The Final Call

What Churches Must 'Overcome' to be Blessed by God

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Photo: Second Ebenezer Baptist Church was packed Sept. 3 to hear Minister Louis Farrakhan discuss plans for the ‘Justice...Or Else!’ gathering planned for October 10 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Jesse Muhammad

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL.

I am a student of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and I could never thank Allah enough for His merciful intervention in our affairs, as it was prophesied and promised that we would go into bondage in a strange land, among a strange people, and we would suffer and be afflicted in that land for 400 years; but after that time, it is written, that He would come, and visit among The Children of Israel.  (Gen. 15:13-14; Gen. 50:25, Exo. 13:19). 

I thank Him for fulfilling His Word in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad to Whom praise is due forever.  And I could never thank Him enough for raising up the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as His Messenger/Messiah among The Lost Brother, “The Lost Sheep”—The People of God who were lost from themselves: Lost from their God, lost from their history, lost from one another.  God said He would come and choose a “foolish people”; He would choose a people who were nothing to bring to naught the things that are.  As the scriptures teach, “the bottom rail would come to the top” “...and thou shalt no more be the tail, but thou shall be the head” (Deut. 28:13), and “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”(Psalms 118:22-23).

When The Disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, when were you hungry and we fed you not?  When were you naked and we clothed you not?  When were you out of doors and we gave you not shelter?  When were you sick and imprisoned, and we ministered not unto you?”  Jesus answered, saying:  “Inasmuch as you have not done these things to the least of these, my brethren.”  How could we be his “brethren” if his Father is not ours?  So America stands judged:  Too many homeless people living under bridges in the richest country on Earth; too many poor people (46 million) who are not eating well, living well, in a country whose wealth we built!  We gave them wealth, and we are trodden underfoot.  When the immigrants got here, we were already here; and our slave labor had already laid a foundation of “golden streets” for immigrants to walk on—and walk on us as they walked on the streets that our sweat and blood and tears have built. 

Yes, I am happy to be in Cleveland, like any prophetic soul would be that has a job to do and a word to deliver, regardless of whether it is liked or disliked.  Because a true man (or woman) of God is not afraid to deliver The Message of God even if it costs him, or her, their life. 

The ‘blessed’ church is the church that overcomes

A scared-to-death preacher can’t boast in Christ; a preacher that fears the powers that are contemporary, and dismisses The Power of Him Who is Eternally in Power, is not fit to stand before The People of God.  This is a Day when all false men and women will be sat down.  We cannot use the name of the righteous prophets and servants of God as a cover to shield our dirty practice.  Jesus was no man like that... 

Pope Francis was recently in South America where he visited Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay; and while he visited among our Latin American family—notice I said “family”—he begged the Indigenous people to “forgive the church.”  [Ref. On July 9, 2015, while in Bolivia, Pope Francis is reported to have said, “I say this to you with regret:  Many grave sins were committed against the native peoples of America in the name of God ... I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the church herself, but also for the crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.”] I want you to think about those words:  The “holy father” asking the Indigenous people to forgive the church—he never said “forgive Jesus,” because Jesus had nothing to do with what the church was doing in his name!  And Jesus has nothing to do with some of us, and what we are doing in his name. 

Judgment starts in The House of God.  I am frightened, because I want to be found worthy; but I can’t say “I am worthy”—God has to say it!  Because those who pronounce worthiness on themselves are the arrogant leaders and preachers of this world.  God knows who is worthy, and He will confer on those who are worthy the greatness of what He promised. You’ll find in the Book of Revelation (Chapters 2 and 3) mentioned the different churches that were blessed to overcome.  “Overcome” what?  The “blessed church” is the church that overcomes the wickedness of the world, and lays hold to The Tree of Life and The Blessing that God promised through Christ.  (Rev. 2:7) 

Brothers and sisters, we are a people that God has promised much to.  He didn’t choose us for our righteousness, He said He chose us out of “the furnace of affliction.” 

A Lesson from The Parable of The Prodigal Son and His Wise Father

What did we do, God, to deserve the worst form of slavery that any human being has ever experienced in the annals of history—what did we do?  What sins did our fathers commit that we are suffering the wickedness of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade?  What did we do to have come to America and as it is written in Psalms 137, verses 1-4:  “We hung our harps on the willow tree, and our joyful song had turned to mourning, they who carried us away captive required of us mirth, and those who literally destroyed us required of us a song: ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion; you all are the people of God—sing us one of those songs!  Nobody can sing it like you!’”—but the word came back: “‘How can I sing The Lord’s song in a strange land?’”  Who did sin that we had to be in chattel slavery for 310 long years?  Who did sin that our mothers were taken away from us so they could not transmit to us the language that we originally had; and they couldn’t name us the names of our original fathers ...  Like Shadrach, Meshach, and “A Bad Negro”—Abednego?  (Smile.)  In the Book of Daniel, Chapter 1, the scripture teaches that from the beautiful names that had meaning, they had new names:  Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego); that they were given those names in Babylon. 

