FORGIVENESS IS THE KEY TO GODLINESS

First Bible Lesson: Luke Chapter 17 verse 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 Chapter 3 verse 13:
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel ag
ainst any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
Golden Text: Matthew Chapter 18 verse 35:
"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts f
orgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
Brethren, this is a singular and spectacular Gospel. It will not be much but bri
ef. It has nothing to say about fornication, stealing, anger or the 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, witc
hcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies, envying,
murder, drunkenness, revellings, and such like vices; but fail to forgive other
s that trespass against you, then you are lost. Brethren have you heard that?
That is why, I always tell you, I would wish, you were here always to have all t
he things that make man stumble revealed to you. Today I do not intend to be ted
ious unto you. Our topic of discussion will be forgiveness. If anyone offends yo
u 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 forgiv
e 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 that He imparted to His Di
sciples. He also practiced this teaching. As the last food He had with His disci
ples 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 everythin
g will be well. If you have someone in your mind, whom you have not forgiven, yo
u 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 F
OR THEM, AND FORGIVE THEM.
If someone calls you a thief or murderer, abuses you, steals from you, kills you
r 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 chara
cter 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 y
ou 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 hav
e been committed against you, must now be forgiven and forgotten. If someone has
waylaid you, or destroyed and assassinated your character, forgive him NOW. Thi
s 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 FORGIV
E NOT EVERYONE HIS BROTHER THEIR TRESPASSES." (Matthew Chapter 18 verse 35).
If you do not forgive others their trespasses and offenses against you, God like
wise will surely retain your own trespasses. You who claim, even if God were to
descend on earth, 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 sure
ly elude you. If you practice this Gospel, you will have eternal life, but if yo
u fail, damnation awaits you. If you do not forgive, you will be filled with dar
kness, and this situation will lead you to commit more hideous sins. If you lear
n to forgive, you will be filled with Light; and this Light will lead you to pra
ctice more righteousness. Darkness will never prevail over you. Your ways will b
e open. All ailments and tribulation will flee from you.
To forgive costs nothing. It is neither singing nor dancing. It is not fun eithe
r. Many people are fond of saying, they have no money, or sweet voice to sing; n
either can they speak English; nor have the means to go on missionary visits to
spread the Word of God. But I tell you Brethren, you do not need all those thing
s to please God; rather sit down where you are and practice this Gospel of forgi
veness. You will notice, 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, he is a child of perdition. If you observe this commandment alon
e, you have fulfilled all other laws, and your ways are opened; bearing in mind,
the Israelites wanted to observe the law and have salvation. But they failed, a
nd perished in the final analysis.
THE RELATIVE CHAIN-LINK:
You have heard, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one p
oint, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also,
Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a
transgressor of the law." (James Chapter 2 verses 10 and 11). Now if you practi
ced this Gospel you have covered all other commandments, thereby obtaining justi
fication by grace from God, with salvation as its aftermath. I am not saying, yo
u will be saved. I am saying, you are saved already. You are aware of the fact,
it should not have taken as much as 40 years to journey from Egypt to Canaan. Th
is is simply parabolic in its usage. If you practice this gospel, you will reali
ze, 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 thr
ough the short route to salvation.
If you assimilate this Gospel and practice same, you are saved for eternity. Bre
thren, this Gospel is harder to practice than the others. For someone to take yo
ur wife or husband and you are enjoined to forgive that person and forget the wh
ole thing seems very difficult; but if you practice it that is where your salvat
ion will be. Think of someone taking away all your money by deception, and the v
ery next minute, the 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 unjustified fa
lse witness against you, and yet you are asked to forgive him. It is also diffic
ult 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 etern
al life. If you start from today to practice this Gospel, it will be peace to yo
ur soul and your way also will be full of light. The day you vow, 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, those who initiated Hi
s crucifixion should be forgiven by His Father, God, because they never knew wha
t they had done. (Luke Chapter 23 verse 34). If Our Lord Jesus Christ had not ut
tered this statement, He would have perished. There would have been no way for O
ur Lord Jesus Christ to have been forgiven. What sin is greater than that commit
ted against Our Lord Jesus Christ? Yet He asked The Father to forgive His accuse
rs and enemies, because they did not know what they were doing!
