And Okay, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Yes, this song is called We Are one in the Spirit and it’s an an old old at number but eh who sang this one? Why are they called? Oh, but this called ehm,
Menorah, flaming, that’s the, the singer Ah, yes, ah, with acoustic guitar. Um, we are word in the spirit. at least that’s, that’s, that’s eh, that’s what is supposed to be, ehm, that is our hope. And eventually, as the Lord God lives,
And ehm as he has ehm planned it for the future, for those who are counted worthy to inherit eternal life, who are accounted worthy to ah, inherit the world to come. Yes, that ultimate ideal, that ultimate plan our creator will be established
Among the renewed humanity while we wait for that the consummation of all things and the perfection of all things we can only pray and do our best to enact and practice the brotherhood among fellow humans Well, My name is eh Reverend Cyril
Okere and eh this is the Sentinel, you are welcome. You are welcome God bless you. Whatever time it is with you, wherever you are. God bless you. Okay. before we break the or that we brush the the topic I will
Crave a indulgence as many of you as you are watching live. Feel free to make comment. Of course to like and to share. the Sentinel will not be what it’s meant to be without you. Your contribution, your participation, your engagement.
Alright. So you’re welcome once again to the Sentinel which is the media arm of City Gate Ministries International. Today or tonight, this evening, I am I want to reflect and eh discuss the topic call it the dilemma of false brotherhood
Oh, sorry. Is that the time? That’s achieved that oh, okay, it’s not like that. But I actually I called yes. Okay, what is it called? Is the the dilemma of Broken Fraternity. Yes. Yeah, I think the the dilemma of First
Brotherhood was my first the working title. Yeah, when I was kind of thinking about it deliberate on it ah myself so but the official title is the dilemma of ah Broken Fraternity We are basically saying the same thing. Right. Let me ask
You what inspired this talk or this topic. I is eh my anguish my personal anguish and eh perturbation ehm over what I see in the society, in a world at large, in the, you know, where we are. Um, you know,
Where wherever you are, where I am. Um, of course, we live in a global village. These days, made easy even to access information wherever things are happening. From wherever you are. And this is, yes, medicine by the, the, the power of technology.
So, we see what’s happening in the world, and, and I’m, and I’m puzzled. ah particularly in recent weeks ehm I found myself almost the depressed mood. I’m not depressed. but almost. Thank God for the the other instances of of mercy, other
Instances of of eh and ehm that that kind of bored me up. But when I think about what humans have become to each other. I’m tempted to be more cynical. Increasingly cynical. About the goodness in humans. Okay. I see betrayal, I see mature
Cannibalism, I see you know well the bible says nation shall arise rise against nation people against people you know I I I see you know brothers and sisters at Tigers draw I see friends betray each other I see murder, killings. death at the
Hands spouses About pastor somebody told me about ehm a a group group of a number of brothers, I don’t know how many two also They were hacking their brother Same mother, same father. to death. They were killing the product. No.
Subjecting this the their brother to slow death in the very before of their mother and their mother was approving but she did not raise alarm so hear these stories you hear stories of ethnic cleansing. people you consider fellow citizens
You know you buy and sell In the same market, if you attend the same school, same hospitals, same churches, same mosques, same places of worship. And for whatever usually politics. Also kind of maybe land struggle. Wibbling over land. and this
Ethnic group or people from this community rise against those from the other community and bloodshed and massacre and they leave behind literally of dead bodies and broken bodies. and when I hear this and I ponder them, it it’s like what
Has happened to humanity am I crazy? In asking myself what has become, what is happening? Or am I too idealistic? I know we are sinners, I know that we are not perfect, I know that we get angry, I know that we make
Stupid decisions but is becoming you but life is becoming rife Is becoming ramp so rampant it is unbelievable. and I don’t I don’t want to disturb anybody with with with things I’ve seen and heard and read I’m sure you’ve seen some of yourself
And a big wonder. Now particularly when this happens among the people you that call themselves brothers, friends, sisters. betrayal to death people taking advantage of each other. people praying on each other. financially and otherwise You see,
And and and at the same time you know we we in our world today everybody you know call each other we still have people calling on brother or bro or bro you know ah sister or sis you know without this tags and
And and the prefixes. on the basis of ehm ah you know I I say maybe gender yes affiliation we have ladies you know he’s called sister ehm and then they rise up against ah maybe eh abusive men for example and rightly so yeah
They rise up don’t say no to in defense of of of ehm they are like and rightly so But then still among ladies one or some will rise against other you know ladies of a kind either in snatch ing their husbands or no or
Harming their family, their children destroying their homes betraying degrading the fellow women now you begin to wonder, okay, why, where, where is that sovereignty? That sisterhood. That that, that sisterhood, they were talking about and chatting about is an among you
Know men I remember when George Floyd ehm was killed black groups arose and in the you know in protest not just in America and rightly so that this is one too many, too many killings. Violence in police brutality against blacks. And they are fantastic.
