Hospitality in the Christian Home

[music] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [music] [Speaker 1] Praise ye the Lord. We thank our God again for this opportunity to gather this morning for the month of June Marriage Forum. We bless His holy name for how He has been helping us. We thank Him for His love, for His mercies. We thank Him for His grace. It has been Him and Him alone. To Him be all glory, to Him be all adoration in the name of Jesus Christ. Last month, which was the month of May, brought us to a pause in the issue of sexual responsibility in marriage. We started that topic from the month of February through March, through April, through May. We were considering the matter of sexual responsibility in marriage. We were able to look at several things that affect homes. We were able to answer different questions from different people. Today, we want to take a look again at some contemporary happenings in our time and how it relates to the Christian home. For those of us who were able to get our message that we sent across yesterday, we noted a very important background to today's topic: Hospitality and the Christian Home. The background that we sent out yesterday was the turnout of events, the magnitude, the trend, and dimension of evil and wickedness today. Ordinarily, this brings unrest and trepidation to the heart. It unprecedentedly destroys trust in human relationships and weakens or eradicates brotherly affection in the society. Hence, the church, that is me and you, the followers of Jesus, the church, we are not left out of all of this. We are in it because we are in the society. We are part of seeing, experiencing, and witnessing the evil of our days, the wickedness, the alarming dimension to it, and all that is happening around us. We are all part of the society. So the church is not left out of all of this. How and why should we bring a balance between being hospitable and the evil of our time? This is the burden of our Marriage Forum for today, the 11th of June. So our focus is hospitality and the Christian home. Let us have a word of prayer. Our Father, we thank You. Our God, we give You praise, we give You honor, we give You adoration. We appreciate You for Your love and for Your mercies. Unto You again we gather this morning. Lord, we are praying, we are asking You for those of us who are here and for our brethren who are joining us online, either on Telegram or on Mixlr. Our brethren who are joining us, Lord, we pray for all of us together that God Almighty, we are asking, let Your Spirit work within us among us in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that You will meet us where we need You most this morning in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray for individuals, bachelors, spinsters, wives, husbands, that will be listening to today's topic. Lord, we pray, let there be a renewal, a refreshment in our spirit, a re-defining and a renewed strength to serve You better in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, our Father. In Jesus' most holy name we pray. Amen. So we have given the background to today's focus, which is Hospitality and the Christian Home. I will do some quick definition of terms and then we will go into the burden of the meeting: how and why should we bring a balance between hospitality and the wickedness and evil of today? And please, I want to say that our brethren who are online, either on Telegram or Mixlr, please don't forget that as the session goes on, questions can start coming in as from 11:30. In fact, you can start sending your questions as from 11 o'clock, or as you have questions, you can start sending them in. The technical will attend to them. So as you have your questions, please let us have them so that we can attend to them. So we are looking at Hospitality and the Christian Home. The first thing I quickly want to do is to try to explain the word hospitality, hospitable, and then the Christian home. Hospitality, looking at the dictionary definition, the dictionary says the act or service of welcoming, receiving, hosting, or entertaining guests. The act or service of welcoming, hosting, receiving, or entertaining guests. That is hospitality. Then the word hospitable. To be hospitable means that the individual is cordial. Cordial. The individual is generous towards guests, towards strangers. An individual who is cordial, an individual who is generous towards guests. An individual who is receptive. Who is receptive. Receptability. Then the other one is to be open-minded. You are open-minded to people. Open-mindedness. The other one here is to be favorable. Favorable to people. So hospitality is the act, while hospitable is talking about the personality. The personality. The act of serving people is hospitality. The person who can do that is somebody who is hospitable. Somebody who is cordial, somebody who is generous, somebody who is receptive, somebody who is open-minded, and somebody who is favorable. Now, the other thing I would like to explain as regards the Christian home. By the Christian home, I don't necessarily mean people who go to church. A lot of people go to church but they are not Christians. I don't necessarily mean a moralist. A lot of people look morally upright but they are not Christians. Yes, Christianity should produce sound morality, but morality is not Christianity. So by Christian home, I'm talking about a home where the husband and the wife are individuals who have encountered the Lord Jesus personally. They have encountered the Lord Jesus in a very personal way. They have encountered Him personally. There is a working relationship between them and the Lord Jesus Christ. There is this intimacy that they share with the Lord. So it's not just about being a member of one church, being in one activity group or unit, doing church activities, belonging to a denomination. No, that's not what we are talking about. We are talking about an experience of salvation. And we are talking about salvation in the sense of a personal encounter with Jesus. Then the second thing about a Christian home is that we are talking about husband and wife, individuals who have given themselves to the yoke of Jesus. Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me." They have given themselves to the yoke of Jesus. And then when we now talk about the home, I'm speaking now beyond the marriage. The marriage is about the husband and the wife. The home now is about the children. The children. A home where the children that live in that home have also had similar experiences, the experience of salvation. Now, it is in this context we are looking at homes that are like this. Hospitality, the act of service, the act of welcoming guests. Individuals who are cordial, generous, and friendly and receptive and open-minded, particularly in the face of the present state of our society. Society today, the level of wickedness, the dimension of evil that is happening in the society ordinarily will make us as individuals to say, "Let me close my door. If I don't close my door, I may not be secure. I will be a foolish person to open my doors. I would rather lock up myself to anybody." Everybody you see is a wicked person. You cannot really say this person is good or bad. So the best thing is to treat everybody, whosoever you meet, treat them with suspicion. Treat them in a way, be careful about being cordial. Be careful about being friendly. Be careful about unnecessarily welcoming because it may get you into trouble. That person you are welcoming may be a kidnapper. That person you are welcoming may be an armed robber. There have been cases of individuals who decided to help some individuals on the road and while inside the vehicle, the person they picked to assist pointed a gun at them. And at gunpoint went with their vehicle. There have been cases of those who try to assist and they have been robbed, they have been kidnapped. So if you look at society today, the dimension of evil makes hospitality a thing that becomes very, very difficult to want to practice. It makes it very, very difficult. That's to say the least. It makes it difficult because if you are to look at our own environment, specifically if you are to look at the Nigerian situation and what is happening around us, the height and the manifestation of evil today should make every individual become closed-minded. Become closed-minded. So our focus today is for us as believers, for us as Christians, how do we respond to this? How should a Christian home respond to this kind of situation? How should a Christian family respond to this kind of situation? And that is the focus of today. And what I want to do, like what I sent out yesterday, our focus is how and why. How should we do it? How should we respond to hospitality at a time like this? Can we find examples in scriptures? Can we learn from the word of God? Is there anything that the Bible says about this kind of situation? What is going on, how do we respond to it? That is one. The second one is why should we bring a balance? Why should we do everything to bring a balance? Why should we do so? So I want to begin with the first aspect of it, which is "how". And in treating "how", we'll be looking at some scriptures to draw important lessons from them. The first scripture that I want to call our attention to, in fact most of the scriptures we'll be reading, they are very, very familiar scriptures. The first scripture I want to call our attention to about how do we bring a balance, how do we do it in spite of all of this that we are seeing today, how do we do it? The first scripture I want to call our attention to is in Ecclesiastes, the Preacher. Ecclesiastes the Preacher. Let's see that scripture together. Ecclesiastes the Preacher. I'll be reading from verse 1. Just want to call our attention to something. We'll just be picking the lessons as we read each of these scriptures. [Narrator] > The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-4) Please be noting each of these things that we are reading. One generation passes away, another comes, but the earth abides forever. > The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. (Ecclesiastes 1:5) Rising from the east, setting in the west. By the following day again, it's rising again from the east. It goes back again. Talking about time and event, things going up, down, up, down, repetition. Tuesdays after Tuesdays, Monday after Monday, month after month, year in year out. > The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. (Ecclesiastes 1:6) Repetition. Talking about repetition. > All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (Ecclesiastes 1:7-8) That which has been—please note that scripture—that which has been is what will be. That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done. Are you following that? That which has been is what will be. That which has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun. Now, it proceeded. Look at what the Bible says: > Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11) [Speaker 1] I don't know whether you get what the Bible is saying in this place. The Bible is making us to see a very, very important thing. How do we respond to what we are facing today? The Bible is saying that the first aspect of our response is to understand that if you are saying what we are experiencing is new, it is because you are ignorant of history. If you are saying what we are experiencing is new, it means you are ignorant of history. The reality is that there is nothing we are facing today that is actually new. How do we bring a balance? We must first understand that, we must condition our heart to realize that what we are facing today is nothing new. If anybody says it is new, it is because what happened in the former times they were forgotten. There is really nothing new under the sun. So the first thing about how should we respond is that we need to appreciate this divine truth, that the situations that we are facing today, they are not new. Brethren, please, we need to appreciate that. How do we respond? Let's first appreciate that what we are facing is not new. Now, beyond that, we need to look at another scripture about the things that we are facing today. I want us to quickly look at the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's check something in Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24. Let's check something there. Matthew 24. Let's see the scripture. Matthew chapter 24. The Lord was speaking about His coming, the end of the world, and He said some things. Our first response is that we must encourage our heart, there is nothing new under the sun. Nothing is new. If anybody says it is new, the person is ignorant of history. Our second response: the Lord did not tell us anything less. Our second response, our first response, please address your heart to the wickedness of today, it is not new. Our second response, the Lord did not tell us anything less. The Bible says in Matthew 24 that the disciples, they came to Him from verse 3: [Narrator] > Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 24:3-13) [Speaker 1] The Lord did not tell us anything less. Our second response is that the Lord did not tell us anything less. The Lord is telling us to expect that society will be like this. Society will become—when He says lawlessness, what is lawlessness? Lawlessness means confusion. Lawlessness means anarchy. He says because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will wax cold. By the time you say "Brethren, let us—" say "No, no, I'm not ready. With all that is happening, I can't. I can't do it." What I'm trying to make us see as Christian homes is that the Lord did not tell us anything less. The Lord told us to expect all of these things. He says people will betray themselves, brethren will betray themselves. It's not you will say, "Ah, ah, it is so even such that it is even my brother that deceived me." What I'm trying to say is that the Lord did not tell us anything less. We should begin to gather our heart together because the Lord said it is he who endures to the end that will be saved. And who are those that will endure to the end? It is those whose love did not wax cold. There is a love that must not wax cold. How do we respond? Number one, we must know nothing is new. Number two, we must realize that the Lord did not tell us anything less. Number three, how do we respond to this thing? We are looking at still on the matter of "how". How should we bring a balance? How should we do these things? The first one we are looking at is addressing our heart. Understand that there is nothing new under the sun. Understand that the Lord did not tell us anything less. And still on this matter of understanding that there is nothing new, the Lord did not tell us anything less. Can we look at some other matters that the Old Testament saints, they did not experience anything less? Neither the New Testament saints. None of them experienced anything less. None of them. Can we first look at the New Testament saint, 2 Corinthians chapter 11? 2 Corinthians chapter 11 from verse 26 to verse 27. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 from verse 26 to verse 27. Chapter 11, verse 26 to verse 27. Are we there? Our brother and elder, the minister to the Gentiles, Paul, was speaking. He was talking about his own Christian experience. Look at his Christian experience. He said: [Narrator] > ...in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. (2 Corinthians 11:26-27) [Speaker 1] Brethren, did they experience anything less? They didn't experience anything less. They did not. They did not. If you take that, if you take that reading in NLT, it brings this out a little clearer. It says: "I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, danger in the deserts, on stormy seas. I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but they are not." So what if you look at it, the Old Testament saints—the New Testament saint did not face anything less. They did not face anything less. They did not. What I'm trying to say, I'm first addressing the attitude of our heart. Our heart must not be wearied. How do we respond? Is that our heart must not be wearied. Why must it not be wearied? We must remember there is nothing new under the sun. Number two, the Lord did not tell us anything less. Number three, the New Testament saint did not face anything less. Let's check with the Old Testament saint. Did they face anything less? 1 Samuel chapter 30. The Old Testament saint. 