Note, 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 ha
ve failed woefully! Romans Chapter 12 verse 19 says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is m
ine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
It is the duty of God to avenge even for the smallest rat, goat, trees, birds, a
nd the whole of 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 entir
e household, friends, and enemies, have the same Father. If anyone sins, he expo
ses 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, you should forgive anybody who tresp
asses against you, so He will equally forgive your trespasses against Him. If yo
u fail to keep this particular injunction, you have automatically become a victi
m of His judgement and vengeance. Consider this parable: "The kingdom of heaven
can be likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. An
d when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thou
sand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be s
old, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. Th
e servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience w
ith me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with co
mpassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went ou
t, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he
laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. A
nd his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patie
nce with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him in
to prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was
done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked serva
nt, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou
also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And h
is lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all t
hat was due unto him." (Matthew Chapter 18 verses 23 to 34).
What happened to this wicked servant will surely happen to anyone, who after ple
ading with God for the forgiveness of their sins and shortcomings, and is forgiv
en; but would refuse to forgive his fellow men, even for the smallest offence co
mmitted on him.
YOU CAN ATTRACT FORGIVENESS:
You recall when the disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Him to teach them h
ow to pray, as John the Baptist had done with his followers. The Lord taught the
m thus: "...And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors...!" (Matthew Ch
apter 6 verse 12). Forgiveness is the key! Many times people complain, God does
not answer their prayers; and now you have seen, this particular prayer has foun
d 'Me' and you out. The question is, have you forgiven those who have sinned aga
inst you? If you say the 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 wisd
om of man has been exposed: Mankind now asks, 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 for
give others their debt..." Brethren it is now clear where your problem hangs: Yo
u 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 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 t
o forgive that person, you have exposed yourself to the judgment of God. Unless
you forgive that person and make peace with him, forgetting all what has been do
ne 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 hear
t is pure and clean, and you can see God and fully communicate with Him. Love an
d forgive your neighbor, and speak the truth. Be free with everyone in everythin
g. As I do not intend to be tedious unto you, let us now have the First Bible Le
sson.
First Bible Lesson: Luke Chapter 17 verse 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 Go
d, which had previously moved God to destroy the human race, but for Our Lord Je
sus Christ, who came to atone for our sins: God forgave the world her sins. Sinc
e man has no iota of righteousness in him, nor can he forsake sins of his own ac
cord, 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 o
f the world, God forgave us because of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And He says, we mu
st follow suit. But, see a man whose wife has been coveted by another man. Despi
te all amount of pleas for mercy from different quarters, this man whose wife wa
s 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 accu
sed Joseph of attempting to rape her. And I ask you how will Portiphar find out
the truth? Did salvation not elude him because of his actions.
FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER:
Brethren, the entire world is filled with sins but because of Our Lord Jesus Chr
ist, God forgave the entire world. Then He gave an injunction the whole world mu
st learn of Him. When people complain, there is so much suffering in the world t
oday, though Our Lord has atoned for our sins; tell them, this is because the wo
rld has not learnt to forgive and forget.
Moses gave the well-known law, one must love only those who love them, and hate
those who hate them equally. Even now you proclaim, this is the era of Our Lord,
yet you repay evil for a good turn that has been done to you. Our Lord Jesus Ch
rist said in Luke Chapter 17 verses 3 and 4, "Take heed to yourselves: If thy br
other trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if h
e trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn agai
n to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Thus in this New Kingdom o
f God here on earth, we do not know what is called sin. Since Christ died once f
or 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 Lo
rd the second time, and have publicly put His Holy Name to shame. All those who
do not forgive others do not believe the Lord died for our sins, and such people
are woeful sinners. They have rejected life and are consumed with afflictions a
nd sufferings in multiform.
The Word of God says, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewe
d no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." (James Chapter 2 verse 13). I
f you are fond of forgiving others, you have escaped judgement and you are alrea
dy 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. A
nd I ask you, how do you expect to be forgiven for your own roguery? What sin ha
s someone committed against you, you have not committed against someone else? Wh
at do you lose in forgiving others so God will in turn forgive you?
Brethren, do you know, lack of spiritual understanding has exposed you to doom?
