Gehazi (a Man That Missed His Purpose)

[Speaker 1] To achieve in fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May ye be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] Can we just bless the Lord this evening, or this morning, or whatever the time is, wherever in the world you are in. Can we just bless Him and thank Him so much and let’s give Him all the praise. Our God is a good God, our God is a faithful God, our God is a merciful Father. Let’s thank Him for the gift of life. Let’s thank Him for the privilege to hear His word. Let’s thank Him for the opportunity to gather together to partake of this word of life which is able to give us life. Thank Him for the mercies we receive even on this platform every time that when we gather together in this way, the Lord shows up. Of course, He has told us where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in their midst. He is with us and He is faithful to answer our prayers, to grant us truth from His word, to grant us a steadfast heart. Let’s bless Him this evening and give Him all the praise in the name of Jesus as we gather together. Can we just commit our hearts into the hands of the Lord? It is the Lord that gives increase. Paul plants, Apollos waters, it is God that gives increase. If the Lord doesn’t give increase tonight, all that we do tonight will be a waste. If the Lord doesn’t give increase tonight, this gathering will just be another time spent to just do activities. But if the Lord gives increase tonight, all of us will be better because of it. Can we ask the Lord to speak to you? Ask the Lord to minister His word to you. Ask the Lord that your heart be willing and able to receive. Ask the Lord to help us. The goal tonight is to share together from scriptures and to have an understanding of what the Lord has called us to be, His purpose for our lives, and to see an example in the word of God that we can learn from. Bible says all of these things are written for our examples. Can we ask the Lord to help us even this evening? Blessed be the name of the Lord forever. For in Jesus’ name we have prayed. Amen. I want to first of all thank the Lord for the opportunity to be a partaker of today’s discipleship class. First of all, I want to say thank you to our Daddy, Uncle Wale, as we fondly call him, but he is a father to us for the opportunity to partake of the ministry alongside with him and to also come along and be on this platform today. I just want to give God all the praise for that. And this evening, as we gather together, I just want us to be attentive to what the Lord is going to say. Let’s allow the word of God to mix with faith in our hearts so that it can bear fruit as the Lord has ordained it. So let’s come together this evening, listen to what God has to say, and partake of the word of the Lord. And the topic tonight is we are discussing a story we might all be familiar with, and it is a story that is kind of unfortunate, but it is a lesson that we can all learn. As Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that all of these things were written for our example. They are written so that we would not do the same things that they did. So they were written for examples for us so that we would not have the same lusts that they had, disobey as they did, or do the things that they did that did not make them to be acceptable or fulfill the purpose of God for their lives. And that’s why we are coming together tonight to look at this word of God together. Again, we are talking about Gehazi, a man who fought as one beating the air and missed purpose. A man who fought as one beating the air and missed purpose. When I looked at this topic, I feel this topic is inspired by the Holy Spirit and the Lord has something to say to us. First of all, as we look at this particular topic, three things come to mind or three things strike me. One is fight, which is past tense here is fought. The other one is beating, he was beating the air. And the other one is purpose; he missed purpose. His fight, he was beating the air, and he missed purpose. And just as we all know, we are all in a fight. Whether you want a battle or not, we are in a fight in this world. We are going to have a lot of things come against us. Whether we are praying against them or we are not praying against them, it is the world where we are going to confront things to come against us. But even in all of these, what is supposed to be our posture as we confront issues of life, as we fight the battles of life? How should we fight? What are we supposed to be paying attention to? How can we still put ourselves in the place that we don’t miss God’s purpose for our lives? I’ll start this evening just reading the scripture in 1 Corinthians 9:24. The Bible says: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown." And Paul was saying: "Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." Again, I’ll read verse 26. It says, "Therefore I run thus: this is the way I run, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." This is a man of God that the Lord was using by his hands showing us how we must fight. In this life, we are all going to be in a fight. Whether we like it or we do not like it, there is going to be fights that we must either win or we must either lose. There are some battles in life that we need to win. There are some battles in life that we need to—I might not say use "lose"—but we need to let go. It is Bible tells—Jesus tells us—if we do not lose our life, you will not find it. So when it comes to what you want to do with your life, there is a place for you to lose it and for Jesus to be able to be the one who is leading you in the path of life. When Jesus tells us that we must lose our lives, there are times where in certain battles of life where I am struggling with what I want to do with my life, whether I want to let God have His way or I want to have my way. In that battle, it is best for you to lose your life as Jesus tells us, rather than try to keep your life and then you lose it. That’s what the Lord tells us. So there are certain battles in life that we must win, and there are certain battles in life that we need to let Jesus win. In essence, we need to lose our lives for Jesus to win. Now, and I’m trying to explain what I’m saying as we continue to go in this time together. I’m sure all of us, you can try to close your fist as wherever you are right now, and you will see that when you close your fist, you don’t have anything in your hand right now. And you close your fist, there is no—you can’t—there is nothing that is inside your hand, basically, because you cannot catch the air. I’m actually literally doing what I’m talking about now. I’m trying to close my fist and I cannot catch the air because it is just an aimless activity trying to see I want to catch the air. But what if I’m trying to fight and I’ve worn all the weapons I can wear and I’m trying to punch the air? And I give it a punch. Would anything come out of it? Absolutely nothing because you cannot also punch the air. I get so angry and say, "What kind of thing is this? I want to really fight," and I’m fighting the air. Bible says that that is just a useless fight, trying to hit the air. There was a man that we are looking at this evening. His name is Gehazi. He fought as one beating the air and missed purpose. If you are hit—trying to fight and you are hitting the air, you are not going to be hitting at anything. So with this perspective this evening, what is the Lord wanting us to see? What is the Lord wanting to show to us? We see this story of a man who was a servant of another prominent man of God, Elisha. And Elisha was an example of what a godly man would be and what we ought to be. But unfortunately, the servant that followed him could not continue that lineage of being a servant of God, of really serving God, or becoming a prophet of God. Elisha had contact with Elijah, he got all he could get from him, and he became a person who fulfilled the call of God for his life. It came to Gehazi’s turn. Instead of him to do the same, he missed God’s purpose. And I pray for you tonight that you will not miss the purpose of God for your life in the name of Jesus. As we are believers, our fathers are fast growing older. Many of the fathers of faith, some of them are in their eighties, some of them are in their sixties, some of them are in their seventies. But the question is, who are the people that are following them that will fulfill the call of God for their lives and fulfill what God has ordained for our generation? That’s what we are going to be looking at this evening. And I want us to be mindful as we share together and be attentive to what the Lord has to say to us this evening. 