A LESSON FROM THE OWL AND THE FOWL:

FIRST BIBLE LESSON: MATTHEW Chapter 5 verse 6

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall
be filled."
SECOND BIBLE LESSON: JAMES Chapter 1 verses 20 to 23
"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart
all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the eng
rafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and
not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word,
and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass."
GOLDEN TEXT: PHILIPIANS Chapter 2 verses 7 and 8
"Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory a
nd honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all thin
gs in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him,
he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things pu
t under him."
Brethren, if you want to keep company with me, you have to humble yourself as a
child. At any given time, place yourself at the level of a fool, then you will b
ecome wise. It is not my intention to belabour you, as the time is already far s
pent. So let our First Bible Lesson be re-examined.
FIRST BIBLE LESSON: MATTHEW Chapter 5 verse 6
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall
be filled."
HUMILITY, THE BASIS FOR ACCURATE WISDOM:
Any person who desires to be imbued with the wisdom of God, or to attain a highe
r status in his or her life, has to humble himself or herself completely. The Bi
ble text here says," blessed are those who thirst and hunger after righteousness
for they shall be filled." THIS IMPLIES SUCH PEOPLE MUST REMAIN ABSOLUTELY COMM
ITTED TO DIVINE DIRECTIVES, SO IN THE END THEY WILL ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL. They sho
uld not claim knowledge of anything since true and accurate knowledge and wisdom
belong to God, and if you are desirous of his wisdom, you must be completely su
bmissive.
Let it be known to you, it is not proper for you to cheer and clap your hands wh
en you see the Father coming out to the pulpit. Of what purpose or reason are yo
u clapping your hands? What do you think will be the benefit of such an act? Wha
t really is exciting, when you cannot put the word of God into practice? If you
were to strive for the recondite wisdom of God, you would bow in humility for Go
d to lead you to the accurate truth.
ABHOR EVIL COMMUNICATIONS:
Have you ever heard when Our Lord Jesus Christ engaged in worldly communications
with people? Are you not aware that after His teachings and performing His mira
cles of mercy, He usually left the people and went up to the mount? Do you know
the significance of this?
Most of our problems emanate from our worldly discussions. We focus our attentio
n on mundane things instead of surrendering our hearts unto God and allowing Him
 to lead us aright. Note, except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain t
hat build it and except the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen do so in va
in. If you have finally come to this realization that you are lacking in knowled
ge, power, and everything, why then do you resent the idea of surrendering yours
elf to Him, to be led rightly to the final goal and excellence?
The world is in a very pathetic situation. People claim to have accumulated know
ledge, but their actions prove otherwise. Take a cue from Our Lord Jesus Christ
when He was arrested and arraigned before the governor (Pilate). He was accused
and buffeted, but He did not answer anything. Others made uncomplimentary and fi
ctitious statements against Him, but He did not react to such an extent that Pil
ate was perplexed and he asked if Christ did not hear all the allegations agains
t him and if he had no mouth to say something. When he did not still respond, Pi
late asked Him, "Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power t
o crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest ha
ve no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above." (John Chap
ter 19 verses 10 and 11). Our Lord Jesus Christ realized, He had no knowledge an
d therefore requested for the knowledge from God. He went about quietly and nobo
dy heard his voice in the streets. He did not engage in arguments, He was quiet
at all times because He was waiting for the wisdom of God from above. Even at Hi
s tempting He knew, it was God alone who would avenge for Him.
ARE YOU JUSTIFIED?
It is pathetic to observe, how you behave in the world. Wherever I am and wherev
er I am not, you claim that you came to learn and acquire knowledge. Is that how
any person who needs knowledge should behave? Does your behaviour justify you a
s one who is taught at all. ANY PERSON WHO WANTS TO LEARN WITHOUT HUMILITY AND A
QUIET DISPOSITION IS SUCH THAT CAN FALL PREY TO DECEITS AND SWINDLERS. Let our
Second Lesson be read.
SECOND BIBLE LESSON: JAMES Chapter 1 verses 20 to 23
"For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart
all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the eng
rafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and
not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word,
and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass."
REFRAIN FROM ARGUEMENTS:
Brethren, if since we started embracing this fold, we were desirous to acquire T
HE TRUE WISDOM OF GOD, BY NOW WE WOULD HAVE REACHED A GREAT HEIGHT. If by the ti
me you came here you acknowledged yourself as a simpleton and allowed yourself t
o be taught by the Father, now we would have gone far. Anger and wrath are not w
orth the righteousness of God. Disputes, arguments, quarrels and fights cannot b
ring the salvation you are looking for. WE ARE THEREFORE ADVISED TO BE DOERS OF
THE WORD AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, BECAUSE IF WE ARE HEARERS ONLY, WE WILL BE DECEIV
ING OURSELVES. If we only hear the word of God and we do not practise same, we w
ill be like a person admiring himself in the mirror but not achieving anything t
here from. Therefore shun quarrelling, arguments, debates, and disputes; but rec
eive the word, the ignited word of God so that you may be led to the accurate kn
owledge of the truth.