It is in your own interest to forgive others because your own sins are more grie
vous and heinous than those done against you. If someone says 'Woe unto you' wha
t has it got to do with you? Do you lose anything? What pain has it inflicted on
you, can you not forgive? Your are not a thief but someone stands up to swear,
you are one. Does his oath or allegations make you a thief? Why then can't you f
orgive 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 you ha
ve suffered. If you do not forgive your offender, both of you are bound to be lo
st!
If you claim to be a true Brotherhood, do not reckon sin on anyone. Rather, alwa
ys be ready to forgive and forget, and be free with everyone. Our brother Paul s
aid in Philippians Chapter 3 verse 13, "Brethren, I count not myself to have app
rehended: 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 a
nd 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 do
ing good, and practicing the injunctions of Our Lord Jesus Christ? It is your fa
ilure to forgive and forget.
FORGE AHEAD IN WELL-DOING:
That is why, Our Lord Jesus Christ told the young man, who asked His permission
to go and bid farewell to his family, which were in his house before he followed
Him: "...No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit fo
r the kingdom of God." (Luke Chapter 9 verse 62).
We are saved by grace. This grace is obtained by forgiving others. It is very si
mple. You realize 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
you of your sins and give you salvation. You do not lose anything in forgiving
others. What do you lose by forbearing one another? You rather gain pardon and e
xoneration from the judgment of God. What will you profit in taking someone to c
ourt? You and your offender will surely perish through this act. People are temp
ted to ask why Brotherhood of The Cross and Star members, no matter their numeri
cal strength, avoid strife and unrest. The reason is because they are under grac
e and no matter what their fellow members do to them, they always forgive and fo
rget.
GRACE ABOUNDS IN THE MIDST OF SINS:
Satan has vowed, 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 o
ne 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 t
o your face; but the minute he offends you, he falls on his knees to beg for for
giveness, whether he is a governor, president etc and if you forgive him, he wil
l acclaim you as a true Child of God. You may note, 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 because you h
ave 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 wor
k 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 sma
ll, but it is the most difficult word to practice. Because it seems, you claim p
erfection, I expose to you, none is perfect. Someone is elected to a position an
d instead of using his position to forgive and teach others forgiveness, he star
ts to show others they are less fortunate and cannot be as elevated as he is bec
ause 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 Chapter 3 verse 13:
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel ag
ainst any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
That is what you are called to come, observe and practice. Forbear and forgive o
ne another as Christ did forgive us. As Our Lord Jesus Christ washed the feet of
His disciples, and it cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord,
dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowes
t not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never
wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me
. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my h
ead. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, bu
t is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. (John Chapter 13 verses 6
to 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, lived with, or were adopted by, really maltreated you, and uptill no
w you bear them a grudge. Such attitude is death! What do you call witchcraft, j
uju, 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 t
he abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasur
e of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treas
ure bringeth forth evil things." (Matthew Chapter 12 verses 34 and 35). You can
see, if you forgive others, your heart will be pure and clean, and whatsoever yo
u speak will reflect good things and you are free. All your endeavors will be at
tended by peace and light. But if you do not forgive others, your heart is enkin
dled with smoky fire, and you are covered by darkness. This position will surely
expose you to other vices. It is said, we are under Grace and not Law. Grace is
forgiving others. It is said, those who wish to obtain justification through th
e law have been separated from Christ. Woe unto those who wish to obtain salvati
on through the observance of the law, but cannot completely observe the law. Bro
therhood members are under grace and when someone comes to Brotherhood of the Cr
oss 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 forgettin
g what has passed and thereafter, he should be baptized. Once this is done, he i
s filled with the Holy Spirit and there is no condemnation for him. You are witn
esses, if you come before Me five times a day, what I ask you is, whether you ha
rbor any malice or anger against anyone.
Immediately you are forgiven, you are free! If you then forgive others who wrong
ed 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 co
mplain, all your problems have come back and though you have gone to The Holy Fa
ther, yet your problems persist. And I ask you, have you forgiven those who wron
ged you? This is the secret of this kingdom.
If you owe someone 1000 naira and out of mercy he forgives you, because you cann
ot pay, it does not mean, you have paid your debt. Anytime he is not on good ter
ms with you, he has the right to demand his money. Don't you see the wisdom of G
od? 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, becaus
e you are trying to judge. Let us now have the golden text.
Golden Text: Matthew Chapter 18 verse 35:
"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts f
orgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
Those who have ears, let them hear. May God bless His Holy words. Amen.
THANK YOU FATHER.