First Bible Lesson: Luke 17:4:
"And if he trespass against thee seven times in a
day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt
forgive him."
Second Bible Lesson: Colossians 3:13:
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye."
Golden Text: Matthew 18:35:
"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also
unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their
trespasses."
Brethren, this is a singular and spectacular Gospel.
It will not be much but brief. It has nothing to say about fornication,
stealing, anger and other vices but is centered on forgiving one another.
If you do not give in to works of the flesh like adultery, fornication,
uncleanliness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulation, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like vices but fail to forgive others that trespass
against you, then you are lost. Brethren have you heard that?
That is why I always tell you that I would wish that
you were here always to have all the things that make man stumble revealed to
you. Today I do not intend to be tedious unto you. Our topic of discussion will
be forgiveness. If anyone offends you and asks for forgiveness, you must
forgive him. If one offends you seven times a day, and asks for forgiveness
seven times a day, you are duty-bound to forgive and forget. The Key to this
Kingdom of God is the word, Forgiveness. This was in the last of
the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ imparted to His Disciples. He also
practiced this teaching. As the last food He had with His disciples is called
the Last Supper, so is this Gospel called the Last Gospel of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
FORBEARANCE
Any time you are sick or exposed to any afflictions
that tends to take your life, the first thing to do is to forgive all those who
offended you, and everything will be well. If you have someone in your mind
whom you have not forgiven, you have caused death to yourself. Though you have
practiced all the other Gospels, if you fail to practice this one, salvation
will surely elude you.
I PLEAD WITH TEARS IN
MY EYES THAT WHATSOEVER ANYONE DOES TO YOU COUNT NO SINS FOR THEM, AND FORGIVE
THEM.
If someone calls you a thief or murderer, abuses you,
steals from you, kills your relation or a member of your family, do not count
sin on him. You must forgive and forget. If someone commits adultery with your
wife, assassinates your character and that of your wife, or worse still unlawfully
impregnates your daughter, burns down your home, or destroys your property
willfully or not, you are duty-bound to forgive and forget. If someone lies
against you or in fact deals with you nonchalantly, commits any act or manner
of sin or atrocity against you, it is your responsibility to forgive him and
forget what he has done against you.
FORGIVENESS IS THE SHORT CUT TO THIS KINGDOM
It is neither long nor wide. Pass through this door,
and you will surely inherit this kingdom.
This Gospel is short but tedious. Since you were born,
all the offenses that have been committed against you, must now be forgiven and
forgotten. If someone has waylaid you, or destroyed and assassinated your
character, forgive him NOW. This Gospel is founded on Truth. It is
salvation to those who believe and practice it, but utter damnation for those
who ignore it. The route to heaven is open to the entire world if they
forgive one another.
THE PROVISO
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave this injunction to
humanity:
" SO LIKEWISE
SHALL MY HEAVENLY FATHER DO UNTO YOU, IF YE FROM YOUR HEARTS FORGIVE NOT
EVERYONE HIS BROTHER THEIR TRESPASSES "
If you do not forgive others their trespasses and
offenses against you, God likewise will surely retain your own trespasses. You
who claim that even if God were to descend on earth, that you will never
forgive, tell Me, do you now see your problem? If you are so righteous, and
practice all the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but fail to bow to His
Gospel being revealed to you today, salvation will surely elude you. If you
practice this Gospel you will have eternal life, but if you fail, damnation
awaits you. If you do not forgive, you will be filled with darkness, and this
situation will lead you to commit more hideous sins. If you learn to forgive, you
will be filled with Light; and this Light will lead you to practice more
righteousness. Darkness will never prevail over you. Your ways will be open.
All ailments and tribulation will flee from you.
