Be Ye Holy for I Am Holy

[Music] Church services cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God rightly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] I hope that as we move on today again, it will be a time of blessing, a time of mercy, a time of grace, a time of encounter with the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's take this song together and then we'll move on to pray and start. [Singing in Yoruba] Our Father, You are greater than the greatest. You are higher than the highest. You are bigger than the biggest. Lord, our God, Almighty, we worship You. We give You glory, we give You adoration. Even the heavens of the heavens cannot contain You. We worship You, our Father, as we gather unto You this evening. We who are here physically, our brethren on Telegram, our brethren on Mixlr, Lord, our God, we all gather unto You. Baba, we pray this evening that Lord, You will meet us all at the points of our needs in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes are on You. You will meet us where we need You most in the name of Jesus. Lord, as we begin to journey into the burden for 2023 that You gave us, the need for us to see that it is just two classes of people fundamentally: those who are in Christ and those who are outside Christ; those who have hope and those who are hopeless in this life. Lord, our God, we pray as we march on, looking more and more into this matter, Lord, we pray for understanding, we pray for insight, we pray for transformation in the name of Jesus. Thank You, eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Last week Monday, which was the first Monday of the year, we took time to introduce the burden that will be the focus of our messages that will be coming on in the course of the year 2023. We looked at the matter that there are just two classes of people. Fundamentally, two classes of people. One are those who are in Christ and those who are outside Christ. And we pinned down on the matter when we got to Revelation, to see that the matter made it very clear. And what we saw in Revelation 22—please let's see that scripture, that's where we closed the meeting last week—Revelation 22. We saw that it said from verse 11, "Behold, I am coming quickly." And of course, from verse 11, it said, "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. He who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give unto everyone according to his work." "Behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give unto everyone according to his work." We noted last week that it is very, very important for us to see that the Master made it very clear that in bringing His reward, there are two categories of people. Isn't it? The first category are those who are unjust and filthy. Filthy and unjust. The second category are those who are righteous and holy. And of course, He is coming to give every man according to his work. Today, we want to move on. The topics we'll be looking at as we go through the year will be going around this burden. Around this burden. Today we are starting up with, "Be ye holy for I am holy." "Be ye holy for I am holy." And I want to draw our attention to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1:16. It says, "Because it is written," what is written? "Be ye holy for I am holy." That's where we pick our topic from, actually. "Be ye holy for I am holy." What is written is that God is holy and everybody that wants to walk with this God must move towards this matter of holiness. It says, "Be ye holy for I, the Lord, I am holy." That's where we took our topic from. We'll be taking the matter today from this 1 Peter 1. I'll be reading from verse 1. We'll begin the matter gradually. "Be ye holy for I am holy." Let's see how far we can journey today, how far we can journey next week, and we don't know for how long this series will last. But that is the first thing we want to try to look at. "Be ye holy for I am holy." 1 Peter 1 from verse 1 says, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the dead." You notice that Peter categorically made it clear that what God brought us into is a lively hope. Those who have hope. Don't forget what we mentioned last week. There are just fundamentally two categories of people in this life, while all the other lines are there to divide them—rich, poor, male, female, young, old—fundamentally, there are people who were brought into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and there are those who are outside that hope. The matter that we are addressing in this place is that Peter is speaking to these pilgrims. The matter here is to these pilgrims. He said these pilgrims, they are elect according to the foreknowledge of God. God chose them through the sanctification of the Spirit. And then he made it clear that these people should bless God, these pilgrims, these elect. They should bless God who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope. Humanity entered into hopelessness. Whatever thing you want to describe human beings as, whether rich, whether poor, educated, illiterate, young, old, they became hopeless. They became people that were without God and they were without hope. But by the election of God, by the foreknowledge of God, by the workings of the mercy of God, what God did was to separate us from hopelessness into a life of hope. So, no matter what, that's what I want to tell you categorically as we start this journey of, "Be ye holy for I am holy," is that please, you need to know, no matter how you divide it—"I'm still an undergraduate," "I don't have so much money in my pocket," "this is