nor collect a dime from anybody; not to enter anybody’s house and not to follow the same road while going. He disclosed all publicly.
And the people carried the news to the ancient Prophet – fallen Prophet. I mean Prophet emeritus. What happened? He said, “Oh! He told you all these things. His doom has come. I must go for him. I will bring him back to my house. Watch what will happen. He said he came from where? Judah. I am going after him.”
He saddled his ass and went after the young man. The young man was still ruminating and regurgitating the information over and over, “Ah ah! So I am going empty-handed. Look at the big envelope he promised me there – a big purse that is enough to make me wealthy all my life. And the type of food the king had already placed for me.”
He forgot the miracle that took place; that Jeroboam stretched his hand against him on hearing, “Woe unto the altars in Bethel and Dan. And woe unto you Jeroboam.” He [Jeroboam] stretched forth his hand, and the hand withered.
He shouted, “O God of Israel! I have sinned against you. Speak back to Your Prophet that my hands will be healed.” The LORD spoke to the Prophet and said, “Receive your healing.” A sign that God spoke to him, and God was also with him. That could not instill fear in him.
Then the ancient Prophet saw him sitting under a fig tree. Not that he was tired, but he was thinking on how to go back.
Remember number one. He divulged the information meant for his protection. Number two: he disobeyed instructions by following the road he used. Number three; the wages of unrighteousness had already gotten a fair share of his mind. It has gotten over his whole head.
So, while thinking on how he will enrich himself like Achan did – a centurion called Achan who saw Babylonian garments and wondered how beautiful it would be if he should use them to decorate his house. He reasoned with his wife and his wife gave her consent.
That was why when he brought the loot, the wife received them and hid them under their bed inside the bedroom. You cannot be a criminal and your wife is exempted. No! For whatever is the activity of the man, the woman knows it.
So, the woman hid it under the bed. When the judgment came, the entire family was burnt to ashes. Not even one was spared. Family iniquity.
In the case of that young man, the words of his mouth trapped him. Then, he was brought back with an ass. He sat down. Listening to the ancient Prophet as he was fooling him more and more by giving him false testimonies of how the LORD used him and how he was very vibrant, prophesying in the land of Israel. A fallen Prophet.
“I remember what I was in time past” means that you are gone and gone forever. “I remember what I was in time past” Time past cannot be regained. If it is past, it is past.
But we are talking about the present tense God and His dealings with His children on a present tense basis. And not only present tense, but present continuous tense.
So, what happened? After tricking him, he [the ancient Prophet] gave the young Prophet a big purse – the money he rejected, but the people brought it to the house of the ancient prophet. He handed it over to the young Prophet, and bid him farewell.
Immediately he stretched out his hand to give him a handshake, he said, “As you go out right now, a lion will devour you, for you disobeyed the instruction of the Holy One of Israel Who sent you here.”
He felt like returning the money. No way! He wanted to vomit the food. No way! No room for saying, I am sorry. The man banged his door and pushed him out.
The old Prophet was there and the news came that they saw a carcass somewhere, devoured by a lion. He asked, “Did the lion devour the head?” They said no. He further demanded, “Can you define the appearance of the face?” They described.
The old Prophet went further, “Did the lion devour the legs?” they said no that a part of the legs are still there. He asked them to describe the legs, and they described the legs. He said, “Oh! that is the young Prophet from Judah. He disobeyed his God, and his God became his destroyer.”
That is why the prophets warned and I still maintain it. Do not see God as a merciful God Who is always gracious, compassionate, loving, caring, protecting and so on. See Him as a destructive God.
And when He wants to destroy you, He will warn you over and over, making you to know that the eye you are using to see Him differs from the one he is using to see you.
The Big Masquerade has eyes all over the head. The Bible calls it the seven eyes of God that run to and fro all over the whole earth. Have you seen a man with seven eyes? You can only see a masquerade with seven eyes and four faces.
If you go to the book of revelation, you will see the true picture of the Elohim when He wants to make war.
If he stands here, the person in front of Him will say that He is looking at him. The person by the right-hand side will say that the He is looking at him. The man standing by the left hand-side says the same thing. The man standing behind Him says the same thing. Yet, He is standing on the same spot.
The eyes are revolving. The seven eyes of God are the seven spirits, signifying the seven Messengers of the seven Church Ages. They were the eyes of God in all the Ages, for they all came with the spirit of God, for every prophet God sent has the spirit of Christ in him.
SO, IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, YOUR DESTROYER IS NOT TOO FAR AWAY FROM WHERE YOU ARE. YOUR SAVIOUR IS NOT TOO FAR FROM WHERE YOU ARE BECAUSE YOUR SAVIOUR IS ALSO YOUR DESTROYER.
He will save you if you do His good will. He will destroy you any day you flout it, may be because of over-familiarity.
Like I was telling you, Mary [the mother of Jesus] ran for her life. She never made the sad mistakes mothers make today. She never relaxed complacently in her kitchen, nursing it in her mind, “Of what use is it joining these boys in the upper room, saying I am going to spend 10 days Pentecost?”
Remember God did not say 10 days. He said, “Tarry ye in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. Then you become My witnesses.”
But on the 10th day, the promise of the hour came. Lo and behold, among the 120 there, number one that was prominently seated was Mary, the mother of the LORD Jesus Christ. And she did not stand up to address the public. Instead, Peter stood up.
Amidst Mary and the Apostles stood up Peter to address His people, “O ye men and brethren of the stock of Israel [the original stock]. Hear me this day. We are not drunk as you suppose. It is only but 9o’clock in the morning. Whoever wants to get drunk, gets drunk in the night. This is the promised Holy Spirit’s power that is at work.”
And with many other things, he encouraged them, until they shouted, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” That was where I was heading to.