To forgive costs nothing. It is neither singing nor
dancing. It is not fun either. Many people are fond of saying that they have no
money, or sweet voice to sing; neither can they speak English; nor have the
means to go on missionary visits to spread the word of God. But I tell you
Brethren that you do not need all those to please God; rather sit down where
you are and practice this Gospel of forgiveness. You will notice that forgiveness
is not among the Ten Commandments. It is a distinct and new law which
is more powerful than all other commandments.
If one professes to be a Christian, and this knowledge
of forgiveness eludes him, let him know that he is a child of perdition. If you
observe this commandment alone, you have fulfilled all other laws, and your
ways are opened; bearing in mind that the Israelites wanted to observe the law
and have salvation. But they failed, and perished in the final analysis.
THE RELATIVE CHAIN-LINK
You have heard that, "For whosoever shall keep
the law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do
not commit adultery, also said do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet
if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." (James
2:10-11). Now if you practiced this Gospel you have covered all other
commandments thereby obtaining justification by grace from God, with salvation
as its aftermath. I am not saying that you will be saved. I am saying that you
are saved already. You are aware of the fact that it should not have taken as
much as 40 years to journey from Egypt to Canaan. This is simply parabolic in
its usage. If you practice this gospel, you will realize that the sins against
the Ten Commandments constitute the long route to salvation; whereas if you
forgive one another, God will forgive you and you will pass through the short
route to salvation.
If you assimilate this Gospel and practice the same,
you are saved for eternity. Brethren, this Gospel is harder to practice than
the others. For someone to take your wife or husband and you are enjoined to
forgive that person and forget the whole thing seems very difficult; but if you
practice it that is where your salvation will be. Think of someone taking away
all your money by deception, and the very next minute that person passes you on
the road with all amount of pride and arrogance, yet you are told to forgive
that person. It is not an easy task.
Again, consider someone who goes to bear a totally
unprovoked and justified false witness against you and yet you are asked to
forgive him. It is also difficult to forgive someone who has robbed you blind.
Do not think about whatever is done against you because forgiving your enemy is
the way to salvation and eternal life. If you start from today to practice this
Gospel, it will be peace to your soul and your way also will be full of light.
The day you vow that you will never forgive your enemy, that is the day you
have paved the way for your destruction.
THE GREAT REWARD IN PRACTICING THIS GOSPEL
Brethren, you can now see why Our Lord Jesus Christ
said that those who initiated His crucifixion should be forgiven by His Father,
God, because they never knew what they had done. If Our Lord Jesus Christ had
not uttered this statement, He would have perished. There would have been no
way Our Lord Jesus Christ would have been forgiven. What sin is greater than that
committed against Our Lord Jesus Christ? Yet He asked The Father to forgive His
accusers and enemies, because they did not know what they were doing!
Note that the people who crucified Our Lord Jesus
Christ did not come forward to beg for forgiveness before He said those words.
Whoever you are; whatever position you have in this life or before God; if you
fail to forgive your enemies, you have failed woefully!. Romans 12:19
says "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine: I will repay, says The Lord."
It is the duty of God to avenge even for the smallest
rat, goat, trees, birds, and the whole humanity, if they adhere to His
injunctions. Whatever you do to someone else, God will do the same, in the
exact measure to you.
ONLY THE FATHER CAN FORGIVE AND ADMONISH
God is your Father as well as the Father of the other
person. You and your entire household, friends, and enemies, have the same
Father. If anyone sins, he exposes himself to the vengeance of God. God does
not have a special love for anyone whereby He gives concessions. No!. He is not
a respecter of persons. He judges in righteousness. That is why He has said
that you should forgive anybody who trespasses against you, so that He will
equally forgive your trespasses against Him. If you fail to keep this
particular injunction, you have automatically become a victim of His judgement
and vengeance. Consider this parable: The Kingdom of God will be likened unto a
certain king who would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to
reckon, one was brought unto him, who owed him ten thousand talents. But
forasmuch as he had not paid, the king commanded him to be sold and his wife,
and children, and all that he had and payment to be made. The servant therefore
fell down and worshipped the king, saying, Lord have patience with me and I
will pay thee all. The Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and he
forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow
servants who owed him a hundred pence; and he laid hands on him and took him by
the throat, saying, pay me that thou owest me. And his fellow servant fell down
at his feet and besought him saying, have patience with me and I will pay thee
all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay
the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done they were very sorry,
and came and told their lord what was done. Then his Lord, after that he had
called him, said unto him: O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt
because thou desirest Me: should not thou therefore have had compassion on they
fellow servant even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was filled with wrath,
and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto
him. (Matthew 18:23-34).