1 Samuel chapter 30. Let's see that scripture together. 1 Samuel 30. 1 Samuel chapter 30. I read from verse 1: [Narrator] > Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire... (1 Samuel 30:1) [Speaker 1] Please, is it different from what we are facing today? Is this not banditry? Is this not banditry? Is it different from what we are facing today? The men they traveled, they left their wives and children. By the time they will come back, some bandits, whosoever name you want to call them, robbers, bandits, they have attacked the place. But for you to know that it is not just about banditry, it is about wickedness. They burn down the city with fire. They did not stop there. They went again into kidnapping. Look at the next thing: [Narrator] > ...and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. (1 Samuel 30:2) [Speaker 1] This is the Old Testament saint. Did they face anything less? They did not. We should not allow our heart to be wearied. These are also children of God. We should not allow our heart to be wearied. The Lord said all these things will be, but don't let your heart be troubled. I'm first addressing how do we respond? Change the attitude of your heart. There is nothing like that. It is because you are ignorant of history. It says if anybody says "this is new", it says it is because the person is ignorant of history. He says what has been will be again, and what is will repeat itself because there is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new under the sun. And look at what happened: [Narrator] > So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (1 Samuel 30:3-4) [Speaker 1] When you see men crying, is it something funny? It's not something funny. But what I'm trying to make you see is that the Old Testament saints experienced these things. The New Testament saints experienced these things. But the joy is that from them all, the Lord delivered them. The Lord delivered them. So it is nothing new. It is nothing new. The Bible now wants to emphasize to make us know that it was not just about the men. In verse 5, it says: [Narrator] > And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. (1 Samuel 30:5) [Speaker 1] It's trying to make us see that even the saint, the man after God's own heart, he had troubles. It's important to see these things in terms of there is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new under the sun. Brethren, let us address our heart. There is nothing new under the sun. Still looking at how do we respond, I've looked at the first aspect of it, how do we respond, the "A" aspect: address your heart. The second one, action plan. Our responses are at two levels. The first one I've just talked about now is the state of your heart. Address your heart. It is nothing—there is nothing new under the sun. The Lord did not tell us anything less. The Old Testament saint and the New Testament saint, they experienced all of this. So address your heart. Take courage. Don't be wearied. Don't be afraid. What is now the action plan? What is now the—what do we now do practically? What do we do practically? The second aspect of "how do we respond", the second aspect: practical things to do. That is what I'm talking about now in "how do we respond". And I will begin with that of David, that 1 Samuel chapter 30. How do we respond? I'm moving to "how" now, action. What should be the action? Apart from encouraging our heart, what should be the action? Number one, we are taking the first one from what happened with David here. Verse 6 of where we are still reading: "how". I'm moving to "how" now, action. What should be the action? [Narrator] > Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. (1 Samuel 30:6) [Speaker 1] Number one, what are we to—what is the action plan? What is the action plan when it comes to what we need to do? You must learn how to turn to the Lord for strength. Obviously, things that are happening today can weary your heart. They can make you say, "Well, me and just close my door, close my heart. Everybody is wicked, everybody is a suspect. I can't, I don't want to help anybody again. Even when needs are coming from—" say, "Hmm, no, no. You don't know whether if you give this some money now, you go and use it to do something that will come and harm you and you will die. What if I borrow this money now, plan with people who will kill me because he doesn't want to pay me?" No, no, all kinds of evils that we are seeing today. We have seen where people borrowed people money and they planned people that will kill them because they don't want to pay back. So when you look at all, just say, "No! Hey!" You just close yourself to everybody. You just—but let me tell you the truth, you cannot keep your life. You cannot keep your life. And the reality is this: wisdom demands that you give to God what you cannot keep. Give to God what you cannot—you cannot keep your life. But if in loving the Lord you lay down your life, you will preserve it. That's the truth about it. He says, "He who loves his life, he who keeps his life, will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake will preserve it." You cannot really keep yourself. Another scripture says, "Except the Lord watches over the city, the watchman they lie awake in vain." So if God don't watch over you, all your close up, close up, close up, close up, I will not, I will not, big stick cannot keep you. It cannot keep you. It cannot keep our home. It cannot keep our children. So what should be the