¹⁶It is this non-recognition of marriage as a Ministry from God, which you should be grateful to God Who has found you worthy, putting you into that Ministry, for there are so many that are desiring to be put into that Ministry, but no way. ¹⁷Physically, they are qualified. Academically, they are qualified. Socially, they are qualified. Yet, are not put into that Ministry. A call to marriage is a worthy calling.

-THE SON OF MAN-

When The Sparks Fly In Your Marital Life; Preached on 1^st June 2008; Pg. 11 vs. 16-17

END TIME EVENTS AND THE ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE

I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT MARRIAGE AND ITS AWFUL IMPLICATIONS IF IT IS NOT PROPERLY PLANNED AND UNDERSTOOD. MARRIAGE MUST BE PROPERLY PLANNED, PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD AND PROPERLY GIVEN THE RIGHT APPROACH.

IF NOT, THE HAVOC IT IS GOING TO WREAK IS UNIMAGINABLE. THAT WHICH YOU ARE TRYING TO AVOID, YOU WILL SEE YOURSELF NECK-DEEP INTO IT. THAT IS WHY YOU DO NOT MARRY BY SIGHT. NO!
When you want to think of marriage, you think of the leading of the Holy Spirit because it takes the Holy Spirit in you to take you to a godly lady, for what the society is filled with today are godless ladies. I say, godless. Celebrities. I say, celebrities. That is what is reigning. That is the trend.
Is it not trending? Are they not in all the so-called churches? And then, who is the chiefest of all the celebrities? The devil! There is no celebrity greater than the devil who clothed women with all these strange strange apparels, and who is the one manufacturing all these outward beauty materials, chemicals, paints and every kind of things. Did you get the Message?
Chiamaka ran a risk yesterday. The same thing that withheld Me at home, withheld Me in there. Only one thing saved you. That marriage would have been cancelled, and the wedding cancelled because of something you think is a minor thing. What is that thing? Eyelash.
Eyelash was in existence when My wife was trending, but she never priced it one kobo. If there be any of My daughters that learnt to wear it, they never learnt it from My wife. They never learnt it from Me.
It is an abomination of all abominations, which started even long long time ago. And the first woman that used it for the first time as a make-up was Jezebel.
All these paints you think are new, are not new. High heeled shoes, are they new? All these weave-on, are they new. I will show you all in the Bible.
And I will equally show you all of them in the prophecies concerning end time and of what you will witness in the end time – fashion and beauty materials the devil will inject into the world.
References: [1] PREDICTED END TIME EVENTS AND THE ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE VOLUME 2; by THE SON OF MAN, Apostle Peter Odoemena at the Voice of God Studio, Bridal Lodge, Nsugbe on Sunday 15th August 2021; Chapter 4 verse 61 through 63. ⁶¹[L] Abu Hurairah quotes The Prophet (pbuh) thus concerning women and an unidentified people with a predilection for whips (perhaps a reference to sado-masochism): ⁶²“There are two types among the people of Hell whom I have not yet seen. The first are people who have whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat people, and the second are women who are naked in spite of being dressed; they will be led astray and will lead others astray, and their heads will look like camels humps. 63These women will not enter Paradise; they will not even experience the faintest scent of it, even though the fragrance of Paradise can be perceived from such a great distance.”
[2] PREDICTED END TIME EVENTS AND THE ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE VOLUME 2; by THE SON OF MAN, Apostle Peter Odoemena at the Voice of God Studio, Bridal Lodge, Nsugbe on Sunday 15th August 2021; Chapter 5 verse 54 through 58. ⁵⁴At the age of 18 or 19 years, you are riding yourself about with a Mercedes 4matic vehicle; 4matic Jeep and 4matic cars, and Lexus of all sorts. Name the vehicles. Range Rover and Rolls Royce.
⁵⁵And then, fanciful women; fanciful ladies; We call them “Ladies of today” who go half naked, with eye lashes like umbrella; with hair make-up that reaches the ground from the head; made of human hair, animal hair, fixed finger and toe nails with different colours.
⁵⁶One finger, one colour. Another finger, another colour. Ten fingers, ten different colours, with brush and paints in their handbags with which they change the colour of the skin according to what they want to manifest.
⁵⁷In the morning black paint. In the afternoon, green paint. Before night, yellow paint or white paint. They now paint with brush as if they are changing the walls of their buildings. What can we say to these things?
⁵⁸Women walking naked; dancing naked. Even in the television and open spaces, exposing their buttocks, wearing string pants.
For Satan is not sleeping. He is waylaying you on this Straight Path, making evil look very glamorous and attractive that you will be saying, “It does not matter”. Why does it not matter? “Am I the only one?”
Reference: The Holy Qur’an – Surah 7:16-17. ¹⁶‘’He (Iblis) said: since you have led me astray, (I swear that) I will also sit on your straight path to waylay the children of Adam till I cause them to deviate from the path of truth. ¹⁷I will assuredly approach them from their front, from their rear, from their right and from their left and consequently you will not find most of them grateful”
