Biblical Concept of Faith (33)

[Speaker 1] [background music] Unto the Lord we are gathering together unto Thee Until the Lord we are gathering together unto Thee Unto the Lord, unto the Lord shall the gathering of His people be We are gathering together unto Thee Unto the Lord we are gathering together unto Thee Unto the Lord we are gathering together unto Thee Unto the Lord, unto the Lord shall the gathering of His people be We are gathering together unto Thee [Speaker 2] Our Father and our God, indeed unto You we are gathering this evening. We thank You for Your mercies, we thank You for Your love, we thank You for Your goodness, we thank You for Your grace. We thank You, Lord our God, for this first day in the month of September. We thank You You kept us through January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and You have brought us to the ninth month of the year 2024. Our Father, we are grateful. Thank You for preservation. Thank You for mercy. Thank You for Your goodness. Lord God, as we start this evening, we commit ourselves into Your hands. Our brethren on Telegram, our brethren on Misla, we who are here physically, we commit ourselves into Your hand. Lord we are praying, meet us where we need You most in the name of Jesus Christ. Let Your Spirit work within us. Cause Your name to be glorified in our midst. Our eyes are on You, O Lord. Let nothing prevail against Your purposes for our lives. Lord God Almighty we ask, magnify Yourself in our life. Magnify Your name in our situations. Thank You, eternal Father. As we study the Bible together this evening Lord we pray, Lord, teach us Your ways. Teach us Your ways. Let there be an entrance of Your word in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Last Monday was our prayer. It was the last Monday in the month of August. And usually we take time to pray. So today, we'll be resuming again our study, our study of the Biblical concept of faith. And we'll be taking the matter from where we left it. That will be two weeks ago. Two weeks ago we were trying to draw a relationship that exists between the spoken word of God and the written word of God. And we concluded the matter in Isaiah 66. That was where we stopped two weeks ago, Biblical concept of faith. Isaiah 66, we were checking out something there where the Bible says, "Who is the man that God esteems?" It is the man— please quickly see that scripture as we move on together this evening. Let's see that scripture. Isaiah 66 from verse 1: > Thus saith the Lord, heaven is My throne, and the earth My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist, says the Lord. But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word. NLT: > My hand has made the heavens and the earth, and they are Mine. I, the Lord, have spoken. I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who trembles at My word. NIV: > Has not My hand made all these things, and so these things came into being, declares the Lord. This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My word. So we saw something two weeks ago. We said the reason why several people don't have revelation from the word of God, one major challenge why they don't have revelation from the word of God is because of their attitude towards the written word of God. The reason why God don't speak to so many people, the reason why many people don't experience the Rhema, what we call the Rhema where God speaks to us and say, "Lade, this is what I want you to do. Wale, don't do this, do this. Baxter, do this, don't do that." I mean clear signs of direction in terms of purpose. We said that hearing God and having direction from God is the primary thing we need in life. If God wants to do anything with your life, God must speak to you. Until God speaks, nothing can come into existence in your life. That's where we start, that's where we're coming from. We saw that God spoke and it was done. How was the world created? He spoke: "Let there be this, let there be this, let there be that," and everything came into existence. So when God wants to do anything in anybody's life, what will God do? God will speak to that life. When God says, "Wale, arise, do this business," or God is creating something. When you do that business, what happens? You prosper. But if it's a matter of "I think, I feel, I can do this, I can do that," you are not working in the certainties of God. You are not working in what we call the realm of the supernatural. When God wants to do things with anybody's life, what God does is that God speaks. That is Hebrews 11 where we are coming from. We have been studying in Hebrews 11. And that now took us to— however, when God wants to speak to people, there's a connection between the written word of God, which we call the Bible, and the spoken word of God. And we have been looking at it that once we have a wrong attitude towards the written word of God, then you can't hear the spoken word of God. And so we were— we stopped the