2 Kings 5:9. Bible says about a man called Naaman: "Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot..." I’m reading from verse 9, I will read to verse—it’s quite a long read to have a good perspective, but I’ll quickly read as much as I could and I will jump to verse 20. 2 Kings 5:9. I want to give us a background to this story. We know the story already about Naaman. He was a vibrant man, he was a—in verse 1, the Bible describes him, it says, "Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory..." Let me just say something very quickly there. If you are able to—if God is able to use you for your generation, you will be an honorable person and a great person in their sight. Bible says Naaman was a great and an honorable man in the eyes of his master. Why? Because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. Now he was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. There was a "but." He was a leper. That’s the background to the story. And the Bible now said, "And the Syrians had gone on raids and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, 'If only my master were with the prophets who is in Samaria, for he would heal him of his leprosy.'" This is the background to the story, and I will jump to verse 20 and read down to verse 27. This is where the story of Gehazi came into picture. "But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, 'Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian while not receiving from his hands what he brought...'" Before we go into that story in verse 20, pardon me for that, let’s just see what was the—so in this story, as Naaman decided was going to go to see Elisha, the King of Syria, who was his master, gave him certain gifts to give to Elisha. Let’s see what those gifts were in verse 5. "Then the King of Syria said, 'Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.' So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, 'Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.'" Now let’s look at verse 20. This is where all this story started falling from. Verse 20: "But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, 'Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian while not receiving from his hands what he brought. Remember all the things he brought. He brought ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothes. Now Gehazi now said, 'My master refused to take all of these gifts,' and he was now saying that, 'So Gehazi pursued Naaman...'" Look at what he did. He pursued Naaman. He said, "'My master spared Naaman the Syrian, while not receiving from his hand what he brought, but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.'" "So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, 'Is all well?' 'I will run after him and try to take something from him.'" I want to just pause there for a moment and ask you a question. Who are you running after today? And what are you trying to take from them? Who are you running after today, and what are you trying to take from them? That’s what the scripture says. It says this man said, "I will run after him and try to take something from him." From him. So as he was now going down in this story, he said, "And when Naaman got down from his horse—from his chariot and he met him and he said, 'Is all well?' And he said, verse 22: 'All is well. My master has sent me, saying "Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes."'" "I will try to take something from him." Look at—just follow me as we are going in this story. He says, "I will take something from him." What was that something he was trying to take from him? He says, "Give me a talent of silver and two changes of garments." This is what he went after Naaman for. And the Bible now says, "So Naaman said, 'Please, take two talents.' Oh, you asked for one talent? And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garment and handed them to two of his servants and they carried them ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand and stored them away in the house. Then he let the men go. So they departed. Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, 'Where did you go, Gehazi?' And he said, 'Your servant did not go anywhere.'" He started lying. "Then he said to him, 'Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time—now pay attention to this—is it time to receive money and to receive clothes, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.' And he went out from his presence, leprous as white as snow." What was he trying to take from him? He wanted to take certain items of—he wanted to take a piece of silver, a silver. He wanted to take two changes of clothes or two garments. This is what his heart was after. Did you notice what this man’s heart was after? I said earlier that we are all fighting a battle. Our battlefield is actually in the realm of our choices. Whether you like it or not, you will be making choices in life. And as you are making your choices, are you making choices that is aligned with God’s will? Look at what this man was doing. He was making a choice and he was going after Naaman. And I said that the battlefield that we are going to confront is a battle that is happening in our mind. It’s a battle that we are going to keep wrestling with issues in our mind. You are going to have times where you want to make a decision that is not aligned with God’s will. There are going to be those moments where you are contemplating in your heart what should be the priority of your life. And we see this man here, he had opportunities to become the next Elisha. The next prophet. But his master rejected a particular gift that was brought to him. And he felt, "I’m smarter than my master. This master is not as smart, he is not wise. He doesn’t realize how much we—I—need these things." Maybe as soon as he saw Naaman come along, he was already calculating all the places he was going to wear the two clothes to. He was already thinking about what he can use with the money that was brought to him. He was already contemplating these issues in his mind, and he did not realize that there was something higher that God had ordained for his life. People of God, we are in times where temptations will continue to increase. We are daily flooded with different things coming up in our minds. We have the energy, we have the strength. Many times we look at the older people and we say, "These ones are old school. They don’t understand what is going on. They don’t understand what is happening. They are not really flowing. This my master, he doesn’t understand what life is all about." And you, you think you understand these issues, and you want to go after these things. But you do not realize that when you neglect what God has called you to do and you begin to go after the things He has not asked you to go after, you are only paving a way for your destruction and eternal irrelevance. When you refuse to go after