His Cross

[background music] [Speaker 1] Churches and 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 you be blessed as you listen. [background singing/choir] Father, we declare that we love you. We declare an everlasting love for you. Oh Lord, we declare. Father, we declare that we love you. We declare an everlasting love for you. Oh Lord, we declare. Father, we declare that we love you. We declare an everlasting love for you. He came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt he paid. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord, I lift your name on high. Lord, I lift your name on high. I love to sing your praises. Lord, I love to sing your praises. I'm so glad you're in my life. I'm so glad you came to save us. He came from heaven to earth to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt he paid. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift your name on high. [Speaker 2] Lord, we lift your name on high. Lord, we lift your name on high. Lord, we lift your name on high. Lord, we magnify your name. Lord our God, our debt you paid. Lord our God, you brought our redemption. Lord our God, you brought justification. Lord our God, you revealed righteousness. Lord our God, by you we were saved eternally. Blessed be your name, Lord Jesus. To you be glory forever and ever and ever and ever. In the name of Jesus. We are glad, oh Lord Almighty, that you brought us to yourself. You brought us to yourself by the power, by the power of the cross. And Lord our God, for the pleasure, for your own pleasure, according to the workings of your mighty power which you proposed in yourself. Lord our God, be glorified. Lord be glorified. Be glorified. Be glorified. And Lord, we pray that in our life, be magnified. As we gather unto you, Lord, this evening, Lord we pray. As we fellowship together, as we interact in scriptures, as we share scriptures together, Lord our God, we pray. Let your spirit work within us, among us, in the name of Jesus Christ. We pray for our brethren who are here physically, our brethren joining us online. Lord our God, we pray. Let there be a free course of your spirit working in our midst in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, meet us where we need you most. Lord, instruct our hearts. Lord, let there be a change in us by the workings of your mighty power in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. The matter of his cross. The matter of his cross. We thank God that last Monday, the Lord helped us to pray. And we are in the first Monday in the month of June, the sixth month of the year. We are grateful to God for his mercies through January, February, March, April, May, and the Lord has brought us into the month of June. And we want to begin to reflect on something that I made allusion to last Monday. I made an allusion to it when we were looking at the book of Timothy, the book of Second Timothy. Please let's go there. Let's go to Second Timothy chapter three. [Speaker 3] But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. [Speaker 2] We are beginning a series that I termed "His Cross." His Cross. That is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. His cross. We just want to look at some foundational issues. We'll begin from foundational things and then we try to build on those things gradually, gradually, and see how it sums up to the totality of our faith. So, we want to read from Second Timothy. I want to read from verse one. "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come." Difficult times. Difficult to be a Christian. Terrible times. And are we experiencing it? Are we experiencing it? Yeah. Honestly, we are experiencing it. We are experiencing it. Paul was speaking at this time. Initially, they thought that the Lord Jesus would come in their generation. I hope you're understanding me. They thought he would come in their generation because the Lord made the statement, "This generation shall not pass away when the Lord will come." But they did not understand it in the light of talking about not just their time, but that this generation, human existence, these people, human beings, they will not pass away. They did not get it in that totality. It's just like also when he told them that "You shall be my witnesses in Samaria, in this and this and all of that." Even did they know that they themselves will not leave Jerusalem. It's going to be the people that are disciples that go to the uttermost part of the earth. Their apostle never got anywhere. You get the point I want to bring out? But the people that came through them got to the uttermost part of the earth. Now, he said perilous times shall come. But towards the death of Paul, Paul who was talking formerly in 1 Corinthians 7, that the person who is married should be as if he's not married, the person who's in the world should be as if he's not in the world, and he encouraged people not to even marry. You get the point I'm making because the end of all things is at hand. But towards his death, he now saw another clear revelation again that there is still a latter time. That's when he knew that he will soon be offered. He will go and be with the Lord. It's not going to be in their time. And that was why you note that he now encouraged back in Timothy that younger widows, they should not be taken into... they should tell them to go and remarry because he saw it clearer. Revelation, God is inexhaustible. The closer you get into him... and