Biblical Concept of Faith (16) (issac 6)

[Music] [Speaker 1] The church in the households cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God indeed desires a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness on Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] [Singing] Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Hallelujah, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Oh, what a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah, what a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah, heaven and earth adore him, angels bow before him. Oh, what a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah, what a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah, what a mighty God we serve. Hallelujah, heaven and earth adore him, angels bow before him. Oh, what a mighty God we serve. Our Father, we are indeed grateful unto you as we come again into your presence this evening to look to, to reflect on scriptures, to study your word, to look through scriptures, to learn from your word. Lord, we pray as we gather, may our gathering indeed be unto you in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes on you. Lord, our eyes on you. Let nothing prevail against your purposes for our lives in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, as we look into scriptures again, Lord, we pray that you will teach us. Lord, you will instruct us. Lord, you will correct us. Lord, you will encourage us. Lord, we just pray, we all connecting together, we who are here physically, our brethren who are joining us on Telegram, joining us on Mixlr, Lord, we just pray that God Almighty, you would reach to every one of us where we need you most in the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. We'll be taking the matter from where we left it last week. We stopped at that point where Jesus was making reference to understanding how insured the life of his sheep are in the hand of the Good Shepherd. He wanted us to know how insured our lives are, and that was where we left the matter last week. And we will go to that point this week briefly, and being the last Monday of the month, we will spend some time to pray, to pray on most of the things that we have been looking at since the beginning of the month. I want us to turn to that point where we left the matter last week. We have been looking at the shepherding of the Lord, how the Lord shepherd his people, the biblical concept of faith that make us to see how our faith should be in relation to the Lord who is our Shepherd, in relation to him. So let's go to John chapter 10. We have been looking at the Lord our Shepherd. So let's get there quickly. John chapter 10. We stopped at verse 28. John 10:28. The shepherding of the Lord. He says, "And I give them eternal life." He was talking about the sheep. What Jesus came to offer the sheep is eternal life. So the reality of our Christian faith is to live a life that is eternal. A life that is simply rested on every word that proceed out of the mouth of the Lord. He said man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God. So eternal life is that life where the man live. The life is molded, is shaped, is controlled by that which proceed out of the mouth of God. He says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand." That's where we stopped last week. The thing about the shepherding of the Lord is that he does not only give them eternal life. The reality is that he also insures their life. He insures their life. That is, he said no one can snatch them out of my hand. And that is where I concluded last week. You see, many believers have not come to the fullness of this understanding that he who began the good work in them is able to finish it. We always have this fear of something will happen, I will be lost, something will happen. I'm not talking of we don't need to be watchful. The Bible says be vigilant, be watchful. Your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he will devour. So the Bible exhort us, the Bible commanded us to be watchful, to be sober, to be vigilant. The Lord said, "Watch and pray lest you fall into temptation." So I'm not talking about watching and pray. I'm talking about being fearful. Many believers are fearful. Fearfulness means that their mind don't stay on God. He says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays on you because he trusts in you." As it is written in Isaiah 26:3. Many believers, their mind don't stay on the almightiness of God being able to keep them and bring them home. Their mind don't rest on the fact, on the reality that the person who began this good work is able to finish it. They always feel that I am the one to finish it. I am the one. I hope I will be able. I hope I will be able. Instead of, "Oh, I trust in the Lord that will bring me home. I trust in the Lord." And because they focus on their ability and their strength, many times they fail and fail and fail again because no man is strong outside the Lord. We are only strong in the Lord. It is when faith holds on the Lord that the power of God become operational in our life. I take that again. It is when faith in our heart takes a firm grip of God. God said, God said. I remember the woman with the issue of blood. She said, "If I can just touch his garment. If I can just touch his garment." Something in her, faith rose in her. She said, "If I can just touch, if I can just touch." And when she touched the garment, what happened? The power of God became operational. When faith don't rest in God, the power of God don't