UNGUIDED MOMENT IN A MAN’S LIFE TEMPER AND PRIDE

UNGUIDED MOMENT IN A MAN’S LIFE TEMPER AND PRIDE (Obstacles to Human Development) SELF-CONTROL (EXPLAINED)

THE UNGUIDED MOMENT IN A MAN’S LIFE AND ITS EFFECT

Be seated everybody. Little children go to your class with your teachers. Pastor Thomas and Sister Vin, catch them young. Teach them in the level and language they will understand. Use everyday examples. To God be the Glory.

As adults, we are going to have our teaching class and I will like all of you to be quietly seated. Pastor Christian, I hope nobody indicated his interest to teach today? Pardon! Bro IK, please bear with us. You should be informing me ahead of time, lest I disorganize your program.
My whole Idea is to strengthen you spiritually and physically. Just like the Bible said that you should be strengthened in the inner mind.
You see, once you are educated in the right way of life, it will be impossible for any man to enslave you. As long as you are not educated, you can be easily enslaved by your fellow man. Even situations can enslave you.
But once you are educated, you begin to appreciate the Message that says, “The integrity of a man, the greatness of a man, is not measured by where he stands in the time of comfort and peace but is measured by where he stands in the time of challenges and adversities. I hope I am making sense there?
The greatness of a man, the integrity of a man, the personality of a man, is not measured by where he stands in the time of peace and comfort — when everything seems to be very orderly. No! It is measured by where a man stands in the time of challenges and adversities. When enemies surround you, when challenges confront you, your stand will tell us what your personality, integrity, greatness is all about.
We received a Message that said, “Circumstances Will Reveal You.” Circumstances that confront you will tell us who you are, for you cannot remain hiding forever. “If you don’t want us to know who you are, situations that confront you will tell us who you are. This is true.
The Message SELF-CONTROL EXPLAINED says, “Until you are confronted by serious situation, we will not know what your unconscious action will look like and we will not know the extent you can control those unconscious reaction”.
So, I said, after the whole thing, you might be wondering to see the person saying that he never knew that such a thing could still be found in him. He might have been a teacher for years but he never knew he had not yet conquered it. So, situations will tell us the things you have conquered and the things you are yet to conquer.
So, that message ran across My Mind last week, it was Saturday last week, a week yesterday.
We were just in my house discussing few things. God made it possible that there were no other people there than elders and one of our Brothers saw somebody who was indebted to’ him for a very long time. He hurriedly halted him, rushed down there to meet the man. We were watching. Everywhere was calm anyway.
So, after some time, he came up. He forgot himself because he was very annoyed. He opened his mouth to tell us about the man; how the man owed him dept for some years now and has refused to pay.
He said and I quote, “This man should thank his God that I met him where I should not have met him. If I had met him at the right place, in short, he would have paid the money today.”
I said, “Eehn! What if the man has no money?” He said, “He should thank his God! In short, he should thank his God that this is not the right place where I should have met him.” I said, “Is it because it is in front of my yard?” He said, “In short he should thank his God. If it were in the market place that I met him, I would have held him. He must have paid me that money.”
I said, Eehn! So, even if he has no money, he must pay it or else he will see something!”
I looked at the Elders and they looked at themselves, we laughed within. I did not want to speak on that matter on Sunday.
Last Sunday was a very nice day. I saw too many people from other Local Assemblies here. I held my I have looked around. If Brethren will be coming from other Local Assemblies, probably they will be coming late.
The Elders that were with Me, I think you can cast your minds back. You see, the Brother never knew that such a thing was still in him and I said to Myself, “If he had reacted this way in My presence and the presence of all these Elders; even in My own house, only God will imagine the level of havoc he would have caused if he had met this man at the “right place’.”
I said, “What could have been responsible for this?” You see, I began to wonder that there is always a peculiar moment when a man will forget who he is. I call it an unguided moment. It was an unguided moment.
He forgot who he is. He forgot that he had’ a personality to protect; an integrity to protect. He forgot that whatever might be his action is influencing somebody around him either rightly or wrongly. In fact, his status meant nothing to him. Why? He was unguided at that hour.
Why was he not guided? Why should there be that unguided hour? If there are Messages I will rather hammer on, I will hammer on two Messages: “Unguided Moment in a Man’s Life and Its Effects.” I said, “Unguided Moment in a Man’s Life and Its Effects.”
If there is anything we should guide against, we should guide against unguided moments where we may make some unguided utterances, unguided reactions that will leave much to be desired; that will leave some experiences that will be very difficult to be wiped off — Unguided moments.
Another problem I have treated is Temper. I will treat “Anger as a Small Madness”.
I said I will treat “Anger as a Small Madness” because our Brother was very much annoyed and he ran mad. It was the madness in him that prompted him to begin to make some mad utterances. And while he was talking, his eyes were shaking, the eye lids were blinking, his muscles flexed.
He was feeling like excusing himself from us so that he could go after the man, as if that was the money that has been sustaining him all these years. As if somebody has died because of the man’s inability to pay the money all these years, since 2004. No! It is stupidity! I will call it stupidity!
I will talk to you one of these days, but grant me more time. Let me watch the Messages I have given to you so far. Let me watch the fruits that are coming out from you.
What you need is not a new Message, and you cannot get any new Messages until you have convinced me that you have believed, accepted and practiced the ones you have received so far. To God be the glory, Amen.

THE GREATNESS OF POLITENESS

Do you know that there is virtue in Quietness? If you think that talking too much will make people listen to you, you have erred exceedingly. It will even make people to look down upon you. Before you know it, you become a talkative.