What happened to this wicked servant will surely
happen to anyone who after pleading with God for the forgiveness of their sins
and shortcomings, and he is forgiven but would refuse to forgive his fellow men
even for the smallest offence committed on him.
YOU CAN ATTRACT FORGIVENESS
You recall when the disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ
asked Him to teach them how to pray, as John the Baptist had done with his
followers. The Lord taught them thus: "...And forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors..!" (Matthew 6:12). Forgiveness is the key!
Many times people complain that God does not answer their prayers; and now you
have seen that this particular prayer has found 'ME' and you out. The question
is, have you forgiven those who have sinned against you? If you say Our Lord's
prayer, given above, and fail to comply with it and fail to forgive others you
have committed a double sin!.
Due to the adulterated nature of life in this world,
the crafty and shallow wisdom of man had been exposed: Mankind now ask God to
teach them HOW to forgive, relegating the prayer of Our Lord above to the
background. I ask, how many times are they going to be taught? Our Lord said,
"And forgive us our debts as we forgive others their debt...".
Brethren it is now clear where your problem hangs: You can fast and pray till
your life is almost spent. If you do not forgive those who sin against you, you
are lost.
YOU MAY GIVE YOUR BODY TO BE BURNT BY FIRE, SHARE ALL
YOUR RICHES WITH THE POOR, CONDUCT FEASTS EVERYDAY, BUT IF YOU FAIL TO FORGIVE
YOUR ENEMIES, ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE IS IN VAIN.
A lot of you sitting here have got someone in your
minds you now want to forgive and any time you come across these persons, you
sigh. As you have decided not to forgive that person, you have exposed yourself
to the judgement of God. Unless you forgive that person and make peace with
him, forgetting all what has been done to you, your way to salvation is still
far-fetched. If you do not reckon sins against your neighbor, none will dare
reckon sins on you. There would be no law courts, prison or police. If you do
not reckon sins on your neighbor, your heart is pure and clean, and you can see
God and fully communicate with Him. Love and forgive your neighbor and speak
the truth. Be free with everyone in everything. As I do not intend to be
tedious unto you, let us now have the First Bible Lesson.
FIRST BIBLE LESSON: LUKE 17:4
"AND IF HE TRESPASS AGAINST THEE SEVEN TIMES IN A
DAY AND SEVEN TIMES IN A DAY TURN AGAIN TO THEE, SAYING, I REPENT; THOU SHALT
FORGIVE HIM."
Brethren have you heard that? Upon all the sins
committed by humanity against God, which had previously moved God to destroy
the human race, but for Our Lord Jesus Christ who came to atone for our sins:
God forgave the world her sins. Since man has no iota of righteousness in him,
nor can he forsake sins of his own accord, God decided to forgive man out of
His tender mercies.
The parable given you above is for the people of the
world. Upon all the sins of the world, God forgave us because of Our Lord Jesus
Christ. And He says we must follow suit. But, see a man whose wife has been
coveted by another man. Despite all amount of pleas for mercy from different
quarters, this man whose wife was coveted by another man stiff-neckedly decides
to take the life of the wanton man. See the way Portiphar quickly imprisoned
Joseph when his wife falsely accused Joseph of attempting to rape her. And I
ask you how will Portiphar find out the truth? Did salvation not elude him
because of 3his actions.
FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER
Brethren, the entire world is filled with sins but
because of Our Lord Jesus Christ, God forgave the entire world. Then He gave an
injunction that the whole world must learn of Him. When people complain that
there is so much suffering in the world today, though Our Lord has atoned for
our sins, tell them that this is because the world has not learnt to forgive
and forget.
Moses gave the well-known law, that one must love only
those who love them and hate those who hate them equally. Even now you proclaim
that this is the era of Our Lord, yet you repay evil for a good turn that has
been done to you. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 17:3-4 that
"Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke
him; and if he repent forgive him. And if he trespasses against thee seven
times in a day, and seven times in a day turns to thee, saying, I repent, thou
shalt forgive him." Thus in this New Kingdom of God here on earth, we do
not know what is called sin. Since Christ died once for our sins the life He
leads now has nothing to do with sin. Sin therefore has no power over us. All
those who now impute sins on others have crucified Our Lord the second time and
have publicly put His Holy Name to shame. All those who do not forgive others
do not believe that the Lord died for our sins, and such people are woeful
sinners. They have rejected life and are consumed with afflictions, and
sufferings in multiform.
The Word of God says, 'For He shall have judgement
without mercy, that hath showed no mercy, and mercy rejoiceth against
judgement...'(James 2:13). If you are fond of forgiving others you have
escaped judgement and you are already saved. Where is your salvation, you who
reckon sins against others? You are a rogue, but when another rogue breaks into
your house you fail to forgive him. And I ask you, how do you expect to be
forgiven for your own roguery? What sin has someone committed against you that
you have not committed against someone else? What do you lose in forgiving
others so that God will in turn forgive you?
Brethren, do you know that lack of spiritual
understanding has exposed you to doom? It is in your own interest to forgive
others because your own sins are more grievous and heinous than those done
against you. If someone says 'Woe unto you' what has it got to do with you? Do
you lose anything? What pain has it inflicted on you that you cannot forgive?
Your are not a thief but someone stands up to swear that you are one. Does his
oath or allegations make you a thief but someone stands up to swear that you
are one. does his oath or allegations make you a thief? Why then can't you
forgive him? You have not committed adultery with someone's wife or husband,
but your accuser stands up to condemn you vehemently. Is he God who knows
everything? Your only way to salvation is forgiving one another regardless of
what your have suffered. If you do not forgive your offender, both of you are
bound to be lost!
If you claim to be a true Brotherhood, do not reckon
sin for anyone. Rather always be ready to forgive and forget and be free with
everyone. Our brother, Paul said in Philippians 3:13, that
"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before." What is the actual meaning of forgetting those
things which are behind? It is forgetting all the offenses and sins committed
against you by others. Immediately this is done, your ways are open and you
continue then in well-doing. Do you know what hinders you from doing good and
practicing the injunctions of Our Lord Jesus Christ? It is your failure to
forgive and forget.
FORGE AHEAD IN WELL-DOING
That is why Our Lord told that young man who asked His
permission to go and bid farewell to them which were in his house before he
followed Him, "And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62).
We are saved by grace. This grace is obtained by
forgiving others. It is very simple. You realize that you are a sinner and that
your neighbor is also a sinner like you. If both of you forgive one another
wholeheartedly, God will surely forgive your sins and give you salvation. You
do not lose anything in forgiving others. What do you lose by forebearing one
another? You rather gain pardon and exoneration from the judgement of God. What
will you profit in taking someone to court? You and your offender will surely
perish through this act. People are tempted to ask why Brotherhood of The Cross
and Star members, no matter their numerical strength, avoid strife and unrest.
The reason is because they are under grace and no matter what their fellow
members do to them they always forgive and forget.