that's why you note that Daniel said that in the days of those things, it will be clear. When things get to their manifestation, they start getting clearer and clearer about them. Now, he spoke of the last days. Please, I'm trying to build a foundation for the series we want to start, "His Cross." Because my concern is so much the perils that we are facing in the society. You know there is a peril. Because there's nothing strange because we have also been told that towards his coming, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. You will hear of war, rumors of war. Let not your heart be troubled. That is ordinarily, if you are not careful, you will not be able to sleep. You will not be able... you can just be alarmed. So, don't allow your heart to be alarmed. He said these things they must be. So, it's not because we are not praying. It's not because we are not talking to God. It's not because God is not hearing us. But God have designed certain things for his own purpose. Are you understanding what I'm trying to bring out? It's not because Jesus did not pray, that was why he was crucified in that way that was so unjust. It was because in that manner of death, God has his own purpose for redemption. You get the point I'm making? It's not because Joseph did not pray. So, certain things happen because God have a higher purpose to fulfill through them. Do you get the point I'm trying to bring out? So, there is a peril outside. And from what we are seeing, we have not even seen enough. Because the Bible says that the difficulty will be so much, it will be so difficult that the earth will stagger like a man that is drunk. In Hebrews, he said God is going to shake both the heavens and the earth so that every shakeable will shake away. Everything that we are trusting in... maybe we are trusting money, we are trusting this... those things that we are trusting in, those things that we are putting our dependence upon, apart from God, God is going to shake all of them. God will so much shake them that there will be something that cannot be shaken. And that is where we are going in this topic, "His Cross." Every other thing that man is trusting in... even the church, because my concern is about the church. I'm not so concerned about the shaking that is outside. I'm concerned with how this perilous time affects the body of Christ, the church. The church. That is my primary focus in our looking at this topic. It has several applications, but we are looking at how it affects us as believers, as disciples, as children of God. So, Apostle Paul, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was able to see a latter time by revelation. A thing that we must all pray for on a daily basis. One of the work of the Holy Spirit is to tell us of things to come. I'm telling you, these days if you don't know of things to come, you will be seriously alarmed and troubled. We must beg God to be able to know what is to come. Honestly, if things are meeting you unaware, you will not be able to stand. You must be able to beg God to be able to know what is to come, to be able to see some things ahead. You notice that as gruesome as the death of the Lord Jesus is, it was something that he could go through because he saw it coming. You get the point I'm making? Paul saw his death coming and he embraced the death. Peter saw the death coming, he embraced the death. You get the point... so, it is becoming so crucial when things start getting critical, that we begin to beg God that we should be able to know what is to come. What is to come? And the matter of what is to come is not for intellectual, academic, bread and butter Christianity. It's for the men of the Spirit. It's for the men of the Spirit. So, what I'm trying to say is that if we don't begin to learn to dig deep and go deeper, so many things will take you so much unaware that you may find yourself being swept away by the wave of distress that is going to come upon the earth. Yes, the earth will be distressed. That is the truth about it. There's nothing anybody can do about it. The earth has been designed to sink and it's going to sink. It has been designed to sink. It has been designed that every shakeable thing will be shaken. Everything man trust in, man will see that there is nothing in them to trust. God want to prove that everything that we have made the object of our worship, they are nothing. Samuel told the Israelite, he said "Don't follow after vain things or you will become vain." We have followed after so many vain things, and the church is noticing that we are becoming vain. So, the first thing I'm trying to say in a background to the matter of his cross that we want to begin to consider, is that by revelation, Apostle Paul saw by the power of the Spirit that there is a perilous time, there is a time that things will be difficult. He says "in the last days." And I don't know where we are, whether we are in the last of the last days, or we are just in the last days. Do you understand me? You know when you say "the last days", it's not just a day. It's a period. So, that period will stretch. For example, I think I have given example here before. When we say "night", when does night start? When does night start? I've given that example here before in one of our meetings. "We that are of the day." I've given that example before under that topic. You can go and listen to that teaching again. "We that are of the day." It's online, you can listen to it. It's about five or six week teachings. You can also look at that. We said it begins around 7:00 PM. 7:00 PM is night. 