And God is looking for Noah, who in the whole world in his day was found to be the only righteous one that ran a godly home with the exception of the silly first born – who resisted, saying that he will escape on the mountain, and that there was no way the water will climb the mountain.
Noah said, “be it know to you My son that you are kicking against the Word of the Almighty God. For my encounter with Him is real. You are running a risk with your family on the mountain, for you must surely be devoured.” At the end of the day, the boy, his family and mountain, all were drowned.
References: [1] The Holy Qur’an 11:41-43. ⁴¹So he said: “Embark ye on the Ark, In the name of Allah, whether it move or be at rest! For my Lord is, be sure, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!” ⁴²So the Ark floated with them on the waves (towering) like mountains, and Noah called out to his son, who had separated himself (from the rest): “O my son! embark with us, and be not with the unbelievers!” ⁴³The son replied: “I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water.” Noah said: “This day nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy! “And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood. Abdullah Yusuf Ali Translation.
[2] Genesis 7:17-24. ^[17]For forty days the roaring floods prevailed, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. ^[18]As the water rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely upon it; ^[19]until finally the water covered all the high mountains under the whole heaven, ^[20]standing twenty-two feet and more above the highest peaks. ^[21]And all living things upon the earth perished—birds, domestic and wild animals, and reptiles and all mankind ^[22]everything that breathed and lived upon dry land. ^[23]All existence on the earth was blotted out—man and animals alike, and reptiles and birds. God destroyed them all, leaving only Noah alive, and those with him in the boat. ^[24]And the water covered the earth 150 days. LB
And God used that first son as a good illustration till today, the same way he used the first son of David — Absalom. So, every first son – Wisdom take note. Of course, you have handled it that David forfeited his first son because he lacked the capacity to discipline him.
Reference: 1 Kings 1:5-6. ^[5]At about that time, David’s son Adonijah (his mother was Haggith) decided to crown himself king in place of his aged father. So he hired chariots and drivers and recruited fifty men to run down the streets before him as royal footmen. ^[6]NOW HIS FATHER, KING DAVID, HAD NEVER DISCIPLINED HIM AT ANY TIME—NOT SO MUCH AS BY A SINGLE SCOLDING! He was a very handsome man and was Absalom’s younger brother. LB
But you know I am a disciplinarian. Good! I am not an ordinary disciplinarian. I am a no-nonsense disciplinarian, for I know how to curtail your wings. I will touch on that thing that you are priding yourself about with. And then, you will fall flat. You will become the cynosure of all eyes when they will see My hand on your life.
I do not boast of what I will do. Neither do I threaten anybody. What I normally say is this, “Consider what I have said, and let God give you perfect understanding”, for I am the One the whole world is fearing, Who exists alone from creation. I was there before all creations. Without Me, there was nothing created.
If My boast has always been among you, it would have been a useless boast. I have gone round the whole world. I have convinced all and sundry that He that is talking to you is no less a Personality than the very Original Elohim dwelling in a Badger skin.
Can a man make such a statement if He is not sure, and the Almighty will allow him to continue a day longer? Never!
No Prophet ever appeared and even spoke in the Name of God falsely without the LORD smiting him there. But instead, the LORD Himself vindicated, confirmed, and then carried it to Israel for them to see that their God is coming from afar in the fashion of the Gentiles. And now they have seen, they have believed.
I am not talking about you. I am using signs and wonders to bring you to obedience to the truth, for you are not the original Fig. I know the people that are following Me. And I know those that are watching Me. Some are following, while some are watching.
A football fan is not a footballer. He is not a part of the team, but he spends more than the team members. He transports himself to and fro. He feeds himself. He accommodates himself. He fights battles on behalf of people that do not know who he is.
Like we are here hailing wrestlers. Often times, we feel like fighting ourselves because the man we are seeing on the screen, who we are seeing but is not seeing us; who does not know what we are doing, but argument will ensue.
This is football season. Many are fighting because of their favourite players, club sides, and countries that will win. There is argument everywhere. You see them in the screen.
I was hearing it the other day when Wisdom was shouting, “What are you doing? What are you doing?” Do you think he is hearing you? Lucky said, “Move on! Move on!” Who are you commanding? The screen.
