NEWS IN AFRICA 2008 EXCELLENCE MERIT AWARD WINNER

Chaplain Festus A. Ekenyere is a prolific writer. He has published many books, bi-monthly magazine, tracts and numerous sermons and Bible study outlines.               Go to our links to visit some of our other websites where you can download some of his publications free of charge.               We hope you will be blessed with the few articles we are able to display on this page.               God bless you forever!

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAWN "I KNOW BOTH HOW TO BE ABASED, AND I KNOW HOW TO ABOUND" CHRIST'S TIMELY INTERVENTION - PART ONE: THE TURN OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN COMMISERATING WITH THE AFFLICTED WAR AGAINS STIGMATIZATION OF EX-CONVICTS  CHRIST'S TIMELY INTERVENTION - PART TWO: THE MENDING OF A SHATTERED LIFE CHRIST'S TIMELY INTERVENTION - PART THREE: CONTACT WITH THE SUPERNATURAL

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAWN

I have a strong persuasion in my spirit that this year is a year of new beginnings. It is the beginning of a new dawn. No matter the level of your achievements in the past years, if you can queue in God's plans, you will know of a truth that you have not maximized your potentials yet. There are enough grounds to conquer and before you do, you must realize that there are also unavoidable conditions to meet. One of such is that you must come to the end of self and everything that glorifies self and face the reality of your personality else you cannot have a new beginning.

Let us take this edition's text from II Corinthians 5:14-17, it reads: "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all thins are become new."

For you to appreciate this message the Holy Spirit wants you to understand the analogy found in verses 14 and 15 and this will only be made possible if the love of Christ rules your heart or will be allowed to rule your heart. The fact that makind needs a substitute connot be overemphasized. The Scripture says "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23. Also "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. Jesus paid this price and if He died for you then, you were dead. Hope this is understood. And if you were dead and now alive, then you should not live unto yourself or for yourself but for Him who died for you and rose again. So the book of Galatians 2.20 is made clear - "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheles I live; yet not I, but christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

As a result of the crystal understanding of the above, we are not supposed to be known after the flesh. May be you do not undersand what this means. Let us see it from the light of Galatians 5:19-21 - "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drundenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." There will not be enough space for me to analyze these seventeen vices of the flesh in this edition, but please examine yourself in view of each one of them taking note of the phrase "and such like." How often do we find some if not all of these vices in our churches and even among the "wonderful, powerful, anointed" men of God who stand daily behind our pulpits. No wonder the servant of God said that the church universal has lost its focus and is pursuing vain glory. The truth is, no matter who you profess to be, God's standard can never be lowered because of you. The last part of that text says - "... that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.". Do not go too far, look around your congregation for "envying and hatred". I tell you that you can find them even on alters that is supposed to be God's altar of holiness. There is need for a new beginning!

Now is the beginning of a new dawn "if a man be in Christ," Have you ever come to that point of personal realization before? I mean where you must lay all at the foot of the cross of Calvary and take up a new nature recreated in Christ and Him alone? Remember Zacchaeus in the book of Luke chapter 19. In verse 8 the Bible says, "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold," I hope you know what that meant for Zacdhaeus. In case you do not, it means that he was going bankrupt and had made up his mind to start anew. Then Jesus said, "This day s salvation come to this house forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Verses 9 and 10.

You can start a new life today. "Old things are passed away." The evil of yesterday can be cleansed with the blood of Jesus today. There is enough room for you in the kingdom of God. "... Behold, all things are become new".Do away with that life of hypocrisy and cover ups. Stop that hide and seek game and face the year sincerely.

I tell you by the Spirit of the Lord that you will gain uncommon grounds, victories and divers kinds of breakthroughs will pursue and overtake you this year, in Jesus' name! This is your beginning of a new dawn. The Bible says, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." I hereby encourage you to hold steadfastly unto God and watch with amazement how He will fight you battles . In every area you failed in the past, move in again and experience what an outstanding victory. It is not magic; it is one of the results of self realization in Christ Jesus.

Once again I call you to self examination no matter who you are. II Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" If you have done that and the Hole Spirit is convincing you right now of the need to surrender your life and all to Jesus, please to not hesitate. Pray this prayer out of that conviction:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your only begotten Son to die in my stead. I surrender my life to you this day. I am sorry for all the works of the flesh which I have hitherto manifested. Forgive and cleanse me with the blook of the Lamb. Thank you for the opportunity to start a new life in Christ Jesus. Thank you for writing my name

in the Lamb's book of life. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Congratulations! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF YOUR NEW DAWN.