8:00 PM is night. 9:00 PM is night. 10:00 PM is night. 11:00 PM is night. 1:00 AM is night, even though it's beginning of another day, but it's also still night. You get the point I'm making? But what is the difference in all of those nights? It gets darker. By 12:00, it's no more... it gets darker. That is one. But much more importantly, not really darker so to say, you notice that it gets more scary. By 7:00 PM you are not afraid when you walk in the night. When it becomes 8:00, you are still relaxed. When it gets to 9:00, you know you are still relaxed. When you are walking around 10:00, 11:00, how will you be walking? You know you will be afraid. You will be walking with fear. That's what I'm trying to say. As we enter into the period of the latter days, as we progress in it, it will be getting more scary. That's what I'm saying. It will be getting more scary. We'll be getting more afraid, more fearful, more scary. And something about it again that I said then that we must bring again to this discussion we want to have, is that you will notice that the number of those on the street start reducing. Number of those on the road start reducing. Start reducing. It start getting more lonely. Start getting more lonely. You get the point I'm making? And then, what thing we also said that more people start sleeping. People, more people start sleeping. The people that will be awake are those... which people? The watchmen. The watchmen will be awake. Those who, whose night, whose work is to be awake by night. But not only watchmen will be awake. Dangerous men too will be awake. The thieves, the armed robbers, the destroyer, the desolators, they are also awake. You get the point I'm trying to bring out? So, there's something about the night. So, you can see the advantages of the night naturally. So, as we enter into the night of the earth, we should not expect anything less. Don't expect anything less. Now, the Bible began to say so many things about that period. The period that we are in now. It says "For men will be lovers of themselves." Now, it began to explain a lot of things. Men will be lovers of themselves. Lovers of what? Lovers of pleasure. No, there's something before pleasure. Lovers of themselves. Number two, lovers of money. They will love themselves. So, check. Check your love for yourself as against love for the brethren. What's the next thing? Lovers of money. Do we love money today? Are you following the trend? Telling us what it will look like. What I'm trying to make you see is that there is nothing happening that is strange. It's looking strange to you but it's not strange. If you are looking at it with the spiritual eyes, it's not strange. Lovers of money. Lovers of themselves. Lovers of themselves. Proud. Blasphemers. Disobedient to parents. Unthankful. Unholy. Unloving. Unforgiving. Slanderers. Without self-control. What do you see again? Brutal. Are men brutal today? What happened in Owo, is it brutality? Is it only that? What of coppers who kill fellow copper because she want to marry the boyfriend? Just begin to look around you. What I'm trying to make you understand is that if you are looking at things with the spiritual eyes, you will know that there is nothing strange that is happening around us. Are you understanding me? There is nothing strange. What of friend, friend to friend, that you decide to kill the friend because he has borrowed you over a million Naira, and you don't want to repay that money, so you organize that he should be killed? You know, how do you explain that kind of friendship? How do you explain the friendship of taking your friend, undergraduate, taking a friend to somewhere and then only for to have arranged for her to be used for rituals? That was a 300 or 200 level student of our campus. At that level, at that level, made arrangement at that level. Before rescue could get to the girl, the girl was already dead. What I'm trying to bring out, these things they look as if they are strange, abi? You know they look as if they are strange. But I just want to tell you one thing. Number one, we have not seen anything yet. Get your hearts prepared. Ah, o ti n bo. It's still coming. But I also want to announce to you, where sin abound, grace abound much more the more. That's the good news. The good news is that if you abound in grace, you will discover that you will be stronger than the strength of the brutality of the perils that will be around. But if you are not abounding in grace, it is only grace that can abound much more the more. You get the point I'm making? Only grace. So, either you are growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord, or you are not growing. If you are not growing, you are in trouble. If you are not growing, you are in trouble because you will sink. You will sink. That's the reality of it. You will sink. But if you are growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord, where sin abound, what will happen? Grace much more the more abound. And let me show you, when do you appreciate the beauty of light? It is in darkness. Men who are truly light will be appreciated when things get darker and darker. Men who are truly light will be appreciated as things are going darker and darker. Men who are not light will be swallowed by the darkness. The darkness is also... mark my word, the darkness is also a sieve