what God has called you to go after, you are only paving the way for your destruction and eternal irrelevance. This man was chosen to be a person that will be a servant to Elisha, just like Elisha served Elijah. He had the opportunity to take a double portion of the anointing that probably was on Elisha if he wanted it. But what did he go after? He went after double garments. He went after double silver. He went after clothes, he went after money. Sometimes, you know, we are in this age where everybody is now becoming an apostle. This one starts ministry today, he also declares himself also an apostle. This young boy that just got out of college and then God he just saw a little grace, he starts—he begins to feel he is an apostle now. He knows what to do, he knows how to follow, how to—and everybody is fighting for one form of relevance or the other. Rather than sitting down in this season of life and understanding what time is this in my life. Is it not this time for me to sit down and let God teach me, let God pour inside me, let God anoint me, let God breathe on me and prepare me for what He has called me to do? "I will now run after him." That is what Gehazi said. He said he was going to run after Naaman. He said, "I will run after him and take something from him." And unfortunately, he was also taking leprosy along with him. What are you running after and what are you seeking to take? And from whom are you trying to take it from? This is a question we need to check with ourselves. Beloved of God, what is God calling you to do and what are you chasing after? Are you pursuing the purpose of God for your life? Are you chasing after what God has called you to do? Are you making it your priority in life? We see this story here. It just amazed me how back in college I remember the story where—I remember situations when we were back in university days. And there was this time that JCF, Joint Christian Campus Fellowship, I don’t know if you went to FUTA you probably know what I’m talking about. They organized exchange of pulpit. So president from different fellowships would go to another fellowship, this one... and you will see all these young people that maybe were in 300 level or maybe 500 level, whatever the level was, they too were already having people that were carrying their Bibles behind them. They were having all these people, they too were already claiming men of God. Is that what we are chasing after? Or are we really after what is in the heart of our Father? Are we really burdened by what burdens Him? Are we really waiting? Are we... the questions that Elisha asked Gehazi, he asked him, and in verse 26, he asked him, he says, "Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?" Is it time for these things? There is a time in life where all of these things that you think are priorities right now, when they will truly—where they will really matter. But right now might not just be that time. Right now might be the time to sit down and let God pour into you. Right now might be the time to sit down and let God build you up. It’s not time to begin to go for people that will be saying, "Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am" to you. It might just be time for you to sit down and let God work in you so that when it’s time to show forth, you can have what it takes to serve the purpose of God. And Gehazi, instead of him to just be contented with the fact that whatever Elisha saw that made him decide that we are not going to take these gifts from this man, rather than just submit himself and allow what God is doing and focus on what God wants to do with him. His focus was on all the other things that Elisha was mentioning. Clothes, money, groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants. And Jesus would ask us, and He will tell us very clearly, "What shall it profit a man if he were to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his own soul?" What is it worth? What will it profit you if you gain everything and lose purpose? What will it profit us if we gain everything and lose out in what God has ordained for our lives? What will it profit us if we gain the whole world, if we have all the money, if we have all the clothes, if we have all the male and female servants, you speak everybody begin to run around because they spoke, and you lose purpose. What did it profit us? This is the call for us today to realize that there is something higher than all of these things that we see around people today. Today thank God for all all the people that have paid their due and God is has placed them in certain places of priority of authority in the body of Christ. But many times today we are trying to—all people are trying to do is to copy these people, but we don’t really have the same heart that they had. You want to be like you want to have all the things that all the paparazzis around them. You see the cars, you see the money, you see the fame, you see the glory, and yet you have not let the Lord work in you. You have not let the Lord build you up. You just want to just suddenly become the person that everybody is coming to, everybody is... and you did not let God work in you. The Bible says, "Is it time to receive money? Is it time to receive clothing? Is it time to receive olive groves and vineyards? Is it time to have male and female servants?" Check your heart today. Maybe you too are already God gave a little revelation, you too are already eyeing the position of apostle. Or God gave a little revelation, and you too you want to become the new biggest star that is driving all the best cars around. Is that what God has called you to do? Elisha wasn’t after money. He wasn’t after using the gift of God that God gave to him to make money. He wasn’t after using it to his own purpose was to make sure that the name of God is glorified. Look at the testimony of Naaman. After Naaman’s encounter with Elisha, what did he say? He says, "Now I know that there is no any other God but the God of Israel." That was the conclusion, that was what Elisha’s gifting was for, to bring glory to God. Now as we continue, I just want us to also have this in mind. As I said earlier, that there are some battles we win and some we will lose. But there are some battles in life that we should rather let go, we should rather let lose. Sometimes you are fighting another person and instead of you to just remember what Jesus tells us, we need to forgive and then as our Father has also forgiven us, you, you say, "Well, me, until I must have the final say in this matter. If it’s not me, then it’s nobody." And that is the battle you are focused on. There are certain things in life that you are not—you must just let go. And there are other things to pursue with all your heart. Naaman had to come down from his many chariots. Let’s look at this in 2 Kings 5:9. In that scripture reading 2 Kings 5:9, the Bible said, "Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, 'Go and wash in the Jordan seven times and your flesh shall be restored to you and you will be clean.' But Naaman became furious and went away and said, 'Indeed, I said to myself, he will surely come to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy. And not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' So he turned away in rage. And his servant came near and spoke to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then when he says to you, "Wash and be clean?"' And then he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh was restored to him like the flesh of a little child and he was clean." We’re focusing on the story of Gehazi. But this is also an important thing I just want us to be mindful of. The scripture says Naaman thought all he had was initial leprosy. But can I tell you that his problem was not just leprosy. There was also the