action plan at a time like this is that let us learn to turn to the Lord for strength. We need strength from the Lord. And what do I mean by that? Strength. It says: [Narrator] > Then David said to Abiathar the priest, ... "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all." (1 Samuel 30:7-8) [Speaker 1] As we strengthen ourselves in the Lord, let's seek direction from the Lord. Action, what are we to do? How do we respond? Let's strengthen ourselves in the Lord. Let's seek direction of how to deal with the evil of our today from the Lord. Who do I do? Lord, should I assist this person? Lord, how do I do it? Lord, this is my situation. You will see God giving you direction. You will see God helping you to say, "Okay, do this, do that." Let's learn to seek direction from the Lord, not from our understanding. The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding." Do not lean on your own understanding in dealing with this situation, brethren. Don't lean on your strength. Don't lean on your wisdom. It will fail you. Time says the arm of flesh will fail you, you cannot trust your own. Zechariah says, "Not by power nor by might, but by what? By the Spirit of the Lord." The mountain before us, they will become plain, but it's not by power, it's not by might, it's by God's Spirit. Let's seek direction from the Lord. Let's seek direction from the Lord. Let's seek direction from the Lord. The Lord told him he will recover all. And let us see how it happened in this place. I'm picking this one first because there are so many, you know, three important things to pick from here about action plan. So David and the 600 men who were with him, they came to the brook of Besor where they stayed. So you recover all. And they left some behind. But David pursued, he and 400 men, for 200 stayed behind who were so weary that they could not cross the brook of Besor. It's not very easy to cross a river. So some men stayed behind, 400 went ahead. Then as they were going: [Narrator] > Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind because three days ago I fell sick. We made an invasion of the southern area ... and we burned Ziklag with fire." And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this troop?" So he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop." (1 Samuel 30:11-15) [Speaker 1] And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out all over the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except 400 young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and carried away, and David rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all. What am I calling your attention to? You will notice that in the midst of this plan to recovery, there was a place of hospitality. In the midst of this plan to recovery, there was a place of what? Hospitality. They saw a young man that was dying. They did everything to make that young man recover. It was the recovery of that young man that led to the recovery of the spoil. It was the recovery of that young man that actually led to the recovery for David. What am I trying to say? Imagine that with what had happened, "Everybody that I see must die." That journey would have been truncated. Do you agree with me? That journey would have been truncated. While some must die, one must live. There was a stranger that must not die. In the midst of that recovery, there was a stranger that was not die. There was a stranger that must be fed. There was a stranger that must be helped to recover. It was the recovery of that stranger that was the recovery for the people of God. What am I trying to say? We must be careful how we go about responding. We need direction from the Lord. While some must die, one must live. So it took discernment to know who should die and who should live. This is a very—this is a very important thing. We are talking about response. We have looked at we must turn to the Lord for strength, we seek direction, we must be discerning. We must not lean on our own understanding. In responding to this situation of our time, how do we respond? It's what we are still treating. How do we respond? I want to show you, I still want to show you another one. How do we respond to this period that we are—this period that we are in? Under "how", you will see again, it's in 1 Kings chapter 14. How do we respond? How should we respond? How should we respond? 1 Kings chapter 14. How should we respond? How should we respond? 1 Kings chapter 14. I take it—chapter 14 from verse 1. It's just a very simple story, but so much to learn from it. It says: [Narrator] > At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please arise, disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child." And Jeroboam's wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age. (1 Kings 14:1-4) He could not see again. However: [Narrator] > Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, "Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman." And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the doorway, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news." (1 Kings 14:5-6) [Speaker 1] Are you seeing something? How do we respond to the deceptions of our time? How do we respond, looking at this passage? We must be what? Connected to the Lord. We must be connected. There are a lot of pretenders today. Look at how that woman disguised herself. This man was blind. He's not somebody that can even see. Today we are seeing, but we are still being duped. We have eyes, our eyes could not