I have many of them living around me in my yard. Now, the family can engage themselves in talking from morning to morning, and today, they don’t command any respect again.
That you are talking too much does not mean you are making a point. You are rather exposing your stupidity.
Hear me very well. Sisters take note. You can be polite and firm. Not showing a smiling face. If I say, be polite, did I say show your smiling face? No! All I am saying is that you can respect somebody and still press your matter home.
If you are approaching a personality like me, no matter what your point might be, if I do not see any respect in you, you are stupid before me. You can hardly press your matter beyond where you are because I have drawn a line in my heart against you that you are stupid.
If you think there is virtue in talking too much, in making noise or in exhibiting your anger before somebody as a means of pressing your matter home, you are out of your senses.
Do you know that an angry person is a disorganized person? An angry person is a disorganized person. When he wants to say A, he will say B. He will say things he doesn’t mean to say, and to understand him becomes very difficult because he is disorganized.
You can be polite; you can be respectful and still press your matter home. A real sensible human being by nature pays attention to one that approaches him politely.
But once you come with your eyes sharp, your mouth sharp, the man thinks you are coming to intimidate him or that you think you can intimidate him.
Even if he is guilty of the matter you want to press home, your approach has rendered it useless. He justifies himself there immediately and makes up his mind that heavens should fall.
The same way, it is between man and man. If you are a man, when you are approaching your fellow man, you have to be polite.
When you are polite, you have created room for somebody to listen to you. Even if he has no chance, your politeness will give him time more than you expected from him. He will even create that time because you approached him in a polite manner.
Nobody has ever approached anybody politely and received harsh reaction.
If you pretend to be polite when you are not, your voice will expose you because, before you know it, what started as a discussion will become an argument.
Discussion means when you talk, you close your mouth and you allow me to talk because we are discussing.
But argument means trying to win the other side. You want to come out a winner. Surely, you will spoil the whole thing. You cannot engage somebody in an argument and be polite for there can never be a polite argument.
Even in the Law Court, from time to time, you see the judge calling the lawyers to order. Because they are arguing their case, one is trying to win the other; their voices will be rising with tempers high. It will take a learned judge to call them to order. Sometimes, he will force one to tender apology or withdraw his statement.
If you are polite, to see your faults becomes very easy — man-or woman. But as long as you are not polite, you can never discover where you have erred because your spirit is hot.
If you are really polite, to withdraw your statement is very easy. It will be easy for you to say “I am sorry, I withdraw my statement.” If you are polite, accepting or permitting withdrawal becomes very easy.
But if you are not polite, you will capitalize on that “I am sorry” to register another case because accepting that he is guilt has become a crime against him which you can now capitalize on to register more cases. That shows that you are stupid. You don’t know what it means to be polite.
God wants us to be polite in all our approaches to issues in all our human relations. Let us be polite; let’s respect one another’s views. You respect my views, I respect your views. Let us learn to reason instead of arguing. I repeat: Let us learn to reason instead of arguing.
Even the Scriptures said that we should refrain from that which causes argument for that will lead us to more ungodliness. For there can never be an argument without something evil coming out of it because everybody is trying to justify his stand and that is not needed from one who is polite.
I can resist your word with politeness and you will be happy that I said no because of the approach. Bishop Ebenezer, ooh! Sir, please, I don’t think I can do this. Please bear with me sir, I cannot do it.” Don’t press it further. Brother Ebenezer will just go home very happy. He will not talk evil of me because of my approach.
But how many can do that and still remain human We feel we forfeit our personalities if we can come low to that point. No! It will make you great; I say it will make you great. Whether the person will understand you or not, it will make you great.
Among ourselves, where we received it as a teaching, that is what should be our attitude to one another. The person outside our faith may not understand me; but why shouldn’t you understand me? How can I suffer within and without?
If there should be a misconception, it should be with people outside because they did not know what I stand for. But it shouldn’t be among us.
Remember, if we cultivate this attitude among ourselves sooner than we think, it will become our habit. Before we know it, we will be exhibiting it outside and that is the only instrument you can use to disarm your enemy.
The most powerful instrument you can use to disarm your enemy is by being polite.
Do you know that if you are polite, if you know the meaning of politeness, you will be the first to forgive your opponent? You don’t expect the man that wronged you to forgive you first. You are the one that will forgive him first because when you forgive your opponents, you set yourself free. Do you believe that? Forgive your opponents and you set yourself free.
You see, I continue to say it wherever I go that anybody who is attempting to take away the liberty of his enemies or opponents is taking the greatest risk of his or her life. Why? Because you will be losing the liberty of your friends at the same time. Man’s attempt in checking the liberty of his opponents has always resulted in losing the liberty of his friends.
So, that is why you must set your enemies free and you will consolidate the freedom of your friends.
If after staying in this type of Ministry, and we still misbehave we need to be flogged.
What is the aim of God? God wants to raise us as exemplary citizens. Citizens of the Kingdom of God should be exemplary in behavior, exemplary in every matter pertaining to life and godliness as your teachings are completely away from all.
You can find everything in the world but it is difficult to find a polite person. It is not easy to come by —a rare treasure.
The Scripture said, “Do not be easily provoked.” You cannot be easily provoked if you are But if you are not, you are provocation yourself. Wherever you are found, you speak or represent provocation.

REDUCING FRICTION BY LUBRICATING

Therefore, if there is friction in the engine, if a functional engine is working iron to iron, the engine is bound to knock. It is showing a sign that the engine requires oiling. You have to oil it. Lubricate the engine and you reduce the friction; the tendency of the engine knocking.
Husband and wife living together are like working engine. They shouldn’t work iron to iron otherwise the engine will knock. You should lubricate it from time to time.
Every working engine needs to be checked. Before you start the engine, you check the oil; check the water; if these things are okay, no problem. As long as the oil pump is okay, no problem.
Who knows the oil pump God placed in a man? The heart of a human being is an oil pump. It has inlet and outlet. As many of you that have read a little Biology, you will notice that the heart of a human being has valves — the inlet valves and the outlet valves.
So, you will notice that the heart of a human being has compressors. The compressors will compress and push the blood up. Are you getting what I am saying? And then veins will begin their work. The arteries will collect; the veins will distribute.
Therefore, man is a functional engine. I am saying that the oil and water will do nothing until the pumps are okay.
Every action of a man emanates from the heart. No action of a man emanates from the brain. The heart sends the information to the brain because the brain is a kind of sensor or sensory neuron that will transmit information. The heart will transmit that information to the brain and it registers there — then muscles are flexed.
I am saying that we must make sure that the oil and the water are well distributed so that there wouldn’t be friction.
If you can apply this Message, apply the wisdom in this Message in your daily life, your daily interaction with one another, there can never be any friction anywhere. There can never be any situation you cannot surmount.

