Cdc Sept 22 2018 Discerning God's Visitation

[Intro Music - Hymn: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory] [Voiceover] Church Jesus and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home for Him. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tech Ministry. May ye be blessed as ye listen. [Speaker 1] What we want to discuss is discerning God's visitation, discerning the visitation of God. The way it has been coming to me is that when we were beginning the year, matters were arising that God was making us to see that He intends to visit His people. He intends to visit His people. He intends to come to His people. For some of us, we have been experiencing the visitation, except for others who come to speak about their own experiences too. It has been coming one way or the other. It just occurred to me that it is possible for God to visit, it is possible for God to visit a man to bless him or to change his situation, and yet the man did not know that actually it was a divine visitation. What actually brought the thought to my heart was that I was just looking at the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the nation of Israel. There was a prophecy which they were all aware of that the Messiah will come. They were all waiting for the Messiah. They were looking forward to receiving the Messiah. Their hearts believed that since God said that a Messiah will come, they were persuaded and they were waiting. But the Messiah came. When He came, what happened? They did not recognize that it was the Messiah. They did not know that they had been visited. They were wondering, they were waiting. They were supposed to start rejoicing that the Messiah has come. Hallelujah! This is the Messiah. We have finally received the Messiah. Instead, it was the other way around. Number one, they said they don't believe that anybody will come from Nazareth. That was the first thing. Number two, they were wondering that when the Messiah will come, He is supposed to restore the kingdom to them. I hope you are following their own expectation. Number three, the Messiah they were expecting is a political Messiah that will come with power and glory. They were not thinking of just a man coming in a way that is so absorbed as far as they are concerned. And then the man trying to make them understand that before Abraham was, I am. And they were feeling that this boy, this... So, eventually that visitation came, but the blessing of that visitation did not become their own. They missed out of the blessing. They missed out, they missed out completely. Why? Because they were not able to discern that visitation of God. So, I was just saying that we are also waiting for God to visit us this year. But is it possible for God to come in one way, but because the way you are expecting Him to come, your calculation about the visitation could be that when God would have come, the blessing you ought to take out of that visitation, you did not take it? Or we did not receive it, we did not enter into it, because you did not discern the visitation? You have been praying, "God visit me, God visit me, God visit me." I just want to say that. Look at the servant that went to pick a wife for Isaac. He was trusting God for guidance. When he got to the well, he prayed. He set something in motion. "God, let it be that the person that will come, that will fetch water, let it be the person." And then Rebekah was just coming out. And then she entered into that criteria. And then the man felt this must be the person that we are looking for. Now, what I am trying to bring out was that for Rebekah, Rebekah was not doing anything very... she was not doing anything like looking for a husband. Rebekah on her part was just doing a service to somebody that she met. It was the man who discerned that this is the visitation. She was able to discern that, "Okay, person t'o wa yii, t'o wa sibi kanga yii," by all these criteria of God, this is the visitation I am waiting for. Then the man now took advantage of the visitation and said, "Whose daughter are you?" And then began to... and right there and then, he placed the nose ring. Rebekah could have also come and she could have fetched that water and she would have gone back to her father's house, and the man would not have known that it was God that brought Rebekah. So, while we pray for God's visitation, while we are trusting God, "God visit me, God visit us, God visit me," it is also very important for us to also pray for discernment, to be able to discern the visitation. Because nkan t'o n gbadura fun, Olorun le ti dahun, Olorun le ti se, k'on ti fun e n'ire owo owo hun. Nkan t'o n wo hun, Olorun ti le fun e. But because you did not... there was... you... I don't know whether you get the feeling that was just bothering my mind. While you are praying, "God in the name of Jesus, Baba, Lord, visit me, Lord visit me, Lord visit me, Lord I wait, Lord do not pass me by as you meet people Lord meet with me." The servant had prayed that prayer all while he left. Abraham too prayed for him that God will answer him. And when he got to that well, did God answer? Did God answer? God answered. But just imagine if that man just got there and was waiting and he saw a lady come, a lady came, "Ah, stranger, this and that," and she gave some assistance and the lady left. Is it not possible to have happened that way too? And God will still be praying, "God of Abraham, God of Abraham, please favor me." Mind you, God of Abraham has favored him. He has brought Rebekah his way. But what happened? He never discerned Rebekah. What I am trying to make you see is that as we pray for the visitation, the discerning of that visitation, ability to understand that visitation, ability to discern that God has come, becomes a very serious thing. Ability to know that Olorun ti je mi, Olorun ti gbo mi, to know it that God has come. Because it will just come and it will go and then it is off and you will still be praying. I give you another example. I am talking about God visiting His people, why we must pray as we pray that God visit me, why we must also pray that God help me to recognize it. I will show you another visitation. Look at when Egypt was oppressing