even help us. But somebody was blind, he cannot see, but he was able to deal with pretenders. He was able to deal with pretension. A lot of brothers are disguising. A lot of sisters are disguising. You are the one that call them brothers, they are not brothers. You are the one that call them sisters, they are not sisters. They are pretenders. You are the one that call them pastors, they are not pastors. You are the one that call them brethren, they are not brethren. They are pretenders. But how are we able to know them? Is it by our head? Is it with our eyes? Ahijah could not see, but he could hear God. We need to be able—I'm telling us, I keep telling people today, the wickedness of our time, the reason why it is looking overwhelming is that we are not deepening our relationship with God. We are not making it to go deeper and deeper. So many times, we are overtaken by a lot of things. Ahijah could not see, but could he be overtaken by pretenders? Could he? He could not be overtaken. The woman disguised. She did herself not to be known as the wife of Jeroboam. People will see her and greet her as Sister Bosse, even though she's Sister Funke. She will be going like that and they will be greeting. But when he got to the man that she wanted to deceive, he said, "Why are you disguising yourself? Are you not the wife of Jeroboam?" He was able to know. We need to be connected to God. We need to be connected to the Holy Spirit to be able to tell us thus and thus. That was what He did for them and He can still do it for us today. He can do it for us today. He did it for them. How do we respond? I'm talking about action now, not just attitude. Action, things to do beyond just knowing that it is new, the Lord did not tell us anything less, the saint of old, the saint of new experienced it. We are looking at action. We must be able to hear the Holy Spirit. Be able to hear the Holy Spirit. Very, very important. Action again, what are we to do? 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 7 from verse 7. These are familiar scriptures, but sometimes they elude us when we are facing a lot of things. 1 Peter chapter 5 from verse 7. Look at what the Bible tells us in that place. Very, very familiar scripture. What did the Bible say? [Narrator] > ...casting all your cares—how many cares? All your cares—upon Him. (1 Peter 5:7) Casting all your cares upon Him. What is it telling us? Is it a time to worry? Is it a time to worry? No. Tell the Lord about all of these things. Tell Him. "I don't want this to happen, I don't want that to happen." Tell the Lord your cares. Tell the Lord. Tell the Lord. "Lord, please deliver me. Lord, please help me." Casting all your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you. It did not stop there. Apart from casting all your cares upon Him, number two, it says: [Narrator] > Be sober, be vigilant. (1 Peter 5:8) This period calls for soberness and to be vigilant. We must be vigilant. We must be watchful. It calls for a time to be watchful. What am I trying to say? It is not a time to be fearful. It's a time to be watchful. It's not a time to be fearful. It's a time to be watchful. Fear and watchfulness, they are not the same thing. Fear carries the element of worry. Watchfulness is coming from faith. God is able to keep me. You are vigilant. You are vigilant. "Father, You can see me through. I will not be deceived." You are sensitive to God. You are sensitive to the Holy Spirit. That's being vigilant. You want to know what the Holy Spirit is saying. Something is happening, not just reading your head to judge it. "Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, how do You help me, what do I say?" That's vigilant. You are vigilant! You are vigilant! What do I do in this situation? You are calling upon the Lord. You are asking for direction. You must be vigilant! You should be able to see through, you should be able to look through and see through. Be vigilant! Be vigilant! It also means not to be compromising. To be vigilant also means not to be compromising. "God will keep us. It doesn't matter. We can leave our doors unlocked." Then leave your door unlocked. Leave your gate unclosed. Drive recklessly and be saying God will keep you. No! It also means that we should be responsible. Be responsible. Be uncompromising. Be vigilant! You don't need to be fearful. You don't need to be fearful. It is not a time to fear. You don't need to be doubtful. You don't need to be doubtful. You need to be hopeful. So don't be fearful, but be watchful. That's what we need. That's what we need so much today. That's what we need so much today. And there is an example that I gave in this place. How do we respond to all of this? We are looking at "how". There is so much about the "how", because the "how" carries a lot of passages that I just want us to quickly reflect on. The "how". Look at this matter of "how" again. Why must we be able to cry to the Lord? Look at some other—just three more passages we move to "why". Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 18, verse 28 to 33. 