problem of pride. Remember that the Bible says God had worked through this man to win victory for Syria in the verse 1. And it’s obvious that God was—wanted to heal this man. It was in the course of his many victories that a servant came to be in his house from Israel. It was in the course of his many victories that he got this opportunity to have somebody tell him that there’s a prophet in Israel that could help him to receive healing. And then he went to the prophet. He went with all the riches, he went with all the money, and this man now said just go and wash. And he felt angry and he turned away in rage. How quickly do we let the rage and the anger that we feel to stop us from receiving what God has for us? Thank God for the mercy of servants around him. You know, sometimes when some of us are very angry, we don’t even listen to anybody anymore. Are you the kind of person that when someone says something to you that even it’s okay, it’s okay, you cannot be pacified? Look at this man. He was angry. Bible says he turned around and went in rage. He said, "This is not what I was expecting. I don’t know what kind of language he would have been using at this time." But he could still listen to a servant that could advise him even in this situation. That was very instructive for me. Can somebody, can you... and you know one thing, God places people around your lives every time to deliver you in those moments where you would have lost out in what God ordained for your life. He was just this close to losing out in what God planned for his life, the healing that he would have received. But by the mercy of God, he had servants around him. But even without mercy, if he had still not listened, if he was a proud master and who when he is angry like this he wasn’t going to listen to anybody anymore, he would have still lost out in that privilege. In the case of Gehazi, he had a master who could hear from God, who had a relationship with God. And if only he had been listening to him and paying attention to what instructions he was receiving. This man wouldn’t have lost out in God’s purpose for his life. But he decided, "I can make my own decisions. Yes, I have a master but my master is not going in the direction that I want, I can also do my own thing." And he said, "Well, let me run after Naaman and take something from him." Who is that human being that you are trying to take something from? Is it what God has given for you to have? Are you content with the things God has for your life, or you are running up and down trying to figure out what you can take from people and you are losing out in what God wants for your own life? Elisha was pursuing double portion while Gehazi was pursuing double clothes, double garments. Elisha was busy seeking God and looking forward to getting the best he can get from God. Gehazi was after getting riches, getting money, getting double clothes. It’s going to be our choice. Are you going to go after purpose, what God has planned for you, or you are going to be going after the frivolities of this life? Look at the scripture in 2 Kings 2 and just quickly read this 2 Kings 2 and make a comparison between this man and his father, or in his master, Gehazi and Elisha. In 2 Kings 2:1 and I will read all the way, let’s see where we can stop. Bible says, "And it came to pass when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, 'Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.' But Elisha said, 'As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.' So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you not know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?' And he said, 'Yes, I know, keep silent.'" There are several voices around us today. Many of them their focus is to shift our focus from what God has planned for you. Elijah passed the first test, Elisha passed the first test. When Elijah told him they were going to go to Bethel and Elijah told him, "Well, wait for me here in Gilgal for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." Elisha passed that first test and says, "See, I’m going to go with you." Then he got to the next to Bethel. Fifty prophets, or the sons of the prophet came to him and told him, "Do you know that the Lord will take your master away today?" What did he tell them? He says, "Yes, I know, but keep silent. It’s none of your business." There are certain things you must not let the devil distract us for by whatever he uses, we must not let the devil’s distraction to come our way. But look at Elisha again. Remaining focused, remaining determined, pursuing what God has actually called you to do. Bible says in verse 4, "Then Elijah said to him, 'Elisha, stay here please, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.' But he said, 'As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.' So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you not know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?'" This is the second time he’s repeating the same words to them. "Keep silent." In the journey of life, different things will keep trying to distract us, just like Gehazi was distracted, became distracted. As you are trying to fulfill God’s purpose, you made up your mind the first time, you say, "God, I’m going to do what you have called me to do. I’m going to commit my life to you. I’m going to fulfill what you have called me to do. I’m going to keep paying attention." And the devil will keep bringing distractions your way in different forms. One was just Elijah subtly saying, "Don’t—just stay here, you don’t need to follow me." And Elisha said, "Mmh-mmh. Thank you sir, I respect what you are saying sir, but as God lives, I’m so determined to fulfill God’s purpose for my life and I know that that purpose is in me continuing to following you to the end till I cannot follow you anymore." And he says, then Elijah said to him, "Stay here please, for the Lord sent me to Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophet went and stood facing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, and it was divided this way and that so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And in verse 9, and so it was when they had crossed over that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what may I do for you before I am taken away from you." Elijah knew that God was going to take him away from Elisha. And he saw the way he was so determined and he said at some point asked him, "What may I do for you before I am taken away from you?" I’m asking you this evening what are you doing with the opportunities God has given to you to put people around your lives to guide you in the journey of purpose? Are you only seeking all the benefits that comes with being around men of God? You too you are already getting famous, you too you are already... they are beginning to know you. Or you are really seeking the heart of God for your life and His purpose for your life? Then he says in verse 10, "So he said, 'You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.' Then it happened as they continued on and talked that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried out, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!' So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water and said, 'Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over." Now look at verse 15, and this is one part I want us to pay attention to. It says, "Now when the sons of the prophet were from Jericho saw him, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him." This is what Gehazi was actually wanting also. He wanted male and female servants. But Elisha wasn’t after that. But see, when you seek God first, when you seek God’s purpose, when you get what God has for you, eventually the people that were all around you and were trying to distract you, they