All the knowledge and wisdom we are looking for derive from God. IF WE WERE TO C
OME TO HIM AS FOOLISH AND UNKNOWLEDGEABLE PERSONS, SITTING BEFORE HIM IN HUMILIT
Y, LISTENING TO HIM AND WANTING TO RECEIVE HIS WORDS IN HUMILITY, BY THIS TIME,
HE WOULD HAVE TAKEN us TO UNIMAGINABLE HEIGHTS.
CONCENTRATE ON THE WORD OF GOD:
In order that we may be able to practise the word of God, we should set aside ev
erything that bothers us, and concentrate on the word of God, which is capable o
f performing any act, teaching us and leading us to the accurate wisdom we are l
ooking for. Our Lord Jesus Christ had said, "I can of mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, b
ut the will of the Father which hath sent me." (John Chapter 5 verse 30).
When somebody speaks to you, listen to him as a dumb fellow, listen to him as a
simpleton, as somebody who knows nothing. If you are quiet while listening to hi
m, you will learn so much from what he says to you.
SILENCE IS REWARDING:
DO YOU KNOW WHAT GOOD YOU CAN DERIVE FROM KEEPING QUIET? Remember the story of t
he hawk and the owl? When the hawk went and caught the young owl and went back t
o report to God, with the intention of eating it as food, the hawk first went to
seek God's consent. But God asked if the mother owl made any statement. The haw
k said the mother owl did not say anything and I could not discern what was in t
he mother owl's mind. Then, God said, take the baby owl back to the mother owl i
mmediately. Go back and find another bird. It went forward to the world and saw
a native fowl, and so it caught one of its chicks. The mother fowl flared up and
nearly plugged off the hawk's eyes. The hawk ran away and told God, "The mother
fowl nearly killed me, and as I have managed to escape, I will never go back th
ere." But God said, "That is the food for you."
You should learn from these two instances of the mother owl and the mother fowl.
The owl did not react when its baby was picked but God ordered the hawk to quic
kly return the baby owl back to its mother. But to the howling fowl, God recomme
nded its chick as food for the hawk. This lesson tells you the relevance of humi
lity and submission to God, for vengeance or whatever that is necessary. Brethre
n let the Golden Text be read.
GOLDEN TEXT: PHILIPIANS Chapter 2 verses 7 and 8
"Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory a
nd honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all thin
gs in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him,
he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things pu
t under him."
SHUN PRIDE:
Brethren, have you heard what has been read to you? Why was Our Lord Jesus Chris
t elevated above all men in the world? AS HE WENT ABOUT IN THE WORLD, HIS VOICE
WAS NOT HEARD IN THE STREETS. HE DID NOT QUARREL, FIGHT, OR OFFEND ANY PERSON. I
T WAS FOR THIS REASON, HE WAS RAISED ABOVE ALL MEN AND HIS NAME EXALTED ABOVE AN
Y OTHER NAME IN THE WORLD. SO SHALL ANY PERSON WHO SUBMITS HIMSELF ABSOLUTELY BE
EXALTED AT THE END.
Experiment on this, even from this moment, emulate the example of humility from
Our Lord Jesus Christ; and your testimony begins immediately.
NO PERSON HAS EVER TURNED TO GOD AND RETURNED EMPTY-HANDED. IF YOU WILL ACCEPT T
O SHUN PRIDE, POMPOSITY, BE HUMBLE AND ATTENTIVE TO HIM, AND RECEIVE THE INGNITE
D WORD THEN, HE WILL USE YOU AS A VESSEL OF HIS MISSION.
THE USEFUL ADVICE:
It is surprising to see you record remarkable attendance here, but do not have a
 grasp of the gospel preached to you. What therefore have you benefited from com
ing in here? Our Lord Jesus Christ though in the form of God, humbled himself ev
en unto death on the cross. It was for this reason, He was raised up and His nam
e placed on a very high pedestal.
I do not want to be tedious unto you, but I want to give this piece of advice to
you. FROM NOW ON, NO MATTER WHAT SOMEBODY DOES TO YOU, EITHER TO MALIGN YOUR CH
ARACTER OR DEPRIVE YOU OF ANYTHING, KEEP QUIET JUST AS OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST DID
, LEAVE EVERYTHING TO GOD AND YOU WILL OVERCOME.
DO NOT SEEK ADVICE FROM ANY PERSON IRRESPECTIVE OF HIS STANDING. SINCE YOU ARE L
OOKING FOR THE WISDOM OF GOD, STAY QUIETLY AND LISTEN TO HIM, AND HE WILL LEAD Y
OU ON, AND ALL YOU HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU. SO BRETHREN, IT
IS SAID, A STROKE OF THE CANE IS SUFFICIENT TO THE WISE, THOSE WHO HAVE EARS, L
ET THEM HEAR. MAY GOD BLESS HIS HOLY WORDS. AMEN.
THANK YOU FATHER.