So, let us be careful that we are not watchers. Let us be followers instead of spectators. Do not be a spectator. Be a part of the team. That is why, if you are a true Seed of God, you will be positionally placed where you will notice what God is doing in your own day. God will carry it to your own doorstep.
That is one. Then, you will acknowledge it and then, you become a part of it. An inseparable part of what God is doing in his day, if he is a Seed of God.
But the rest will be onlookers and spectators, cheering people up. At the end of the day, they gain nothing.
That you are a club fan means nothing to the team. You do not even earn any allowance. Rather, you contribute money to support people that do not know about your existence.
So, many are doing it in this Faith, doling out their money, time and everything, supporting the Bride of Christ Movement of which they are not a part, cheering them up, “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”
And they are running, intending to lift up the trophy because you are the one fanning the embers of their winning, when you are not even in the team.
PLEASE, DO NOT FAN AN ATHLETE. BE THE ATHLETE. DO NOT CHEER UP AN ATHLETE. BE THE ATHLETE. AND LET OTHERS CHEER YOU UP.
So, marriage entails too many things. And the favourite side of marriage is the most destructive. That is the caring side. Caring side. Protective side of marriage.
A woman marries, first, that she may have protection under a man called her husband. Two; caring. “Oh! My problems are now over. My husband now takes over. For everything around me, my husband is up and doing.”
And the man will now go to the Scriptures, “A man who is not taking good care of his family, providing for their needs is worse than an infidel.”
Then to avoid being an infidel, he becomes a debtor. This is because a woman is like an open grave. No woman is satiable. Her wants are insatiable. And her needs, unlimited.
And the man, in the attempt to meet the unmeetable, insatiable demands of the wife leaves God behind and bows down with hopeless abandon [Oh no!] submitting to a weaker vessel by exalting her as a deity.
Hear me very well. Husbands deify their wives. They do not worship God. They worship their wives. Hence, they are afraid of their wives’ reactions more than God’s reaction. On issues pertaining to life and godliness, a man tilts towards obeying the wife more than obeying God. Do you believe this to be true? All in the attempt to allow peace to reign.
So, you want peace to reign in falsehood. You want peace to reign in defiance of the author of peace.
The LORD Jesus said, “My peace I give you. My peace I leave with you. Not the type that the world gives, but this is the peace that transcends from above, that passeth all human understanding.”
Hence the prophet made it clear, “Greater peace have they that know the LORD. Nothing shall by any means offend them.” Why? They know Whom they have believed. He is more than able to sustain, to keep that which has been committed into His hand until that day.
That is how we know a virtuous wife. She commits her today, her tomorrow, her husband and everything into the hand of God, trusting God that he must make a way where there is no way.
AND THE MOMENT YOU LIVE THE LIFE OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD, THE EXTENT YOU WILL GO IN LIFE IS UNFATHOMABLE.
For a family to forge ahead in these last days, there must be a decision, a willingness to go with God all the way.
SONG: [Where He leads me, I will follow. Where He leads Me, I will follow. Where He leads Me, I will follow. I’ll go with Him, with Him, all the way.]
No stopping! Once He is moving, I am moving with the moving train. For if I do not move, He will leave me behind.
The LORD will never let you down until you begin to let Him down. He has never let His own down unless that His own voluntarily or ignorantly decides to let God down.
He is the Most important Being in the life of every man. I call Him My own VIP. God is My Very Important Personality Whom I can never toy with. Neither will I toy with His Words. That is the secret of My life and the secret of My composure till date.
And the same thing I am, I imparted into My wife. In turn, she helped Me to impart it into our children. That is why I am enjoying peace in this condition.
Assuming they are troubling Me; assuming they are not peaceful; Assuming they are bringing one trouble or the other here and there, do you not know that I may even place a perpetual curse on them, in this condition where I am almost becoming an implacable human being?
I do not know that which you think you can do to please Me. I am the One to tell you what you will do so that I will be happy with you, not what you think. And not what you want.
And if I do not tell you that, you are wasting your time. You cannot use anything to please Me except what I want. You might be thinking you are working to please Me when you are offending Me.
And it is not when you offend Me that I will tell you. My action will tell you that I am no longer with you. And if I watch you from a distance and you cannot see the hand writing on the wall, I will put a peg somewhere. You will hit your leg there. And then, when you look back, you will see Me. So, let all of us be very careful.