what is going on," "that is what it is"—I want you to first know that categorically, by the reason of your coming into Jesus, you are not a hopeless person. You are not a hopeless person at all. You are not. Your situation is not hopeless. This becomes very, very important particularly as you look into our nation Nigeria. When you look into how dark things are, when you look into the political scenario of Nigeria, the economy scenario of Nigeria, the educational scenario of Nigeria, when you look into governance, when you look at the level of insecurity, when you look into the way human lives are being wasted on a daily basis and there is no governmental response for security, for protection. When you look at the way insecurity has taken a dimension that makes everybody not to be able to sleep. When you look at Nigeria, you look at the exchange today, exchange rate, that you're talking about 730 Naira to just one dollar. When you look at the way things are expensive. When you look at somebody said, "Will I ever be able to build a house again if a bag of cement is now 4,800? Iron rods are now sold for this." But you know what I told the person? I just spoke in a Yoruba adage. I said, [Yoruba proverb]. If you put pounded yam inside leaves, then you know groundnuts, the shell of groundnut, and you are to put the soup to eat that pounded yam inside that thing, individuals that will be satisfied will still be satisfied. And I said, "Bro, what you need to realize is this: it says unto the righteous, it shall be well with you." I said, "Bro, be careful. Life and death are in the power of the tongue." Don't make yourself a hopeless person. What am I saying this evening? Please, if we have a clear understanding that you are born again, you know that you have come into Jesus and that you are knowing Jesus, you are having a walk with Jesus, you can confidently tell yourself that I'm not a hopeless person. I'm not. My situation is not hopeless. You know where I saw that scripture? Look at Psalm 46. We'll be taking the journey gradually. "Be ye holy for I am holy." Look at what the Bible says in Psalm 46. Psalm 46. I will read verse 1 and 2 in three different translations just to bring the message home. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed." My brother and my sister, Nigeria has not been removed yet. It says, "Even if the earth is removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling." What should we say? The Lord is our refuge and our strength. A very present, not just present, a very present help in trouble. Is there trouble in Nigeria? Is there trouble? Is there trouble? What should be our confession? Our God is our refuge and our strength. A very present—now that there is trouble, I want to announce to you God is present. God is present now. If you don't know whether God is present before, God is present now. We are not hopeless. We are not hopeless people. Don't get carried with the mentality of hopelessness. Don't carry the heart of hopelessness. No. He has begotten us into a living hope. Our hope is alive. My hope is not dead. It doesn't matter what is happening around. My hope is not dead. I have a living hope. I am going somewhere and I am getting there by the hand of the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. You are going somewhere, brother, sister, and you are getting there. We are not hopeless people. That's the first thing I'm drawing your attention to. We were begotten into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I would emphasize that a little more as we go on. But note, He has begotten us into a lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That resurrection from the dead brought us into a hope. Not only that, what's the next thing? Verse 4. What have you been brought into again? "To an inheritance incorruptible." Number one, you have been given hope. Number two, you have been brought to an inheritance incorruptible. Do you understand? It's one thing you must tell yourself, one thing you must wake up into, is that your inheritance can never be corrupted. And that is why I don't struggle material inheritance with people. That is not my inheritance. My inheritance cannot be corrupted. These are things you must tell yourself about. These are things you must understand as believers. It's an unfortunate thing that we are experiencing today in the church. We have been made so attached to material and physical things that they rule our emotions. They bring unnecessary emotions, unnecessary anxieties out of us. They don't make us to see that our actual inheritance in Christ is not something material or physical. There is an inheritance that has been prepared for you that cannot be corrupted. It cannot be spoilt. It cannot be corrupted. I have been brought into that. If I have been brought into that, then I should hold the things of this place lightly. Much more the more, brethren, because the coming of the Lord draws near. Much more the more. Let us hold the things of this world lightly. That is in scriptures. We begin to see that things are drawing nearer and nearer. He says let those who are married live with an understanding as if they are not married. Let those who are using this world without corrupting it. He was giving instruction. The point of that thing is that let us hold this earth lightly because actually, if you can see correctly, you will understand that men who are sane—mark the word that I used, sane, sanity—men who are sane don't fight over what has been thrown into dustbin. Am I correct? Am I correct? The earth is reserved for fire. If there's a treasure on earth, they