become operational in our life. So many people stumble over and over, not because God cannot keep them, not because the power of God cannot keep them, but their faith not in God. Their confidence is not in the person who began the good works in them. Their confidence, their hope is not in him. Their hope is in themselves. Their hope is in their weaknesses. They begin to look at me that is like this, me that I have this one, me that is like this, me that is like that. So the more they focus on themselves, I'm telling you this truth. I don't know, you can go and check our website for the message that I preached on the cross. But I said something about the cross. I said Jesus said as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up. So that whosoever believe in him shall be saved. Jesus said it is as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. When there was trouble, affliction in the wilderness, the people went to God, the people prayed to God through Moses. "Oh God, we know we have sinned. Please take away the serpent from us." God told Moses, "Go and prepare a bronze serpent. Place it on a pole. It will come to pass if anyone is bitten by the fiery serpent, let the person look up, and when the person look up, the person will live." As it is described in Numbers 21:8-9. Moses obeyed that instruction. He went to prepare a bronze serpent. He lifted up the serpent on a pole and he told them, "If any serpent bites you, you don't need to look at the bite. You don't need to lay hold at the bite. You don't need to be looking down. You don't need to be looking the extent of the bite. What you need to do is just look up. As you look up, as you keep looking, the venom of that fiery serpent will die. It should not be able to have effect on your life." Jesus said it is as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. That is how the Son of Man will be lifted up. John 3:14-15. What that means is that everybody who is looking down will be going down. The power of the serpent, of the devil, of sin for every man who focus on sin will continue to sin. Every man who focus on failure will continue to fail. Every man who focus on inability will never have ability. Every man, I am telling you, your focus is your destiny. That which you focus on determine where you will end. Jesus said it is as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. What I am saying is that the Master said, "No one can pluck them out of my hand." He said, "I give them eternal life. I give them eternal life." I am the one giving them that life. And when I give my sheep eternal life, when I give them eternal life, he said they shall never perish. I tell somebody, I don't know whether you are telling yourself, I can never perish. I can never perish. Not because I have power, but because my Shepherd, my Shepherd is a Good Shepherd. He said I will never perish. When the wolf come, my Shepherd will not allow me, will not allow me to be taken by the wolf. When sin come, my Shepherd will not allow me because my focus is on my Shepherd. What I'm trying to make you see is that where is your focus? Jesus said it is as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. That is how the Son of Man must be lifted up. That whosoever believe in him, I am telling you to begin to shift your confidence from yourself to the Lord. Shift your focus from yourself to the Lord. Shift your ability from yourself. Change your course and look up. Everybody looking up, I assure you they will be going up. If you are looking up, you will be going up. If you are looking up, you will be going up. If you are looking down, you will be going down. The Bible says looking unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus for your life. Can you look unto Jesus? For your academics, can you look unto Jesus? For your marriage, can you look unto Jesus? For your children, can you look unto Jesus? For your finance, can you look unto Jesus? Can you just shift, can you just shift your confidence from yourself to look unto Jesus? Can you just rest your confidence that he who began this good work, he who began this good work. The Bible says faithful is he who calls, who will also perfect it. The one who called is faithful. The person who called me, the person who called me, the person who called me, the person who called you is faithful. I'm talking about the shepherding of the Lord. Have you been bitten by the serpent and you are busy there lying down, crying, "God, take away the serpent. God, take away the serpent. God, take away the serpent"? Can I announce to you? God don't take away serpent. I was telling some group of young people, if you are thinking that pornography will leave the internet, you are deceiving yourself. If you are saying, "God, God, anytime I want to go to internet, close my eyes on pornography. Don't let me see. God, anytime I'm on the street, don't let me see sisters or women who are not dressing well." You are wasting your time. God don't take away serpent. The serpent they will be on the floor. Potiphar's wife was busy there presenting everything to Joseph and yet she could not prevail. So the serpent they don't go away. It was because Joseph had a correct focus. What of the focus of Joseph? He said, "How can I do this wickedness and sin against God?" You see, it is when you don't have vision that you perish. If you can be looking unto Jesus, the serpent on the floor cannot do you anything. Let them coil around your neck. Let them coil around your head. If your focus is unto Jesus, the venom of the serpent cannot