to sieve men. It's going to sieve them. So, be sure that you are real and not fake. Be sure that you are real and not fake. If you go and read the church history, you go and read church history between the first and the third century. I don't know whether we can still get this book today. If I can still get it, I will buy it. Actually, this church history is in volumes. You know something as big as dictionary and volume of about 12, 13 volumes. So, if you want to read, you know how many things you want to read before you can finish the history. But there is this book, "Sketches from Church History." It's a smaller book. It will just take you through the history of the church. Some of you can read and you can appreciate... you see, one thing I want you to understand, brethren, Christianity is not a faith that began with us. Christianity is a faith that was handed over to us. So, if you don't know what was handed over to you, you will be running with a wrong thing. So, history when it come to Christianity is a very crucial thing to know what actually was given. And that is why many time today, if you are not careful, you will be looking at the writings of the apostles with what you are experiencing today, so you not understand what they are saying at all. Except Holy Spirit help you. You not be able to relate what they are saying to what is you are seeing today because there have been a gap between what they were saying and what you are seeing today. But if go and look at the history, sometimes history can help you answer a lot of questions. That's why there are so many questions today about doctrines, about teaching that people carry around. For me, it's not Bible that gave me the answer, it was history. God in his mercy made me to teach history for about 15 years. So, I happened to read and read and read so many things into history that history answer, give answer to a lot of things. But the point I'm trying to bring out is that it is good that an average Christian should lay his or her hand on the church history and read something about this faith that was handed over to us. See between the first and the third century, the church was going through something similar to what is about to happen now. Serious persecution. Serious tribulation. Such that you know how stadium, the stadia? You know on one hand you can trace it to two history what you call sports today that you go and watch in the stadium. The first history is the history of immorality. The first history was that people will be having sex naked. They will be sporting, then people will be watching them. That was what now changed to game, to football, to tennis, to all those things. Sport. So, sporting also mean being immoral. You go and check archaic English before it now became the sports that we are talking about today. The second side of it was that in the stadium, you get the point I'm trying to say? They will take wild animals. Believe Jesus or not, throw it away or you say no, you are holding to Jesus. It is those things that that song, "I pledge allegiance to the Lamb," it is those history he was trying to recollect in that song. That one by one they laid their life and that was one, he was trying to record that history. It actually happened. You know what they will do? They will sit down in the stadium. They will now throw the Christian to lion. So, lion will be pursuing them and cheering them... even people will be laughing. Look at that he's shouting. Until they will finish eating them. That was sport. Or it changed to what we now going to watch football and all those things that you are watching. But that was the history of how it started. Now, so in that century, in those century, if you are not truly a believer, you don't identify with Christians so that you are not thrown to lions. Do you get it? So, if you don't truly believe, you don't join them. You stay off. Do you get it? But by the fourth century, the fourth century, things began to change for Christianity through Constantine. Things began to change gradually. Constantine was the emperor, he said he saw the sign of the cross. That was how we got this cross. The cross is not actually like this. Cross is a tree. There is nothing like this called cross. He saw it, saw a sign like this. There was nothing like that. There is nothing like this as cross. Jesus died on a tree. It was tree. They cut tree and then laid them to it. That's the history. But he said he saw a sign. That's how cross, the other one now started and they now do Jesus like this. Jesus was not like this. Jesus was on a tree. I'm just talking about history. I'm not contradicting anybody. I'm just talking history. Now, what I'm trying to bring out from that was that it was from the first century to the eleventh century that the church entered into darkness. You know what happened from the fourth century? Igba irunnu de. Do you understand me? Enjoyment. The power of the state was merged with the church. Do you get it? Through the emperor, through the emperor he became converted to Christianity. So, the state now became favorable to Christianity. So, it now looks as if if you don't join them, you don't enjoy the power of affluence. Do you get it now? So, aborishe, juju worshiper, water, everybody want to be what? I pledge... so it's now switched to pledge allegiance. I pledge allegiance to... okay, you be the Prime Minister there, finacial, you know, okay be in charge of that state. Ah, everybody began to pledge