Israel. The oppression went on, the oppression became so bad. Bible says Israel prayed. They prayed and prayed and prayed. It says and God heard them. When God heard them, how did God answer them? The way God answered them was that God went to the land of Midian to go and meet Moses. When God got to Moses, God told Moses, God did not tell the Israelites. He told Moses that I have heard the cry of my people and I remember my covenant with Abraham. Not as if God forgot, we have discussed that before, but the time came for God to act. He said I remembered. So I have come. What did God now say to Moses? He said, "Come now, I am sending you to my people to deliver them, to bring them out of Egypt. And this shall be a sign to you that you will come back to worship God on this mountain." Was that not it? Things went that way. Now, when things went that way, Moses left the father-in-law, Jethro. Moses left Jethro and he came to Egypt. When he got to Egypt, he went to Pharaoh. There was no particular answer to the Israelites in Egypt. I am showing you that why we must pray that God help me to discern when you are visiting me. Moses got there. He went to Pharaoh. He said the God of Abraham, God of Jacob, Isaac, and Jacob has sent me to you. Let my people go that they may go and worship me. Pharaoh said, "Ise sese. Laziness and not having something to do is making you to begin to say let us go. Okay, taskmasters, don't give them straw again." Now, what was the response of the Israelites? They said, "God will judge between you and us." That was their response to Moses. "You have made us to become an offense to Pharaoh. The God will judge between us and you." Now, what has happened? God came down and they were asking God to judge between God and them. Is that not God? God said, "I have come down." And God came down in Moses. But they could not discern the visitation. So, while you are praying, that has been most of our prayers, "Lord visit your people, Lord you told us you are visiting us, you are meeting with us." But I just began to have this burden in the last one month that I hope people are also praying that God help me to discern the visitation. Because God will come and God will go and you will not know that God came. E o ni mo p'Olorun ti wa. T'o ti lo. So, as we pray for God's visitation, we must also pray that God help me to discern. Because it may come so simply. It may come in a way that o jeri mo p'Olorun lo ti de. In fact, the way it will come, it will just look like is this? And then everything would have just gone. And then you keep praying, "Father, Father, Father, Lord visit me." Israel nation, they are still praying today. "Oh, bring the Messiah." They are still waiting. The Messiah has died. We are counting almost over 2,000 years ago. They are still praying, they are still there, lining. "Oh, bring the Messiah!" They are still there waiting. They crucified Him, they killed Him. They never discerned Him. And you notice several you see this kind of thing. When people have been waiting for God for long, the way God comes, except you are spiritually discerning, you won't know it is God. That is why I am picking examples of things that people have been waiting for. I hope you get the point. That's why we took that of Israel. They have been praying, praying, praying. When God answered and the prayer everything was going on, they never knew that it was God. They were busy asking God to judge between them and Him. They were asking God, they were bitter. Although God in His mercy still brought them out through that person, but they did not discern that on time. Look at another very good example of this long-awaited expectation and visitation. It is this very common one we all know very well. It was the way God when God was to visit Abraham with his son Isaac, when God was to come and bring the promise, when God was to come. How did God come? So, some people were just walking by. Eyan meta kan lo n lo. And Abraham said, "Eyin alejo yii, ile ti n su. It's getting dark. Why not? Get some... No, don't worry, we are going." He could have said okay. And if he had okayed them, it's just... You God want to do something. This man has been waiting, he has been praying. You will think when God want to come, God will first give one thunder. Boom! Abraham, get set. Then fire will pass. You understand me? Something to call his attention that this thing that... because it was a matter that he had deviated into the bush for. He went to take Hagar. He did not even discuss when Sarah suggested that quickly. Sarah, I won't be able to give birth anymore. Quickly, God has to answer. God came to his house. Walk before me and be blameless. He had wanted this thing so desperately. He has been waiting. And I was thinking that God was going to do it. The way God will appear will be in a way that he will not miss it. The reason why I knew that he could possibly have missed it was because the Bible make us to know better in Hebrews that he entertained angels unaware. He didn't know. He showed hospitality to strangers. For in so doing, some have entertained strangers unaware. He didn't know. He entertained angels unaware. What are angels? They are what? Ministering spirits that are sent to minister to who? To the heirs of salvation. Now what is angels saying is that what has been sent to minister to you, they entertained what was sent to minister to them unaware that they are the one they are the one that brought their ministration. And so, just came and then just walked around and then God did not tell the servant anything. It was Abraham that was saying, "God, let it be that the woman that will do this that will do that." And then she knew that God had answered the prayer. The servant of Abraham, he just knew that God had answered the prayer. There was no discussion between him and Abraham, between him and the lady, but God answered that prayer. The prayer Abraham prayed, God answered. But it was the servant that discerned. So we discern, there is a place of discerning. We must be able to discern, be able to know, be able to see, be able to see, be able to understand this because it is the state of God's visitation. And in that same thing that was not understood by the