Sounds, Echoes & Fury

By Emmanuel Elendu

Sounds, Echoes & Fury confronts proponents of religion with the truth of a relationship with God and presents mans need to live a fulfilled life on Earth. The book provides descriptions and woes of a few religious leaders who abused their religious opulence and further strengthens its argument on the flawed religious practices inside the church and mosques of our day. It exposes the tactics of religious strongholds and demonic manipulations in individual lives and communities, providing a way of escape from their destructive schemes. Religious umpires are not left out and are a major component of this work. Sounds, Echoes & Fury lays out the deep-seated philosophy of men that confront common reasoning. These philosophies make the man stay away from his God. The book starts off as a narrative story then turns to an apologetic novel and concludes on same note, appealing to its readers to embrace Jesus Christ and invites him to fix whats broken in man. It concludes with an appeal to enjoy the blessings of being human and to embrace humanity for all it takes, loving as Jesus loved us all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543440454

Emmanuel Elendu

Emmanuel Elendu serves as a missionary to Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa and Kenya where he planted churches. Since 1982 he’s been active in ministry work with various groups: The Scripture Union, The Christian Union, NIFES, Christian Pentecostal Mission and The Redeemed Christian Church of God. He wrote and published “Commodity Map of Nigeria” (1998), an investment portfolio piece that helps companies locate resources and repositories of hard and soft commodities in Nigeria, besides petroleum products. As a pastor he doubles in IT professional practice where he mentors and teaches leadership, discipleship and community empowerment through acquired skillsets. He has written the following books: “He got me Jazzed and Inspired”, a training and ministry manual that serves students in radical transformations through School of Disciples. “Anatomy of the Virgin Birth”, “Before You Quit” and “Digging for Gold.” His latest book on religion (Sounds, Echoes and Fury) is due out with this Discipleship in a Digital Age in summer of 2017. Emmanuel conducts training classes in School of Discipleship; Leadership and School of Ministry at Dominion Center, Cincinnati Ohio. He holds MSc from Redeemers Bible School; MSc in Agricultural Economics and an MBA from Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. Married to Chinwe Elendu, both are blessed with upcoming young men and a lady (Samuel, David and Ruth). All serve at RCCG Dominion Center, Cincinnati Ohio.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Emmanuel Elendu.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2017911808

ISBN:                     Hardcover                  978-1-5434-4047-8

                                Softcover                   978-1-5434-4046-1

                               eBook                          978-1-5434-4045-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James version of the Bible. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers Used by permission

Sounds, Echoes & Fury

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or link contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Rev. date: 08/14/2017

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Thinking Aloud

Chapter 1   Synopsis…why This?

Chapter 2   A fancy, paved highway to Hell

Chapter 3   The Sadducees, the Pharisees

Chapter 4   The Church under a Burden

Chapter 5   Strongholds in-charge?

Chapter 6   The Chicken comes to Roost

Chapter 7   Something more than Religion

References

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DEDICATION

"Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho’ stretched from sky to sky."

– Ben Isaac Nahorai

To

my Love & my Master,

Jesus Christ

and

To my uncle,

Basil Sunday Okereke

He prayed me into the kingdom

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The pains of religion and its cumulative, elusive heap on humans leave the uninformed hopeless. It creates a void on the minds of hopefuls who wish to garner the remains of fate and hope from the anals of religious promises. The world waits in agony and rides in pain for the salvation of enslaved and debased systems we find in politics, economy and civil society. While hope is not all lost to the right accolade and offerings, the siege laid against truth and the practice of God-given rights to worship and live a happy, peaceful life on earth is disturbing.

As I put these few lines together, I was reminded that my choice of words must meet standards for an orthodox publishing house or the approval of the cleric next door whose titled religious garb must superimpose or act as a cover for my subject and content. However, I am as astute as I am unbending in my resolve to say it as it is, no matter whose ox is gored. Having been a part of system in corporate and religious circles, my life since I started the pastoral engagement has been dotted with intrigues of sorts. I owe the children God blessed me with every appreciation and prayer. So, to my biological and spiritual children, I salute your courage to stick with me all these years of engagement. My wife, Chinwe, stood (and still stands) with me in the days evil men crept in and vowed to erase and exterminate truth and righteousness from the Church. I am proud of Samuel, David and Ruth. They really sacrificed their leisures, games and even basic provisions from a father, just because daddy serves as an immigrant pastor in a religious order that remains to be defined.