REPRESENT AND PROTECT THE INTEREST OF ONE ANOTHER

Last Sunday, you were all here, about this time, I addressed you concerning evil men and women that crept into the Camp to do havoc and I warned seriously that if there be such people here, they should find themselves out.

If God had not intervened, we would have lost our little son last Sunday. You all saw the boy. Praise God that the boy is here also today.
But I really thank God who specializes in keeping His Words and overlooking the transgression. Are you hearing me?
Friction would have cost the life of the baby because the husband and wife could not agree even in my presence, and I was wondering whether such a thing could be found here even in such a deadly situation.
At a point; I decided to keep them all away and look at life alone. What I am after is about saving the life of the little boy. Please, Brother Kelechi, bring the child to Me.
As for the couples, when you get home, try and settle the matter within yourselves. As for me to meddle into this nonsense, I will never try it.
Watch Me, I will never meddle into family wahala in this Faith again. My reason is this: I have given you all things that will make your families paradise on earth.
If I discover that you are suffering from typhoid and malaria, my duty is to give you the appropriate medicine. I can never force you to swallow them. And immediately I applied that wisdom, love projected. The corpse began to make some movements. Finally till today, we still have the boy moving about.
But I have to praise the courage of the child’s, parents because I cannot talk about their evil side without talking about their good side.
You see, our Sister developed such courage that is very hard to be seen in an ordinary fellow. It was courage that moved her to carry the corpse to my house. When she came to my house with the baby, I examined the boy and saw that everywhere was stiff; the only life left was in the eyes. The legs were bent, the hands were broken, and the spines were stiff. The whole body was stiff. From the chest to the lower abdomen; were as stiff as iron and at the same time, the weight of the boy was very heavy.
I anointed the baby a little, rushed into the bedroom, dressed-up hurriedly and ordered everybody to enter the vehicle that the case would not be handled in my house, that it would be handled here in the Fellowship.
I thank God; God never disappointed us down here. The mother continued with her faith, overlooked the baby and continued in her worship —dancing and praising God.
I saw the child not less than ten times that day. I was moving up and down when the father came. In spite of the embarrassment in everything he witnessed, there was one statement he made because we left very late because of that child.
I said, “Go and reason with your wife, agree and then you can go to general hospital.” He said, “Sir, I am not going to the general hospital. I am going home with my wife. We will agree and we will still bring the child back to you.”
Because I wanted to clear all obstacles, I called our Brother, Dr. Orjiakor. ‘We told him what we had witnessed. All the questions he asked there were all negative — negative A to Z.
He said, “If this is the case, I don’t know any other thing. Then it is spiritual because all that doctors will suspect were all absent in the baby.”
So, everybody; we have to praise God, but we have to make sure we are in the right relationship with one another at all times. There shouldn’t be any unguided hour in your life because that unguided hour is the hour the enemy is looking for.
You have to be alert spiritually and physically that you cannot be easily swept away by the craftiness of the enemy.
Once Satan succeeds in sowing discord amongst Brethren, any kind of havoc can be wreaked among us. But as long as we are in harmony, in strict agreement, spiritually and physically, fully representing the interest of one another; fully protecting the interest of one another.
Please note the two words I have used, REPRESENTING and PROTECTING, not REPRESENTING and DESTROYING.
You can represent me and still destroy me but I say represent me and also protect me.
Once we are representing and protecting one another, closing ranks with one another, the enemy can never see anywhere he can begin to accuse us or to act against us. It is impossible.
William Branham said, “Because we have let down the bar, every kind of animal has come into the farm to wreak havoc in the field.”
What is the essence of fencing your farm? It is to keep predators away from the field. So also it is with life too.
You have to be filled with the Word of God to the point that in every situation, the Word of God in you will lift up a standard. Hallelujah!
When I say the spirit of God lifting a standard, I mean the Word of God in you.
After all, the Words you are hearing from me, they are Spirits and they are Life. So, be filled with the Spirit of God. Constantly meditate on the Word.
Whatever that comes around you, don’t speak quickly. Examine that thing seriously in the light of the Messages you have received and then take your position immediately. Amen.

NEGATIVE THINKING: OBSTACLE TO SUCCESS

I Have looked into life situations and I have seen too many things around human beings. I have seen that nothing poses obstruction to human life more than negative thinking.