out of sincerity. That was how we... the church, that was how all kinds of things entered the church. So, we are going back again. Don't forget. The end shall be like the beginning. Jesus said "as the days of Noah, so shall his days be." So, we are reverting. The thing is going to turn. Are you understanding me? I'm not making you afraid. I'm just telling you what... I'm going to talk about his cross. I want to make you understand why men will say, "Forbid it Lord that I should boast save in the cross of Christ my Lord. All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his cross." Why the cross was a matter? But today the cross is gone. Why the cross? That cross was the only thing to glory about. Was the only thing to rejoice about that "Yes, we have his cross." But that is not the thing to be proud about. Lovers of themselves. Lovers of money. There are so several other things to be proud about today. Being an hero has been redefined. But we want to just look at some things and try to look at them, look into scriptures. His cross. His cross. And I'm trying to lay the background for this series that we want to begin to consider. I want to make you see the matter historically. I'm trying to make you see that there's going to be a turn again in the wheel. The wheel will turn gradually again. The wheel will turn gradually again. And so, there will be a purifying fire. You will be calling it trouble, tribulation, affliction, but it's a purifying fire to make light, those who are truly light to be properly appreciated. And those who are not light will sink with the darkness. The darkness is also... mark my word, the darkness is also a sieve to sieve men. It's going to sieve them. So, be sure that you are real and not fake. Be sure that you are real and not fake. That's why somebody like Daniel can say "those who corrupt the covenant, those who are not faithful to the covenant, he will corrupt by flatteries. But the people who know their God shall be strong." So, we'll be looking for men who really know their God and those who don't know him. So, I want us to get this as the background that the scripture says that there will be despisers of good. They will be traitors. Awon odale. Traitors everywhere. Headstrong. Awon alagidi. Haughty. Awon onigberaga. Lovers of pleasure rather than God. Is that not true today? Have you noticed prayer meeting and love feast meeting? Have you noticed it in your own fellowship? Brethren, how is it? How is it? Do you notice how many times now we do things and then there must be meal? You didn't saw how won't there be refreshment? Refreshment after refreshment, after refreshment. Are you understanding me? Do you know how many times party, party, party, party, party, party, party, party, party? I was telling somebody that if you go into catering business today and you can just have a chair into the market, you don't need a job again because there is party almost every day. Saturday cannot take wedding again now. The wedding now come to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So, if you can build one event hall, there's always be somebody to use that hall. Look all of these things, please understand them. We are not insulting anything. We are talking about what the times will be like. Do you get the point what I'm trying to bring out? What it will be like. What it is. So, there is nothing about something wrong about partying itself. It's just like... let me give you a good example. When Jesus said that they will be given in marriage and marrying until the Son of Man shall come. Does it mean that doing wedding is a wrong thing? Does that what it mean? What it means is that while there is nothing wrong with the wedding, be careful to be carried away by the spirit of the time. Do you get it? Such that your focus and your attention in life is wedding. But as you are wedding, you are looking at heaven so that when heaven comes, you fly away all glory. When they say they love money, if you remove money away from us today, how do we live? We cannot survive. So, please get the point that we are making very clear. It's talking about motive, intent, attitude, priorities, passion. It's not just about those things literally in themselves. I hope you're understanding me. You are understanding me. Now, he says "Traitor, heady, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." And where we are going particularly where we want to draw the matter from is this place. That's where we will be drawing the matter to the cross. He said, "having what?" Now, all of these people, what he has been talking about, the lovers of themselves, this and this and that, all of those things, he now said what? "Having a form of what?" So, what brought godliness into the matter? "Having a form of what? But what? Denying the power thereof." "Having a form of godliness but denying its power. From such people, turn away." "For of this sort are those who creep into household and make captives of gullible women." They'll be going from house to house telling you that these people that have a form of godliness, they are what? No, no, no, no, no. Look at what it is. "Having a form of godliness, denying the power thereof. Of this sort are those who creep into household." They creep into household. What's he trying to say? House to house evangelism. They are organized. They are preachers. "Of this sort, they move from house to house. And make captives of gullible women." I wonder why he say gullible. May