And I’m going to say kudos to them and those who supported them. From outside the race. But then what what’s happening in the black community? black youth, the stabbing each other, killing each other, you know shooting each other, stealing from each other,
Hurting each other and you begin to wonder, okay? So why was all that protest about? Why? Is it because another person did it to one of your your your life? Is that the reason? So so is it is it better that you are the
One that killed your brother than another person? Being the one that killed your brother. You see to me, I prefer a stranger. Now, I don’t like anybody to hurt me. I don’t like anybody to take advantage of me. I don’t like anybody to
Betray me. But I don’t want anybody, anybody to you know, degrade or try to diminish me. But if that’s going to happen, and you give me a choice between two options. I think it will hurt me more if somebody with whom I share some
Affinity. If they are the ones that are doing it. It is more painful I mean I I experience some level of racism in this in this country, I did. And it’s not, it’s not funny. But the kind of discrimination I experienced in my country
When I was there kind of discrimination deprivation and denial on the basis of where I come from. That I found more painful. that I find more confusing. so so somebody that says my brother, my sister, either on the basis of belong
To the same nation, we belong to the same ethnic group, we belong to the same race, we belong to the same ah, religion the same faith, And in fact, when we belong to the same global community, I mean if you want to go that
That far. the closer you are to me, the more painful it is. when you betray me. Because you see, if somebody is hunting or you know, is after me somebody outside and outsider. And I come to my family come to my circle of friends
I come to people I share some level of affinity with Assuming that that person is a so called the other. And I’ve said that. Excuse me for thinking that I will be I’m suppose to feel safe. Or say far. have come to my own. But
More often than not these days is like running from fry pan to fire the person you call your brother, your sister is the one that to take advantage of you. that that’s that’s why I I was kind of thinking and you know
About this topic. this the the situation and and and I want to bring it to bring it up for discussion we say blood is thicker than water. Yes, it says an old proverb. The blood is thicker than water. But what happens
When such blood connection is shown to be toxic. Parasitic. Cannibalistic. What do we do? okay ehm, so yeah, let’s talk about it. I want to go to the Bible okay let’s let’s read some scriptures let me read this one first. In Matthew chapter
Twelve. Matthew twelve thou help me. Yeah. Focus on now. The theme. To help us to develop it, you know. In our discussion tonight. Matthew, Matthew, Matthew twelve. I’ll start reading from verse forty-five. then they are 46 rather verse six
While he was still talking, as Jesus while he was still talking to the multitudes while they were reading from NKJV, New King James version. While he was still talking to the multitudes behold his mother and brothers stood outside seeking to speak with
Him. Then one said to him, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you But he answered and said to the one who told him, who is my mother? And who are my brothers? And and he stretched out his hand
Towards his disciples and said, here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and my sister, mother. Praise God. So you get it? Jesus is saying They came to him, you know, to
Say, listen, ah, your mother is, I am, and your brother is there looking for you? However, they obviously they wanted to, no, take him home. Because a lot of people are reported that he has lost his mind. so at that time of course
They were obstructing his ehm, they were about to obstruct his mission. he said who is my mother, who is my, you know, who are my brothers? It is those who are doing the will of God. Who does the will of of
His father in heaven. Those are his brothers and sisters and mother. Not those who are necessarily related to him by blood. Yeah. Not those who are related in my blood, know that. So we are called to a position una
Where we have to draw the line. or make or make a a connection or or determine who are really a friend, who are really a ah brothers, who are sisters to you, to me. And is not necessarily on the basis of
Conservative on the on the basis of you know blood connection family affiliation people have desecrated such crowns of of affiliation and kingship okay so even to Jesus, he said look If you are members of my family, they are coming to distract me.