matter, or where we got to last week— two weeks ago. Last week we prayed. On the matter of the Sabbath. Where we stopped two weeks ago was the reality that the Bible says, "Look, there is nothing you want to offer to God that God can really appreciate." People think that sacrifice is better than obedience. People don't understand that to obey is more important to God than sacrifice. They don't know that to harken to God is more important to God than the fat of rams. People think they can use some commitment to fellowship, to church, all those things, they can use it to replace obedience. It's not possible. It's not. There are 1,001 people inside church who don't have sense of divine direction. Not because God is not speaking, but there is something lacking in their lives. And that is what we— that is where we stopped in the book of Isaiah. He said, "This is the person I will esteem: the person who trembles at My word." So when we don't have the attitude of obeying the written scriptures, obeying the word of God— we have already considered the need to be a student of the Bible. We have considered that. We must be diligent with our study of the Bible. We said it must not be a matter of convenience. You must be someone who diligently studies the Bible. Give attention, give attention to the Bible. Consistently look into scripture day and night. You tarry at it. I will soon come to that. That will be the thing I will be looking at much more later, how people get drunk in the spirit. You will see that to be drunk and to be filled, they are the same thing in terms of the word of God. We will come to that later. But you must be somebody who do not see the Bible, Bible study, Bible meditation as a matter of convenience. We have looked at that. The second thing we are looking at, if you must be somebody that will hear God, is that you tremble at the word. Are you somebody where the Bible says, where the Bible says, "Don't give evil for evil," and yet your life is full of revenge, and then you say you want God to speak to you? You can't hear God. You can't hear God. We said what we are trying to see is that look, the— let me connect it. Let me connect it together. This is where we have before we move on. I want to connect it with the John where we are going. I want to connect it together. He said, "This is the one I esteem, the person who trembles at My word." So when you tremble at the word of God, what happens? God esteems you. And that when God esteems you like that, that "Wow, you matter to Me," then God can speak to you. Now, look at the corollary of this scripture. Look at what the Bible says in the book of John. Let's go open to the book of John, John chapter 14. The person who trembles at My word. Look at John chapter 14. Gospel according to John, not 1st John, the Gospel, Gospel according to John, chapter 14. Let's see that place together. John chapter 14, I will first read verse 15, then I will read verse 21 to 23. Look at verse 15. What did He say? "If you love Me, do what? Obey My command." So loving God is not just about singing it or preaching it. You can preach the word of God, you can sing the word of God, but yet you don't love the Lord. It's not about preaching the word of God that shows your love to God. You may be a powerful preacher, and yet God does not esteem you. You may be a powerful singer, and yet God does not esteem you. You may be a powerful dramatizer, you can dramatize the word of God, yet God does not esteem you. The man that God esteems is the man who obeys it. It's not just reading, it's not just preaching, it's not just singing, not just dramatizing. No. It's about do you obey it? Like I remember talking to somebody and I know what happened between the person and someone and I said, "Look, bro, one thing the Bible says is that look, if they compel you to go one mile, go two miles with them. And you pray for those who despitefully use you." You know what he answered me? He said, "Bro Wale, Bible ni yen, e je ka face reality." Now for his own, the Bible is not his reality. When the Bible is not your reality and you want God to speak to you and give you direction, you are joking. You are joking. If you truly love God, how do you prove it? That word that you read, that word that you study, that thing, those things that you see in the scripture, you don't need to wait for a revelation. The word of God is clear. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger," for instance. And yet you can keep malice and you want God to speak to you. How? How do you want— no matter how much you want to pray. You see, these things they connect together. What we call the open will of God. You must, before we come to the obscure will of God. The open will of God are things that ordinarily we can understand by reading the Bible. You have read the scripture: "Do not lie to one another," and yet you are never sincere in dealing with your colleagues in the office. You are never sincere in dealing with your neighbor. You are never sincere in dealing with your children. You are never sincere in dealing with your husband, and then you are praying, "Oluwa, meet me, God speak to me." Who's speaking? There's something that is clear: "Do not lie to one another." Your life is full of, your life is full of lie. You say, "Nigeria la wa." I'm afraid you don't understand something. You see, if you obey Me, what happens? You are the one that loves Me. But look at where the matter is going. Because we are trying to relate the connection between the written word of God and what? The spoken word of God. The reason why God cannot speak to some people's life to create things in their life, why God cannot bring His creative power into the life of many people by speaking into their situation. Because until He speak and you speak what God speaks, nothing comes to pass in your life. That thing that God speak and you speak is what we call the word of faith. Without that faith you cannot please God. It's by that faith that the elders spoke, that they did exploits. Without faith there is nothing you can do that can be pleasing to God. Look at Cain, we'll be coming to all those people later. He sacrificed to God but did God accept him? No. Because it was not by faith. It was not by faith. Without faith there is nothing you can do that can be pleasing to God. And faith truly begins by diligently studying scripture, giving attention to scripture, and wholeheartedly obeying what you are reading. That is the start. That is what the Bible is calling faith. But look at how it climbs. He said, "He who loves Me, if you love Me, keep My command." Now let's move on. Verse 21. Let's go there. Look at what He says in verse 21. > He who has My commands and obeys them is the one who loves Me. Is that not what we just read in verse 15? Now He proceeds: > He who loves Me will be loved by who? By My Father. Are you seeing it? The person who obeys the command is the person who loves Me. That person that loves Me, what happens to that person automatically? The Father loves that person. Now look at how it goes: > I too will love him, and what will I then do? I will show Myself to him. So do you see why several people are praying, "Oluwa shi mi ni ye, Oluwa shi mi loju, God open my eyes, help me to understand Your word, God what is Your will for my life, what do You want me to do in this things, God how do You want me to go?" and nothing is happening. "I've been praying for months about it." No, check your life. "I've been praying for years, God is not saying something." Check your life. Because it's a— it's a process. It's a process. You diligently study the word of God because you want to obey them. He said, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you meditate on it day and night so that you can observe to do what is there." So as you are doing it, what are you showing? You love Him. What happens? The Father loves you. What happens? He too loves you. What now happens? He shows Himself to you. So before there can be revelation, encounter, there's a process. Revelation and encounter don't just come. There is a process. And I'm telling you, without revelation, the people perish. Where there is no revelation— you know where I'm quoting? Proverbs 29:18. He said, "Where there is no revelation." Let me read that thing to you in the Message. Message, let's see what the Message, the Message of that Proverbs 29:18 says so you can know what I'm talking about. Please don't just mess up your life with your Christianity, or else your life will amount to nothing. God is still doing wonders. God is still leading people. God is still speaking to people. The ways of God, they are plain to those whose ways are plain. Proverbs 29:18: New King James says, > Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but happy is he who keeps the law. Let me read to you in the Message. Look at what it says. I like it so much in this reading so that you can get that revelation, what it says. It says, > If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves. So when there is no revelation, what happens to you? What happens to you financially? What will you be doing? You will be falling. What happens to you in terms of your health? You cannot prosper and be in health as your soul prospers. What happens to you in terms of your marriage? You keep stumbling. What happens to you in terms of your relationship? You keep stumbling. What happens to you in terms of your academics? You keep stumbling. What happens to you in terms of your business? You keep stumbling. I give you this example. Look at my pastor friend. She's into buy land and selling land. She bought a land, this thing happened in Lagos. She bought a piece of land. When she bought that land, she bought that land for 5 million. The land began to appreciate within three years, it came to— I'm not using the exact figure, these are people's personal stories, so I'm just using whatever figure. The thing rose to something like about 55 million within three years. She wanted to sell. Friends said, "Ah! Land in this place is appreciating so much. Don't sell yet so that the price, ah! If within three years, why not wait for five years? The money from there you put to another one." But she's somebody who has a walk with God. She went to Lord and asked the Lord, "Lord, what do I do?" The Lord said, "Sell now." The Lord said, "Sell now." You know what happened? This thing happened in 2019, towards the end of 2019. You know what happened in 2020? COVID. She sold that land. When she sold that land, during COVID, the value of land in that same place came back to around 17 million. It came back to around 17 million just within the space of three months. They said wait for another two years. The story changed within the space of end of 2019 and COVID year in 2020. Within months. Why did she not stumble? Why did she not stumble? There was revelation. She did not stumble. She spoke with the Lord, the Lord said, "No, sell now." She went ahead to sell. And she sold that land that was towards the end of 2019. By the time it was 2020, COVID year, prices of land depreciated because of the COVID problem. You know businesses went down. Prices came to about 17 million. If there was no revelation, she would have stumbled all over herself. Her financial, her financial profit would have come into a mess. But because there was revelation. That's what the Bible is saying. "If people can't see what God is doing, what happens? They stumble all over themselves. But when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed." When they attend to what He reveals! So if you want to be blessed financially, what are you to attend to? What God is revealing. You want to be blessed academically, what are you to attend to? What God is revealing. If you want to be blessed maritally, what are you to attend to? What God is revealing. You want to be— just look at it like that. So revelation is the key. Revelation. And so we are— we are looking at something in that book of— in that book of John. John chapter 14 verse 21. "Whosoever has My command and obeys them is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I too will love him, and what will happen? I will show Myself to him." Let's look at other translation, that word "show". He says, "I will reveal Myself to him." Amplified, it says, "I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him." Are you seeing that? So what is it that can make God real to you? What can make God real to you? A diligent study of scripture. A diligent deliberateness, being intentional. "No, the word of God says, this is what I want to do. Fear ye tipoju, leave me alone. This is what the word of God, this is what I want to obey." When we begin to have that kind of life, what happens to you? The Father loves you. The Lord Jesus loves you. What now happens? He begins to have revelation. And when there is no revelation, what happens to a family? They stumble all over themselves. What happens to a businessman? They stumble all over themselves. And I'm telling you, this is one major thing affecting many people today. Look at what happened in that place. We read on, in that after 21, I go to 22. Look— please follow this thing. Verse 22: > Judas, not Iscariot, said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world?" How is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world? Look at the answer of Jesus, verse 23. Can we read together? Can we read together? Read your own Bible, read your own version. Let's read together: > Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come and make our home with him." May that be your portion. Have you seen something? Somebody was now asking Him that, "Ah, ah, Master, please, I don't understand. Is there a way You can show Yourself to Sister Bumi without showing Yourself to Sister Rejoice? Ah. Is it possible that Sister Rejoice will see You and Brother Matthew will not see You? Ah. How?" You know he was— he said, "How will You show Yourself to some people and others will not? Ah. How?" Jesus said you don't understand something. We don't show ourselves to everybody. Everybody are not qualified to have us. They are not qualified. That's why He said two can be on the bed, one will be taken and the other left. Have you read that in your Bible before? Two will be grinding in the mill, one will be taken and the other left. Two people they may be preaching together and one will go, the other will leave the other one, because one is having a consistent fellowship and relationship with God. How can two be on a bed? It means they have close association. One is taken, the other left. So Jesus can be manifesting Himself to one and not to the other one. God can be doing something in life of one and not in the other one. So it's not— it's not a matter of "kani ka po". It's not something like that. Revelation is a personal thing. Revelation is a personal thing. Somebody can be working in revelation. And that is why I tell people this thing. If you are having, if you are in relationship with somebody, particularly your marital relationship, because that is where this thing comes in more. Where the husband is having revelation, the wife is not having. Or the wife is having, the husband is not having. You better pray, you better pray, you better tarry and pray and pray your partner. Pray your partner into your revelation. Because until God also reveal Himself to that person, the person will not be able to follow you. Revelation is not common sense. Revelation is revelation. But one beautiful thing is that you can pray people to see what you are seeing. Hallelujah! That's one great thing. You remember Elisha? You remember Elisha and the servant? The Syrians gathered around Elisha. When Elisha came out, it was the young man that first saw them. And he said, "Master, Master, Master, Master, Master! Heh! Heh!" When Elisha came out, Elisha was in a revelation. So he was stable. And he was trying to tell the young man, "Cool down, cool down," but the boy was not cooling down. He was only seeing the enemy. He could not see the chariot of fire. What did Elisha do? He said, "God, open his eyes." I tell people many times, instead of arguing and arguing and fighting your partner, pray for them. Pray! Revelation is revelation. And it's difficult to get that person and the person cannot walk in it. And it's the same thing that happens. If you are in any ship, a friendship, a courtship, whatever ship you are in, and you are truly interested in building people, you must be able to pray for them to enter into revelation. Because until people receive revelation they cannot be built. Until people receive revelation, mark my word, God cannot build any life that cannot hear God. That is where we were— don't forget that we are coming from Hebrews chapter 11, biblical concept of faith. That's our topic, that's what we are— that's what we are looking at. What is faith in the Bible? And we already "by this the elders obtained a good report." So we are trying to look at how the elders were able to obtain good report. We are trying to look at what— which kind of faith did they operate? What is this faith? It was a faith in which God speaks to them. It was a faith of a personal relationship, personal one-on-one where there's revelation. It was a revelation that made Peter to walk on the— to walk on the water. He said, "Come." It was a revelation. It was a revelation that changed ordinary matter to a preacher. Martha who was weeping at the tomb that Jesus had been stolen. When her eyes was opened, she saw angels where the others saw ordinary nappy. She heard Jesus! Jesus said, "Go and tell them that look, nobody— I have not been stolen by anybody. I am risen. I am going to their Father and My Father." By the time Martha will get back to them, she will no more be crying, she will no more be weeping. She will be telling them, "The Lord is risen!" What changed her to another person was revelation. What took her out of her confusion was revelation. Without revelation, that is the faith that we are talking about in the elders. And I'm showing you the process. If you are not a serious, diligent student of the Bible, deliberately studying the Bible, not as a matter of convenience, as a matter of diligence, deliberately obeying scripture... It is when they begin to see your faithfulness to little that much will be given to you. But when you are not faithfully obeying the little, you read the Bible today, love your enemy, pray for those who despitefully use you. You read the Bible: "Wherever two or three are gathered, I am there." You get into fellowship, you are busy WhatsApping. You don't recognize that wherever two or three gathered, the Lord is there. You are not diligently obeying scriptures, then you are saying, "God open my eye." Open your eye for what? The one that you can read, did you give attention to it? You don't give what is holy to dogs. That is what Jesus said. He said you don't give holy things. The revelation of God is a holy thing. He said you don't give holy things to dogs. You don't cast your pearls, precious things before swine, lest they trample it down. The person who read, the person who read, "Do not lie to your neighbor," who is busy lying, if you tell that person, "Son, arise, go to Nineveh," will that person even believe that God is even speaking? The person who cannot believe that what God is writing is God, if God now speak, will they believe that it's even God that is speaking? That is what we are trying to see. So Judas was trying to ask Jesus, not Iscariot, he was saying, "Ah, Master, oro ti e n so yi o ye wa o. We don't understand. Ah. How will You appear and everybody will not see You? Ah. You're supposed to appear to the world, the whole world will see You." Sorry. Jesus said no, there's a procedure to seeing us. May you see God. May you hear God. May you see God. May you hear God in the