we not be gullible. Gullible women, loaded down with sin, led away by various lusts. So, what make people gullible is what? Sin and lust. Mark my word. Mark my word. Sin and lust make people to lose the right sense of thinking. Was this... Auntie Bless was saying something, I don't know whether it was yesterday, I can't remember whether it was this morning. Talking about some young, young girls that they just use today for rituals. They'll just... she shake ta-ta, base of note, ah eh ye, and then gbeng, they use them for rituals. What made them gullible? Love of money. We were on the radio one day and we were listening to news. Talk about a girl that was raped by an Okada man. While the... you met an Okada man, you want to take you from where you are to another spot. While you were going, the Okada man stopped at a beer parlor, bought fresh fish and gave you, and both of you sat down you ate. You were to take... are you following the story at all? That was the story on the news. I'm to take Okada maybe from here to Oja. Okada man got to roadblock, stop at a relaxation spot, bought fish and drink and both of you did everything. And then you too sat down. You are to take... you are on a destination. You sat down with the person, you took fish and drink and then you now continued your journey. It was on the news. I'm not exaggerating. It was my wife that was even calling my attention, "which kind of children do we have today?" Which kind of children? Then he went after the, the light refreshment, they continued back on the Okada. And when they got to a point, the man drove into a bush and then slept with her. She now was now shouting that he raped him. Now, the question, when you were taking pepper soup... if you are taking bike, pepper soup? It looks very funny, honestly. But I'm saying that what you can see, what, the gullibility in that girl. Atenuje. Lust and sin makes us to be gullible. Once you are lustful, ifekufe, it makes you to be gullible. You will not have right sense of thinking again. Gullibility, lust and sin. People who are laden with lust and sin becomes gullible. They'll not see again in between the line. When the man parked to go and take pepper soup and... you suppose say, "Ah, what's your problem? Where are you going? Tell me, take another bike." You sat down and you are doing light refreshment with an Okada man that you don't know before. Then you now say the man raped me. So, you see, the point I want to bring is that the man saw cooperation. I don't know whether you understand. He saw cooperation in the gle. So, he felt okay, it's like this one too knows how to play the game. Even who were expecting that "ah, how will you want to go somewhere and then somebody parked and both of you are taking pepper soup and drink together and then you say..." You know, so he thought that "okay, okay, it's like this one, ah no problem. It's one of those people that you just meet with you sleep with and then you give money." That's it. Because by the time people began to call all over the radio, people different comment from different people, some made this comment that I'm making now that "But ordinarily, the man too would have thought that the girl was cooperating." But I'm talking about gullibility. Gullibility. You know, it's important not to, to understand that let us be careful about lust, about unreasonable desire for things. Just, it makes you to be gullible. But that's not where we are going. Now, he says that "Always learning..." talking about these people, please note something. These people, the same one they have a form of godliness but they deny the power. They creep into houses, it means they also have disciples. But their disciples are gullible people. Their followers are gullible. They are not people who can think soberly and think deeply and reflect on matters. You get the point I'm making? Then, he says "these people, the same set of people, they are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth." So, which means these people, they are not outside the Christian community. Are you, are you with me? Are you with me? Because if they are, if they are trying to come to the knowledge of truth, if they are making disciples, if they have a form of godliness, please where are they located? Where are they located? They are located among the religious. Is that not true? They're located among the religious. That is where the area that I'm going. This matter of where I'm going. Now, look at what it now says to bring it out very clear. "Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith. They will, they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was." So, one thing that we are seeing about, about these people, is that we are talking about a group of people that, one, they are religious. They have a form of godliness. They are good in making disciples. Please note that. They are good in making disciples. Another thing you note about them is that they are always learning. It looks as if they are people who want to sit down to learn. But they'll never come to the knowledge of the truth. And so, they are people who resist truth. They resist truth. They fight truth. And they are not different from the, they are not different from examples in the Bible before. Now, brethren, we, we want to call our attention to this matter because we are looking at the matter of his cross. He says "they have a form of godliness, but they deny what?" "Its power. From such people turn