Nothing poses obstruction in a man’s life more than negative thinking. A negative thinker incurs more enemies than friends.
But watch progressive people, easy-going people, well-faring men and women, they are all that think positively. They overcome obstacles by their positive ways of seeing things.
Yes, I don’t care what that thing looks like. Yes! I believe that the trial that comes to me today is God’s triumph tomorrow. For that reason, I have to be positive about life.
Think positive; act positive, and you will never have any regrets. I believe it because man’s disappointment is God’s opportunity. I say, Man’s disappointment is not a failure before God; rather, it is an opportunity. Yes!
So, I really thank God that we are still marching on. You have need of politeness. You have need of respect. You have received the Message Temper and Pride: Obstacles to Human Development.
The secret of abiding in that Message lies in recognizing the virtue in politeness, the virtue in respect. Even if you are higher than that person, respect the person for it adds to your personality. I say it adds to your personality.
Your disposition makes you friendly. I say your disposition makes you friendly. Your disposition also puts you on the winning side.
One that is not thinking positively is also suspicious of his environment. If you do not think positively, you are suspicious. Once you are suspicious, you can never have rest. Even if there is nothing to suspect, you will create one yourself. That goes to show that you are not looking at life positively.
Let us begin to look at life from the positive angle and then drive away all human extremisms. Every human being should have patience. Let our extremism be God’s opportunity to perform.
So, hearing is our duty, believing is our duty, accepting is our duty, practicing is our duty but the glory goes to God.
For example, let me use a man who came to me one day. He said that I should not tell the wife that he visited me. He praised the Messages, praised the Faith and praised everything.
He said, “Son of Man, you see, I love my wife. Do you know why I permitted her to be coming to your Fellowship? Since I married her, she has attended too many Churches and each time I tried to stop her, it would cause problem.
In spite of all the Churches she has attended, her life remained the same — always challenging and fighting me. She can hardly hear from me. Sometimes, she will just run away from the house and stay where I don’t know — sometimes for weeks.
But I have noticed something serious since she came into your Faith. I have been watching her character.
But it appears the Holy Ghost in your Message arrested her. Neighbors no longer hear us talk or quarrel again. If I ask her to sit down now, she will just sit down. You see, I can now control her.
In fact, I have come here just to praise you. Continue in The Work! I can now come back from work, eat, drink and have rest.
In fact, if there is any problem in my house now, I am the cause. She is no longer the cause. That is why I have come to tell you that I am very happy concerning the present behavior of my wife. But do not tell her that I came.”
I said, “Okay, she will not hear this, but one day, try to visit us here.” He said that he would have loved to come only that there are too many activities in town and many of them are always on Sundays and he wouldn’t like to miss any of them.
I said okay. He then said, “Son of Man, do you have another bottle of beer there?” I said, “You are free to take.” He said, “I Love you and your people.” Is it funny? No! Forget about the funny side. I say, forget about the funny side.
Every mad man has a little sense. Are you getting what I am saying? Some are born mad. Situations make some mad. Fellow human beings make some mad.
Nobody is born wicked. Human beings make human beings wicked. When you press a man to the wall, he must bounce back. This is the reason why God gathered us here so that nobody will make the attempt of pressing his Brother or Sister to the wall so that we will begin to see our limits as human beings —for we have our limitations.
There are things we dare not think of, let alone practice because we are sons and daughters of God, representing His interest, protecting His interest.
What destroyed the Churches today is the character of their members. What rendered the name “Jesus” useless is the characters of those that mention it. What rendered the Bible useless is the character of those carrying the Bible.
If this place is good, the credit goes to you. It is a report that you are good. If this Faith is bad, you are bad for you are the Faith. You are this Place.
The same way it is in every home. No home is bad without the human beings there. No home is good without the human beings there.
In other words, it is in the power of our hands to collectively agree that our homes must be paradise on earth. It is also in the power of our hands to agree to make our homes hell on earth.
So, heaven and hell are in the power of man to create because heaven is an atmosphere, the same way, hell is also an atmosphere. Are you getting what I am saying? Peace is an atmosphere, so also, violence is an atmosphere.
On this note Brethren, I say, bye for now. Remain Blessed.

TEMPER AND PRIDE OBSTACLES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION

When a woman is born, a nation is born. At the same time, train a woman and you train a nation, because the first teacher that teaches a human being is the mother. For that reason, the development of the human race is entrusted into the hands of women.

The first training children receive starts from their mother and there is no adulthood without childhood. Too many people head towards failure by their inabilities to accept the challenges before them. Some have not even recognized these challenges at all.
If I am asked to develop a family or a nation, I will develop the individuals. When the human beings that make up a family or nation are developed, that family or nation is developed. Building of skyscrapers and gigantic structures does not develop the individual.
No man has ever been remembered for the structures or industries he built. Nnamdi Azikiwe of Anambra State of Nigeria, for instance, will forever be remembered, not for a structure or any industry he built, but for the development of the human individuals.
He developed their senses of reasoning; he widened their understanding and their horizon. Then they began to see life from a different perspective away from the primitive perspective, which ended at looking at life from the capitalist angle once a man has money that is all it takes to be a human being, but money is not all it takes to be a human being.
A man that grows in stature but does not develop mentally is not a human being. Seeing him physically, he is a human being in the sense that he can talk, eat and do some menial jobs, but he is not developed so as to reason intelligently.
He is not developed so as to recognize himself and the enormous challenges before him. In other words, he is not developed to recognize and face his responsibilities. An undeveloped man is a man without responsibilities.
The individual has to be developed so as to recognize, accept and face his responsibilities.

CIRCUMSTANCES REVEAL YOU

Circumstances do not make you what you are, but only reveal who you are, what stuff you are made up of, whether you are developed, underdeveloped or an imbecile.

Many people keep saying they are victims of circumstances. Whether a victim or a victor, it takes circumstances to reveal an individual. However, when circumstances reveal who you are, have you developed yourself to the extent of recognizing yourself through the circumstances?
For example, a man may think he has controlled his temper so much that he cannot make any mistake by responding to some impulses or reflexes then he suddenly finds himself in an” embittered situation.
Voices are raised, muscles are flexed, and before he realizes himself, he hits his opponent, only to turn round and begin to feel remorseful and surprised that such a thing still exists in him.
That situation is a circumstance that has revealed who he is and what he is made up of. That condition did not make him what he is but only revealed and exposed him.
I am developing individuals intending that the nation of God that is entrusted into my care will be strengthened all-round to be over-comers in all challenges, because the extent an individual can achieve victory, triumph and success in this life depends on the extent of his mental and spiritual development.
A mentally and spiritually re person is always a victim of circumstance.

IDENTIFY YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

A man who escapes a “fatal accident hardly remembers his wife or child in the same vehicle. Before he remembers them, he must have escaped. Sometimes these things are done by impulse or reflex action.

The person did not know when he acted. He did it unconsciously. That is why sometimes, someone escapes an inferno unconsciously, but immediately he regains his consciousness, he realizes he has someone trapped in there, he returns to save the person, and dies in the process.
He escapes unconsciously and dies consciously. Why? He is mentally and spiritually retarded. He has not developed himself to the point of valuing his life; therefore, he resigns his life.
He sees himself as a mere stakeholder and not a proprietor of his own life and so he died. He earned no credit because he has passed away. A dead man has no credit. An individual that is not well developed does not know the separation line between his responsibilities and other’s responsibilities.
The point being made here is this: develop yourself first. Be mentally alert then you will succeed so as to be in a better position to help others. It is the responsibility that awaits a human being that puts him into desperation. When there is no responsibility, there is no desperation.
Development of the individual is very essential, and there are things to avoid while we are trying to develop ourselves. He who never walks except when he sees other men’s tracks will never make any new discovery in life.
If you are treading on already established path, you can never make any way forward. For every dispensation, there must be a new revelation. What is contained herein is a revelation of your dispensation.
Your fathers never knew of it. People living in your day are blind to it. It is more than church message. Church message only hangs your destiny on your faith and ask you to fast and pray in Jesus name, then they collect the little you have from you. People are foolish.
Pastors and General Superintendents collect money from them but tell them to go and fast and pray to God to give them money. The overseers get money from the congregation but the congregation should look unto the Lord who will provide.
The Lord has never given any of the overseers’ money. They only brag about with money they collected from their congregations. I do not indulge in fooling the ears and hearts of people. What I give is far above mere church message and it is free.
God weighs a man’s heart but man weighs the outward appearance. The worth of a man is not in his height or stature. He might be a giant, but empty-headed and spiritually empty.
You can never know the power of God and the potentiality which God has entrusted to your car until you have attempted an impossible task; that which others have tried and failed.
Notice that the crowd never follows those who follow the crowd. The lesson to be learnt from that is this: are those you are dying for worth dying for? Those whose welfare deprives you of your basic needs; whose welfare you have placed first as your foremost responsibility to the neglect of your own immediate responsibility; are they worth dying for? Can they protect your interest or are they using you to achieve their goals?
A man who is not developed mentally and spiritually will always fall victim of dying for the welfare of those who are not interested in him. This is a hard statement.
Anything worth doing, any life worth living, is worth dying for. Sometimes, because of our mental underdevelopment, we can hardly notice when someone is using us to achieve his goal, especially when our relations are involved.
Your relations may exploit you to your own detriment to achieve their goals. They simply cash in on your stupidity and undeveloped mind. They capitalize on that and those are the very people that will sing your funeral oration.
Every true seed of God must always strive to develop himself by taking in the words of God which is able to raise his awareness and expand his vision so as to recognize and accept his personal responsibilities which are nobody else’s.
It takes a foolish man to accept another man’s responsibilities. The highest favour to show a man is to develop his mentality to recognize and face his own responsibilities but do not add his responsibilities to yours.
Anyone who recognizes his mistake but refuses to correct it, and rather continues in it, has made double mistake. Discovering your mistakes is a sign of victory, but the victory is not real until correction is
A mirror only shows the pimple on your face, but you will have to remove it yourself. The Lord will reveal your problems through His word and show you the way out but will not force it on you. It is expected of you to put it in practice so as to derive the rich benefits thereof.
Many people simply practice once and withdraw; but a wise man does not retreat even in the face of difficulties.
He advances whether the conditions are favourable or not; for he has the potentials to create favourable conditions around a situation, therefore, he does not have room for excuses for any shortcoming.

TEMPER AND PRIDE

Temper and pride are great obstacles to human development. Temper is haughtiness. A hot-tempered person is also full of pride.

Equally, a proud person, full of himself, is also hot-tempered. He feels he is a repository of all knowledge – “Mr Know-All” or “Mrs Know-All”.
There are certain situations that call for tolerance, especially when conflict arises. I have come to the realization that whosoever manifests tolerance in time of conflict soon develops it as a character.
Your wealth is your character. Your integrity is your character. Your character earns you respect and not your money or material possessions.
You may have a gigantic building or lots of money to fill the whole world but you have no respect and no integrity. Your character is useless because once character is lost, your individual is gone. So, character makes an individual.
Any man with temper and pride can never develop mentally and spiritually. He is full of excuses and excuse is first step to failure. Show me a man or woman whose mouth is full of excuses, and I will show you a failure. It is easier to say you do not believe in failure but as long as you believe in excuses you are a failure yourself.
The moment temper is high, understanding is snapped, and the voice of reasoning stops. Even the Almighty will descend, it is useless to the individual because his temper has risen above understanding, tolerance and reasoning, as a result, development stops. For that reason, the first step in developing one’s self lies in controlling the temper.
A hot-tempered human being can never admit his mistake until disaster is wrecked. Only then will temper calm down and give way to regret. Remember, temper and pride are big obstacles to human development.
When exchanging opinions or idea with someone and your temper is on the rise, you gain nothing from the other side; knowledge is impaired.
You are limited to that which you have. Nobody is a repository of all knowledge. At a point you think your knowledge is enough that is where somebody calls you a ‘self-deceived fool. Women should take particular note of this, I have earlier said: train a woman, and a nation is trained.
It is true that God bestowed the bile in every human. The essence of the bile is not to stimulate you into anger. It is a regulatory instrument in the body, which helps it to function very well.
With humility and quietness coupled with friendly attitude, opposing parties can listen to explanations and understand each other, but temper will not give room for any audience hence, it impairs communication.
It throws people apart even before the actual problem is identified. It mars and renders a good case useless. No one pays any attention to the case because your approach is very wrong. That is why a man or a woman who cannot control his or her temper is a beast or a trouble-shooter.
If we can bring our tempers under control, to check pride becomes very easy because temper and pride goes together.
A hot-tempered person finds it difficult to tender apology. “I am sorry” is too far from that person. Even when he says it, it is hypocritical. He does not mean it because there is pride in him.
Pride inhibits us from openly expressing our affairs to one another. It causes us to feel inferior if we should humble ourselves before each other. Let us adopt a humble attitude because without humility, we cannot express ourselves in truth to each other.
There is an adage that says pride goes before a fall. Show me the person that makes the greatest mistake in life, and I will show you a man or woman with hot temper filled with pride. These two go together.
Some people misconstrue pride to mean gorgeousness. Pride is a matter of the heart. The person may not have anything that life entails. He may not have money, material possessions, or education, but he lacks humility. Whoever lacks humility is proud. You cannot be humble and proud. The two can never go together.
A proud fellow feels that he is the highest of all in knowledge, outlook, and in everything. Hence, he does not admit mistakes nor accept corrections, and finds it difficult to say “I am sorry” from his heart. Puffed up with pride, he has an excuse for every reasonable suggestion offered by anyone else; his ideas must be the best.
Any man whose idea is always the best arrives at nothing; he achieves nothing because he does not see any other person’s view but his own. He has caged himself.
In a family, the man may have reasonable ideas to share but the antagonistic and hostile attitude of the wife sometimes, may force those precious ideas back into the man. He may become dumb only to avoid tempers rising.
In such situations, can that family move forward or be developed? In the same vein, the woman may have good ideas to share but the man is not tolerant. The man backs only his own ideas because he feels paying attention to his wife means belittling himself, or his wife leading him. For that reason, he develops that hostile attitude as a result of pride.
Any attempt to correct such a man will cause tempers to rise. In such a situation, if the wife is wise she will keep still. However, if she is foolish, she will follow the man after his foolishness.
The best answer to a foolish question is quietness, and the best reply to hot temper is quietness because the more you speak, the more the tempers rise, and the more foolish you sound. Your wisdom is foolishness at such times because your tempers are high.