GRACE ABOUNDS IN THE MIDST OF SINS
Satan has vowed that he will not allow anybody to
serve God: this is the reason why he has infested the entire world with
retaliation. God seeing this, introduced a short-cut for man to enter into this
Kingdom and this short-cut is forgiving one another. If you uphold this
injunction, you are saved and nothing shall pluck you from the hands of God. If
someone has not offended you, he is always bold to your face; but the minute he
offends you, he falls on his knees to beg for forgiveness, whether he is a
governor, president etc. And if you forgive him, he will acclaim you as a true
child of God. You may note that hitherto this man never used to greet you. This
is why offence has to come for grace to abound.
If you give a person one million pounds, he will show
appreciation that you have given him money, but he is more appreciative when he
steals your money, and you refuse to sue him to court or disclose it to anyone.
There is no greater work of God than forgiving one another. This is why you are
advised to have love because love goes with mercy and forgiveness. The word
forgiveness sounds so small but it is the most difficult word to practice.
Because it seems that you claim perfection, I expose to you that none is
perfect. Someone is elected to a position and instead of using his position to
forgive and teach others forgiveness, he starts to show others that they are
less fortunate and cannot be elevated as he was because they are sinners. And I
ask you, was he elected because of his good works? Let us now have the 2nd
Bible Lesson.
SECOND BIBLE LESSON: COLOSSIANS 3:13
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man has a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye."
That is what you are called to come and observe and
practice. Forbear and forgive one another as Christ did forgive us. As Our Lord
Jesus Christ washed the feet of His disciples, and it came to the turn of Peter,.."and
Peter said unto Him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto
him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter said
unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him and said if I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my
feet only but my hands and head. Jesus saith unto him, he that is washed needed
not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not
all. (John 13:6-10).
OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART
Many of you are exposed to what evil people have done
to your families when you were very young and now grown up, you swear to get
back at them. Maybe someone you served or lived with or was adopted by really
maltreated you and uptill now you bear them a grudge. Such attitude is death!
What do you call witchcraft, juju, mermaid, and satan? It is an act of not
forgiving one another. It is said, "O generation of vipers, how can ye
being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good
things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth
evil things." (Matthew 12: 34-35). You can see that if you forgive
others, your heart will be pure and clean and whatsoever you speak will reflect
good things and you are free. All your endeavors will be attended by peace and
light. But if you do not forgive others your heart is enkindled with smoky fire
and you are covered by darkness. This position will surely expose you to other
vices. It is said that we are under Grace and not Law. Grace is forgiving
others. It is said that those who wish to obtain justification through law,
have been separated from Christ. Woe unto those who wish to obtain salvation
through observance of the Law, but cannot completely observe the law.
Brotherhood members are under grace and when someone comes to Brotherhood of
the Cross and Star, he is asked whether he bears someone grudge or malice in his
heart and if so, he should remove such things from his heart, forgiving and
forgetting what has passed and thereafter, he should be baptized. Once this is
done he is filled with the Holy Spirit and there is no condemnation for him.
You are witnesses that if you come before Me five times a day, what I ask you
is whether you harbor any malice or anger against anyone.
Immediately you are forgiven, you are free! If you
then forgive others who wronged you, your problems are gone; but if you go back
to renew your previous grudge, your problems will automatically come back in
full force. Then you start to complain that all your problems have come back
and though you have gone to The Holy Father, yet your problems persist. And I
ask you, have you forgiven those who wronged you? This is the secret of this
kingdom.
If you owe someone N1000 and out of mercy he forgives
you because you cannot pay, it does not mean that you have paid your debt.
Anytime he is not on good terms with you he has the right to demand his money.
Don't you see the wisdom of God? He has asked you to forgive, and you will be
forgiven. If you reckon sin on anyone, He will also uphold your own sins. Do
not come here as a good man devoid of sin and start to observe the faults of
others, as if you are perfect, because you are trying to judge. Let us now have
the golden text.
GOLDEN TEXT - MATTHEW 18:35
"So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also
unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their
trespasses."
Those who have ears, let them hear. May God bless His
Holy words.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment