Fear Not My Little Children 070920

Here is the clean verbatim transcription of the audio provided: [Singing] In Christ alone my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease. My comforter, my all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live. There in the ground His body lay, light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again. And as He stands in victory, sin’s curse has lost its grip on me. For I am His and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I’ll stand. And no power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I’ll stand. We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. And we pray that all unity may one day be restored. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand. And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. They’ll know us by our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love. They’ll know us by our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love. We will work with each other, we will work side by side. We will work with each other, we will work side by side. And we’ll guard each other’s dignity and save each other’s pride. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. They’ll know us by our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love. They’ll know us by our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love, our love. They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. How can you walk when you don't know the way of the Lord? How can you run when you don't know the way of the Spirit? How can you fly when you don't know the way of the wind? The power at work in you, working everything in obedience to Christ. Working everything in obedience to Christ. How can you walk when you don't know the way of the Lord? How can you run when you don't know the way of the Spirit? How can you fly like the eagles when you don't know the wind? The power at work in you, working everything in obedience to Christ. Working everything, working everything. Yeah, in obedience to Christ. Working everything, working everything in your life, in obedience to Christ. Changing everything, changing everything. Yeah, in obedience to Christ. Please swallow your pride tonight, come to the school of the Spirit. Don't you know in His hand is the key to eternal life? It's a little here and a little there until the day will dawn. He is at work in you, working everything in obedience to Christ. Working everything, working everything in your life, in obedience to Christ. Bringing everything, bringing everything in my life in obedience to Christ. He is changing everything, changing everything in your life in obedience to Christ. Renewing everything, renewing everything in my life in obedience to Christ. Swallow your pride tonight, come to the school of the Spirit. Don't you know that in His hand is the key to eternal life? It's a little here and a little there until the day will dawn. He is at work in you, working everything, tell me, in obedience to Christ. Working everything, working everything in my life, in obedience to Christ. He is changing everything, changing everything in my life in obedience to Christ. Renewing everything, renewing everything in my life in obedience to Christ. We are diversifying everything, diversifying everything in your life in obedience to Christ. We are organizing everything, organizing everything in your life in obedience to Christ. Spirit move on, Spirit move on, Spirit move on, Spirit move on, Spirit move on, Spirit move on, Spirit of the living God. Jesus the King, Shepherd of the people. Spirit of the living God. Jesus the King, Shepherd of the people. Spirit of the living God. Everything in obedience to Christ. Mount Zion, the city of the Lord. Mount Zion, the city of the Lord. He shall use the faith of Zion to build the spiritual house. He shall use the faith of Zion to build the spiritual house. He is the corner, he is the cornerstone. Family Tent Ministry. Word of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. We thank our God again for His love, for His mercies, for His goodness. We thank Him for all who He is. We thank Him for all that He is to us. We appreciate Him again for another time in His presence this evening. We cannot but be grateful for the privilege of fellowship, the privilege of gathering, the privilege of His spirit, the privilege of His word. We cannot be grateful enough. We are grateful unto our God for this time again, for another time of discipleship class. And as we gather unto Him again this evening, both our brethren who are physically here and those of us that are connecting with us online, we trust the Lord again that it will be a time of favor and visitation from His presence in the name of Jesus Christ. Last week, it was the last Monday in the month of August, and we actually took time to pray. We were able to see, were able to understand that in all things our God is sovereign. And around that matter, the Lord helped us to pray. As we gather again before the Lord today, I want to press on, looking at scriptures, trusting Him for instruction again for our lives. And we trust Him that He will do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us have a word of prayer as we start again this evening. Our Father, we are grateful unto You. We thank You for Your love. We thank You for Your mercies. We thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your grace. We thank You for this opportunity again to be in Your presence. Lord, we are praying. It is unto You that the gathering of Your people shall be. Lord, therefore we say we are gathering unto You. Meet with us, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray. Paul plants, Apollos waters, but it is the Lord that gives increase. Lord, give increase to this meeting, to this gathering, in the name of Jesus. Lord, there is a spirit in man. It is the inspiration of the Almighty that gives this spirit understanding. Lord, we pray. Inspire our soul. Cause us that by the power of Your spirit we will be inspired by Your spirit in Jesus' name. Thank You, eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. We will be taking our lesson today from the book of Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. And our topic for today is actually taken from the verse 32 of that chapter. I wouldn't know before I go forward, does anybody have anything they want to say in respect of last week? Okay. Now, we are looking at Luke chapter 12. A very, very long chapter, but our focus is a portion of that chapter taken from verse 22 to verse 38. That's our focus. But the topic we will be having today, and if the Lord so wills, for perhaps throughout the month of September, we will be looking at something that the Lord was raising with His disciples in Luke chapter 12 and instructing our heart also as His disciples. Let's read this chapter and then we pick the title from verse 32. It says, "Then He said to His disciples, 'Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than these birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you so anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or even in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.'" I would like to take 32 and 38 in NLT translation. Luke chapter 12 verse 32 and 38. I want to take it in the NLT translation. 32 says, "Do not be seized with alarm or struck with fear, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 38, "He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn." What King James is calling second watch and third watch. Normally, the second watch is between 9:00 and 12:00. The third watch is between 12:00 and 3:00. So, that is why NLT is saying that he may come in the middle of the night, between 9:00 and 12:00, or just before dawn, between 12:00 and 3:00. What is peculiar about this time and sleep? Those are the times when sleep is the sweetest. And he said he may come between 9:00 and 12:00, or just before dawn, between 12:00 and 3:00. In any way, in any case, even though that is the best time for sleep, if you are waiting for somebody between 9:00 and 12:00, he doesn't come. You are getting to between 12:00 and 3:00. If that person comes around 3:00, are you likely to still be awake? Naturally, are you likely to be awake? No, you are likely to be asleep. And even when they wake you then to even wake up, you will still find it difficult to get up from sleep. But look at what it says. Look at what the Bible says. It says in that 38 that he may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn, but this is the issue or this is the matter, this is the important thing: "But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready." Whenever he comes. It doesn't matter when he comes, but whenever he comes, it is those ones that are ready. Even though he may come when ordinarily they will not be ready. We will come to all of this as we move on in the course of this discussion. I said the matter we are raising today may take us some weeks, if the Lord so wills, and it may take us into months, if the Lord so wills, if the Lord does not change the direction of the discussion. So we will go back to where our focus for today is, which is the verse 32, where the Bible says, "Fear not, little flock." And that's our topic for today. "Fear not, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Fear not, little flock. Fear not. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. It is, it is your Father’s— it is not just His pleasure, it is what? It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Who is speaking here? The Lord Jesus is speaking. He said, "Don't be afraid. Fear not, little flock. Don't fear. It is your Father’s good pleasure." What glorifies God, what gives Him glory is that you get the kingdom. It is His pleasure. It is something that pleases Him. It is His good pleasure. It is something— please, don't forget I'm emphasizing this pleasure so that you get the matter clearer. You know this word "pleasure"? This word "pleasure" is the same thing you will find in Revelation chapter 4 verse 11, the popular song: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power. For Thou hast created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Now, if you look at that, God created all things for His pleasure. Anything God wants to do is about His pleasure. Anything God does is about His pleasure. The primary purpose of God in anything and for everything is His pleasure. When God was making man, He was not having man in mind. When He was making the universe, He was not having man in mind. When He was going to the cross, He was not having man in mind. What was in His mind? His pleasure. Everything that God does is about His pleasure. Now, we are seeing something here. Jesus was telling the disciples, "Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Change your way of thinking." What was He dealing with? He was dealing with some things about the life of the disciples. They were anxious about so many things. They were anxious about their situation. They were anxious what things will look like. They were anxious. They have left so many things. They have left their fishing. They have left their tax collection. They have left everything and all that they were doing. Does it seem to make sense? Brethren, I want us to be very factual. Does it seem to make sense? No. Ordinarily, it's like a situation where no food, no money, the children are crying for food, and the father says, "God said we should go and sleep." Please, if you are the wife, will you go and sleep? Does it seem to make sense? No. Apart from all of this, there's another dimension to the problem. The other dimension to the problem was that Jesus is not in the good book of the religious leaders. The person that they are following is in isolation. He is not the generally accepted man. Who was the generally accepted man as at this time? There was a man everybody accepted. Who was the man? Moses. Moses was popular than Jesus. For everybody, Moses is the key. And now somebody is coming up and he's claiming to be greater than Moses. And mind you, it is one boy that his birth was by a carpenter. Insult upon injury or injury upon insult, anyway you look at it. It is one boy that his birth was before them. They knew, they can tell his story. Are you understanding me? So a lot of things, I want to make you see so many things, so many issues that these disciples will be engaging Jesus about. So many things they will be engaging him about. You know there is a way you will follow someone and you say, "Sir, did you forget?" So Jesus needed to explain some things to them. Number three, the third thing was that this kingdom that Jesus was talking about is something that was not real. The kingdom. Jesus began his ministry. What was the word that Jesus used to begin the ministry? What was the message? "Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand." Okay, if you are bringing a kingdom, please, how do you bring a kingdom? As at this time that we are talking about, if you want to establish a kingdom, how do you establish kingdoms? In fact, by the military. You will need one man. He may not be a political head so to say, but behind him will be battalions with bow and arrow, with guns. And everybody says, "Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand." Do you need to doubt that kingdom is at hand? You will not doubt. By the time you see the battalions that are behind him and they are coming with their chariot, and then as they are coming they first kill Herod, they kill the other one, they say, "Hey, this kingdom is at hand." You know it looks real. But you just saw one man that was born among sheep and lamb. No soldier, no— not even one bodyguard. He himself is not even carrying gun. Maybe I should illustrate what I'm trying to say to you. Just imagine that all the youth in Nigeria, gather all the youth in Nigeria, and say, "Look, today we will kill all the military. Every aspect of Nigerian Army will die today." And those ones are coming with ammunitions. These ones are going "Aluta, Aluta", nothing in their hand. Please, after three days engagement, who will you find casualty? So the kingdom Jesus was talking about was something that— it wasn't real. It was too abstract. I am saying all of this against a backdrop of some of the realities that may be facing your life today. Against the backdrop of some things that may be happening to you, of some cares that you may have. For example, the word of God say, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." But when you look at what is happening to you, you say, "Is there any reason to be rejoicing?" Does it look real? It doesn't. It doesn't. Let's take our teachers in the private school. Let's look at scenario where the husband and the wife— I was hearing a scenario where the husband and the wife they are both in private school, and no food, nothing at home, salary is not forthcoming. And just imagine that the employers who have stopped paying salary, and God says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." Do you think the joy can be always? Does it look real? It doesn't. It doesn't. What will be in their heart? What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? And then just imagine the children say, "Daddy, I'm hungry." Can the father say, "Hallelujah, our God is working"? Is it likely to be that response? No. No. I'm trying to create something around you that what was surrounding the disciples as at then is not too different from what is surrounding us today. It is not. They were following a man and the man keep talking of a kingdom. That was why you will notice that by the time he died, what was not what they were saying? "This is the man we even thought that is going to bring—" that tells you that when he was talking about the kingdom, what was in their mind? Every time he talk about the kingdom they will be wondering. How do you want to kill all the Roman soldiers? How will— are you understanding me at all? They were preoccupied with all of this. For you to know how they were preoccupied with it, when he resurrected again, what was the first thing that they asked? "Will You at this time now give us this kingdom?" So, which type of kingdom were they waiting for? Something that the Lord will just carry gun and everybody is dead. Now, Peter, you are the Prime Minister. John— you know, that was the— and they were just wondering. All around them was abstract. What Jesus was talking about was not deception. He was not deceiving them. Was he deceiving them? Was he cajoling them? Or just making them happy? You know there is a way you say, "Anyway, let me just make myself happy. Let me just say it is working out for my good." I mean, what else do you want to say? They say it is well, even in the well they will say it is well. Even when you are making that statement your heart is not with it. That is why brethren are now saying even in the well, just say it is well. I am showing you something. I'm trying to make you see that the situations that surround us today, the circumstances around our life, they were not far or they are not far from what these disciples were experiencing. Yet Jesus was not cajoling them. He wasn't. And if I may quickly announce to you that it doesn't matter how unrealistic, how wobbling and fumbling, how, how— I don't know— negatively imaginary your circumstance may look like, can I announce to you that the kingdom and the realities of the kingdom, they are real? Just as Jesus was real then, and what he was saying when he said, "Look, I know what I'm talking about. What I'm saying is real." The same way Jesus is still addressing you today, that the matter that God is saying in His word, the issue that God is raising in His word, even though you look around your life and what is happening to you and you check your situation, it looks like how will my matter not be like this as we are going? Something is telling you, "Hey, this thing this way, this thing this way." and it looks like your heart has begun to wander. Can I announce to you again that that which God has said and that which God is saying, they are real? Can I announce afresh again that God is not a deceiver and that God does not cajole people? God doesn't cajole. God doesn't just say, what is this statement they normally— what do they call them? Motivational speaker. God is not a motivational speaker. Let's just motivate, let's motivate. Hey, come on, come on, set, set, set, and then come on, come on, and then so that you are just— you know what He said? He said, "If these things were not so, I would have told you." I'm not deceiving people. I don't cajole people. When I say say to the righteous it is well, it is not a cajole. It's not just to make him happy. Even when the righteous is dying I say say it is well, God actually meant it is well. Yes. God actually meant it. It's not just trying to say something so that you can be happy even when that thing will not happen. That is the way I'm addressing this matter as we are opening up today because gradually as we face different situations of life today, the heart of believers is shifting gradually as if to say God is a mocker. As if to say God cajoles. As if to say God is just a dog that can just bark, but he can't bite. You know sometimes when you take the promises of God, brother, the Bible says where two or three are gathered, yes, He's there. He's there. But if we are stray at heart, you know what you are saying? "Don't try to make me happy. You know I'm sad that God is not here." And when things are going in certain things, brother, look at this. Yes, the will of God concerning us, giving thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks. We give Him thanks. But the truth is that it was just that brethren were singing it. You are not giving any thanks. The reality within you is, "God, You know this is not real for my situation." So, the first thing I am announcing to us this evening is that the Lord said, "Fear not, little flock. Fear not, little flock. It is— it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Now, the second thing I'm showing you in that verse is why didn't Jesus say, "Fear not, little flock, it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"? Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure." Would it have been different if He said it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom? What would have been different? What would have been different is that it is possible that their interest may not be secured. Maybe I should explain. If your parent happens to be the proprietor or proprietress of a school and then they employ principal, teachers, and everybody are working. Then it happens that you too you are working in that school and something happens to you that requires that the management look into your matter. Please, if you are asked to write, write a letter appealing to management because that's the official thing to do, so that the management can bring the letter to the management team where the proprietor and proprietress will be sitting as chairman, chairperson of that meeting. And that person is your father. When you are writing that letter, what will be in your mind? You will know the letter is formality. What makes you so assured it is formality? You know— so so so, eh? I will be treated different from every other person. And that difference is that it is for my good. But turn the thing round, that you are to write to somebody who is not your parent. Will that letter be formality? When you are writing the first one, are you likely to be fasting and praying? The first one, you'll just be smiling. What will you be doing? "Father, Your favor goes with this letter. Lord, speak for me in this management team. Lord, go ahead of my matter." Am I very correct? I want you to understand why Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father’s good pleasure." It is not just God's good pleasure. That God is your Father. The person that wants to treat the matter is actually your father. So why are you not relaxed? But check, are you really relaxed? So he said, "Fear not. Don't fear. The person to decide the matter is not just Almighty God, it is not just El Shaddai, it is not just—" you understand me? It's not just Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah Jireh, it's not just all of that. It's not just the first and the last, the beginning and the end, although He's good, but know very importantly that first and foremost He's your Father. So please, please, if somebody is to write the first letter and then is panicking and then is panicking, "I hope they will decide well. I hope the way things are going, I hope—" but if he's a son and a daughter and is doing like that, what's the problem? What could be the problem? You understand it. He's not secure, that is the word I'm looking for actually. He's not secured in that sonship. He's not secured. He's not secured. And that is why you will notice that any time Heaven wants to talk about salvation, he will say the helmet of salvation. Once you remove the head from a dead man, you don't know who he is again. You see, one, one, one very, one important, fundamental issue today is that we are not— we don't even understand our salvation. I'm telling you the truth. We don't understand it. We are not secured in it. They are two different things. They are completely two different things. We— I'm praying God for utterance. I'm trying to explain, you know, I'm trying to bring this thing to a point where you can get it clearer. I'm trying to use physical things to explain the mortal things, the eternal things of God. But let me just do something like this. Do you still remember our topic on "God is the strong man of the room of His treasure"? Do you remember that topic? How many of us still remember that topic? "God is the strong man of the room of His treasure". Do you remember that topic? Please, if you don't remember that topic, go online and listen to that message again. Download it and listen to it again. You see, it is, it is so crucial, it is so, it is so important, it is so fundamental because once you are not secured in your sonship, eh, you don't, you don't have the helmet of salvation. It's one very, very vital armor. It's a vital armor. It's the— that is when we talk about identity. Identity. You see you are coming, come with your passport photograph. Do they say come with your chest photograph? Have you ever taken your chest photograph for something to open an account before? Have you ever taken your leg photograph for an account before? What will they ask for? They say let the face be very clear. All they want is just this thing because that is identity. That is title. That is the person. That is the reality of who that person is. I remember an incident like that where an individual came to the bank— I was in the bank that day— he came to the bank, it was just a chance conversation. I was by the counter, it was the customer service. The customer service, you sit before different— so I was seated before who is attending to me, he was seated before who is attending to him. And he said, "Sir, please, we need this account, sir." The man said, "See, what you are asking for is not possible. If we must open this account, we need the facial photograph of your wife." "Sir, if she practices complete purdah, can't they take it like that?" The banker said no. He said, "Okay, because I can understand your religious background. This is what we will do for you. We won't take her in the public place. We'll take her to a private room, she can remove, we take the picture and then we place it." He said, "Sir, we would have preferred—" the banker now responded. He said, "If tomorrow somebody comes with that thing to claim all the money, what will you tell us?" He said the purdah expresses generality of people, it is not specific. If she will not open her face even in the private, then sorry, we cannot open a bank account. The helmet of salvation. That helmet of salvation. Identity, title, person, personality is here. Once a man is not secured in his salvation, he has lost his person, his personality, his title, and his identity. But if I may tell you something, think back and remember that number one, the love of God that brought your salvation did not begin with anything about you. Please. The love of God that was expressed at the death of Jesus is only informing us because some people think that the death of Jesus is the beginning of God's love for us. No. The death of Jesus is only making us to see, to know that God's love for us had been from eternity. The Bible says, "For God so loved that He gave." So the love preceded the giving. The giving is a demonstration of something that had been in existence. And the love was given at a point when nothing about your life qualifies for it. So, if it was given at a time when nothing about your life qualifies for it, can it be taken when something about your life qualifies for it? When you were yet enemy it was given. Now, having saved you himself, you are now a child, it will now be taken. How are you thinking? How are you viewing it? Having begun in the spirit, must we end in the flesh? It is crucial for us, one, one serious matter that God was raising with me as I'm preparing for this thing is that, "Son, the general populace of My people are not secured in their sonship. They are not secured." They think they are son today, they are no son tomorrow. They are— I don't know— I don't know how best to explain this matter. But you see, there is something about you, there is something down there that is making you not rested on this love of God that surpasses knowledge. If there's anything you must first know about God is this love of God that surpasses knowledge. Eh? If you try to put why God loves you and the basis of His love on knowledge, you will be lost because it surpasses knowledge. You cannot explain why God loves. You cannot explain it. Bible says so that you can be able to comprehend with all saints the depth, the breadth of the love of God that passes knowledge. How do you come into depth of something that passes knowledge? But it's something that God must help you to somehow begin to comprehend, somehow at least comprehend to a point where you can be secured in your sonship. Because I'm telling you, once a believer is not secured in his sonship, eh, there is a fundamental problem of identification, of title. When I mean title, I don't mean title in terms of somebody having a title. I mean title in terms of having an entitlement. For let me say for example, you are to claim a corpse and by the time you got there all the corpses are there without head. Which one will you take as someone you want to go and bury? Will you be able to pick the one you want to go and bury? You won't be able. I'm not talking of title in terms of title, but in terms of having an entitlement. You see, your entitlement from the Lord, your identification in the kingdom that gives you a place of what belongs to you, that which you can draw from and claim, and also is being secured in your what? In your what? In your sonship. The problem is this. I've given a physical illustration. If the person begin to do like this and do like this and like this, like this, he's not certain about the something. Ordinarily say he's not secured in a sonship. But the, the issue is this when it comes to the kingdom. The real issue about the kingdom is that a double-minded man cannot receive anything from God. That's the entitlement I'm talking about. Entitlement. The identity I'm talking about is that he has been identified as what? Double-minded. And so when Jesus was trying to explain the matters of the kingdom, the issues of the kingdom, opening up on this matter, trying to raise these men to be able to follow him, trying to raise them to be able to continue with him, he told them, "Fear not. What? Little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." The third thing I'll be talking about again still in that verse. We are moving between that verse and verse 38. That's why I said our journey, I don't know, except if God change the burden and direction of this meeting. We may be going a month or be going two months. But I'm trying to bring something to bear to you about this matter of "Fear not, little flock". Fear not, little flock. It is your Father’s good pleasure. The other thing I want to point to you in that place is the Lord addresses them as what? "Little flock". Let's first remove the word "little". Ordinarily what is a flock? Ordinary that's ordinary English word. What is a flock? Just not one, not two. So he was talking about everybody in that kingdom. All of them put together, that group, that specific group. You know in the group normally you should have those that are the mothers, those that are the males that are impregnating the mothers to give birth to the little ones. You understand me? Now what is peculiar about little flock in a flock? What is peculiar about them? What is peculiar about little flock in a flock? They are the ones that are tender and they need special attention and protection. I think the word is concluded. I don't have further things to say. The Lord is addressing a matter. That the matter of the kingdom is that when the kingdom, when the Father looks at the disciples, he doesn't see mother and fathers. What does he see? That category that needs what? Special attention and care. He sees a category of people that look they are so vulnerable. I remember when my— any time my turkey gives birth like that, once they hatch, we just take the mother and the little ones, we go and separate them somewhere. Do you know why? As those small small ones walk, even their father will mash their head and kill them. Even the mother too while she's trying to jump will mash down some and they will die. The mother. So what we will do, we will now confine the mother in a small space where she will not have ability to begin to jump and run, so that she will not mash those ones. We'll now begin to get all kinds of— get antibiotics, get this, get that. We will leave the normal food. We'll go and look for broiler starter. We will begin to check them. See, make sure— you are checking regularly. There was one time we forgot to check regularly. One wanted to drink water from that small big bowl and he fell into it and died inside the water. So quickly we will redo that bowl. I want to drink for someone because you know that they need care. You are just in and out, you are checking, you are checking. Can I announce to you that any time we are talking about the kingdom, the Father sees us as what? Little flock. We'll say little flock. He sees us as vulnerable, He sees us as tender, He sees us as weaklings, He sees us as people He cannot just leave alone. He sees us as people that He must be there 24 hours. He sees us as people that can just easily stray away. When we talk about the kingdom, the Father sees the disciples as what? Little flock. Little flock. He doesn't see them as matured enough to do things alone. He doesn't see them as strong that He can leave for a long time. He doesn't see them that way. He sees them as vulnerable, as weak, that they— they need special attention, they need special care. You will say, "Ah, is this serious?" But let me announce to you that even under a covenant that was inferior to ours— you know the first covenant was a useless one. Do you know it was a useless one? Am I the one that says so? It is the Bible that says so. It says a covenant that is fading away, another thing that is useless, that was not profitable to the people themselves because it could not free them from sin. God had to change that covenant because of its uselessness because was not profitable. Even under that one, it says, "He that touches you touches the apple of my eye." So what will He do under the new covenant? If the person who touches then touches the apples of His eye, so the person who touches now, what is he touching? Can you comprehend what the person is touching now? Because when you want to touch the eye, it's so— you don't even call somebody to touch your eye. Even if you want to touch, the eye will be like this. It's so difficult to touch them because the eye will be closed, it will be— yeah. So where are we now placed? And you are telling me that the love of God does not surpass knowledge? Where are we now? So the person who touches them, what is he touching now? I am saying all of this so that you can reconnect to something. Because we are taking a journey and you see if there is anything that Heaven must help you, must help us to get