CONCLUSION

As I bring this message on temper and pride to a close, I urge you to narrow it down to yourself.

Can temper and pride be traced in you? Remember, circumstances will not make you what you are but will only reveal what you are.

So, you have no excuse to give for whatever your present condition is. Nothing is responsible for it but yourself. You are your own problem.
A man that has temper and pride enjoys it simply because he wants them to be in him to suppress and intimidate his fellow man.
Temper and pride can never give room for apologies. They cause great hurts to our loved ones beyond measure, and never allow us to say we are sorry.
The purpose they serve is not useful, nor helps in human development; rather, it retards development, and causes self-conceitedness.
That goes to show these things work against the individual. What then should be the right attitude towards them? Stamp them out of your program. Delete and erase them completely from your heart or hard disc, for the heart of a man is the living computer. The information fed into the heart is what it takes. That is why those that wrote the Bible said the heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it?
To what extent are we ready to humble ourselves so that these messages will become useful to our lives? Is there any virtue in temper? Is there any virtue in pride?
These two things can shatter a family because it puts the couples at two extremes of life. They may still dine together and go to bed as man and woman, yet the bed can never effect reconciliation because temper and pride still exist in that family. It has to take the Almighty God to effect reconciliation.
Every home where these two problems exist can hardly experience real happiness, joy, mutual understanding, and effective communication.
A person filled with temper and pride hardly sees anything good in anyone else. He is the only holy and right person on earth; to him every other person is heading towards destruction. He cannot render any help, for a self-conceited man can never help anyone.
A man can easily see evil in someone else but hardly notices any in himself. Can you see that which is wrong in you? How do you address it?

Remain blessed in Him Eternally.

Self-control explained By Apostle peter odoemena The son of man

INTRODUCTION

The general overview of self-control might be misconstrued for self-discipline. These two are interrelated but they do not mean the same thing.

Self-control is one’s ability and will-power to control reflex impulses. By reflex impulses, I mean the unconscious and anxious moments that confronts man on a daily basis.
Perhaps few examples will help to explain better. An innocent man, whose reputation is suddenly attacked in a disgraceful, dehumanizing and humiliating manner, is prone to react in self-defence.
As a human being, something is bound to take place in him because he cannot afford to be disenchanted and disenfranchised at the same time. He has to react; otherwise, he might be considered a base human being.
He might be tempted unconsciously to react even though he never intended to do so, but the situation has taken him unawares. Unconsciously and anxiously, he may fire back in self-defense and quarrelling would ensue.
Equally, the site of free food and drinks is almost irresistible for a glutton. He hardly knows when he joins in merry-making even without being invited.
Again, a football fan or one who is fascinated about politics can easily be swept away with discussions bothering on such subjects.
Even though his opinion may not be sought, he finds it compelling to air his views with animated gestures and eloquent arguments to buttress his opinions.
His action was not pre-planned. It was an unconscious action, a reflex action. An individual’s ability to control these reflex impulses that confronts him on a daily basis is called self-control.
Discipline on the other hand has to do with thoughts that leads to action. Discipline is the ability to control and subdue all negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions etc. that leads to a negative action.
Self-control has nothing to do with thoughts. Premeditation is not involved. Often times we are told to control our appetite, desires, temper, etc because they are impulses within our control.
In summary, self-control means one’s will-power which can be exercised consciously and unconsciously in every situation. In other words, the individual should have a default attitude for every situation. Self-consciousness must be a watchword. You cannot afford to forget yourself.

YOU HAVE A REPUTATION TO PROTECT

There is always an unguided hour in the human life during which costly mistakes are made. Unguided utterances and behaviours can be depicted at such moments.