won't reserve it for fire. The earth has been subject to vanity as far as eternity is concerned. All the elements in it is going to melt with fire. God has reserved it for fire. What you reserve for fire is what is no more useful. Something has been reserved by your Father for fire and then you are making that thing to make you to leave your Father. Are you a normal person? If you can see properly, you will know that what is here is so transient and ephemeral. I was just talking yesterday—was it me and Victor? I can't remember who we were talking to. We were discussing a medical doctor that died. And he was telling me that after the death of that man, did I know what happened? The hospital could not be sustained again. The hospital has been converted to residential building. Now when that man—the man suddenly fell down and died, he's a medical doctor. Now, I just imagine what he has packed and packed and packed and packed and packed in that place. He would have said to his soul, "Now you have a good job, I'm a doctor, you'll be able to take care of myself, I will live long." And all those things that somebody have labored to build, somebody else just came and said, "What's all these things? They are useless. Turn this to residential building." That is the nature of the inheritance that is here. They are vain. Do you know still that as you are now, if I give you 500,000, I give you like this cash, you will not be normal again as you are going home? Everybody around you will look like somebody who wants to kidnap you. Everybody that comes around you, you'll count that pocket to this side. Am I correct? Acquisition brings anxiety. I remember my pastor friend, he was given the gift of a car. He was the one telling us, "Ah, brother, this thing is just big man big trouble." I said, "What is it?" He said, "I know that." Because the church is somehow inside but it's in an upstairs. You can see where the car is parked. He said, "So when he parked the car because it's brand new, he will stay in the office. After a while, he will get up again and go and check that it has not been stolen." He said it took him about two, three weeks to be balanced in the office that nothing will happen to the car downstairs. Just go and check again. I'm trying to make you understand the nature of earthly riches. Not to say these things are wrong. Please get me right. I'm trying to understand that they must not, because of their nature, be—it is foolishness to exchange them for another kind of inheritance. That's what we are saying. As long as it's not an exchange. If I can get a car on the ground of uprightness and holiness, of course, no problem. I will get one. But what I am saying, I'm talking about the exchange. What can a man give in exchange for his soul? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose? That's what we're talking about. If it is in exchange for living right. That's what I'm saying. Not as if there's anything evil about them. To him that is pure, all things are pure. But what we are looking at, our burden for the year, is a call to the fundamental division, a call to holy life, that there are just two categories of people. And so we are sharing along this line. That's why we are talking in this direction. We are not saying that earthly riches are evil, but we are saying that when they become in exchange for the cause of our higher calling, then we are not wise. That's why we are looking at their nature. The nature of these things. I remember a young lady who doesn't want to lose her fiancé. She said they are both believers, I wonder whether the boy is actually a believer anyway, or whether she too really knows what she believes. And the boy insisted on premarital sex. And she said, "No, no, no, no, no." And the person, "In that case, we are going to break this relationship." "Oh no, I don't want a situation where a man will have a broken relationship. Okay, don't worry. I will not. Okay, let's do it." And then they went ahead and committed the fornication because she doesn't want to lose the young man. But you know the funny thing? The young man never married her. He married somebody else. That's the pathetic—I'm talking about trying to possess earthly riches. She doesn't want to lose somebody for the sake of Jesus. She preferred to lose Jesus and gain a brother. I mean, just a brother. Do you know how many Davids will replace Saul? For every Judas, there is a Matthias. Take the reality of it. You did not want to lose a brother, but you threw away Jesus. And the point is, if you have held to Jesus, Jesus would have given you, if that brother is good, Jesus would have given you better. If that one is better, Jesus would have given you best. Still, the whole thing still turned out, the brother still went his own way, married somebody else. The brother is gone. You wanted to win him to throw away Jesus. Now you have lost him. Both side, no gain. You didn't gain him, you didn't gain Jesus. But if you have gained Jesus, nothing would have been lost. We need to know who we are. We have an inheritance reserved for us in heaven. In which you greatly rejoice. Do you know that the reason why many people are dying because Nigeria is dying is that their hope is in Nigeria? Someone already having hypertension, "Ah, they said there's no opportunity again to go out of the country." Do you know why? Because the site of who they are and what they are, where they are going to—it said, "In this you greatly rejoice." When you see men whose source of innate joy is on things material, they don't know who they are. Mark my word. I'm talking of innate joy. When you see people