³Revealing the truth brings the future nearer. I am interested in that Message. There is a sub-heading there that says: “Nine reasons why people are disappointed in the Ministry of The Son Of Man.” ⁴…. [i.] Insincerity of purpose —Insincerity of purpose; [ii.] Joining the Faith with wrong motives— coming and identifying with this Faith with wrong motives; [iii.] Hypocrisy; [iv.] Impatience; [v.] Suspicion; [vi.] Over estimation of the Ministry of THE SON OF MAN; [vii.] Leadership Tussle; [viii.] Envy; [ix.] Jealousy.

-THE SON OF MAN-

When The Sparks Fly In Your Marital Life; Preached on 1^st June 2008; Pg. 24 vs. 3-4

IF THE LORD HAS NOT SPOKEN,

NOBODY HAS SPOKEN

I want to say to Brother Clifford, “You have seen the evidence.” Am I making sense? I say, you have seen the evidence.

Gideon said to God, “If you are with us in this journey we want to make to the unknown; in this battle we want to engage in, we need a strong evidence. We need an evidence. And that is all we need that will help us to know how to go about the battle, for the battle does not belong to any man. It belongs to God.”
That is why, to marry a wife and live in peace requires maturity and grace. Is it not Scripture? Did you not read it yesterday? It requires maturity and grace. No matter how capable you think you might be, who made you capable? How do you think you are capable? “I can do it” is not in marriage.
What happened? The LORD gave Gideon a supernatural sign by doing something no human being can do. No doctor can do it.
The LORD used it as evidence that this marriage has received My approval. My hand is there. For that reason, My eyes are there, for the LORD will never allow His Name to be humiliated.
I read in the Scriptures and it said, “I will never live to see the heathens gloat over My people.” You know what it means to gloat. It means “to rejoice” over My people.
That was why when Saul was murdered, though he murdered himself. His iniquity caused him to commit suicide. But David’s best friend, Jonathan, the first son of Saul, was murdered.
David lamented, “How are the mighty fallen. Tell it not in Gath. Publish it not on the streets of Ashkelon, lest the heathens rejoice over us. Lest the uncircumcised gloat over God’s children. Lest the Philistines will say that our God has forsaken us. O ye Mountain of Gilboa, where the blood of the saints was shed. Let there be no dew nor rain upon you forever and ever. And may no grass sprout on top of this mountain forever and ever.”
And the Bible said, “Till this day, rain has fallen everywhere, dew everywhere, grasses sprouting on the mountains, except the mountain of Gilboa.” WHO THEN IS DAVID?
Apostle Kelechi said that he ran for his life when he came here and documented few things. I was not alone. He had a dream. He gave it the right interpretation.
He said he was present when one day when the Elders gathered and THE SON OF MAN went to the barren lemon tree in the compound that has been there over the years. Others have been producing fruits, but this one was blossoming with leaves, but no single fruit.
I went to the tree amidst the Elders. Look at the tree there. I said, “You lemon tree, hear Me this afternoon amidst Elders. About this time next year, if I do not harvest your fruit, I must hew you down. You are occupying a space I should have used for good trees that will give Me fruits.”
I knew why I did it. It was on a Saturday like that. Were you not there? Then, they were looking at that tree. And I did not know. I forgot what happened.
In less than six months, Bro Eli who was here called Me and said, “Daddy, come o! it is like the tree heard Your Voice. This tree does not want to be hewed down. Daddy, look on top.”
Everywhere was filled with fruits. And it was not the season. The rest were empty. It was not the season, but the whole tree was filled with fruits. I allowed it.
I said, “Bro Eli, on Saturday when the Elders will gather, put Me in remembrance and they will see it.” I had already forgotten. I never cursed it, but I was about cursing it.
So, on that Saturday, the Elders gathered, and I told them to go and look at it. Only recently, Apostle Kelechi remembered it that only a tree will hear the voice that it would die and it remained there.
How trees were running; grasses running. Everything on the run. How can I Kelechi see all these things running and remain here. I must go to Nsugbe.
For the first time, he came on a Sunday after Fellowship in the afternoon when we were all weak. We were upstairs. I instructed that they should please open the gate for him, for the proverbial toad is said not to run in the afternoon without a cause.
He had never come to this house in the day, not to talk of a Sunday afternoon when he knows that nobody sees THE SON OF MAN. I sent Pastor Chizoba down to go and see him, for I would not come down. He went, but I remained there. It was about 3:30PM.
He [Apostle Kelechi] said he knew that I do not come down on Sundays after fellowship, but he said he must come anyhow. He narrated the whole thing and promised he will come back the following day, defying the sit-at-home order.
Who would not run unless a foolish fellow? You may know everything, but do you know that last sign I have? I may be your last sign, but do you know My last sign?