No vehicle drives itself neither can a car steering will itself. A driver is always in control of a vehicle and directs it from start to its destination. The essence of the car is to help the driver achieve his goal faster and more conveniently.
Therefore, the driver must remain conscious and anxious. Once consciousness is lost, the vehicle automatically begins to drive the driver and obviously the end is disaster and destruction.
A vehicle that is in control of the driver dictates the pace, direction and destination of the trip. The reverse is the case, if the driver is in control. This allegory symbolizes the individual and his impulses.
Understanding human nature is impossible without a good understanding of self-control, self-control is nothing but recognizing one’s self, personality, status and whose interest one represents.
Once the individual lacks the understanding of self-control, his inordinate impulse could damage his records and future.
One who represents an eminent government official at a function stands as the very official. Whatever views he expresses and all his actions at such functions are attributed directly to the distinguished personality he represents.
Recognizing this therefore, he must respect his personality, for it will be disastrous if he misbehaves or make unguided statements.
It is lack of understanding of self-control from this perspective that makes people drag their reputations in the mud in their homes, work places, etc. Since they fail to recognize who they are and whose interest they represent, they are prone to mar their confessions by returning fire for fire without control.
It is the nature of man to return fire for fire, because he always fears that if he does not retort, he will be considered a coward or a weakling.
It is recorded that Jesus said in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” However, the individual must first be at peace with himself before-being at peace with anyone else.
This does not mean we would not feel hurt by words, actions, or reactions from others. As human beings, we must feel the impact of the hash reactions, but it is the ability to control the rising temper, the impulse that pushes one into retribution or negative action that is called self-control.
Armed with this understanding, it becomes possible to live in peace with anyone, because man cannot live in isolation.
Interactions must exist whether we like it or not, and no man can live a life so good and pure to exempt him from hatred from his fellow man.
How then can we -imagine remaining unspotted in the midst of such people without self-control?
A man without self-control makes regrettable mistakes. It leads to very rash reactions, which causes regret. Conversely, one with self-control benefits a lot, because it places such individual on top of the world.
He subjects people to apologetic conditions though the apologies may not be tendered orally, yet the attitudes of his adversaries will reveal how sorry they are for their misbehaviours.
This is notable especially when it involves a senior and a junior. The former may be too proud to say, “I am sorry” but will indirectly apologise by being softer to signify his regret for his mistakes.
Jesus preached self-control in his own way when he said, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other. If anyone wants to sue you and take your undershirt, let him have your coat also. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. “

MASTER YOUR IMPULSES

Self-control makes you a master over your impulses. You are the commander of your actions and reactions.

Nothing happens around you that is a mistake. It happened because you allowed it, but not because it went out of your control. You may want to use provocation to prove a point, but avoid it because of the repercussions.
A master over his impulses does not lend credence to false accusations on his person by going about to canvass his defence.
Self-control teaches that the most effective way to render the accusations ineffective and disarm his opponent is by living a life that will cause people to disbelieve the evil reports about him.
For when they scrutinize and weigh him in their own balance and see no evidence to buttress the report, the opposing party has become humiliated and is subjected to an apologetic state.
He is sent into hiding in shame for he has lost both enemies and friends. The level of shame and ridicule he is subjected to will be by far greater than what he wanted to achieve. This is the power of self-control!
No matter how one defines his objectives and priorities, as long as he has no power over himself, to drive himself; his definition is useless.
It is like a man who is anxious to make the best of his life and has well-defined objectives. However, he squanders his earnings on whatever appeals, to his appetite. Will he ever accomplish his objectives? Has he really defined his objectives at all?
The power of decision is the power life, the power of achievements, or the power of success. That is why I maintain that no man has the right to take a decision until he has the will power to implement that decision even if it is contrary to his long-established lifestyle.
A man is known by his ability to take strong decisions that will affect his lifestyle and abide by them, com what may. A feeble-minded fellow should not take decisions at all because he cannot abide by his decision at all.
It is written in the Bible, “Lord who shall dwell in your tabernacle? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He that swears to his own hurt and does not change.”
Self-control is the origin of life. That is why any man without it is a miniature human being; one that operates below base levels of human behaviours or a beast.
Therefore, before delving into understanding human behaviour or human development, begin first to improve on your personality skills to establish the fact that you are a human being and not a miniature human being.
Convince all and sundry, including yourself, that you are not a beast. This is where life begins.
Recall your reactions to situations and certain circumstances you find yourself consciously and unconsciously before acquiring this knowledge, would you not agree that you have operated below base level of human behaviour?
With this new acquired knowledge, it now becomes possible to avoid some mistakes you made which led you into tendering apologies. Remember, when you tender apology, you become inferior. Developing self-control makes you avoid tendering apologies.
An individual with self-control reduces the level of enmities around him because he is the least offended when he is expected to get offended. Provocations that should evoke sharp reactions from him leave him unruffled and more placid.
Self-control demands recognizing who you are, whose interest you representing and recognizing the person you interact with, ascertain whether the person is above, below, or on equal level with you. Also recognize what the present situation calls for.
A provocative situation calls for peace; a joyous situation calls for support; a sorrowful condition calls for comfort; a dejected and rejected condition, calls for motivation etc.
The individual’s understanding of the situation determines his approach towards it. Remember that greatness is always hidden in simplicity.
The simplicity of this message makes it easy to overlook. It is a simple fact of life, which when considered from its outward appearance, is so simple anyone can think of imitating it, yet it is impossible to imitate.
A simple character is the most difficult thing to imitate. Any man can develop self-control only if he will, but this is made possible only when he sees the necessity, wisdom, and benefits therein.
There is wisdom in simplicity. A man that has self-control is always courageous. He is never amazed. Nothing takes him by surprise because he expects the best always, and he hopes and also prepares for the worst.
No situation he finds himself puts him off. He knows how to adapt in times of need and plenty. He is adaptable and blends to all situations.

DEVELOP YOUR POTENTIAL

Self-control plays a vital role in management of resources – it helps to harness money, time, and human labour or human power. Whatever potentials the individual possess, it cannot be effectively and efficiently managed without self-control.