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"I KNOW BOTH HOW TO BE ABASED, AND I KNOW HOW TO ABOUND"

We are taking this edition’s text from the book of Philippians 4:11-13 and it reads –“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

The key words in this sermon are “abased” and “abound”. I will try to define these words within the frame or context of our text. By “abased”, the Apostle of FLEXIBILITY AND CONTENTMENT meant - want, lack, moment of need or what can be referred to in today’s terms as POVERTY. While by “abound” he meant - fully satisfied, comfortable by all standards, wealthy or lack of nothing - PROSPERITY. So by implication what he is saying here is - “I know both how to live in poverty and I know how to live in prosperity.” This is the reason why I always refer to Paul as the Apostle of Flexibility and Contentment.

We hardly talk about poverty, lack or want in our world today. We don’t even dare think about it in our churches yet, we see people around us living below poverty level. With all the prosperity messages and prayers, church people (Christians) are still poor. Why? Something must be wrong somewhere!
Excuse me, before you have a wrong impression of my person; Apostle Paul said in verse 11 of our text, “Not that I speak in respect of want:” This sermon is not a product of poverty. I am not poor by any standard and I do not speak in respect of poverty.

Why the war against corruption taking such a long time to conquer? Globally, this demon has eaten deep into the economy of the world than cancer. For those of you who think that it is a Nigerian phenomenon only, you are making a serious mistake. It is not! Corruption is a global affair! Otherwise why should nationals from the so-called developed world collaborate with Nigerians to perpetuate this act? Why should foreigners in Nigeria aid Nigerians to commit this evil? You see, Satan is the same all over the world. There is no “developing” world Satan and “developed” world Satan. If we must win any war against Satan and his emirates, we must be prepared to draw our strength from the principles of spiritual warfare the Holy Bible offers. Today, we are surveying two of such principles - Flexibility and Contentment.

The Scripture says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” - I Timothy 6:6 and verse 8 says, “Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.” As far as I am concerned, the issue of prosperity has been blown out of proportion. Some have missed the mark because they neglect or pay little attention to the Kingdom and its righteousness - see Matthew 6:33. As a result, prosperity becomes a do or die affair even when the good Lord has provided food and raiments. They lack contentment and so cannot be flexible at all. They cannot adjust to situations with joy unspeakable especially with lacks and wants.

On the other hand, I discovered also among Christians that majority of them feel comfortable with God or do I say, God feels comfortable with this group of Christians when they live in “poverty”. In other words, they KNOW how to be abased. Under this kind of condition, they have sweet fellowship with God always; they attend church services and are committed to His work; they fast and pray always and in fact, they abide always “under the shadow of the Almighty”. They do all these because they want something from God. The moment God answers their prayers; they become different human beings entirely. This group of people does not KNOW how to abound.

As they eventually get out of the “cage”, they bring forth their true picture. No more time for God and the things of God. They feel on top of the world and like the rich fool, they think and say, - “My soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” - Luke 12:19.

How often do we see such Christians disgrace their profession in prosperity? Do you doubt this? How many good and wonderful Christian politicians in this country who have made it to the top came out of their office still the same spiritual giant they were before their election. How many of them can stand before God and testify they were never corrupted and polluted while in office? You see, it is as dangerous to live in prosperity as it is to live in poverty.

I know of a very fine brother so many years ago in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, who was doing well in the Lord and in his vocation as well. As Abuja, the nation’s capital city began to develop; he went there for a greener pasture. God was merciful to him and opened great doors of opportunities for him. He made millions of naira and one of the first things he did in order to showcase his wealth was to divorce his wife and got married to a younger lady. Today I do not know whether that “brother” is still enjoying the Lord or do I say - whether God is still enjoying his fellowship. This is the kind of things we see today in Christendom. What a disgrace!

Apostle Paul says - “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. By this he explains the “know” of verse 12. He is not speaking of mere head knowledge rather the Apostle is talking of experiential knowledge. The things he went through in life, the hard experiences were the Apostles competent lecturers in the College of Flexibility and Contentment. He carefully and prayerfully went through the years of study and that is why he could confidently say, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound”:

Let me share with you FOUR things you must guide against in your days of prosperity so that God will be pleased with you -

1. GUIDE AGAINST THE DANGER OF FORGETTING GOD –
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
“ And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. {bondage: Heb. bondmen or, servants}”

Moses knew it was possible for the children of Israel to forget all the wilderness experience in their prosperity. He handed down this warning so that they would not forget God. Look at the way he puts it in Chapter 8:10-18 - “ When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

The easiest way to forget God in your days of prosperity is not to ever remember or think about your humble beginnings or how you got to where you are. Remember there is always a BEGINNING!