To to to obstruct, be a stumbling block to him. Consigning his mission. For which reason he came to earth. Then they are not his brothers They are not his brothers, they are not his mother. It is those that do the will of his father.
I can understand that. Okay. another scripture I want to look at is there is what that says here again Jesus made that statement. Let me just pick from New King James version. It says, a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.
He said it in in what context he was saying from verse thirty five, for I have come to turn a man against his father and daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her eh mother-in-law, now when she say he came to bring sword on you
Know on on the earth and ehm, I that sword that is a sort of division, sort of separation. where whereby a a father will be against son, son, against father and so on and so forth. It does say that Jesus is going
To cause violence among ehm members of the family. He’s saying that through by so standard, kingdom standard. People are going to take no no decide where they belong. people are going to align and disalign so ehm in such a way that that
That a father may be against his son a daughter against the mother you know daughter in law against mother in law and then within that it says a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household more scriptures, let me read you.
Psalm forty one no, no, let me okay, Psalm four, Psalm fifty five, This one is good. Psalm fifty five. Um Psalm fifty five verse twelve that I I need to take it even further not just verse twelve. let me read from ah
Verse twelve and thirteen. the psalmist lamenting say if it is not an, he say for it is not an enemy who insult me, some other versions say reproach me or taunts me or mocks me. For it is not an enemy that is doing it. say
That I could endure New living translation says this, it is not an enemy who turns me, I could bear that. Is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me. I could have hidden from them. Is not a stranger. somebody of another’s grace may
Be another ehm religion or another nationality or another I don’t know it’s not them that is causing you know me harm threatening me, threatening my life degrading me So I would have, you know, I would have endured
It, it wouldn’t be fun. But I would have enjoyed it. I could bear it. It is, he say, it’s not an adversary, a foe and and who this insolently with me, that I could, at least I could, you know, hide from him. I
Could remove myself from you know, the vicinity verse thirteen say but it is you but it is you are a man like myself like myself we share certain things in common It is you, my companion and close friend. let me look at that in
Different version. it is you my companion. My familiar friend and my acquaintance. It is you. a man whom I treate d as my equal. My personal confidence, my close friend. is more painful. micro but it was you my other
Self oh my other self how close is that? my comrade and my friend continues verse fourteen says with whom he say but you it is, but it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend, we share sweet fellowship together
We shared, we shared through fellowship together, we worked with the crowd into the house of God. we ate together we we rejoice together, you know, we wept together. Depending on what’s happening in our perspective lives. We should have sweet communion with fellow sweet
Communion together. We took sweet counsel together. what good fellowship we once enjoyed as we work together to the house of God. my friend you are the one that did this to me How painful is that? How painful is that? How painful so painful
Members of a man’s eh household or members ah there shall be their enemy Wow. It is you. let me read ehm Psalm forty one say even my close friend whom I trusted the one who shared my bread has lifted up his hill against me
But this was prophetic ah prophetically eh reference to Jesus what he will suffer the hand of his friend Julius Iscariot who betrayed him but you could see the the you could see the the the you can imagine the the feeling Even my close
Friend, whom I trusted, I trusted you as a brother. Become a brother. I believe you. And I trusted you. He called me sister. I believe you. I trusted you. You become a co-part a patron. That will belong to the same
Nation. I relaxed. I lowered my God. They bless you. But for all of us and For economic benefit. For political capital. Sold me, you sold out. You betrayed me. Let it out. to dry. And yet, I sit down all the
Time. When the, when the same people experience you know, if, if, if they are given a taste of their own medicine, they are the first to appeal to God. Oh God, see oh God, my house are clean oh, your hands are clean.