The individual that lacks self-control places money first, but a man with self-control places human development first. For it is easier to acquire money than to develop a human being and without development of a human being acquisition of money is useless.
This is why people get money but missed it because the individual has not been developed and the first step in developing a human being is self-control.
This is in other for him to begin to realize the essence of his existence; to know whether he is placed here as a finality or as a possibility; to know whether the best of his capabilities have been discovered or there are opportunities for improvement; to begin to realize that the world is full of challenges, that as a human being, there are some unavoidable situations in life.
Failure is never an option until the individual begins to shift responsibilities to somebody else outside himself. The individual must consider himself solely responsible for his problems.
However, when he begins to shift responsibilities to somebody else, failure stares him in the face. That is why every excuse is always a part of the problem. You are your own sole-proprietor; therefore, your responsibility can never be placed on somebody outside yourself.
Whatever you want to be in life should be your responsibility. Do not place it on somebody outside yourself for that is where failure takes its origin.
A man who targets or makes projections based on someone outside himself has no estimation of life because his responsibility is placed outside himself and he cannot assess the capabilities of the person he has placed his responsibility upon.
Comparative analysis requires the individual to make reasonable comparison between merits and demerits of his capabilities. Here is an illustration to explain what I mean by comparative analysis.
A motor mechanic automatically is a driver, but a driver is not necessarily a mechanic. So, a man of such double prospects must consider which of his potentials and capabilities to develop.
Being a mechanic affords him the opportunity of owning a workshop, having apprentices, having steady customers, selling spare-parts, dealing in cars, and limits his chances of road accidents besides earning a decent living.
On the other hand, opting for driving increases his chances of road accident. At each time the vehicle is broken down, he is stranded, until the owner decides to put it back on the road. Worst still, he is only being used to build someone else.
Now by comparative analysis he discovers what profession has an edge over the other. For every human being to succeed in life he must have a period of capacitive building. This is a sort of insurance or capital asset. This is applicable in all forms of businesses and professions.
A medical doctor, for instance, needs to have enough equipment to help him face the challenges of every hospital. Then he needs to build confidence in lots and lots of patients through government hospitals so that once he moves away to establish on his own, he sweeps along a large chunk of patients with him. That is capacity building.
If he jumps from youth service to open a clinic and begins to wear stethoscope, he is building on sinking sand.
Self-control helps one to resist the urge or temptation to jump into the unknown without proper preparation; without comparative analysis.
You should compare and analyse to know where you are properly fitted; else you become jack of all trades and a master of none. Whatever cannot sustain your future is not worth doing.
Self-control will always help a man to address the reality. It moves man from the dreamy world with limited opportunities into the real world full of opportunities.
The end of one road marks the beginning of another for him. He does not panic nor believe in self-defeatism. He does not see the collapse of his business or means of livelihood as failure, rather, it creates opportunity for him to recognize and discover better ways ahead.
That is why I believe that man’s extremism is God’s opportunity; man’s weakness is God’s opportunity.
Do not write yourself off for that is very fatalistic, there are many potentials and capabilities in you which you may not know how to build up simply because you do not want to, or you have not recognized the necessity to do so.
The major reason people find it very difficult to build capacity is because they always place their responsibilities outside themselves.
They fix their eyes on someone who will help them even when they have not made any move. Help does not come until you have stepped out. How can you fold your arms and expect help? Helping you out of what?
Another reason is that they expect help in form of money only, because it affords them the opportunity to waste it since they did not labour to get it. It is foolishness to give money to a beast. What he needs is training. A beast needs to be tamed.
First, transform a beast from a miniature human being to a human being then equip him.
One who has not harnessed himself is like a woman that does not know the meaning of marriage before plunging into it. The first thing she requests after marriage is a house-help or a housemaid, which she automatically transfers her responsibility to, and the result is a filthy, unorganized home.
She lacks self-control, which should have led her into organizing herself, and then face the responsibility before her as a wife vested with the whole responsibility of the home as the sole proprietress of the family and not placing it on somebody else. She has no excuse for any short comings, because every excuse is a part of the problem.
When the damage is done, the blame is where it should be no matter how she tries to shift it to the housemaid. The conscience knows where the blame is.
The first step to becoming responsible lies in organizing one’s self; taking out time to have a comparative analysis of one’s capabilities.
Analyse and compare things you know you can achieve as a human being without depending on somebody else.
The moment you have your eyes on somebody who can help you when you fail, that is the instance fail without rising up.
Any man that is depending on his fellow man cannot achieve anything. He only learns hostility ignorantly because any time the help stops, he automatically becomes hostile; forgetting all the good things that have been for him in the past.
A man that depends on his belittles himself, destroys his future, damages his potentialities, and renders himself redundant.

CONCLUSION

A man without self-control is a man without ideology. He is only depending on the opinion of others because he is not the owner of himself, he does not own his conscience, he is not the owner of his character, he is not organized, and he is not harnessed.

In conclusion, I am stressing that self-control is such a powerful instrument at our disposal by which we can disarm our enemies and put them to a standstill, subjecting them to apologetic conditions.
It makes one superior over his fellows; a feat money cannot achieve. Nevertheless, if it is not developed, all circumstances will swallow up the individual like tidal waves.
How can one be a creator of circumstances if he cannot control himself, emotions, and impulses? The individual who has control over all these things can create an atmosphere around himself where he dwells alone.
Now that we have known the advantages of self-control, we are in a better position to covet it as a means of advancement. Remember, self-control is not an end in itself, but a means to an end.
We cannot jump it and achieve anything. Before we can speak on our skills of interactions, and understand our various skills, self-control must have been achieved.
If this is not done, no matter how one understands the various human behaviours, he is bound to react openly or within himself, and there can never be a reaction within without a change outside.
This is a simple message, but do not allow the simplicity to make it of non-effect. Imbibe and inculcate it in you.

Remain Blessed in Him Eternally.