away." Now, note something. Can we try other translation for this verse five? Can we try translations? Can we try translations? Just to help us see that verse a little clearer. [background voice] Amplified. [Speaker 3] "For although they hold a form of piety, they hold a form of true religion, they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it. Their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession. Avoid all such people." [Speaker 2] Now, one thing I want you to see, please, in that Amplified that was read, is that there is a form of piety, there is a true religion, but peculiar to that true religion is what? It has its power. It has its power. And these people are who they are because of what? Because of what? Why are they who they are? What does it mean to deny? They, they reject the power. They are strangers to it. Please note that. They deny, they reject, and are strangers to the power of it. Note that. So that the matter that we are discussing is that true religion has its power. Everybody who deny that power, who reject that power, who is a stranger to that power, that person, regardless of what the person is doing, that person is not what? Is not correct. The person might be evangelical, the person may be learning, ever learning. They are ever learning. They could be evangelical. But they are never correct. What actually makes them not to be correct is that what? They reject the power. They refuse the power. They are strangers to the power. Now, can we see another... is there another translation again that brings anything out for us? NLT, what does it say? [Speaker 3] "They act as if they are religious, but they reject the power that could make them godly." [Speaker 2] So, it means again that the reason why they are the way they are, why they are ever learning but not coming to the knowledge of the truth... you get it? Why they fight the truth, why they could not be godly, is also because the power, what makes us to be godly is the power of that religion. Without the power, we cannot be godly. So, they act... now listen. If you act as if you are godly but you are not truly godly, who are you? So, it tells you that one thing about these last days is pharisaism and sadduceeism. People who are expert in the word... those ones they were expert in the law. They will tear the word... [clapping] you see when you look at the... no, no. When the Holy Spirit move at the dimension of the power, there is a thermodynamics of God that move at a frequency that is beyond the ordinary. And when it goes at a frequency, it brings a transformation, a metamorphosis that brings about a complete alteration into the power of the most high. Tell them not to tell lie. They are still lying. Do you, do you get what I'm trying to say? They are expert in the word but the problem is with their conduct. They are expert with the word, but they are not sincere to their wives. They are expert with the word, but they love money. O le fi owo ba won se o, they will betray you. Are you understanding me now? That is why you notice that they say "ah, and they are Christians and they are in business, but he betrayed this brother." Have you not heard that before? Is that a strange thing that I'm talking about? Is that... what I'm saying is strange? It's not strange. It's so strange. That's why they can be ushers as they are collecting the money, they are putting some inside their own pockets. That is why you can put them over a branch of the church. If the founder don't, don't quickly do something about it, before you know, that parish has been changed to a personal parish. It is now their own. That is why you notice that founders now everywhere, they will not allow that parish pastor to put his own picture. Put the picture of the founder. Oh, you don't know that is the reason? That's the reason behind it. I'm telling you, that's the reason behind it. Go and check every big ministry. Do you see the picture of any other person? Because you can put men there, by the time you come back the following month, if it was... let me just give example now, Fire Power Ministry, by the time you come next time, it have become Fire Fire Power in God's Ministry. All the property, "I labored for this thing. I was the one that brought out the thing and make it to work. Let's go to court." It has become so. They have... they are expert with the word, but they are cheaters. They're not faithful. They are not true to brethren. Their life is not correct. But they are expert. They can put all kinds of teachings on men, but with their finger they will not push one. Another, that's pharisaism. That's pharisaism. Let me maybe... you can... you see, I'm trying to explain this thing what is going on so that you don't, you don't get baffled about what is going on. You don't get too disturbed about what is happening around you. You need to understand the times that we are in. You need to understand this time that we are in. And I'm just trying to navigate, but I've showed you where we are going to, high link to where we are going, that it is because they deny the power. There is a power. We want to talk about his cross. You will see what the cross made of Jesus. No sensation, no show, no popularity. You will see what the cross... talking about the cross. Because that is the power. You'll see what the cross made of Jesus. You will see what made the power of resurrection, a power that nobody, no power in heaven, on earth, no power can handle that