Now look at the names you have here in America:  “Mr. Johnson” and “Jones,” “Smith,” “Jackson,” and “Culpepper”; or, named after the colors, things in nature (“My name is George White/Harry Green/Sidney Blue/Lucindy Forest”).  Here you are, Black man and woman, the direct descendants of God, and you are named after something in the beginning you helped Him to create.  When was that “beginning”?  Nobody was here to record God’s Beginning; but everything has a beginning.  God created Himself out of the darkness of The Material in space. 

Well, if God created Himself out of The Matter of space that was dark, He didn’t come here a “White” God!   He has no beginning of days or ending of years, all we know is He always was, He is, and He will always be—and we are The Descendants of that Creator.  We are a part of The Creator’s Nation. 

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“American citizen”?  What the hell is that?  They mock you by calling you what you’ve never been handled as.  You are that “Prodigal Son” spoken of in the Book of Luke, Chapter 15, who took the wisdom of your Father and went off into a strange land to join onto a strange people, to be a “citizen” in that land:  By and by, The Prodigal Son got down so low that he was feeding swine and husking corn; and, a great famine arose in that land and all of a sudden he came to himself.  (“He came to himself.”  Well, “who” was he if he was not himself?  And who are you?  You are not yourself; you are a “made nigga,” the product of the White man.  God doesn’t make “niggas”—God made man in His image and after His likeness.)  But when in that land a famine arose, The Prodigal Son said:  “I think I will arise, and go”—because “arising” is not enough; you’ve got to get up, and go—“to my father.”  And as he started making steps toward the father, the father started making steps toward him; and when they met, the father embraced his errant son.  The Prodigal Son said: “Father, I have sinned, and I’m no longer worthy to be called your son, but if you could just find a place for me ... “I don’t want nothing, just to be a servant in the house again.” 

The ‘hunger and thirst’ that should be satisfied through righteous living, dealings

Jesus didn’t make a parable just to “talk parables”; The Parables have meanings.  They never teach you these things in the theological cemeteries (“seminaries”), where you come out with your “D.D.” degree—the way Isaiah the Prophet used “D.D.” (“dumb dogs,” not  “doctors of divinity”).  Boy, Isaiah the Prophet was railing on us “shepherds” when he said “greedy dumb dogs who never have enough”  (Isaiah 56:10-12).  My God ...  Then Ezekiel the Prophet said: “Woe unto the shepherds that feed themselves; should not the shepherd feed the flock?” (Eze. 34:2). 

Dear pastors, and brothers and sisters:  You are hungry.   You are thirsty.  Why are we “hungry”?  What is the hunger, and what is the thirst?  The scripture teaches in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 5, verse 6:  “Blessed are these that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be fed.” 

Why are we talking about “Justice”?  Justice is a principle of fair dealing!  Justice is the law that distinguishes between right and wrong!  Justice is the act of weighing fact against action!  We are hungry...  Back to that blessed, blessed, blessed disciple who asked, “When were you hungry, master, and we fed you not?  When were you thirsty and we gave you not to drink?  When were you out of doors?”  As The Son of Man said, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests—but The Sons of Men have no place to lay their heads”:  We thirst, and we hunger for righteousness.  We thirst and we hunger for the truth that will set us free.  We thirst, and we hunger, for “the food” that will feed The Nature of God in us that circumstances have put to death.

You are The People of God—but you don’t look like that.  You are The People of God, but you don’t act like that.  It’s not your fault ...  I want to disabuse those who think that we are this way because we wanted to be this way.  That’s why God has come to be our Defender; because you are innocent.  You have been made into your oppressor. 

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I wanted to go to Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, to pay respect to my sisters and brothers who were murdered, [but some of my brothers in the church did not want me there]. 

Those who were murdered:  They didn’t know they let a devil in the church!  They didn’t know ...  It’s like The Sons of God that were going toward God to present themselves to God—and the Devil came also with them!  They were hanging out with the Devil and didn’t know he was right there with The Sons of God.  When The Sons of God were in the Presence of God, He looked out there and said, “Hey!  Whence cometh thou Satan?”  The Sons of God were shocked—“What?  I’ve been hanging out with Satan?”  And then Satan speaks boldly:  “Yeah, I come from walking up and down to and fro in the earth, seeking whom I may devour!”  So Satan eats people!  And so does Christ.

Look, brothers and sisters, I don’t play.  I can’t play with you—and I’m not going to let you play with God!  Because there is a price that we all have to pay for being con artists in The Name of God and His Christ ... 

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Pastors:  You are good people; I know you are good!  Your heart is good, your love for Christ is real—but you don’t live The Life.  You can’t say “I am a disciple” of Jesus The Christ and you are not disciplined in his way.  And the church is failing because we are not disciplining the people into The Life of Him who we say is “the head” of our lives ...  Jesus said you can “come as you are” (“Whosoever will, let him come”), but when you come to Christ:  He has a duty to perform with us, and that is to be The Agent of Transformation of our lives; that our lives will now begin to reflect The God that we are the direct descendants of.