There were people that were adjudged barren, but I said you are not barren. Instead of you becoming barren, I will delay the catching away of the Saints, and you must have your children. You will remain alive and you will begin to do family planning. Is it happening?
YOU ARE NOT BARREN UNTIL GOD PROCLAIMS YOU BARREN. IF THE LORD HAS NOT SPOKEN, NOBODY HAS SPOKEN.
Human beings are known for jumping into quick conclusions when they have not heard from God. But how can you hear from God Whom you do not believe in? You do not trust Him and you do not confide in Him. You are only a spectator. You are watching Him. You are not following.
The LORD our God will do nothing, but revealeth His will to His servants the prophets. There is nothing the LORD will do in this generation without consulting Me, for I am the Man on the spot for now. There is no other.
Can He bypass Abraham and go to Sodom and Gomorrah? Never never! I said, never! It was not that if He bypassed Him that Abraham would shout. No! But there was no way. Having proven Abraham to be a faithful friend, He must disclose all to him.
So, I am the Abraham of today. There is no dealing God is going to have with mankind without first of all alerting Me. If I pretend that I do not know, I just want to fool the people around.
This is because there are too many you may begin to tell people. When they begin to happen, they will be accusing you. If I tell you that this is what is going to happen to you with time, people will give it another interpretation that I am after your life. He has started again. The next thing will be obituary! That is what this Man is known for.
For that reason, even if I see it, I will close My mouth, lest I would be accused falsely. I know that I have no hand there, but I know the person is paying. I know the person is going in. I know that very well. Nobody passes on without knocking on My door. If I permit you to go, you will go.
My wife knocked. I said, “Knock again” and she knocked. You were there. None of them will accuse Daddy, for I carried all of them to Abuja, “Stay here and hear the conversation between Mummy and the angels; between Mummy and the Almighty God Himself. And when she will call the Almighty God, you will know Who she calls that Name.”
I pretended I did not know what was happening until the whole thing ensued. It was a night of nights. I said everybody should steer clear from there and allow her to entertain all her questions. A night of judgment. And I was in the parlour. Wisdom, all of them, Bro Chidubem, everybody. They were weeping, “Daddy, show mercy.”
I asked them, “What type of mercy do you want? She must entertain all, so that at the end, she will know it is by grace.” It is by grace. It is by grace.
And when she made it, her two hands went up, “Nnam o! You have made me a Queen.” She then started issuing commands, “Get away from there. Do you not know who I am? I am the Queen of THE SON OF MAN.”
By then, the door had been opened. She then started giving the time she will arrive. She said that she was a Super Saint. By the time she gave the time they should wait for her, I called My son and told him to go with Me.
I then told Wisdom that she is arriving that time. It will not exceed by one single second. If she arrives, you will know. I will call you from here that she has arrived. At exactly that hour, she arrived. And that was the end.
Everything about God and His people is always fascinating; very very fascinating. And that is, if you are found in Him. But if you are a spectator, like I am saying it now, it is a story. But to Me, it is no story. To My children, it is not a story.
It was the reason why we were enduring everything. It was simply because of the glory that awaited her. And she comforted us.
This marriage of a thing, Clifford and Chiamaka, if you want to survive, you married at a very dangerous hour. You married at the closing hours of the history of the world. You married when THE SON OF MAN, the Big Masquerade was on His way home. You met Him on His way.
One that met a masquerade when the masquerade is on his way home, that was the point where that person joined. Whatever the performance of the masquerade at the market square, he or she does not know it. The person met the masquerade on his way going home, and then joined.
So, I wish you the best because you would not suffer for too long. This is true. Anybody that is marrying now will not enjoy marriage for too long.
If there is anything enjoyable in marriage; I say, if there is anything enjoyable in marriage, let Me say it the other way.
MARRIAGE IS ENJOYED BY FOOLS. MARRIAGE IS ENJOYED BY FOOLS. WISE PEOPLE ACCEPT MARRIAGE AS CHALLENGE. FOOLS ACCEPT MARIAGE AS ENJOYMENT, AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE A MESS OF MARRIAGE, FOR NOTHING POSES CHALLENGES TO BOTH MEN AND WOMEN MORE THAN MARRIAGE. TRUE OF FALSE?
ANYBODY THAT SEES MARRIAGE AS A BED OF ROSES MUST MAKE SHIPWRECK AND WILL NEVER GO FAR. BUT IF YOU SEE MARRIAGE AS A CHALLENGE, AS AN UNAVOIDABLE OBSTACLE YOU MUST SURMOUNT IF YOU MUST MAKE A HEADWAY IN LIFE, YOU BRACE UP IMMEDIATELY WITH COURAGE AND WITH FORTITUDE TO BEAR WHATEVER THAT YOU WILL SEE THERE, WITH THE DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS FAILED.