become the same people that will start bowing down to you. Rather than continue to following the making process of God, Gehazi thought I can truncate it and find shortcuts and take hold of everything that the benefits that come around being in the service of God. I can take shortcut and pursue the things of this world. All the fringe things. All the cars, all the money, all the respect, the dignity. But see, what our focus ought to be as people that God has given these opportunities, maximizing everything you can to take hold of everything God has for your life in this season. There is time for everything. What did Elijah ask Gehazi? He said, "Is this the time for pursuing money, for pursuing clothes, for pursuing male and female servants?" Elisha when it was in his own time, he knew that the time he had with Elijah was a time to get everything God has for his life, was a time to go after everything God wanted for him. He pursued it, he sought it, he remained focused, he did not get distracted. He embraced everything God has for his life and he got eventually got hold of what God wanted for him. I don’t know what your cry is or your prayer is. Is your prayer be God, I don’t want to leave this life without fulfilling your purpose for me. I don’t want to leave this life without accomplishing what you have called me to. I don’t want to leave this life without doing the things God has called me to. Or you are just fighting and beating the air and chasing after frivolities. I pray the Lord will work on our hearts tonight. And I pray that the Lord Himself will stir in our hearts and remind us of those things we have forgotten. If we have forgotten the things He has called us to do, if we are beginning to focus on something different from what God has called us to do and we are already following in the path of Gehazi. I pray the Lord Himself will send us people like the servants of Naaman that when he was angry and he was going to depart from and just lose out in what God wanted for his life because of his pride, that God brought him back and he was able to come back to his senses and listen to the people God has placed around his life to help him. We will have those moments where we feel tempted. We have those moments where we might be weak and we might be feeling like neglecting everything God has planned for our lives and walking a different path. We might have those moments. But the people God has placed around us to help us, if we will listen, if we will embrace what they are saying to us, if we will listen to the instructions that given to us, if we will listen to the guidance God has placed in our lives through them, maybe just maybe we might be delivered at those weak moments. We might receive help at those moments. Did you know that there is no any other prophet name that was mentioned as a servant of Elisha apart from Gehazi? And the double portion that he received from Elijah and what he would have received from—what should have been passed onto Elisha, I mean should have been passed onto Gehazi. But Gehazi had gone in a different path. As I started with, our fathers are growing older. Many of them are at their—are not as strong as they used to be. And these are the seasons of life, instead of criticizing one thing we don’t like and saying this one is this one, why don’t you sit down and let God make you and build you into what God has called you to be? Instead of you to be fighting them and begin to say they are old school, or begin to feel that they are not doing the things the way you think they should be done, why don’t you sit down and let God work in you? Instead of you to say, "Ah, my master refuse to take—this man doesn’t understand what’s going on, doesn’t know what is happening, refused to take the present. Me, let me go and do my own and pursue the present." And you did it with deceit, with lies. And you use all the corruption and then now you also gain other things with it, and which was destruction of your purpose. Why don’t we sit down in this time and let God make us again and let God build us again and let God do what He wants to do with our lives? Elisha was pursuing double portion while Gehazi was pursuing double clothes, double garments. Elisha was busy seeking God and looking forward to getting the best he can get from God. Gehazi was after getting riches, getting money, getting double clothes. See, it’s going to be our choice. Are you going to go after purpose, what God has planned for you? Or you are going to be going after the frivolities of this life? Look at this scripture in 2 Kings 2 and just quickly read this 2 Kings 2 and make a comparison between this man and his father, or in his master, Gehazi and Elisha. And I’ll be drawing to a close very quickly. In 2 Kings 2:1 and I will read all the way, let’s see where we can stop. Bible says: "And it came to pass when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, 'Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.' But Elisha said, 'As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.' So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you not know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?' And he said, 'Yes, I know, keep silent.'" There are several voices around us today. Many of them their focus is to shift our focus from what God has planned for you. Elijah passed the first test, Elisha passed the first test. When Elijah told him they were going to go to Bethel and Elijah told him, "Well, wait for me here in Gilgal for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." Elisha passed that first test and says, "See, I’m going to go with you." Then he got to the next to Bethel. Fifty prophets, or the sons of the prophet came to him and told him, "Do you know that the Lord will take your master away today?" What did he tell them? He says, "Yes, I know, but keep silent. It’s none of your business." The certain things you must not let the devil distract us for by whatever he uses, we must not let the devil’s distraction to come our way. But look at Elisha again. Remaining focused, remaining determined, pursuing what God has actually called you to do. Bible says in verse 4, "Then Elijah said to him, 'Elisha, stay here please, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.' But he said, 'As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.' So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you not know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?'" This is the second time he’s repeating the same words to them. "Keep silent." In the journey of life, different things will keep trying to distract us, just like Gehazi was distracted. As you are trying to fulfill God’s purpose, you made up your mind the first time, you say, "God, I’m going to do what you have called me to do. I’m going to commit my life to you. I’m going to fulfill what you have called me to do. I’m going to keep paying attention." And the devil will keep bringing distractions your way in different forms. One was just Elijah subtly saying, "Don’t—just stay here, you don’t need to follow me." And Elisha said, "Mmh-mmh. Thank you sir, I respect what you are saying sir, but as God lives, I’m so determined to fulfill God’s purpose for my life and I know that that purpose is in me continuing to following you to the end till I cannot follow you anymore." And he says, then Elijah said to him, "Stay here please, for the Lord sent me to Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophet went and stood facing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, and it was divided this way and that so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And in verse 9, and so it was when they had crossed over that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what may I do for you before I am taken away from you." Elijah knew that