prevail. God don't take away serpent. I keep telling believers, God don't take away serpent. Rather, we shall tread over serpent, over scorpion, and over every works of the enemy. Nothing shall by any means hurt you. How are we to do that? It is by looking up. It is by looking up. That is what Jesus is telling you here. Can you tell yourself? He gave me eternal life. I can never perish. I can never perish. The person who gave me eternal life is a Good Shepherd. He's not a hireling. He's not a hireling. He's a Good Shepherd. The person who gave me is a Good Shepherd. He's not the hireling who gave me the eternal life. And he said I cannot perish. And neither can anyone snatch me out of his hand. He now said something in verse 29. Something in verse 29. Look at what he said in verse 29. He said, "My Father." Hallelujah! Anytime I read this verse 29, my spirit rejoices. Hallelujah! And I'm just sensing that joy just gushing through my spirit again. This verse is a verse that has kept me going all my life. Hallelujah! It's a verse in the storm, in the storm. This verse is a verse that kept me going. He said, "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all." My Father! Bigger than every mountain, bigger than everything. Bigger than every mountain, bigger than everything. God is bigger than every mountain that come across my way. Oh, bigger than every problem, my God is bigger than everything. God is bigger than every problem that comes across my way. Oh, bigger than every challenge, my God is bigger than everything. God is bigger than every challenge that comes across my way. Oh, bigger than every enemy, my God is bigger than them all. My God is bigger than every enemy that comes against my life. Oh, bigger than family curses, oh, bigger than everything. My God is bigger than every curses that may be in my family line. Look, I mean, oh, I'm trying to make you see God. I'm trying to make you see God. I don't know what particularly is there now. Something is telling you, you know there is this thing in your life. This thing will not make you to make heaven. You know you have this problem. You cannot fulfill your destiny. You know that the way you started, your family background is such that your life you will not be able to shoot up again. I don't know how I don't know what your background is like. I don't know where you are flowing from. I don't know what story somebody has told you. But I'm telling you, if you have believed those story, you have believed a deception. If you have believed those story, you have believed a deception. Except you are not the sheep of Jesus. Please go and follow this series. This series started, we are on the 16th episode now. Don't just jump into the 16th episode and think that you have heard everything I said. It's a continuous series. I don't know how long the Father will take us on this series, but I'm not in a hurry to point some things to the church about the biblical concept of faith. The kind of faith we are operating today is like the faith, is the faith that is about the law, where you are not sure whether it is a journey you will finish. Where you are not sure. You see, people live in uncertainties. People live in fear. People, there are all kinds of things that are said. And so a lot of Christian live in fear. Do you know there are some family curses that will not allow Jesus to finish his purpose in your life? And they will begin to live in fear of some family curses. Hey, do you know that there are some things, do you know? And all those knowing, knowing, knowing, they became bigger than God. Oh, this song of Don Moen is just coming to my mind. Just coming, coming. Even though I don't know all the wording, but you know where he came to a point and he said, "I have believed in a lie that you are unable to help me." I've believed a lie that you're unable to help me. But now, oh Lord, I see my wrong. Then I don't know what followed again. I think in my life or in my heart see yourself strong. And then be magnified, oh Lord, for you are highly exalted. All the lies that you have believed, may the veil of those lies be taken away in the name of Jesus Christ. All the lies that you have believed, all the lies that are holding you back, all the lies that are holding you in captivity, all the lies, all the lies that are limiting you, all the lies that has not made you to become victorious over those things in your life, all the lies that have made some thing in your family, family history to still be showing up in your life and you are saying, "You know, it was in the life of my father. Why will it not be in my life? You know this is the thing that killed my mother. If it kill me, you know God understands, you know I inherited it from my mother." Oh, I don't know what you have believed. I don't know what you are holding to, but I'm telling you the truth today. Drop the lie. Drop the lie. Jesus said, Jesus said, "My Father, my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all." My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. Look at the next thing. "And no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand." Hallelujah! My Father. The first thing is that God, I like this statement that a young man made. One of my son in the Lord. Even though it may not be a complete perfect statement, but it made a lot of sense to me. He said, "Daddy, God is greater than the greatest. God is higher than the highest. God is bigger than the biggest. God is wiser than the wisest. God is stronger than the strongest." So I don't know what is in your life. What is the biggest in your life? God is bigger than the biggest. What the strongest challenge? God is stronger than the strongest. Are you understanding me wherever you are listening to me this morning? May faith arise in your heart. Biblical faith. Biblical faith. Biblical faith. Paul said, "I know whom I have believed, and I am confident that he's able to keep what I've committed into his hand." As it's written in 2 Timothy 1:12. What I have committed to the hand of Jesus, he's able to keep it. I cannot be lost. I cannot be lost. I cannot be lost. What I have committed to him, he's able to keep it. My Father, who has given them to me. I want you to know something. That is what I took time to explain last week. Why you are saying, "I come to believe in Jesus." That is the truth. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. King James. That is the truth. But from the point of Jesus, why it is that you believe, for the Father and the Son, the actual truth is the Father gave you to him. That is the truth. That is why Jesus said no man can come except my Father draws him. That's the reality. Why you came to believe, it is true. But from their standpoint, the reality is that you were given to him as a gift. What he's saying is that the people my Father gave me, I can never lost any. I can never. If you check it, when he was talking about the disciples, he said all that you have given me. Please go and listen to last week's own because that is what is flowing into this week. He said all that you have given I have lost none, except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. And who are the sons of perdition? How do we know them? Iniquity. Please go and listen to the series so that you can properly understand this thing. He said I have lost none. I have lost none. Those whom you gave me, I lost none. And I'm telling you till we meet the Father, he will still not lose any of us. All that the Father give him, oh, I'm telling you none will be lost. None will be lost. And I speak to you, whatever is making you fear, whatever is making you afraid, whatever is making not to be sure about your future, I bind that fear. I come against it. May faith arise in your heart. May revelation come up that will counter your fear. May your eyes be opened. May your eyes be opened. May your eyes be opened. May your eyes be opened. May you see as you ought to see. May you hear what you ought to hear. May you see what you ought to see. May confidence and hope come up. May fear and unbelief give way for confidence in the name of Jesus Christ. I'm talking about the shepherding of Jesus. The shepherding of Jesus. Nobody is greater than God. There is nothing in your life that is greater than the Father. My Father is greater than all. There is nothing that can come against my life that God is not greater than. There is nothing. So nothing can snatch me. Nothing can take me. Nothing can kill me. Nothing can, nothing can terminate the purpose of God. Nothing can. Nothing can bring me to the point where I can no more be found. No, no. The Lord gave a parable. He said even if one sheep is missing, the Shepherd will leave the ninety-nine. He will go and look for that one that is missing. And when he finds that one, he will rejoice. Are you getting the point? There is this, I'm trying to make you understand this Shepherd. I'm trying to make you understand Jesus. I'm trying to make you understand what your faith should be in. Jesus is the subject of our faith. If Jesus is not the subject of your faith, if traditions and beliefs, if family history, if the circumstance in your background, I don't know what is the object of your faith, what I am saying is that the object of your faith should be Jesus. The object of your faith should be Jesus. Jesus is the object of our faith. And that object of our faith is a person. Is a person. Is a person. Is a person. Can you see how we are double secured? Number one, we are given to a Good Shepherd as a gift. Are you getting me? That Good Shepherd is not less than God the Son. That Good Shepherd. But God the Son is saying again, in case of incasecity, there's even something greater than God the Son. There's nothing greater than God the Father. Oh! I want you to remember that the Father already gave him a name that is above every other name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. Of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth. What I'm trying to make you see is that there is none greater than Jesus. But Jesus is saying that even if you want to leave me aside, you don't want to believe that I can keep you, let me also tell you something. The Father who gave you to me is greater than all. He's also greater than me. That my Father who gave you, greater than all. Even if they want to snatch it from my hand, they cannot snatch them from my Father's hand. Oh! [Singing] Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds my future, and life is worth a living just because he lives. Because he lives, because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds my future, and life is worth a living just because he lives. Because he lives, because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds my future, and life is worth a living just because he lives. [Speaker 2] In the next two, three minutes, let's pray for our nation, Nigeria. Don't forget we always pray for Nigeria. He said pray for Jerusalem, for in the peace of Jerusalem you will have peace. We must learn to pray for Nigeria. We must not be tired of praying. Look as if you are