whose source of innate—there is something about anybody who has been brought into this hope. Their source of ultimate joy is nothing material. It's nothing material. There is a great—that is why the apostles can say, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God." And then he went on, "We also rejoice in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh patience." Men who have this joy, they can rejoice in tribulation. There is this joy. There is this thing when he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always." There is this thing not because there are no external pressure, not because there are no material pressure, not because there are no pressure here and there, but there is still—when this is over, knowing that your actual inheritance cannot be touched is something that should give you joy. But when you don't know about this inheritance, when the temporary inheritance are touched, you start dying. You start having hypertension. That's what is happening. That's why sometimes I wonder, how do believers commit suicide? How do believers go into depression? What happened? What were they taught? What did they believe in? How do believers go into depression? We are not saying there is no tribulation. Please understand what I'm trying to say. But we are saying that if we really know who we are, we can rejoice in tribulation. That is why somebody like James can tell us, "Count it all joy when you fall into," not just tribulation, "when you fall into divers tribulations." I don't know which version says, "Are you in many problems, then be happy?" I don't know which version put it that way, whether it is the New Living Translation or the Old Living Translation. That same James chapter 1. It said, "Are you in plenty trouble? Then be happy." It's not as if these people they are not human beings. Not as if they don't feel pain. Understanding the talk of pain. Paul said even this external one is dying. So they were going through things. You talk about his affliction, in fasting often, in perils of things, perils of robber, perils of that. So they went through. They did not know pain. They were not spirits physically. They knew pain. But there was something down, down, down. That's what I'm talking about. There was an ultimate thing. What I'm trying to make you see that I'm going somewhere. I'm going somewhere. There's this deep-seated understanding from which holiness springs. I want to show you that holiness, holy conduct, they are seated, it has a two-leg pillar. And I want to show you those two-leg pillars. Addressing the first one now gradually. The first leg to holiness is understanding who we are and what has been given to us. That's what I'm handling. There's another major leg, another very, very fundamental one. This one is toward God. For be ye holy for I am holy. I want to show you something about holiness. Look at that verse 15 where it talked about our topics were taken it from verse 15. But look at verse 15 closely. It says, "But as He who called you is holy, be ye holy in," what? "all your conduct." Some say manners of conduct. Isn't it? Be ye holy. Note what I want to make you see. Righteousness is positional. We don't do anything to become righteous. Righteousness is a gift. Do you understand? I am never—I have never tried to be righteous. I know that I am righteous because it's a gift. Once you get born again, the gift that you are given is abundant grace and the gift of righteousness. So righteousness is imputed by Jesus. The law demands righteousness, grace imputes righteousness. Righteousness is positional. So we don't need to try to be righteous. We are righteous people positionally. But holiness is about conduct. It's about conduct, how you conduct yourself. It says, "Be ye holy in all your conduct." Your conduct. How you move. Your conduct. Positionally you are righteous. But when we are talking about holiness, we are talking about your conduct in life. Holiness is about conduct. How do you conduct yourself? How do you carry your life? What are the things you involve your hand with? What are the things you say? What are the things you do? That's what we are talking about holiness. So holiness is the matter, is not something that is inherited. Holiness is something that's supposed to be a product of what we have been given. God gave us grace and righteousness so that we can be holy. So that our conduct can be correct. Are you getting it now? So He gave us. So the burden for us this evening is that something has been given. Do you understand what I'm trying to bring out? So holiness is about conduct. So as we look into 2023, we are talking about conduct. That there is a way those who are in Christ, who have hope, who know who they are, who know where they are going to, who know what is reserved for them, who know the nature of what has been reserved, there is a way they conduct themselves. Different from the way those who are hopeless, those whose joy is here, where what is reserved for them, everything is here, all their hope, all their expectation, those who cannot see into eternity, there is a way they conduct themselves. We can know them. They can tell lies to get a job. They can for the sake of anything enter into any kind of relationship with anybody. No mind whether it affects the Lord or not. They can do anything. I was saying that because of this thing they were talking about. They talk about it, I don't know how true. I am not, it's just a reported story. A sister, a so-called sister, that was the story, was going out with someone of the other faith, an Alhaji. And when brethren questioned about