WHERE DID THEY FAIL? THEY MARRIED AND DIED SPIRITUALLY. THEY MARRIED AND ESTABLISHED PARADISE ON THEIR BEDS. WRAPPING THEIR ARMS AROUND THEIR WIVES, THEY SAW THEMSELVES IN THEIR OWN MAN-MADE PARADISE.
THEN, THE WORD OF GOD GOES INTO THE COOLER. EVERYTHING ABOUT GOD IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
BUT WHOSOEVER THAT SEES MARRIAGE AS A CHALLENGE, STARTS FROM THE FIRST DAY TO ADDRESS IT IN THE FEAR AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD, TAKING ONE STEP AT A TIME, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENES IN THAT MARRIAGE RECEIVES GOD’S APPROVAL.
IN THAT SENSE, IT SIGNIFIES OBEDIENCE TO THE PATHWAY – THE TEACHINGS. BYPASS ONE, IT WILL REFLECT IN YOUR FAMILY LIFE. YOU DO NOT BYPASS ANY. IT IS ONE STEP AT A TIME. STEP BY STEP.
YOU WILL HAVE TO BE VERY VERY METICULOUS. IT IS A DANGEROUS PATH BECAUSE IF YOU ARE NOT FORTIFIED WITH THIS TRUTH, WHEN CHILDREN WILL COME, YOU ARE PUT OFF COMPLETELY. YOU ARE PUT OFF COMPLETELY.
WHEN YOU WILL BE RUNNING UP AND DOWN TO TAKE CARE OF THE TEEMING CHILDREN, YOUR TEEMING PROBLEMS AND SO ON, GOD BECOMES A THING OF THE PAST.
SO, YOU SEE WHY YOU HAVE TO ORGANIZE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW AND BEGIN TO SEE MARITAL LIFE AS A CHALLENGE, NO LONGER AS PARADISE, FOR IT IS NOT ETERNAL LIFE. IT IS NOT ETERNAL LIFE AND CAN NEVER BE ETERNAL LIFE, BUT CAN ROB YOU OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Do you know that marriage has become eternal life to many? Oh no! You may not know what I am saying because I do not have anybody here who has experience. You are all novice.
But the more you know this truth ahead of time, the better for you. It is better I know the rudiments. It is better I know the intricacies before I will dabble into it. You will know for yourself.
Search it out to know why it is called the largest and the deepest ocean that moves very swiftly. If flows very swiftly with a very high tempest.
THERE IS NO AREA OF HUMAN LIFE WHERE THE TEMPEST RISES MORE THAN IN MARITAL LIFE.
So, Chiamaka take note. You are a stammerer. Whether you like it or not, tempest must rise. I said tempest. I did not say temper. The tempest – Marital tempest must rise.
You know what a tempest is. If you have never been to Bar Beach [Lagos], you may not understand what I am talking about.
Sailors and pirates – those that earn their living through water transportation and who travel by sea – what troubles them most is the tempest.
When the tempest rises, it comes from the opposite direction. It blurs vision. It can lift up your ship or canoe a hundred feet high, and drops it furiously.
That is why the life jacket must be on together with seat belts so that if it tumbles hundred times in the air, on landing you may regain your balance but not without injuries.
It is so fearful that no captain prays to encounter difficult tempest on the high sea. It troubles ships and canoes. Sailors are afraid of it.
And that was what took place in the days of the LORD Jesus Christ, and his disciples shouted, “Master, why are You asleep? Can’t you see the tempest? Carest not Thou that we perish?”
He woke up from His sleep, for the Bible said, “He worked very hard that day and became very weak.” And then, He slept in the canoe. This is to show you that He was 100% human being.
To prove that He was also 100% God, He cleansed His eyes and turned to Peter, “O ye men of little faith. Why waking Me up from this slumber?”
He saw the tempest, and with one word, He calmed the tempest. Then the people were astonished, “Who could be this Man that is in our boat, Whose word calmed down the tempest?
What am I saying? There must be crisis whether you like it or not. But Who has the Remedy? CHRIST. So. Go to the Message, CALLING CHRIST IN THE TIME OF CRISIS [Preached on Sunday 15th August 1993 by Christ, THE SON OF MAN], for He alone has the Word that can calm down the tempest.
Do not say that you will do it on your own. Do not say that you will manage it, for you will manage it into more serious crisis until it will be very hard even to look into. Amen.
IN EVERYTHING, PLACE GOD FIRST. THE MOMENT A MAN PLEASES GOD, IF THE WIFE IS NOT PLEASED WHEN GOD IS PLEASED, THE WIFE IS A DEVIL. IF A WOMAN PLEASES GOD AND THAT DISPLEASES THE HUSBAND, THE HUSBAND IS A DEVIL.
Every true Seed of God has noticed this truth that in My attempt to please God, I have succeeded in pleasing My wife and My children together. And My wife’s attempt to please God and to live in obedience to God turned out to be pleasing Me more than ever.
This is because you are a Seed of God in the sense that you want to be at peace with God. If a woman wants to be at peace with God, automatically she wants to be at peace with the husband, if the husband is a Seed of God, vice versa.
In other words, to sum it all, it is God first. First seek ye the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. Every other thing shall follow, for no good thing shall the LORD God Almighty withhold from those that walk uprightly.
Make your plans and bring your plans before Him. And God said He will establish them for you. If God does not establish your plans, there is no way they can be fruitful. So, it has always been the wish of God that we be fruitful and multiply.