2. GUIDE AGAINST REBELLION
Deuteronomy 32:15-18
“But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.”

The “but” in this text implies that there was a time Jeshurun or Israel were not fat and mindful of the Rock of their salvation ... But now they have drunk the pure blood of the grape; they are fat, and kicking, they have grown thick so they lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation.

What about you oh mighty man of wealth? What of you that is trusting God for financial breakthrough? Your real personality has not yet been made manifest until we see you on top of the ladder. The earlier you understand the GRACE of God the better. Understand also that there is nothing you have that is not given to you. John the Baptizer says “A man can receive nothing except it be given to him from heaven.” - John 3 :27. I think this can help us to guide against the spirit of rebellion in the days of our prosperity.

3. GUIDE AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF DESTRUCTION
Proverbs 1:32
“For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”
The desire of God is for every child of His to “prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” - 3 John 2. It is not His wish that you be destroyed by prosperity. But most unfortunately today, I have seen fine Christians being utterly destroyed by wealth. They allowed the spirit of immorality to overtake them and before they knew it, they have sold their birth right for that which has no eternal value.

This kind of destructive spirit is not a respecter of any personality. In fact Ministers of God are most vulnerable. The four “Fs” that easily destroy ministers are often the by-product of prosperity. I have always reminded ministers not to forget easily the GRACE of God. Any moment you neglect His GRACE, you head for destruction. It does not matter how big or strong you think you are in the ministry. Always depend on the inner strength only Christ supplies.

4 GUIDE AGAINST DENIAL OF GOD
Proverbs 30:8,9
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”
You might question the possibility of a man (especially one who has tasted the grace of God before) denying God. This is possible both by deeds and even words.

The Scripture says, “... But money answered all things.” and. “... Money is a defense”. Ecclesiastes 10:19; 7:12
You might not understand the full meaning of these scriptures until you find yourself suddenly in the midst of money. If you are not careful to guide against the spirit of denying God, you will unwittingly deny Him because, you have whatsoever your soul longs for and the defense is there. You no longer ask Him for your daily bread nor deliverance from evil. After all your money can pay for all the securities you need. So, you see, it is a very simple thing to deny God.

Keep watch over these four dangers in the days of your prosperity and God will be pleased. The Psalmist says, “ Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.- Psalm 35:27

If you have learnt how to be abased, depend solely on the grace of God as He prospers you. You will also know how to abound. Remember, Paul says “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” In other words, the grace of God upon your life will sustain you, both in lack and in prosperity. Trust Him and do not be afraid to step into your world of prosperity. Learn to be flexible and contented with what the Lord has given to you. Thank Him for that and He will bless you more and more.

Are you already trapped by any of the four dangers above? Do you think you cannot make your way to His kingdom again? All hope is not lost friend. The Scripture says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” - Isaiah 1:18. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son is ever fresh and efficacious to cleanse any stubborn stain. Come to Jesus today and He will forgive you all your sins. Acknowledge His grace and He will sustain you.
If you would not mind, pray this prayer right now -

Heavenly Father,
I acknowledge my sins for they are before me. I have forsaken the ways of the Lord and today I realized myself and like the prodigal son, I am back. Wash me dear Lord in your blood and save me from destruction. Fill me with your Holy Spirit today as you write my name in the Lamb’s book of life.
Thank you Father for answering my prayer, in Jesus ‘ name. Amen!

From the Editor:
God is so gracious! I want to congratulate you for praying this prayer today. God is interested in you. We have some materials that will help your spiritual growth. Send to us your name and address and we will post them to you free of charge.
God bless you abundantly.

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COMMISERATING WITH THE AFFLICTED