name of Jesus. What's the procedure? "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone actually loves Me, he will obey My word. My Father will love him. We will come to him. We will come to him and we will do what? We will make our home with him.'" May that be Your portion. If you are living in the same house with God, E jo, e dabi Olorun be le. If you are living in the same house with God! [laughs] Hallelujah! Hey! Look at your hostel, your hostel mate is God. Hallelujah! Look at your room that your roommate is God. But look at the procedure. He's talking about revelation. He's talking about revelation. He's talking about faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. There's this faith that come by hearing, by hearing God's word. This is the faith we are talking about, that comes in hearing. This thing that comes to you because you heard. This thing that makes you, that makes you, that makes you, you know, consistent, courageous. This thing that makes you going. Look at something the Bible says. Look at something. He will make our abode with him. So I want to quickly move to something where we will close. I want to quickly make us see something. Let me open my— I want to quickly open my note. I want to get to somewhere quickly now. Now, I want to connect something for you, a biblical example. That's where I want to close today. Let's look at Daniel chapter 9. That's how I'm closing today. Let's go to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9, we want to quickly look at something Daniel chapter 9 so that we can close with that place. We close with that Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9 from verse 1: > In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of Mende, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet that He should accomplish seventy years of desolation of Jerusalem. What was the first understanding Daniel gained? How did he gain that understanding? By the books. Which is the book? The book of the prophet. So there was a diligent study. I'm going to show you a practical example in the Bible so you don't think that what we are saying now, they are no new thing. We are not saying anything new. So if he had not read the books, please would there be understanding? There'll be no understanding. So he understood by the book, the word of the Lord. What now happened in the verse 3: > Then I set my face toward the Lord to make request by prayer and supplication, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, "O Lord, great and awesome," So he began to pray. "O Lord, great and awesome." Let's be jumping the prayer. I will skip the whole of that prayer so he had begun to pray. You get the point I'm making? So let's skip the prayer, verse 6: "Neither have we yielded, O Lord, righteous Lord." He was still praying. Verse 8: "O Lord." Verse 9: "To the Lord our God." Verse 10: "We have not obeyed Your word, the voice of the Lord our God." He was still praying. Verse 11: he was still praying. Verse 12: "He has confirmed His word which He spoke against us, against the judges who judge us by bringing—" He was still praying. He came back again as it is written. Please how did he know the disaster? As it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us. How did he know those disasters? By the law of Moses. I'm trying to make you see that people of revelation, they are people of what? They are people of the scriptures. That's what I'm trying to make you see. They are people of the scriptures. Now, so he got understanding again by reading Genesis, Exodus, Numbers. Do you get it? He was a prophet. But what was he studying? He was studying the books of Moses. He was gaining understanding. It was directing his prayer on how he should pray and what he should pray for. So let's move on. So he was still praying. "Therefore Lord, the disaster—" Verse 15: "Now O Lord our God, You have brought—" Verse 16: "O Lord, according to Your righteousness I pray." He was still praying. Verse 17: "Now therefore our Lord, hear the prayer of Your servant and his supplication." Verse 18: he was still praying. "O my God, incline Your ear." Verse 19: he was still praying. "O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive." Verse 20: > Now while I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people, and presenting supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I have seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me, reached me about the time of the evening offering. Look at what he said, please look at what Gabriel said: > And he informed me and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplication, the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter and understand the vision. Seventy weeks are determined for your people." Do you see that there was first an understanding by reading before there was now what? A deeper understanding by revelation. That's where we are going to pray this evening. We'll pick it from here next