Your Grace, The Most Revd (Dr) E A Ademowo and Mama Lagos, my family is indeed very grateful for this rare opportunity granted me to preach before this wonderful and beautiful audience. It is my prayer that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts will be acceptable unto God in Jesus name.

As we were told yesterday, the theme for this year's synod is:

SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD with the over-riding  text chosen from MATTHEW 6:33 which reads;

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"

I wish to thank His Grace, The Most Revd F J Imaekhai for the erudite way he handled the sermon yesterday. We are indeed blessed and pray that your ministry will continue to flourish in Jesus name.

This morning we will be looking at the sub-theme:

"The things we seek after- A restless run of the locust" and I will take my text from Matthew 19: 28-29

"Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life"

I was wondering how to start this sermon when the import of the results of some of the elections hit me like a thunderbolt. Some people who felt it was their birthright to occupy some offices were humiliated by their opponents; their connections, wealth and family background notwithstanding. Some people are losing  relevance by the day whereas some people are becoming new power brokers, yet in all these God remains the same for He cannot change (Malachi 3:6). Man can go to any extent to acquire power, and authority forgetting that power belongs to God. Some will kill; some will cheat while some will destroy others to get this power which is very transient. Not just power being transient but their lives too. What do they do with this power when they get it?

• kill their opponents
• steal money
• cause confusion
• Lord it over others in tune with the word of Jesus Christ in Matthew 20:25--- that the Gentiles lord it over others. Instead of using their position to serve, they turn everybody into robots to do their biddings.

What I am saying is not limited to the politicians outside but also to the body of Christ.

If I may ask, how was the last vestry meeting in your Church? What is the relationship between the Vicar and the PCC in your church? What is the relationship between the wardens and the Vicar? What is the relationship between the clergy and the laity in your parish? What of amongst clergymen? Is there really an exchange of peace during the call for worshippers to share in peace by exchanging signs of peace? Do we have relationships that portray who we should be in Christ? The church is supposed to be the gateway to God's kingdom seekers. The Church is supposed to be made up of people that are penitent, humble, self confessed sinners with a willing heart to jettison envy and wickedness. But what do we have today?

• politics inside the church
• tribalism, parochialism and ethnic engendered nepotism in the church
• fraud and 419, bitterness and selfishness all in the name of being in charge.

How can the church be the agent of healing to the world if she is sick herself? Instead of the church giving light to the world, the world’s darkness is daily penetrating the church. Power got through corruption breeds corruption. As a priest or delegate from your parish, what do you seek after?

Power comes from God and should be used to serve one another in Christ Jesus. Anything short of this is a restless run of the locust.

Some years ago, it was Samuel Doe of Liberia that was consumed by his quest for power even when his people had rejected him, last month it was Laurent Gbabo of Cote d'Ivoire that was consumed by lust for power, who will be the next? Murmur Ghaddafi of Libya probably.

Closely related to power and authority is position. Incidentally position defines authority and responsibility. We do everything to get the position and the associated authority. Sometimes we manipulate others to get a particular position while sometimes we assassinate others which may involve life or defamation of character. We even present false certificates and lie about our age because we want to occupy a particular position. How long can one remain in a particular position? Even if you claim to be ten years old, nature will haunt you down one day. Restlessness of the locust indeed! When we get these positions, what do we do? Chase another vanity which is worldly pleasure.

Solomon in the twilight of his life after enjoying a stupendous wealth, legion of women and wisdom concluded in Ecclesiastes 2:11 that all is vanity. One of the last wishes of Alexander the Great was that they should let his hands hang out of the casket empty depicting that empty we came and empty we will return, but yet man's heart is after worldly possessions. The story of Jesus Christ in Luke 12: 16-21 concerning the old rich fool is a masterpiece any day. How different are we from that foolish rich man? If I may ask, how many cars can one use in a day? Even in that car, how many seats can one occupy at a time? Can we sleep in more than one room at a time? On how many beds can one sleep on in a night? Even on one bed, can one cover the whole stretch?

Yet we do all sorts of things to make money. Some even join secret cults, while some get involved in rituals requiring human sacrifice. Yet, everything will be left behind one day for people that never worked for it to enjoy. May this never be your portion in Jesus name, Amen. Your amen will be meaningful if you can hearken to the word of God in 1^st Timothy 6: 6-9.  (⁶Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.)

But if you have been blessed by God, you must acknowledge the fact that God is the source and you are who and what you are by His divine providence. (1^st Corinthians 4:7, James 1:17 and 1^st Chronicles 29:11) You may or may not be remembered because of your wealth when you are gone but your legacies will definitely be there for posterity.

• The lives you touched will be a memorial when you are gone.
• The services rendered to your community will tell generations unborn about you.
  
• Your contributions to the development of Nigeria will continue to reverberate when you are gone.
• Your contributions to the development of your local church will be remembered by the people when you are no more.

Denis Waitley said;

"A life lived with integrity even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come".

If I may ask, what are you doing in your Parish?  Are you a builder or a breaker? Are you a Barnabas or a Sanballat and his brother Tobiah? Better still, are you in the class of Ananias and Saphira?