God was going to take him away from Elisha. And he saw the way he was so determined and he said at some point asked him, "What may I do for you before I am taken away from you?" I’m asking you this evening what are you doing with the opportunities God has given to you to put people around your lives to guide you in the journey of purpose? Are you only seeking all the benefits that comes with being around men of God? You too you are already getting famous, you too you are already... they are beginning to know you. Or you are really seeking the heart of God for your life and His purpose for your life? Then he says in verse 10, "So he said, 'You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.' Then it happened as they continued on and talked that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried out, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!' So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water and said, 'Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over." Now look at verse 15, and this is one part I want us to pay attention to. It says, "Now when the sons of the prophet were from Jericho saw him, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him." This is what Gehazi was actually wanting also. He wanted male and female servants. But Elisha wasn’t after that. But see, when you seek God first, when you seek God’s purpose, when you get what God has for you, eventually the people that were all around you and were trying to distract you, they become the same people that will start bowing down to you. Rather than continue to following the making process of God, Gehazi thought I can truncate it and find shortcuts and take hold of everything that the benefits that come around being in the service of God. I can take shortcut and pursue the things of this world. All the fringe things. All the cars, all the money, all the respect, the dignity. But see, what our focus ought to be as people that God has given these opportunities, maximizing everything you can to take hold of everything God has for your life in this season. There is time for everything. What did Elisha ask Gehazi? He said, "Is this the time for pursuing money, for pursuing clothes, for pursuing male and female servants?" Elisha when it was in his own time, he knew that the time he had with Elijah was a time to get everything God has for his life, was a time to go after everything God wanted for him. He pursued it, he sought it, he remained focused, he did not get distracted. He embraced everything God has for his life and he got eventually got hold of what God wanted for him. I don’t know what your cry is or your prayer is. Is your prayer be God, I don’t want to leave this life without fulfilling your purpose for me. I don’t want to leave this life without accomplishing what you have called me to. I don’t want to leave this life without doing the things God has called me to. Or you are just fighting and beating the air and chasing after frivolities. I pray the Lord will work on our hearts tonight. And I pray that the Lord Himself will stir in our hearts and remind us of those things we have forgotten. If we have forgotten the things He has called us to do, if we are beginning to focus on something different from what God has called us to do and we are already following in the path of Gehazi. I pray the Lord Himself will send us people like the servants of Naaman that when he was angry and he was going to depart from and just lose out in what God wanted for his life because of his pride, that God brought him back and he was able to come back to his senses and listen to the people God has placed around his life to help him. We will have those moments where we feel tempted. We have those moments where we might be weak and we might be feeling like neglecting everything God has planned for our lives and walking a different path. We might have those moments. But the people God has placed around us to help us, if we will listen, if we will embrace what they are saying to us, if we will listen to the instructions that given to us, if we will listen to the guidance God has placed in our lives through them, maybe just maybe we might be delivered at those weak moments. We might receive help at those moments. Did you know that there is no any other prophet name that was mentioned as a servant of Elisha apart from Gehazi? And the double portion that he received from Elijah and what he would have received from—what should have been passed onto Elisha, I mean should have been passed onto Gehazi. But Gehazi had gone in a different path. As I started with, our fathers are growing older. Many of them are not at their—are not as strong as they used to be. And these are the seasons of life, instead of criticizing one thing we don’t like and saying this one is this one, why don’t you sit down and let God make you and build you into what God has called you to be? Instead of you to be fighting them and begin to say they are old school, or begin to feel that they are not doing the things the way you think they should be done, why don’t you sit down and let God work in you? Instead of you to say, "Ah, my master refuse to take—this man doesn’t understand what’s going on, doesn’t know what is happening, refused to take the present. Me, let me go and do my own and pursue the present." And you did it with deceit, with lies. And you use all the corruption and then now you also gain other things with it, and which was destruction of your purpose. Why don’t we sit down in this time and let God make us again and let God build us again and let God do what He wants to do with our lives? Elisha was pursuing double portion while Gehazi was pursuing double clothes, double garments. Elisha was busy seeking God and looking forward to getting the best he can get from God. Gehazi was after getting riches, getting money, getting double clothes. See, it’s going to be our choice. Are you going to go after purpose, what God has planned for you? Or you are going to be going after the frivolities of this life? Look at the story of Naaman. When he was told to go and wash, he got angry, he annoyed him, he was very proudful. But when somebody told him, and he was—that was a battle, he had to overcome. He had to come down from his high horse, he had to actually humble himself, and as he did that, he was able to receive what God has ordained for him. But in the case of Gehazi, he could not win his own battle. He was battling with greed. He was battling with hastiness in getting the things that he thought men of God should be getting. He felt this my master is a man of God, look at the things men of God are getting, and this man doesn’t—is not smart enough to know that these are the things he need. That this is just a gift that he should just take hold of. And he felt if my master doesn’t need it, me I want to go get it, and he ran, and he ran into his destruction. May we the Lord keep us from running into our destructions in the name of Jesus. Okay, so let’s look at one more thing. Bible—in this story here, there are certain battles of life that if we continue to push in that direction, we may miss our purpose. And I pray for you that you will win the right battles in life in Jesus’ name. Let me show us something in quickly in Mark 8:34. Mark 8:34-38. It’s a something we know that Jesus has told us several time I think I referenced earlier. Jesus said when He had called the people to Himself with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s sake will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" In verse 34 and 35, there is something that came up repeatedly. He says, "desires." Whoever desires to come after me, then whoever desires to save his life. And I was referring to there are certain battles in life that if we pursue those and if we want to win that battle