2 Chronicles chapter 18, 28 to 33. It's also a very familiar story, but just to make us see some very, very important things about our walk with God. [Narrator] > So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle; but you put on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, "Fight with no one, small or great, but only the king of Israel." So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they surrounded him to attack him. (2 Chronicles 18:28-31) But what do you see in that place? [Narrator] > ...but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. (2 Chronicles 18:31) [Speaker 1] Brethren, don't let us doubt the power of prayer. Don't let us doubt the power of prayer. Don't let us doubt the power of prayer. Don't let us doubt it. This is a physical battle. People surrounded a man, they wanted to kill him. And he cried to the Lord. When you say "cried", he shouted. Imagine somebody that is about to be killed. Imagine somebody that is about to be kidnapped. That's a "Jesus!". The Bible says he cried—look at the word there. The Bible says they surrounded the boat, Jehoshaphat cried out, [speaking native language]. I tell some people, it's not "Mommy!". It's not "Daddy!". No. It's not "Hey, I'm done for!". No. All those kinds of crying. I'm showing you what it means to be vigilant in the face of death. It's not "Hey, I am dying!", no, that's not being vigilant. The man was vigilant. "This is death. I need the Lord. God!" That's just what it means to be vigilant. Be vigilant, be sober, be able to know what to do. But if we are fearful and we are worried, many times we will do what we ought not to do. I still remember a very, very—a case like that that happened many, many years ago. I can't remember, but I think I was a teenager then, I can't—but it happened in Akure. An accident—people were inside a vehicle. So the vehicle—the driver—I don't know what happened, whether it was the driver who could not control the car or something happened, mechanical fault, I don't know. But the vehicle was just on the road on that Obajeshida. The fear that anything will happen made a woman to quickly jump out of the car. You get the point I'm making. That fear! Just jumped out of the car. Eventually the car was able to come to a stationary point. Nobody died inside the car. The woman who jumped out is the only person who died. She landed with her head. Sometimes God must help us in the face of trouble to know the right thing to do. We must be vigilant. That's what it means to be sober. Maybe if the woman said, "Just wait, just be calm, just be calm," maybe that woman would not have jumped out. She was the only one that died. So in the face of danger, what we need is to be sober, cast your cares on the Lord, be vigilant, be sober. And I'm showing an example of a king. [speaking native language] and what he did, does that look like a method that will work? Brethren, let's think about it. Does that look like a method that will work? Does it look like a method that will work? In war, in war! People surround you, they want to kill you. "Ah, God of Israel!" And the Bible says God helped him. And what did He do? The Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. God diverted them. I don't know. I'm trying to show you what God can do. [speaking native language]. This power is still there. God has not changed. He has not changed. But if that king was fearful, "Hey, hey, hey!" instead of doing the right thing to do, what would have happened? The Lord must help us. We are in a very difficult time, brethren. Very difficult time. The more reason why we need God. Christian home, Christian—we need God, honestly, we need God more than ever before. We need God. We don't need our understanding. We need God. We need the method of God. The method of God. And I pray we shall escape. We shall escape, we shall triumph in the name of Jesus Christ. Our home, our family, our children will escape in the name of Jesus Christ. For all our avengers, all who rose against us, or who are rising against us, the Lord will divert them from us in the name of Jesus Christ. Our home, our family, our children will escape in the name of Jesus Christ. In the matter of this matter of calling on the Lord, resting on the Lord, depending on Him, I would like us also to look at Psalm 91, Psalm 121. These are very important scriptures we must not forget. We must not forget all of these scriptures. They are our defense, they are our help. [speaking native language]. God has not changed. He has not changed. He has not changed. God is still there. 91, we just read through. [Narrator] > He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High... (Psalm 91:1) [Speaker 1] What are we learning? We must learn to dwell. Learn to stay in the secret place of the Most High. Learn to stay there. What are we to do? Learn to stay in the secret place of the Most High. Learn to abide under His shadow. That is stay in His presence. I tell people sometimes, we get ourselves saturated with information as against revelation. There's nothing wrong with information, but we should not be saturated with information at the expense of revelation. We should not be saturated with information at the expense of inspiration. Inspiration is stronger than information. You hear information: this and this and this and this and this, this and this, people are dying, they are killing them. Revelation, inspiration will tell you, "Don't run. Just hold your peace, I will fight for you." That will save you in that situation than the information. We need inspiration more than information. Don't get oversaturated with information. Get more saturated with inspiration. I'm talking of how we need to respond to this time. And the people who will be saturated with inspiration are those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High. Stay there! Stay there! Stay there! If you read the whole of that scripture, please I want us to go home and read it