Your hands are clean. Ah. That’s interesting. I I I as I said before, I’ve I’ve God help me. May God deliver me from cynicism, pathological cynicism concerning human nature. People who are your neighbors today can rise up, it happened with
Wonder, it happened in in Nigeria. It still happened in Nigeria today. It happened in different places. You know in Kosovo, in different places where they are ehm conflict and uprising. Even when people are rising in protest against maybe an oppressive regime. They they
They attack each other they attack each other. Usually, women and children that they agree with body victims. I remember one time, I think eh, the militants from Niger Delta they call them repented eh repentant militants they were giving allowances so they were they
Kind of there were some delay in paying them allowance they they they went on rampage close the road and then invaded eh the rivers Rivers State University Port Harcourt and them and they are raping you know female sloths now you need to ask yourself
You are angry with the government that have not paid you so in response you invaded university. Female hostels and rape the girls. what’s the connection? with the connection is like where we are we we take advantage of the the
One who sees the the the you know easy prey easy prey will attack and extract whatever dividend you know whatever benefit we we we’ve had flesh craze for It’s terrible. the dilemma of false brotherhood. Let me see if anybody is making a comment
Here. and not okay alright it’s fine don’t think about it. Lord Jesus told a story about the the good Samaritan. in Luke chapter ten of course preceding that story ehm this man came and asked you know you know, what, you know,
About, yeah, mission around the bordering on the law. or you could do to inherit eternal life or something like that and then eh Jesus was telling me no the story Yeah, how about loving God and loving his fellow humans As himself, not his neighbor
Came to help this guy who you know the who was a victim of robbers and she was travelling to Jerusalem to Jericho. and the priest, fellow Jew, religious leader. Saw him, passed by, unconcerned hurrying to fulfill his religious obligation, obligation. secure all the
Levites equally religious women passed by then a Samaritan despised not in covenant somebody who would have passed for an enemy sowing him stopped by Check them out. Beat them up. place him on his donkey, drove him to an inn. apply he applied them
Medication oil and eh wine treated him Left him there, told the ah the the the innkeeper, said no. let this guy you know just look after him for me On my way back, I’m going to pay you. Somebody you didn’t
Know. Jesus said of all these three who was the the neighbor who was neighboring to that injured man Amen. He’s the one that ehm, yeah, he’s a Samaritan, he said go and do likewise, it’s a mandate. Look after each other.
Love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus said upon these two commandments all the law and the prophets but we we we ignore that. we do what we like with each other, okay, let me quickly bring this to an end
Um sorry, I just want to see if I can just see that covering everything, let me cover here. So who can I call a brother only based on that story? Who can I call a brother? Who can I call a friend? the book of
Proverbs said that a brother is born for adversity and as a clue a friend that is closer than a brother, a friend that sticks closer than a brother. somebody who is not your blood vision. But can be closer to you than a brother. That’s
Truly who a brother is people you can trust with your very life is no longer on the basis of blood connection. Unfortunately, or geographical closeness. Like my next door neighbor. or social affiliations they might come from the moon, they
Might come from Japan or to the wherever. But as long as they treat you with God’s kind of love, they treat you with human make of human kindness. then they qualify to be your brother your sister, your family That’s how it is. Because you
Know, at the end of the day, what is causing all this betrayal and all this killings and all this maiming and uprising? One group against another It is self interest, selfishness self centeredness was at the heart of racism is selfishness
For one race to think that they are better than other ones that maltreat other ones just for economic benefit and other benefit for this goal benefit or capital and because after they eliminate the other group in their own group, you think they
Are one, no, the same thing, the same treatment is happening in a in a intra group context. In families. like I’m an Igbo person just some Igbos who attacked Yorubas. thousands who attack Igbos or Europeans in the in southeast of Nigeria,
Igbos killing Igbos Yeah, they say okay, oh, it’s not that other other ehm, eh, ehm, non-impos who have also, who are killing. Yes, that is, I’m sure that is true, but it is the mice or the, the, the house mouse that, that informed the
Bush mouse, that’s fish in the kitchen. It is what they see you do to yourself that they are doing to you. So I can’t even trust a fellow Igbo person. on the basis of our you know sharing bonus difficult to trust a fellow
Nigerians on the basis of share nationality. Of our shared nationality. yeah thank God for God has given some good people Some great friends, people I can call brothers, people I can call sisters. Yes, there are Nigerians among them, there are
Igbos among them, they are Yorubas among them. Yeah. south south people among them there are white people among them the Caribbeans among them, they are for Caribbeans there are Eastern Europeans among them. There are Asians among them. Thank God. upon God. Otherwise, that
Brought to the bush and behemit. it’s it’s it’s a shame though. It’s a shame, it’s a shame, big shame, shame, shame, shame, shame. Okay, where am I? Yes, please feel free to talk to me. You know, it’s interesting. I hear people
And they have done by Nigeria, they are, they wax all patriotic but then they hate they hate other groups. other ethnic groups that are different from theirs okay hate other person, other nationalities within Nigeria so the question now is what kind
Of Nigeria did you say? Which what what Nigeria do say you will be like president Nigeria has all this ethnic groups we don’t believe it. When you say I love Nigeria, oh I’m a patriot. And then you see you Adebo man will talk, you shut
Him down, he can never arise to be this. When Yoruba person talk, you call him names or or or the your person will talk, you, you, you slam him down or Nausa person talk, you, you know, so so we we kind of wet
Nigerian do you say you love her? My name again? Nigeria if you are own imagination lead to other nations other countries. I I’ve seen Eastern East African eh usually ladies, you know, girls. You know, I attacked West African girls.