power of resurrection. What gave birth to it was not glamour. What gave birth to it was not social respectability. That's not what gave birth to it. Talking about they are talking about the his cross. His cross. The cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus. The cross. His cross. His cross. That was what gave birth to the resurrection power. That was what gave birth to redemption power. It was a cross. The cross that gave birth to it. His cross. His cross. May I not be stranger to his cross. May I not reject his cross. May I not refuse his cross. We'll be exposing all of these things gradually. We'll be looking at it gradually. We'll look at the scriptures by scripture. And I want you to pray today that God as we begin this series, Lord open my understanding. Lord as we begin this series, Lord open my understanding. Lord open my heart, open my mind. Lord, I want to meet with you, not with Brother Wole. I want to meet with you, not with the preacher. Lord, I want to encounter you that my faith will not rest in Brother Wole but my faith may rest in you. I want to encounter you. I want to meet with you in the name of Jesus Christ. And one more last prayer I want you to pray is that God help me. God help me. He says we should reject such men. That may such men be my company. May such men be... because let me tell you, if they're in your company, it cannot be well with you. If you do business with them, you are in trouble. If you happen to marry them, your own is finished. If you... look, these kind of men, they must not be in your company. They must not be in your company. They must not be among your intimates. I want you to pray that God help me to recognize them and turn away from them. Help me to recognize them and turn away from them. Help me to know them and turn away. They must not be in my company. They must not be the sister that I want to marry. They must not be the brother I want to marry. They must not be my company, I mean not do business with them or do things with them. They must not be my prayer mate or my study mate. They must not be my roommate, this kind of people. Lord help me to discern them and turn away from them. Help me to discern them and turn away from them. Oh inside them are full of deadliness. Inside them are full of wickedness. Inside them are full of... look, oh. Oh. May they not be in our company. May they not be in our company. May we not enter their ship in any way. Either by friendship, either by courtship. May we not enter into their ship. May they not be in our ship. Either by friendship, by courtship, by scholarship, by whatever ship. May we not be in their ship. May they not be in our ship in the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ. Even by mentorship. May they not be our mentor. May they not be our mentor. May they not be our mentor. Several ways we can enter their ship, or be, or they be in our ship. May we not enter their ship. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name. Thank you, our Father. Let me invite Godwin to close the meeting this evening. Godwin, come and close the meeting for us this evening. [Speaker 4] Our Father and our God, we want to thank you again for today. One thing we have realized that every time we gather here, you speak to our heart. We want to thank you for this. We appreciate you, Lord. Father, we've heard your word again. Lord, we pray this is a perilous time. Lord, we are asking that you will help us. You will help us. We will not be carried away by the things, by the happenings of this time. In the name of Jesus Christ. You will deliver us. You will deliver us. You will deliver us in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, one thing we have, we've learned today was the fact that we need the Holy Spirit to show us things to come. Holy Spirit, we need more of you in our life. To begin to reveal to us, to show us things, and to speak to our heart. And we ask for grace and ability to discern and to walk in this truth in the name of Jesus Christ. Father, this is a new series. Lord, we have prayed and we are asking Lord, that you will open our eyes. You will give us understanding. Your word say, "Give us understanding, we shall live." It's by this understanding we will live. Lord, as we go journey to through, journey to into this series, Lord we pray that you will give us understanding. And we pray for your servant, you will continue to build him up. You continue to use him. And he will be a vessel unto honor in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, precious Daddy. Lord, we pray for every distractions, whatever thing it may be, as we go through, through this series, Lord we come against them. Lord we pray, that those that are physical and online, no one will miss this series. In the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, precious Daddy. As we go, we go in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And we will return next week with testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, precious Daddy. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Let's together share the grace. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission 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 every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ile-ere community, opposite Rejoice filling station, along Iji-ere 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 080-33-86-11-36, 070-33-61-38-48. God bless you all. [music fades out]