praying, look as if answer is not coming. Don't forget, Israel was in captivity for 400 years. They were praying, praying, praying, praying, praying, praying, praying. They prayed until the fullness of time. When the fullness of time came, the Bible says God remembered his covenant. God never forgot before. God did not forget it. But what it meant is that they prayed into the fullness of time. That's what it means. Let me show you another scripture that is like that. He said do not be weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not. So if you faint, when your due season come, you will not reap. I don't know whether you understand me. There is a due season. There is a due season for you. There is a due season for you. Your season, your season cometh. Look at that woman. She has been entering the temple every day, every day, until the eighteenth year of her life when Jesus also entered the temple. The woman was bent, she could not be straight. The Bible says she had been like that for 18 years. She has been coming to that temple bent like that for 18 years. At the fullness of time she reap because she did not faint. She kept coming to that temple. It looked like there is no solution in that temple. Let me tell you, that your prayer that look like God is not hearing, God is hearing you. Oh, don't stop praying. Don't stop praying. That your waiting, don't stop waiting. Don't stop waiting. There is a fullness of time. That your believing, don't stop believing. Don't stop believing. Don't stop. There is a fullness of time. There is a fullness of time. Because if you stop believing, when the fullness of time come, he said do not be weary in well-doing because you will, in due season, in due season. Israel prayed, they were praying, they were praying, they were praying. Seem like God has forgotten, they were waiting, they were waiting, until the time fully came. Brethren, let us pray. Brethren, let us pray. I have noticed that we don't have the culture of prayer. The culture of prayer when people come to fellowship, when they come to praying, people just pray lightly. Even the place of prayer in fellowship is a very, very important place. Congregational prayer is a very, very important thing. Praying in congregation, groaning in the congregation, crying to God in the congregation, is also good at your personal prayer too. Learn to pray even in fellowship. When we just say prayer sometimes, people just sit down, they start looking here and there, they start pressing their phone because they feel that prayer okay we have rounded up, there's nothing much again in prayer. No, no, no, no, no. That's not the correct culture. There is congregational prayer. Pray, cry to the Lord. Be in the place of congregational prayer. Talk to the Lord wherever you are, wherever you are listening to me this morning. Cry to the Lord. Let us cry in this communion of prayer and say, "God, open our heavens afresh." Baba, open our heavens afresh. Everywhere I'm not seeing correctly. Everywhere I'm not hearing correctly. Everywhere I'm not perceiving correctly. Lord, shine your light into my darkness. Let darkness give way. The light shines into the darkness and the darkness could not possibly resist it. Let the light of your truth shine into every darkness of my life. Let the light of your truth shine into every darkness. The light of scriptures, shine, shine, shine, shine, into every darkness. Let the darkness give way. Darkness of ignorance, darkness of unbelief, darkness of fear, darkness of iniquity, darkness of sin, darkness of struggle, darkness of failure, darkness of restlessness, darkness of doubt. Oh, darkness, let darkness disappear by the revelation of your word. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Brethren, let us pray. Brethren, let us pray. I have noticed that we don't have the culture of prayer. Lord, please keep us praying. Where we are waiting, keep us waiting. Where we are believing, keep us believing. I don't know, the Holy Spirit is telling me something. That somebody is waiting. Somebody is believing God for something, and it looks like it has tired me. And God is just speaking to you. God is talking to you. Oh, do not be weary in well-doing. Do not be weary in well-doing. You have been doing a particular good, you are doing it, doing it, it like you are not getting a reward. You have been praying, praying, like there is no answer. You have been waiting, waiting, like God is not visiting. Baba is telling you, yes, that's why I hear the Holy Spirit speaking very specifically in my spirit now. He said do not be weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not. Lord, as we go this evening, Lord, go with us. Let your good hand be upon us for good. Let your eyes watch over us. Thank you, eternal Father. Thank you, eternal Father. Grant us again the privilege to gather next week. And Lord, I am praying for all of us who normally gather, help us to invite somebody. Help us to call somebody. Either physically or online, Lord, that we may all gather at your feet to learn together. Lord, help us. Thank you, eternal Father. In the name of Jesus Christ. Let's share the grace together in fellowship. May 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. [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission health. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class, every Monday, 5:00 PM; Adolescents and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Borridge filling station along Ije-Aare 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 all. [Music ends]