week. I'm trying to make you see that what we are talking about is not a new thing. It has always been the pattern of God. It is the pattern of God. There is no— look, Christianity is not something that started with us. I keep telling people. The faith was passed to us. We are not the one who began Christianity. It is our turn now to continue. We cannot change Christianity. I keep telling people you can't change it. You can only take yourself outside God. It will remain what it is. You cannot change the ancient landmark. Any try to change it, you don't change anything, you only build, you only build to waste. Eventually, whatever you build will collapse. He who hear My word and does not do it, I will liken that person to a foolish man. May we not be foolish. He said when the storm will come, when the wind will blow, when the rain will fall, what will happen? It will beat against that thing. It will fall and great will be the fall. May that not be our portion. Talk to the Lord this evening. Talk to the Lord. God! Lord, Lord, Lord, I don't want to remain where I am. I don't just want to remain where I am. Lord, carry me forward. Lord, move me forward. I've shown you the process. Lord, carry me forward. Lord, carry me forward. I don't just want to be where I am. I don't want to be where I am. Lord, what decision are you taking today, brethren? What decision are you taking? Are you a Bible student? Are you a— or are you a non-entity? A non-entity. Or maybe you have been studying but you are not believing. You have a wrong attitude. You don't tremble at the word of God. You read the word of God, "O Bibeli ni yen, Nigeria la wa. Emi o le gba eleyi o, I can't take it, I don't feel like, I can't take that." Is that where you still are? Or you are looking at, "Look, this is what the word of God says, I must obey the word of God." Are you— is that where you are? Where are you? Gabriel said, "Daniel, you know you are beloved." Anytime you read the word of God, you take it to you. You have read something now, that seventy years and you have begun to repent already. You have begun to give attention. I have now come to give you understanding. You know you are beloved. So I have come to tell you. May you be a beloved of God. May you be a beloved— talk to God this evening. I don't just want to be anybody on the street. I don't want to be anybody on the street. I don't want to be anybody inside a church. I don't want to just want to be in the choir, I don't want to just be in the Bible study, I don't want to be a teenage teacher, I don't want to be a preacher, I don't want to just want to be a church worker, I want to be a beloved of God. I want to be a beloved of God. I want to be a beloved of God. He said we will come to him, we will make our abode with him. So that God can begin to create with your life. So that God can begin to create with your life. He can begin to speak. The Bible say He spoke and it was done. He commanded and they stood fast. So that we can build to last. So that we can build to remain. So that we can build and it will remain. Talk to the Lord this evening. Talk to the Lord. Oh Lord I plead, I plead for higher ground. Oh Lord I plead, I plead for higher ground. Oh take me to a height, to higher ground. Lord take me to a height, to higher ground. Oh Lord I plead, I plead for higher ground. Oluwa jo, a gbe mi s'oke. Olorun jo, a Baba, gbe mi s'oke. A ni gbe mi lo si, a, ibi giga. Gbe mi lo si ibi giga. A, Oluwa jo, Baba gbe mi s'oke. A, Eleda jo, a, e ba gbe mi s'oke. Oh Lord I plead, oh I plead for higher ground. Oh Lord I plead, I plead for higher ground. A, Lord take me to a height, to higher ground. Take me to a height, to higher ground. Oh Lord I plead, I plead for higher ground. Make a decision today. I must not be a non-entity, entering church, coming out, giving sacrifices, doing everything, and yet you don't even understand anything from scriptures. You don't— you don't give attention to scriptures. You don't give attention to scriptures. Make up your mind, I don't want to be a non-entity. Number two, make up your mind, I will not be foolish. I will not be slow of heart to agree with the Bible. Ah, I will not be slow of heart. I will not be slow. Ah. Oh, whatever is in me, Baba, break me. Baba, break me. Baba, break me. Break me! Break me, Lord, break me. Break me, take me away from what I like, what I want, and what I feel. All that governs some people: "Look, emi o gba eleyi, I can't take that, I don't like it, I don't want it, I don't feel like." If that is still where your life is, you are going nowhere. You are a foolish person. You are a foolish person. You need to come to the place of what you ought to do. What you ought to do. Not what you want to do, not what you like to do, not what you feel like doing. You must leave these three places. People who live by what they want, people who live by what they feel, people who live by what they like, they are foolish people. They are foolish