into is, how you use your imagination. What are you imagining? We'll be coming to all of those primers later. We'll be getting to all of those points much more later as later later by the time we are joining on this journey. But the burden for this particular meeting is "Fear not, little flock". Number one, you need not fear. Why must you not fear? Heaven sees you as what? Little flock. You are vulnerable, you need care and serious protection. That is how you are seen. Number three, it's not just Heaven, we are talking about your Father. And thirdly, we are saying that why must you not fear is because no matter how unreal, how unreal, it looks so unreal. When you look into your life sometimes, when you look at your care, your concern, when you put everything together and you put, you try to search your imagination around it, the things of God don't look real. But honestly they are real. They are real. Is it well in the well? Honestly, it's more than well in the well. We are not cajoling ourselves and God is not cajoling us. He's not a motivational speaker. These things they are what He is showing us, what He's talking to us about is real. And that is why by the time you will be getting to the ultimate verse 38, we'll be explaining these things after themselves. You will be seeing why it says that even if he comes in the midnight, even if he comes in the midnight, even if he comes when ordinarily you are not expected to have faith, you are not expected to be believing. That's what it means. Talking about situations and circumstances that ordinarily you should have thrown away your faith, you should not believe again, you should have become an unbeliever because of what is happening to you. Even if he comes in the night, he still wants to meet you watching. Even where the situation is a situation of it is not ordinarily possible to be awake, it says blessed is that servant that he meets watching. Blessed is the servant. We will expand all of these things in the course of this meeting. But our burden for today is that brethren, number one, do you fear? Is your circumstance making you afraid? Are you afraid? Are you afraid? Are you worried? Are you perturbed? Are you disturbed? Are you disturbed? Are you in a situation of fear? Number two, do you realize that there's a difference between being saved and then you putting on your helmet of salvation as a weapon? Because it said put on the whole armor of God. You may be saved and you will not put it on. Do you put on your identification, your entitlement, your person, your personality? Are you putting on— do you know who you are? Do you have— are you secured in your sonship? Do you realize that you are the— the whole thing is about your Father? And that it doesn't matter how ordinarily everything around you look so unreal. The scripture that just came to my mind now is Romans chapter 4 where the Bible says— who is having NLT translation? Romans chapter 4. I want you to read verse 18 in the NLT, NLT translation. Can we have it? "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'" So, against what? Against all hope. Against all hope! What did Abraham do? Abraham in hope believed. Please, does that thing make sense? How do you hope when you are against all hope? So which hope are you hoping against? That is what? Hoping when there was no reason to hope. Because they said against all hope, he hoped. So which hope? When he is against all the hope? And I want to ask you, that which he believed, did it become a reality? Yours shall become a reality. Let's go ahead to pray this evening. That Lord, mine shall become a reality. Even though I'm against all hope. Even though ordinarily everything— I'm against all hope. When I look at the situation, when I look at the circumstance, there is no reason to hope. There is just no— I'm against all, all sorts of hope. All sorts of hope are against me. There is no where I can— I've not even seen anything. But Lord, I believe in hope. In hope! In hope! Against all, Lord, I hope. Against all because Your word says this, Your word says that. What is His word saying about your situation? What is it saying about your circumstances? What is His word saying? Can you against hope in hope? Can you hope against hope? Can you hope against all hope? That's the reality of men who are secured in their sonship. They were secured in their sonship. They continue to hope when there was no reason to hope. They continue to stay, they say, "No! No! God will do it. God will do it. God will do it. God will bring it to pass. God will bring it to pass. I am waiting for Him. God said things and He will do it." I am against all hope, but in hope I am waiting. I will hope even when there's no reason to hope. I will hope because the things that are seen, they will not be created from the things which appear. Things that we see are not made of the things that appear. They will be created by the word of God. They will be created by His pronouncement. They will be— they will be created. I refuse to be double-minded. I refuse! I refuse to be double-minded. I refuse to lose my, my identity. Because to identify with God, we must— He said he, without faith it is impossible to please God. To identify with God, to walk with God, to move with God, we must not be double-minded. And the first thing about that is to be secured in your sonship, to know I am a son, I am a son, I am a son. My Father is deciding. It will be in my favor. It will be to my favor. I need not fear. I need not fear. I need not fear. Is it, is it about provision? Is it about your health? Is it about your life? Is it about finance? Is it about career? Is it about business? Is it about the future? What is it about? What is it about? What is it about? What is it about? What is it about? The Bible says, "Thou shalt keep in perfect peace the man whose heart stays on You because he trusts in You." Where is your heart? Be secured in your sonship. The burden of this meeting is that "Little flock, fear not." God sees you as a life that is to be properly protected, a life to be specially cared for. That is how you are seen. Wake up from your slumber! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! And redefine your life. Redefine your life. Look up again to God and say, "Oh, You are my Father. Oh, You are my Father. Oh, You are my Father." Lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. I will have goodly heritage because the chairman of the committee is my Father. The chairman of the committee is my Father. Thank You, everlasting Father. Oh, blessed be Your name, our God. Blessed be Your name, our God. Blessed be Your name, blessed be Your name, blessed be Your name, blessed be Your name. Blessed be Your name, Jehovah. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! There is this song, it's only that it is in Yoruba, it's a Yoruba song. Honestly, the song means so much to me. Omo baba lemi se, nipa igbagbo ninu Jesu. Sebi baba mi l'onile o, owo ma rin, owo ma yo, falala. Ani omo baba lemi se, mi o se omo ale, mi o se omo ale, nipa igbagbo ninu Jesu. Ani baba mi l'onile o, owo ma rin, owo ma yo, falala. Omo baba lemi se, nipa igbagbo ninu Jesu. Sebi baba mi l'onile o, owo ma rin, owo ma yo, falala. Let me invite my wife to close the meeting. Is she there? Invite her to close the meeting. [Speaker 2] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Heavenly Father, we are grateful unto You. Thank You, Lord, for Your word that You have spoken to us again this evening. Bible say You send Your word, the word heals and deliver us from all our affliction. Thank You because by the reason of Your word we have been healed. Healed from all our ailment, spiritual, physical, in Jesus' name. Thank You by the reason of this word, our perception, our understanding, they are healed in the name of Jesus. By the reason of this word, O Lord, every ignorance, or every doubting, every wavering, every, you know, not stable in our sonship in the Lord, they are healed in the name of Jesus and they are taken away in the name of Jesus. And Lord, all that this has brought, you know, for not, we have been made to see that when we are not secured in our sonship, we lose our identity, entitlement, personality, position, because we will not be able to operate where we suppose to operate. It's like not knowing whom you are. And Lord, this could have brought several kind of affliction, you know, things that are not supposed to be happening to us as children of God. But because of lack of understanding, because of ignorance, we might have found ourselves, you know, like children of God, like what You told the woman with the issue of blood that said this woman is a daughter of Zion that has been bound. Lord, we stand by the authority of Your word that You have sent to us this evening, that every affliction, every, every form of hold of darkness over our lives, by the reason of ignorance, by the reason of not, you know, being secured in our, in our sonship, let such hold be broken in the name of Jesus. Let all such affliction be taken out of our lives in the name of Jesus. Because Your word has gone forth, Lord, we have understanding, we have inspiration. Lord, we refuse everything contrary to the position where You have placed us in the name of Jesus. And we say, Lord God Almighty, we shall go in this strength. We shall go in this might. We shall go in this understanding. And Lord God Almighty, in this understanding, as we go forth, O Lord, we begin to do exploit, glorifying the name of the Lord in the name of Jesus. Knowing that we have a Father that His love for us passes knowledge. We cannot fathom, we cannot explain it. It's a love, O Lord, that is eternal. It's a love that we did not ask for. It's a love that is lavished upon us. Help us, O Lord Jehovah God, to embrace this love in the mighty name of Jesus. And go, Lord, with this understanding to go in this understanding and live indeed as sons and daughters of the Lord in the mighty name of Jesus. Father, we thank You for Your son. Lord God Almighty, as virtues, grace, auction has been, you know, released upon people through him, Lord, refill him in the name of Jesus. And I pray, O Lord, that His source to You, God Almighty, and his Father will never run dry in the name of Jesus. Father, as we go, let Your presence go with us. For everyone that are listening, O Lord, in their different places, let Your presence, O Lord, also abide with them. Lord, beyond this meeting, Spirit of the Lord, expatiate Your word, brood upon every one of us' lives and cause us to receive the blessings, abundant blessings, that You intend for us by this meeting in the name of Jesus. Thank You, Father, for hearing us. Thank You for answers to our prayers. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The grace in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. 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. 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 hit. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday 5:00 PM, adolescent 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, Ileri community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Ije 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. [Singing] Be magnified, O Lord. You are highly exalted. And there is nothing You can't do. O Lord, my eyes are on You. Be magnified, O Lord, be magnified. Be magnified, O Lord, You are highly exalted. And there is nothing You can't do. O Lord, my eyes are on You. Be magnified, O Lord, be magnified. Be magnified, O Lord. You are highly exalted.