Every living being knows that certainly there is an end to this world and the journey of life. But the question is how many people live as though there is an end? How will you be remembered when you are gone to the world beyond before the end of the world? Since nobody is an island, you come across different kinds of individuals daily; does your life add value to theirs? You may wonder why I ask these questions. It may interest you to know that a little help you render to the helpless is taken note of by eternity. I would like us to consider the helpless poor, the sick, the prisoner and in fact the less privileged amongst us and share our lives with them.
Let us take our text this month from Matthew 25:31 – 46.
     "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (KJV)
     Jesus began this discuss by laying emphasis on the fact that thee must of necessity be an end. There is going to be a time of reckoning and accountability; a time of eternal separation and reward. The Apostle Paul puts it this way – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” II Corinthians 5:10.
      The second coming of the Lord Jesus and the end of the world cannot be overemphasized. It is as certain as seasons and times. The Lord wants us to understand that “all nations” shall be gathered before Him. Yes! He will judge the world. Your skepticism cannot change this fact. The important thing you should think now is where you will be when He comes for the eternal separation – on His right hand side or on His left. The righteous would be set on His right while the unrighteous on His left.
Now let us consider His words of comfort to the righteous – “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” v.34
      His reasons – “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Notice in vv.37-40 that the righteous did not understand that eternity took note of what they were doing. The love of Christ, which was shed abroad in their hearts, compelled them to. The righteous felt that if not for the grace of God, they would have been the ones sick, hungry, thirsty, naked, without home and even in prison. You see, you did not make yourself what you are today. It is all by the GRACE OF GOD!
     For similar reasons the unrighteous were condemned – vv.41-46. the opportunity was there for them to utilize but they were so selfish and myopic that they never think of the hereafter. Are you like that? Bulk of the things that will lead people to hell are the things they fail to do. Principal among them is man’s failure to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviou. Thin about that now!
     Among the acts of benevolence rendered by the righteous was their visit to the prisons. He said, “I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” This is one area the Chaplains Fellowship of Nigeria Inc. focused. They believed in the rehabilitation and reformation programs going on in the Nigeria Prisons. I was privileged to lead the Maiduguri Command of the Fellowship to the prisons and we understood in practical terms why it is important to contribute our quota to reform the inmates and rehabilitate the prisons.
     One of the things that disturbed my mind as we walked around the prison yard was the age brackets of the inmates. Majority of them are very young viable individuals. I saw wonderful potentials wasting away. The first question that came to my mind was why are these people incarcerated and their liberty restricted within the four walls of the yard? A very simple answer of course – They committed one crime or the other; even though some of them may be innocent – they are victims of circumstance and cruelty. That is understandable, but let us look at the society wholistically especially the Nigerian state.
     I believe most of the crimes committed in this nation are “PROTESTANT” crimes. Nigeria is a wealthy nation, but the wealth circulates among the privileged few and their families. The poor, less privileged ones (who are the majority) know this and they want their own portion of the national cake. They do not know how to go about it lawfully so they pick up arms. There are worst criminals in this nation who do not pick up arms but puck up biros because they are privileged to occupy one position or the other.
     The larger society does not help matters anyway. The communities from which these few elites come from do not bother to know the source of their wealth before recognizing and conferring one chieftaincy title or the other on them. Their families and friends demand outrageous favours from them as soon as they get into office, and because we do not have respect for moral values any more, we force them to steal public funds and do things against public interest to satisfy us and their ego.
     Again an average Nigerian is too materialistic; as a result, he attracts so much insecurity and lives in perpetual fear. Why living in fear and torments if the majority of the citizenry are comfortable? No amount of security meetings will solve the problem of insecurity in this generation until we realize that we must be our brother’s keepers. A situation whereby, “I will serve you and my children must serve your children …” will never give room for security and crime free society.
     If you agree with me that there is something like “protestant” crime – crime borne out of anger of total neglect then, our policy makers should think twice and go back to the drawing board. Is it not annoying to see Nigerians starving in Nigeria? You may not understand because you are up there. You can afford to feed your family sumptuously. A country that cannot feed her citizens talk less of providing accommodation for them is heading for civil anarchy. Time shall come when 50% of our annual budget will be allocated to the provision of security and yet the rich will keep living in fears.
     Let us visit the prisoners; let us give them hope. Even those who are criminals by “nature” are willing to repent as we share the love of God with them. There is no need of terrorizing one another, no, it is uncalled for. Let us pull resources together and make the Nigeria prisons centers of learning such that whosoever that comes out of it will be a regenerated Nigerian – a Nigerian with a new heart. If we do that today, we will have a safer tomorrow and God will reward us in the world to come.
     Please Nigerians, especially those of you in authority and the few privileged ones, remember there is an end to every tunnel. The Day of Judgment is at hand and all our works will be made manifest. The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4: 28 “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” There is always the needy. In fact the Bible says – “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” – Deuteronomy 15:11. God does not expect you to give to the poor that which you stole from the public treasure. It means you stole from the poor and give a pinch to him. Oh! Who is fooling who? But unfortunately that is what is obtainable in our communities today. Imagine a government functionary executing a million naira communal project out of the billions he/she stole from the same public he/she is representing (or said to be representing). The poor ignorant public in return confers on him/her the highest title in the land. Again I ask who is fooling who? We will give account of our works one day.
     As John the Baptizer was about to baptize the people at Jordan River, he preached his finest message and said – “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” – Luke 3:9. The people heard him well, “every tree therefore which bringeth no forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” They were caught to the throat and sought for a way of escape. Look at verses 10 – 14, “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.”