The courage to stand straight, undefiled and undaunted in our society is hard to attain, especially in a capitalist or materialistic world where conscience and character can be swayed with money. A few generals have proved the world wrong by the truth they tell and defend. Without fear of ethnic or tribal retribution, Dr. Kunle Oyekanmi, Dr. Ayodele Adebayo, Pastor Joseph Odigie, Mr. Usang Ekpe and Mr. Osaguano Ogbebor were there when truth was on trial. I salute your courage. A big thank you to Pastor Nosa Idahosa whose words helped shape our constructs.

There are folks whose voices cannot be heard and their fate is determined by some lords. Their destinies lie in the hands of men, they are vulnerable. They live in fear. My prayer goes to these folks knowing that many may not confront and defend as bold as some may, albeit, without offense. These secret disciples must be encouraged and provided an opportunity to call a conference between paper and pen. I offer to be your pen and acknowledge your pressures behind the iron curtains.

Truth, in our age, is hard to be sustained and propagated. The elusive nature of man causes a lot of swings and change of ideas and philosophies especially at the heat of pressures of life. Religion has often been the weeping orphan or a path of escape, for want of words. Because man fans his ego in religion and the comfy offerings of religious sects provide enough room for a solace, we tend to embrace this new religion instead of threading on the hard path of integrity and purity. A few men and women have proved to me that there is a remnant in a land filled with garbage and shame. These men have shaped and affected my life, positively. They are Gbile Akanni, Charles Achonwa, Chris Okeke and many more whose lives and ministry challenge me. Their words echo into my ears as a reminder that God is still at work in my life and in the Church.

Finally to you, for choosing to read this book, I want to thank you. May the good Lord bless your heart and family; be sure you are always abounding in the Lord and in the power of His might. Keep the faith no matter the odds of religion against your life. God bless you. Please get back to me when you complete your reading, want to read from you – critics, disagreements, improvements, your thoughts and what you learnt. Grace to you be multiplied!

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THINKING ALOUD

Carriers of the cross and the crescent have left us on the highway with no end in sight, a road to nowhere since their last turn into religious euphemism. Its been a journey of enslaved minds without guidance or a recourse, the direction towards home became a mirage. Their formation and poise seemed to portend some form of patented sects, created with no humanity in their DNA nor the juice of God running their cisterns. They put up a garb whose inscription was holier than thou, an establishment that fostered and promoted empty holiness and ritual repetitions among the naive and the young at heart – leaving the world and all the drama in it with a barrage of noise.

They became flawed and confused about religion, they emit sounds, echoes and fury in distant and near lands seized by their occupation. We discovered that as religion headed south, there were voids and all the efforts to demystify religious echoes and horrors by holy patents turned sour; became journeys through schools of Pharisees and Sadducees. These held the sacraments of religion. Today they are no better since their fierce chase from within against the maimed, wounded and depraved folks in sanctuaries, mosques, temples and shrines leave them dead between the porch and the altar, encumbered by the weights they carry. By so doing, we scarcely can find a city of refuge, a place of rest and security. At the altar of religion we find the beast in man revealed. Cracks among holy ranks is disturbing – the reason for this book. The intent is to present the blue print of spiritual engagement, to dig further into processes of getting it right with God and not mere religious stooges. I hope to demystify holy patents and cut to size religious garbs littering our social and political lives. I hope to equip you with the knowledge and skill set of finding the true light because when you know the ploy and motions of religion, you’d escape and run for your life. When the center drops, all you hear is noise, reminiscence of sounds, echoes and fury. Your gem cell is filled with life and from there, you can exert a pull from within and life spins on it. This pull is coming from a Source which makes the road you travel purposeful and gives it a meaning and relevance. Discover this Source, find the path of life and your relevance will show. My prayer is that when you are done with Sounds, Echoes and Fury you will hear the sound of heaven, your mind will be opened to a useful life and access to God will be unhindered. Come with me, let’s roll.

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CHAPTER 1

Synopsis…why This?

Abram sat still, gazing at the glare and import of what was revealed. Confused and stunned, he went back to bed. Still the Voice insisted on the message. I got hold of you, and you must leave now. Pack your stuff, and move to another land, a place I will show you.

Ur of Chaldeans was a city of sorts: rich in industry, hived in commerce. Its vibes and accolades were welcoming and Tera had a good hold on the wherewithal, the things that made men. Abram was in the game, had cut his teeth into the juicy side of life, and of course, had enough wealth to show for it. Soon, the message came. Unknown to this household, God was forming a hub of worshippers out of a man whose future was secured and his inheritance assured. The man was Abram. After so many struggles and arguments, the weight of convictions and invisible hand on him prevailed. As he moved, rational thoughts and inert knowledge (preferably wisdom, for lack of better word) could not decipher the reality of what prevailed on him to start the journey.

He started off, leaving a fortune and his people. He moved with nothing except a conviction deeply seated in his subconscious,