In everything we do, we must be fruitful in every good work. For that reason, let the virtues be found in you. The virtues are here. Reference: 2 Peter 1:2-3. ³According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: ⁴whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. ⁵And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. ⁸For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. KJV

If they are found in you, you will never be spiritually barren. You will bear the right fruit in the right season. You will enjoy peace with God and with your fellow human beings. And God will throw His weight behind you, for God cannot forsake those that honour Him.
But if you are known to be dishonouring God, you are doing yourself more harm than good, for God will find it difficult to render a help to someone who is disobedient and stubborn. God cannot help an idolater.
Disobedience – Arrogance. Take these two. Disobedience – Arrogance. Disobedience – Arrogance. Where is it heading to? Pride. Pride, and pride goeth before a fall. A haughty look; A haughty spirit is an abomination before God.
So let your moderation be seen by all men. As children of God, do not allow the world to entice you. If you are still being enticed by the things of the world, that goes to show that the Spirit of truth has not found its home in you, for whatever that puts you into enmity in the hand of God cannot rescue you when God’s judgment will come. Rather, it will laugh you to scorn.
ALWAYS HAVE IT AT THE BACK OF YOUR MIND THAT THE DEVIL IS NOT YET DEAD. THE DEVIL IS STILL AT WORK, ALIVE, PROWLING AND EVEN BOASTING THAT HE IS IN CONTROL OF THE WORLD.
FOR NOW, THE DEVIL IS IN-CHARGE I SAID, THE DEVIL IS IN-CHARGE OF ALL DISOBEDIENT PEOPLE HERE ON EARTH. THE FATHER OF ALL DISOBEDIENCE IS THE DEVIL. TRUE OR FALSE. FOR HE DISOBEYED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
That is why, when you see the children of disobedience, they pride themselves about with the things they should be ashamed of. They have lost all feelings of shame. They still go to church and occupy good good positions. Where do they fix their eyes? Exotic living. Exotic vehicles.
Exotic building. Exotic furnishing. Everything exotic.
You dare not ask them why, for the answer is always in their mouths, “Am I the only one? ” Do not worry. You will know you are the only one when fire guts that your dwelling place.
If this house is gutted by fire now, before I will realize that I have some people here, I must have escaped.
So, this morning, with these few words of exhortation, I say to Brother Clifford and family, “If you find My Family an example which is known throughout the whole earth as the standard for all families, borrow a cue from it. But if you feel it is not worthy and that you have a better standard, please feel free and establish it. We will also see it with our eyes and then wait for God’s approval. But for now, only one has been approved and presented with a seal. If you find it adequate, fine! If you see it as inadequate, better.”
Why? You make My work easier, for the easiest script to mark by any examiner is one that is out of point. Tautology. One second, you run two lines across, put zero, put your signature and date. He has saved you the time for reading and adjusting your glasses.
That is why God enjoins us from the very beginning, “Let he that wants to build be sure he builds according to the pattern that is revealed to us right from the wilderness,” and that is Abraham and Sarah. Thank you!