the matter of unequal yoking, "Look, as believers, we should be careful in our conduct, in everything, everything we do, let us be careful." "Ah, you don't understand. One will be taken and the other left. What it means is that even if we marry unbelievers, on that day, the believer will be taken and the unbeliever will be left. So it's not really about unequal yoking if you understand the revelation in that place." I don't know whether that is true, whether she actually said that, because it's reported. But my concern is just the reason why she conducted herself that way. If she's a believer, it's a signal that it is either she's not in this hope or she cannot see this hope. She cannot see it. Because that's exactly what John said. It's either they are not born of God or they don't know God. It's either of them. So we are talking about conduct. Holiness is about conduct. How you conduct yourself. People who have this hope, people who know where they are going, there is a way they conduct themselves. So that the first bottom line to the matter of holiness is what we are looking at now. Do you understand who you are? Be ye holy for I am holy. Do you know who you are? Do you understand your background? Do you know where you're coming from? Let us close in prayers. Let us close in prayers this evening. I want you to talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord, I don't know what you have learned this evening, but I want you to talk to the Lord. Please talk to the Lord. Talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord, talk to the Lord. I want you to just utter some things to the Lord. Say some things to the Lord. What are you understanding? What are you seeing? What are you hearing? What are you, what is coming into your heart? How is this matter coming to you? "Be ye holy for I am holy." You cannot get into that if you don't first know who you are. Understand who you are. Be confident. Know your origin, know where you are coming from, or else this life will confuse you. They will carry you here and there. If you don't know what you are standing for, then you will fall for anything. But if you love what you are standing for, you cannot just fall for anything. Let me invite my wife to close this meeting. Ma, please come and pray, pray for us, to close this meeting this evening. [Speaker 2] Father, in Jesus' name, we are grateful unto You, Lord, for speaking to us again. Thank You, Lord, for the topic, the message, reminding us again of our responsibility, our own part in the great work of salvation You have done. You have freely given us all that we need for life and godliness. And it is our duty, O Lord, to appropriate this into our lives. And one of the ways is by holy conduct, being holy, being intentional about our conduct, be intentional about living the life of Christ, not exchanging the kingdom, our inheritance, with the earthly inheritance. Thank You for Your word that You spoke to us, thank You for reminding us again. Lord, we pray, O Lord, as we go in this night, as we go with this great word of deliverance, Lord, we shall go forth and live thereby in the name of Jesus Christ. This word will not stand against us. Rather, Lord, the word that has been sown into our hearts will bring forth fruit. Lord, our hearts, O Lord, we make the best use of this word. This word will not be destroyed. Rather, it will bring forth the life of Christ, the very purpose for which it has been sent be fulfilled in us in Jesus' name. It will make us a better believer. It will make us to live the life of holiness. It will make us to pay attention to our conduct, our behavior. It will make us to remember the true inheritance and guide our ways along this path in the name of Jesus. Lord, we pray You will help us. Lord, we receive the strength and the power, O Lord, to go forth and live according to this word that You spoken to us in Jesus' name. Our life is transformed, O Lord, by beholding this truth in the name of Jesus. We live thereby in the name of Jesus. Thank You for Your son. We pray, O Lord, You will strengthen him yet the more that Lord, You will keep flowing through this channel. Lord, we pray, O Lord, the source which is You can never go dry. He will keep connecting to You more in Jesus' name. Thank You for all our brethren that are not here, those online, we pray Your blessings to be upon them. We pray, O Lord, we will not recover, O Lord, from this word, from this impartation until the life of Christ, the very purpose for which it has been sent be fulfilled in us in Jesus' name. Devil, we resist you in the name of Jesus. We say we have been delivered by this truth in the name of Jesus. Thank You, everlasting Father. Every veil that has been removed tonight, we will not be in ignorance, Lord, and begin to pack it together again in the name of Jesus. We say it has been removed in the name of Jesus. It has been removed in the name of Jesus, and we go forth seeing, having understanding of the word of God in Jesus' name. Thank You, everlasting Father. For in Jesus' name we pray. The grace of fellowship: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen. Praise the Lord! Amen. This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission help. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 p.m. Adolescent and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. Marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. Family life seminars, regular school outrages, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Rejoice Filling Station along Ijetu road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you. [Music]