And claiming that they are old, they are more beautiful than West Africans and West Africa, United, East Africa, Hindus. He’s, meanwhile, meanwhile, if an outsider a lot again, maybe somebody from eh eh Caucasian or ah yeah they they if they say something nasty and
Uncomplementary about black girls both the East African and the West African girls will rise up no and at back. that person, how dare you think you are better than us? Or because us now eh? How do you think you are better
Than us? You you are not better than us, is colonial this and that. So it becomes us now. But when you are yourself, you attack each other. You, you, you, you belittle each other. The other It’s ugly and you are beautiful.
You are ugly, they are beautiful. then why not let other people help you finish finish both of you off. false brotherhood false false brotherhood Yeah, we watch lyrical about patriotism and black and Ghananess and all that. No. It’s so false.
Don’t call me your brother unless you mean it don’t come me your sister. Ah ah Don’t call her that person just sit down, always remain it. Don’t call me your friend unless you mean it. Okay, I think ehm, I think I
Call it ehm, yeah, I touch whatever I need to touch, I’m just checking that, no, cancelling it, cancel that would have covered ehm, yeah, that’s it, So who is my brother? Who is my sister? Who is my friend? Those do the will
Of my father in heaven Those, said a new commandment I have given unto you that you love one another, even as I’ve loved you. That those who subscribe to that commandment they are my brother They are my sisters. They are my friends. because whilst
The ordinary human affinity and blood connection have been violated People now eat each other, no, people now become a danger to each other to the point that is is is safer to to to encounter a lion and a bear together than to
Encounter some humans, fellow humans. With us. Yes, those those grounds. Fundamental grounds of association. and of and of society actually the the violated and desecrated. Through the death of Jesus Christ, he has established a new humanity. governed by the law of love so
Is on that basis that can call somebody your brother is and a sister and a true friend not just because the subscribe to or maybe they will claim to be Christians. but more importantly, they do what that Samaritan did. They they
Do what Jesus commanded. That we should love one another. As ourselves. can you imagine us obeying this this this one commandment Yes, it doesn’t mean that we we are we are perfect, no we are not. Yeah, we will argue, we will ehm get
Angry with each other, but eh, you know that there is a coat of line? you know that there’s a level cannot go in our in expressing our anger or in trying to actual no actualize and realize our desires there are levels you
Know we we can’t we are lies we can’t we can’t cross I leave it there. God bless you. Thank you for listening. To me, thank you for sharing this. And wherever you listen to this, God bless you. I remain reverend Cyril Okere and
You’ve been listening to the Sentinel which is the media arm of Citygate Ministries International. More details you can be found on our website which is eh Citygate Ministries. org. UK. And of course you can send us messages, enquiries ah
Anything you want to know and find out from us Here’s our email addressers is info at Citygate Ministries. org. UK. If you want to check another things we’ve discussed on the Sentinel. You can find them on our YouTube channel
Which is CD Gate TV. With that, I say God bless you. Have a great week ahead. By okay like a guy faithful friend who can find, that’s a good one. Yes, a faithful friend who can find, everybody can claim to be, whatever, but a faithful
Friend. A faithful friend, a faithful man, a faithful man who can find. Thank you for that. Okay, ah, nobody, eh, there is no other comment here. Alright, that’s fine. Bye bye. Have a great week everyone. Bye bye.
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