My beloved, the blessing of God upon your life is for you to be a channel of blessings to others. The word of God in 2^nd Corinthians 9:10-15 attests to this.   Man's thirst for titles, fame and recognition is unquenchable. Sometimes the titles become so long that it makes little or no sense. While some people may not bother if one of the titles is omitted in addressing them, some will not take it lightly at all. When I was small, I was meant to understand that heroes of the past, men and women who have served patriotically and meritoriously were honoured by having some popular streets or places named after them, most probably after their death. But what do we have today? People even name monuments after themselves, what a calamity! At the end of the day, the grave levels everybody with one identical title R.I.P

What of our drive for acceptance and recognition. In the text apportioned for the Epistle reading today, Ananias and Saphira desired to be recognized and honored without a genuine heart of service.  They thought, if Barnabas was recognized and celebrated, why not us? Such inordinate ambition ends in shame and destruction and it is my prayer that God should not allow such to be the lot of any of us in Jesus name, Amen.

Man’s insatiable quest for knowledge has turned hearts away from God. No matter the level of one’s achievement, there is always this emptiness and desire to seek for more in agreement with God’s word in Proverbs 27:20. Another restlessness of the locust indeed! Some people today have become so educated that God means nothing to them. The Bible to this group of people is a history book to be found in the shelf only. The irony however is that when the chips are down, they remember God. Why not seek Him when you have the strength? Any knowledge bereft of God spells doom for the Bible in Hosea 4: 6 says that God’s people perish for lack of knowledge while the Psalmist did say that the knowledge of God is the beginning of wisdom.(Proverbs9:10)

Am I saying that you should not be wealthy? No way ! After all the power to make wealth is from God and His wish is that our soul prospereth even as we are in good health. (Deut 8: 18 and 3^rd John 2). If the heathens could be rich, how much more you and I that are joint heirs with Christ Jesus?. ( Romans 8:17). But if I may ask, what are you rich in? Can we open our Bibles to Rev 3:17-18 (Church in Laodecia) and Luke 12:21)

Am I also saying that you should not get to the peak of your career and occupy the best positions available if you are qualified? No way, you have been born to dominate your environment. (Gen.1:28) You have been created to be head and not tail, vessel of honor and not dishonor. But should your ambition be inordinate just to occupy a position like the sons of Zebeddee in Mark 10:35-45 that never bothered about others provided they got what they wanted. That should not be the spirit.

What of title, fame, reputation, education? Nothing wrong in seeking them but the question for you is how do you seek these things and for what purpose? In all your quest for titles and recognitions, have you got the most important one and yet the cheapest but very difficult for most people to acquire- BA- Born again.

Most of the things we chase after are temporal. We are so attached to our possessions that we sometimes forget that we are mere custodians. The story of the young rich fool in the Gospel that was read today describes most of us. Sometimes we brag forgetting that it is just providence that has smiled on us for St Paul while writing the Corinthian Church in 1^st Corinthians 4:7 said;

“ For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not”?

The owner of our life and all we think we possess will definitely require an account from us one day and so we must be seriously concerned about life after death. In Hebrews 9:27 declares that it is appointed to man once to die and next judgment. Where you will spend eternity should bother you more than any other thing and the choice is yours for it is the life we live here that will determine where we will spend eternity.

No wonder Christ told his audience as He is telling us today to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and every other thing will be added unto us.

Seeking the kingdom of God is not about idling away your time like the Church in Thessolonica that misunderstood the message of St Paul. They stopped working and were waiting for rapture. St Paul came hard on them by telling them that whoever does not work should not eat (2^nd Thesso. 3:10).

Seeking the kingdom of God first is not being heavenly wise but earthly stupid.

Seeking the kingdom of God first is being conscious of eternity while in this temporal state.

Seeking the kingdom of God first is about being heavenly minded in all our deeds while still earthly bound.

Seeking the kingdom of God first is about recognizing the fact that we are mere sojourners here.

It is about recognizing that we are mere agents of a principal who has placed on us the responsibility of accountability and stewardship. It is about recognizing and accepting God’s sovereignty in our lives.

Seeking the kingdom of God first is the recognition of God as the author of your life, source of all wisdom and wealth and rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

Seeking the kingdom of God first is doing all that is possible within your God given capacity (time, treasure and talent) to bring God’s kingdom to bear on earth before you either go to meet Him or Christ comes, whichever that comes first.

If we have this mindset concerning seeking the kingdom of God first, then our attitude, mannerism and idiosyncrasies will be different.

-our perception of life will change for good

-our perception of wealth will change. The grab and grab and grab syndrome of the locust will change and instead of our wealth controlling us, we will begin to control it and use it to extend God’s kingdom on earth.

-our goals will be heavenly bound while we traverse this earth in trying to satisfy our needs

-our expectations in our relationships with one another will be devoid of selfishness and insensitivity.

My dear good people of God, what will it benefit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?

What will it benefit you to die and go to hell?

We should not treat the issue of heaven and earth with levity and contempt like Esau did when he sold his birthright for a pot of porridge as is recorded in the Old Testament reading. He may have thought that he was in charge and can do whatever pleases him at any time. It is not so my brothers and sisters. We are not in charge at all. God is in charge and can recall any of us at any time.

The locust grabs and destroys everything along its way without considering the consequences. It should not be so for you because physical death does not mean the end of life but the beginning of another life that is without end which could be either in hell or in heaven. The choice is yours and the opportunity is today.

Let us pray.

The Revd Uche Ekwensi

Pastor-in-charge- New Era Anglican Church, Lekki.