at all cost. And what I mean maybe I’m using battle loosely a little bit here, but what I’m trying to reflect is when it comes to your life, when it comes to what you will do with your life, when it comes to how to live your life, when it comes to the battle of your life. If you give your life to the Lord and let the Lord be the one that you are following and you are pursuing and your one great desire. Bible says you will gain it. If your desire is to save your life like Gehazi was, look at all the things he wanted. He wanted all the male and female servants. He wanted all the money. He wanted to live a good life. He wanted to be the one everybody is bowing down to and he is instructing everybody. But you know that he got what he wanted. What did he want? He wanted silver, he wanted money, and he got it. He wanted change of clothes, he got it. But do you know that that actually cut him off from God’s purpose for his life? Just that one decision, he got his way, he did what he wanted, but he lost something that is more eternally valuable. Elisha was pursuing double portion while Gehazi was pursuing double clothes, double garments. Elisha was busy seeking God and looking forward to getting the best he can get from God. Gehazi was after getting riches, getting money, getting double clothes. See, it’s going to be our choice. Are you going to go after purpose, what God has planned for you? Or you are going to be going after the frivolities of this life? I don’t know what Elisha is around you today. I don’t know who is Elisha God is using to minister to you. Thank God for our Daddy here, but I don’t know if you have an Elisha that God has said this is who you should take something from. And instead of you to focus on what God has asked you to receive from these people that God has placed over you, are you chasing after Naaman? Are you trying to get clothes, trying to get money? Is that what your priority is? Elisha was after—wasn't after money. He wasn’t after using the gift of God that God gave to him to make money. He wasn’t after using it to his own purpose was to make sure that the name of God is glorified. I don’t know what your cry is or your prayer is. Is your prayer be, "God, I don’t want to leave this life without fulfilling your purpose for me. I don’t want to leave this life without accomplishing what you have called me to." Or your focus is God, if I can just have that latest car today. If I can just have this kind of house. If I can just have this many servants, people that I can just speak now they just begin to bow down to me. If that’s your focus and that’s what you are putting first, eventually you will lose your purpose. Just remember what Jesus said. Bible says if you lose your life for the sake of Christ and His gospel, you will find it. But He said if you want to keep your life, you will lose it. Gehazi wanted to keep all of these things for himself. He ran after it, he pursued it, but with it also came destruction of eternal purpose and relevance. He also came leprosy that set him apart from God’s people. He ran after it. But in the case of Elisha, what was he seeking? He was seeking the spirit of—the double portion of the spirit of God. He was seeking double of the anointing that God had placed on Elijah. He want—while everybody was making fun of him and trying to distract him, he was seeking God and trying to get everything God has for him. And eventually those people that were making fun of him and were trying to distract him, they were the ones that came back to bow down to him. That the ones that say, "See, we are here at your command, just tell us what we must do, just send us anywhere we must go." For there is the time when you need to focus on God and what God has planned for your life. This may just be the time for you. This may just be the time where you must seek God more. You must pursue God more. I want to share something with us before as we begin to wrap up. Look at what Jesus said when He was praying in John 17:4. Jesus was praying in John 17:4, and He had said other prayers before, but in verse 4 He says, "I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work you have given me to do." Is your goal and your purpose to glorify God by finishing the work He has given you to do, by fulfilling the purpose He has for your life? Or you are actually beating the air and chasing after frivolities? I pray the Lord will work on our hearts tonight and I pray that the Lord Himself will stir in our hearts and remind us of those things we have forgotten. If we have forgotten the things He has called us to do, if we are beginning to focus on something different from what God has called us to do and we are already following in the path of Gehazi. I pray the Lord Himself will send us people like the servants of Naaman that when he was angry and he was going to depart from and just lose out in what God wanted for his life because of his pride, that God brought him back and he was able to come back to his senses and listen to the people God has placed around his life to help him. We will have those moments where we feel tempted. We have those moments where we might be weak and we might be feeling like neglecting everything God has planned for our lives and walking a different path. We might have those moments. But the people God has placed around us to help us, if we will listen, if we will embrace what they are saying to us, if we will listen to the instructions that given to us, if we will listen to the guidance God has placed in our lives through them, maybe just maybe we might be delivered at those weak moments. We might receive help at those moments. Elisha’s person was Elijah for him to fulfill his purpose. He had to go from Gilgal to Bethel and also finally to Jordan. He had to go all this through that journey and at those different stages in that journey, there was distractions. There were fifty people telling him, "Do you know our servant is going to..." and what did he do? He silenced all of those distractions. I don’t know what you are doing with your distraction today. Who knows maybe when Gehazi was tempted to go after what Elisha has rejected from Naaman, maybe if he had just at that moment say like Jesus said when Peter was trying to say—tell him that far be it from you to go to the cross, and Jesus told him, "Get behind me, Satan. You are mindful of the things that are of men and not of the things that are of God." Maybe if at that moment he had just rebuked the devil and said, "See, you are making me to be mindful of the things that people are pursuing all over the place rather than seeking God." Maybe if he had just spoken and say "Be silent" and spoken to himself and shut himself off and said, "God help me in this moment." Maybe he would have not lost out in what God called him to do. Did you know that there’s no any other prophet name that was mentioned as a servant of Elisha apart from Gehazi? And the double portion that he received from Elijah and what he would have received from—what should have been passed onto Elisha, I mean should have been passed onto Gehazi. But Gehazi had gone in a different path. As I started with, our fathers are growing older. Many of them are at their—are not as strong as they used to be. And these are the seasons of life, instead of criticizing one thing we don’t like and saying this one is this one, why don’t you sit down and let God make you and build you into what God has called you to be? Instead of you to be fighting them and begin to say they are old school, or begin to feel that they are not doing the things the way you think they should be done, why don’t you sit down and let God work in you? Instead of you to say, "Ah, my master refuse to take—this man doesn’t understand what’s going on, doesn’t know what is happening, refused to take the present. Me, let