nation of Israel, it was understood by a man. Another man who didn't even see the miracles of Jesus, he did not even see the wonder all anything about Jesus, but when Jesus came, He was still wrapped a baby and he said, "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your visitation." Jesu o ti n s'eyanu o! As a baby wrapped up, Simeon came and he was able to discern that this is the redemption of Israel. Awon t'o ri miracle e, awon t'o se yanu, awon t'o se gbogbo e, they never discerned the Savior. They never saw the Savior. So what I am trying to say is that God's visitation could be wrapped in so much simplicity. It could be wrapped in a way you did not even know that God has visited you. You will not even take advantage of the visitation. You will just commonize it, just see as one of those many things that happen. You just see as one of those natural, ordinary things that is happening around you. And then you not even harness it, take advantage of it, and then it just pass. And the prayer will still continue. "God, God, God, God visit me, visit me, visit me." The year will end. Say God didn't visit me last year. Whereas God came, but you didn't discern the visitation. So there is a place of discerning the visitation of God. There is a place of knowing, there is a place of seeing, there is a place of understanding. It is so crucial. It is so crucial. That was just the burden I said I want to share today. As we pray, you just come like a simple burden like God... and I was just in the room. Just as he said, "Okay, Olorun, you are visiting me. This thing has been long-awaited." But when the thing was going on, it didn't even fetch me that it was the visitation. But as I sat and I was reflecting, it just came and I was like wow! Thank you Lord. Somehow, if we are not discerning and understanding what God is doing, we may miss out of what God has programmed for us. Israel almost missed out in the time of Moses. The nation of Israel missed out. Zachariah almost missed out, but thank God for mercy that He still brought Gabriel. He just said because that you have said, the child will not come again. He only said to him because of this you will not be able to talk until it happens. He almost missed out when the visitation came, a prayer that has been answered, prayer on your petition. Ati kuro l'ori page iyen Olorun, a ti kuro l'ori page e, o l'ori page t'itun l'awa. She won't still be doing that again. Won o le se iyen mo. And then it became something... God must help us. God's simplicity of God. And the last example that came to my mind was that of Naaman. This man had been having leprosy all his life. It has been there. Bible said he was a general, he was this, he was that. Everything was working, but what was the but in his life? He was a leper. The visitation, how did it come? Was there thundering? No. Was there lightning? No. One small girl among the slaves just said that, "If oga can just go now to the prophet in Israel, they would have just healed him." Okay, what else is left? Okay. And then he sent a message to the king to heal him of his leprosy and all that. And the king said, "Look at him making trouble. What have I done?" and all of that. But the picture was this: eventually Elisha said he should come. When he was to come, what was the nature of the visitation? It just said, "Okay, o ti de, okay, go and wash yourself in the River Jordan." And he began to calculate. "Emi p'elu status mi. Do you know I am a general in the army of Syria? I am the second after the king. Nobody even came out. There was no nothing to say you are welcome sir. I did not even see the face of the man. Not even a single appreciation to say ah, you are welcome. Please sit down. He would not even come and then lay his hand on my head and call the name of his God. What level of disrespect is this?" And the man was going back to his town. Look at the nature of this. This man has been a leper all his life and God was there to visit him. Look at the manner of the arrangement of the visitation. Does it look like a thing that will lead to anything for Naaman? Does it look like anything that will lead anywhere? No. And the man was going back to his town. The boys now said, "Oga, e rora se nkan o, ko le t'ele ni no. Oga, e dake, small small. This speed of anger. He didn't ask anything too big. We know there are better rivers in Samaria, we know. But the prophet didn't ask anything too big. Just try it now. If not for you people, because of the two of you, because of you that you've said this thing, if you have not said anything, o lori buruku e." That was why you noticed that even the gift he brought before, he was going with it. You noticed after the healing that he brought those... which meant he came with something to give the prophet before. I hope you understand me. And then he went to the river. I just imagined the way he entered the river. "Let us see what this... let us see the thing. If not for you people..." And the miracle took place. God would have left him like that. He would have remained a leper for life. But God still put some things for him. God accommodated his shortcomings. What makes God God is His ability to wait for result. To wait until you realize your foolishness and you now begin to say, "God I am sorry, I did not... look at the way he acts us. We were killing him, he still went to the grave to bring out he was still giving gifts to men, and then we love him because he loved us." If you remove that from God, He ceases to be God. So, I am saying this because I have that assurance in my spirit. You don't need to be afraid to say, "What if God had come some time and I have never discerned?" I assure you by the spirit of the Lord, even if that had happened, there will be a revisiting. Amen in the name of Jesus. That prayer point just came to my mind as we were praying, so I know that even if it has happened to any of the brethren, there is going to be a revisiting. Mercy will avail. So let us be confident. Keep your hope in God alive. Keep your faith in God alive. Lord you will visit me and I will discern it. I will enter into it. That is faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Don't live in fear. Don't live in doubt. If God may come and I will not know it. No. The God that helped Abraham, the God that showed Naaman, who is not even an Israelite, mercy, the God that did it for Israel even when they told Moses, "God will judge between you and us," God still brought it. That God, His mercy is still there. It will avail for us in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you blessed Father. We bless Your holy name our God. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. As we are praying now, another thing just struck my heart. When I said the day of small beginnings, I think maybe I should just say I'm saying it because it struck my heart as we were praying. It's a personal story. As a young man growing up, entering into the age of maturity and of marriage, by understanding of my walk with God, I began to see the extent to which God wanted to use me, and I was enjoying that personal relationship with God. So when I began to read in 1 Corinthians 7 and that marriage is a distraction, he who marries does well, but he who does not marry does better. I made up my mind that I would not marry because I want to I don't want to serve God with distraction. And for that reason, I began to put a kind of asterisk on children. So, I don't want to tell you about this God visitation. At several times, I'll just tell people that look, I don't look forward to having children. Just forget about it. Forget about it, I don't look forward to having it. Just forget about it. Because my mind was already set on the fact that marriage and children are distraction. Serve, pursue children, pursue, wouldn't be able to pursue God. And just release yourself to God. So I was becoming somehow biased towards marriage and children. In that bias, I would just tell people look, I don't look forward to children. But you know one day, I am talking about God visitation. Now, Mrs. Banjoko, then Sister Olaide, we were just visiting us, and said, "Boluwa, ah, things this and that." I didn't know what she said, and then she went to the issue of, "Maybe you have such lovable look, your children will like you," I don't know, I can't pick up the discussion. But I just said, "No, no, forget about children, I don't want that." And she just said, "Boluwa, don't be talking like this so that later in life, it does not become, you don't know, you start looking for children and you don't have children." She said it in her very simple way. Of course, in a way I was like the person discipling them, so you will say that a small sister talking to one so-called big brother. But right as she made that statement and she was walking away, like when you say thunder, just came and just hit my spirit. "Boluwa, after this last warning that I have warned you, if you make this statement again to another person, it will be so and I will not come back to you again." She was the one that spoke, oh! She was the one that spoke. "After this last warning that I warn, if you make this statement again to another person..." That was the last time. Although I did not understand whether I will marry, but I never made that statement again that I don't want children. I never made that statement again. I'm talking about you just see ordinary sister. I'm talking about discerning God visitation. Don't go and say it's ordinary sister. That was God the last time. Yes, look at the simplicity. That was God the last time. I want you to pray. That's why we are praying. That story just came back like a flash of a light and I just felt maybe I should share it with us. That God, no matter how simple, no matter how ordinary, no matter how small, Lord help me to know when You are visiting me. Help me to just discern, help me to just see, help me to just know it, help me to see, help me to understand this to walk into it. For Lord, You will surely visit me. I know You are coming. You are coming to me. I have that confidence that when God said He will visit, He will visit. He will. Lord, we will not miss Your visitation. Your mercy will avail for us. Your help will come to us in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ. Yes, Baba. There are areas Lord where we have missed Your visitation, where we have just assumed them away. Lord God Almighty, mercy will bring them. It will not matter who among our brethren. Doesn't matter who among us. Lord, mercy will bring them again. Mercy will make us to enter into it. Mercy will bring a revisit, mercy will bring a revisit. Oh yes Lord! Lord, You first spoke to Manoah's wife. Lord, when she begged that You should come again, You came again the second time to repeat the same thing. Lord God Almighty, I pray this hour there shall be a revisiting where God Almighty visitation has been despised, has been thrown away, there shall be a revisiting in the name of Jesus. Lord, Your people shall be blessed. We shall be blessed in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You blessed Father. We bless Your holy name our God. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. I just want to say this, I just have that assurance in my spirit, that's why that prayer point came to my mind. You don't need to be afraid to say, "What if God has come sometime and I've never discerned?" I assure you by the spirit of the Lord even if that has happened there is going to be a revisiting. Amen in the name of Jesus. That prayer point just came to my mind as we were praying, so I know that even if it has happened to any of the brethren, there is going to be a revisiting. Mercy will avail. So let us be confident. Let us keep your hope in God alive. Keep your faith in God alive. Lord you will visit me and I will discern it, I will enter into it. That is faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Don't live in fear, don't live in doubt. "If God may come and I will not know it." No. The God that helped Abraham, the God that showed Naaman, who is not an Israelite, mercy, the God that did it for Israel even when they told Moses, "God will judge between you and us," God still brought it. That God, His mercy is still there. It will avail for us in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You blessed Father. We bless Your holy name our God. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.