people. We are looking for people who will live by the will of God, who will live by what they ought to do. They live by— I just want to imagine it. When somebody slap you on one cheek, do you feel like turning the other one? You don't feel like. You feel like slapping back. You feel like insulting. You feel like saying you are stupid. You feel like... but you don't have to live by what you feel. There is what is written. What is written is that bless the person. Don't give evil for evil, bless— that! You don't need to feel it. But you need to act it. You need to do it. Oh brethren, it is because people are moving away from the truth. People don't want to endure sound doctrine. They don't want to endure sound doctrine. They want to live by what they want. They want to live by what they feel. They want to live by what they like. As a result, many cannot enter into the place of becoming the beloved of God. They cannot enter into the place of revelation. They cannot enter into the place of the Rhema of God. God cannot trust them with little things. So He cannot give them, He cannot give them, He cannot give them the real riches. He said if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, the small-small ones we are showing you, the open revelation, the open instruction, if you have not been faithful, who will give you what is your own? How will we come to the— to the hidden riches? How will we come to the secret things of God? How will we come to the— to the deeper things of God? When the one that we have written openly, you could not give attention to it. You could not agree with it. You have— you have remained so foolish. You have remained so stupid. You live a life of what you want. You live a life of what you feel. You live a life of what you like. Brethren, pray. I must not be a non-entity. I must not be foolish. Oh Lord, take me to this higher ground. I want to get to the higher ground. That is the pattern of the elders of old. That is why these people can say, "The people who know their God, they will do exploit." These people they knew their God. Ah, but today, we could not do exploit. We could not do the unusual. We could not march on. Because this thing we are talking about, this faith, this faith, this faith. And that's what Jesus was saying. "When the Son of Man shall come, will He still find faith? Will He still find faith? Will there still be faith? Will there still be this faith? Will it still be there? Will it be there by the time He comes?" Oh, it is by this faith that the elders obtained a good report. They obtained a good report. Talk to the Lord this evening. Talk to the Lord. Cry to the Lord. Cry to the Lord for your life. Lord, move me to higher ground. Oluwa gbe mi s'oke. Oluwa gbe mi s'oke. Oluwa gbe mi s'oke. Gbe mi lo si ibi giga. Mi o fe wa ni ibi ti mo wa. Ma je n wa bakanna mo. Oluwa, Baba, encounter, encounter, encounter, encounter. Lord, lift me up! Lord, lift me up! Almighty God we thank You for this evening. Everlasting God we lift You high. Jehovah God we bless Your name. We be desirous of You, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Almighty God our eyes are on You. You make us perfect in every good work to do Your will. The Bible says You work in us that which is well pleasing in Your sight. Lord we pray for our lives today. Make us perfect in every good work to do Your will. In the name of Jesus. Lord work in us, Baba. Where You need to break us, break us. Where You need to rebuke us, rebuke us. Lord, don't hesitate. Whatever You need to do with our life to make us better people, Lord don't hesitate. Go ahead and do it. Make us perfect in every good work to do Your will. Work in us, Baba, that which is well pleasing in Your sight. Baba work it. Whether we want it, whether we don't want it, Baba work it in us. Baba work in us. Baba work in us. Baba break us, Baba mold us, Baba use us in the name of Jesus. Thank You eternal Father. Lord our eyes on You. Let nothing prevail against Your purpose for our lives. Thank You eternal God. Lord as we go into this month, may Your good hand be upon us for good. May Your eyes watch over us. Lord we pray as we go through the month, we have entered the concluding months of the year, the months that round up the year. The month of September, October, November, December. They are the concluding months of the year. Lord crown the year for us. Crown the year for us. Crown the year with testimonies for us. Crown the year with Your goodness. Crown the year with Your mercy for us. Crown the year with Your favor for us. Cause us O God to have testimonies, testimonies of Your mercies, testimonies of Your favor, testimonies of open doors, testimonies of Your visitation. Lord, uphold us according to Your word. Cause us not to be ashamed nor to be stranded. Thank You eternal God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's share the Grace together: The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever and ever. Amen.