me go and do my own and pursue the present." And you did it with deceit, with lies. And you use all the corruption and then now you also gain other things with it, and which was destruction of your purpose. Why don’t we sit down in this time and let God make us again and let God build us again and let God do what He wants to do with our lives? Elisha was pursuing double portion while Gehazi was pursuing double clothes, double garments. Elisha was busy seeking God and looking forward to getting the best he can get from God. Gehazi was after getting riches, getting money, getting double clothes. See, it’s going to be our choice. Are you going to go after purpose, what God has planned for you? Or you are going to be going after the frivolities of this life? Elisha when it was in his own time, he knew that the time he had with Elijah was a time to get everything God has for his life, was a time to go after everything God wanted for him. He pursued it, he sought it, he remained focused, he did not get distracted. He embraced everything God has for his life and he got eventually got hold of what God wanted for him. I don’t know what your cry is or your prayer is. Is your prayer be God, I don’t want to leave this life without fulfilling your purpose for me. I don’t want to leave this life without accomplishing what you have called me to. I don’t want to leave this life without doing the things God has called me to. Or you are just fighting and beating the air and chasing after frivolities. I pray the Lord will work on our hearts tonight. And I pray that the Lord Himself will stir in our hearts and remind us of those things we have forgotten. If we have forgotten the things He has called us to do, if we are beginning to focus on something different from what God has called us to do and we are already following in the path of Gehazi. I pray the Lord Himself will send us people like the servants of Naaman that when he was angry and he was going to depart from and just lose out in what God wanted for his life because of his pride, that God brought him back and he was able to come back to his senses and listen to the people God has placed around his life to help him. We will have those moments where we feel tempted. We have those moments where we might be weak and we might be feeling like neglecting everything God has planned for our lives and walking a different path. We might have those moments. But the people God has placed around us to help us, if we will listen, if we will embrace what they are saying to us, if we will listen to the instructions that given to us, if we will listen to the guidance God has placed in our lives through them, maybe just maybe we might be delivered at those weak moments. We might receive help at those moments. Did you know that there is no any other prophet name that was mentioned as a servant of Elisha apart from Gehazi? And the double portion that he received from Elijah and what he would have received from—what should have been passed onto Elisha, I mean should have been passed onto Gehazi. But Gehazi had gone in a different path. As I started with, our fathers are growing older. Many of them are not at their—are not as strong as they used to be. And these are the seasons of life, instead of criticizing one thing we don’t like and saying this one is this one, why don’t you sit down and let God make you and build you into what God has called you to be? Instead of you to be fighting them and begin to say they are old school, or begin to feel that they are not doing the things the way you think they should be done, why don’t you sit down and let God work in you? Thank you, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [Speaker 3] Just look at this thing that occurred to me. You see, Gehazi, Gehazi was an Israelite, he missed his way. Naaman was an infidel, he got his way. Ordinarily you feel that Naaman should miss his way, Gehazi should get it right. But it was the infidel that won the battle of his whole life, and it was the seemingly believer that lost the battle of his whole life. I want you to talk to the Lord. I want you to talk to the Lord. An unbeliever won the battle of his whole life. He was able to humble himself from his pride, his arrogance, and entered into God's purpose. Then a seemingly believer could not win the battle of greed, could not win the battle of covetousness, and eventually he missed out of God's purpose. You are a believer, you are a believer. But one word that came to me this evening, that word when they were spoken, they came very strong, they came like a sword in my spirit. Let it not be that when the roll is called up yonder, the men you think should not be there are there, the men you think should be there you don’t find them. Let it not be that when the music is up, let it not be at the judgment seat of Christ, let it not be at the other side of life. The people we are thinking will be there, we will not find them. The people we are thinking we will never find them there, we will then find them there. Let this not be our portion. When the roll is called up yonder, I will be there. When the roll is called up yonder. That was what just came to me very strongly. Let it not be that when the roll is called... awon ti a mo si awon elese, awon ti a mo pe aye won o ga won o se kinikan awon la ma ba nibe. Awon ti a ro pe ah omo Jesu eni igbagbo kinikan awon la o ni ri. Can we beg the Lord? Can we just ask the Lord for our life? Can we just say, "Lord God help me"? The battle is not to the strong, the race is not to the swift. Wisdom is not always to men of skill or breadth to the wise. Time and chance happen to them all. Lord God, may I understand the time. May I understand the time. May I understand the time. It was not a time to collect, it was a time to let go. And that is very, very vital in our life. The time to lose a battle, the time to win a battle. The time to let go, the time to pick up. The time to... Bible says everything about life is about time. There is a time for everything, a season for every purpose. Lord help me to discern time. Help me to discern time. Help me to discern time and season, time and season. That is what I saw and that is how our minister closed this evening with us. He said the issue of is it the time. And that scripture just keep coming to my mind as far as this life is concerned. He says there is a time for everything, a season for every purpose. Once you don’t put the time for things and the season for things, and you begin to muddle them all up, then you will miss the battle of life. You will miss the battle of life. You will lose that battle. Lord help me to discern time. Help me to discern time. Help me to discern time. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Let's share the grace together in fellowship. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen. I don't know who I may be talking to very particularly, but I just have this burden in my spirit that that scripture that I just quoted, "time for everything, season for every purpose" is very, very crucial. Don't overlook it. I don't know who that message is for. But it just came to my... as we finished sharing the grace that look, that scripture, don't overlook that scripture. Time and season, don't overlook that scripture. You might need to meditate around it again and ponder over it and some things that you are doing now. Ponder over it. The Lord will bless us all in Jesus' name. [Speaker 4] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God’s word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission aid. Our regular activities are: discipleship class every Monday 5:00 PM, adolescents and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Ijeare 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 080-3386-1136, 070-3361-3848. God bless you all.