just to remind ourselves of what God at that place said. [Narrator] > I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday... (Psalm 91:2-6) [Speaker 1] What happened in Owo? Was it not destruction at noonday? That thing that happened in Owo. But the Bible says He shall lay waste at noon today. [speaking native language]. But today, it's not only spiritual things, even physical things are laying waste at noon. So many things today are laying people waste at noon. What of sudden accidents that wipe out a whole family? All these things, if you don't learn to dwell in the place of inspiration, it will saturate your life with information, you will never be able to live a balanced life. [speaking native language] inside fear. It says: [Narrator] > A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling... (Psalm 91:7-10) [Speaker 1] Brethren, these things, they are still real. They are still real. Action plan: let us dwell in the presence of the Lord. Psalm 121, I—you can read the whole of that verse, "With long life He will satisfy me," a lot of things are there. Please read up that scripture. A lot of things are still there that you can read up. Look at 121, similar thing you will find there. [Narrator] > I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved... (Psalm 121:1-3) [Speaker 1] Why not trust God? [speaking native language]. Why not trust the Lord? [speaking native language]. I will move and it will not hurt me. Why not know that the Lord can keep you? Instead of all these fear, fear, no, close to this, close to that, you are no more conscious, you are no more generous, you are no more hospitable. Why? Why are you like that? Why not trust the Lord? He will not allow your feet to be moved. That's what it means to commit your life to the hand of the Lord. You cannot keep that life. Give it to the person that can keep it. He can keep it if you trust Him. Trust the Lord with your life. Paul said, "I have committed it, I know that which I have committed to His hand, He is able to keep it." He's able to keep it. He's able to keep it. Behold, He who keeps Israel does not slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade at your right hand and your left hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord will preserve your going out and your coming in from this time and forevermore. These are things that we should not take our eyes away from in the midst of all that we are facing. "Why?" Why should families—just two families, just to learn "why". Why should we be hospitable? I've showed you "how", what we can do instead of being afraid and fearful. How should we be—how are we able to do it? I showed you what to do. But why should we do this thing? Why we should is what I want to make you to see now. Why should we remain hospitable? Why we should. If you look at 1 Timothy, quickly, let's look at direct instruction. Direct instruction, 1 Timothy chapter 3. Direct instruction from the Lord before we look at those two families. Direct instruction from the Lord, 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy 3. Oh, thank You, Jesus. The power of inspiration surpasses the power of information. My life be ruled by inspiration in the name of Jesus Christ. May our life be ruled—can we just pray one minute? That's what the Holy Spirit seems to be telling me right now. Can we just pray one minute? Pray for your family, pray for yourself, pray for your children. That God help us. We cannot run away from information, we must read the news, we must follow the media. We cannot cut off ourselves. But I want us to just pray for one minute. O Lord, help me. My life will not be ruled by information but by inspiration. O Lord, at my home, my family, my children, help us, everywhere we are. O Lord God Almighty, O Lord, please just help us. At this such a pervert and wicked time. Such a pervert and wicked time, Lord, help us. That our life, our home, our children be ruled by inspiration, not information in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. It just came to me that we should pray for one minute. That's why I said we should just quickly do that. Look at what it says about "why" we should, why we should not throw it away, why we should not throw it away, hospitality. Look at what the Bible says about the qualification for what it means to be a good Christian. What it means to be a good Christian. For the man, it said: [Narrator] > This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop (or an elder or supervisor, a leader), he desires a good work. A leader must be blameless, husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable... (1 Timothy 3:1-2) [Speaker 1] He must be hospitable. One quality of a good Christian is hospitality. You cannot because of this period cease to be hospitable. When God wants to pick leaders over His people, He says look for those that are hospitable. If God must lead you today to lead His people, you must be hospitable. You must be hospitable. That is you must be cordial, you must be generous, you must be able to have this capacity to welcome, to relate to guests, to relate to people. It's very, very needed today that so much, we need it so much. Another thing we are seeing again, not only for the husband. Look at it again for the wife. That same 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Or look at what the Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 5. Honor widows who are really widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. These things—these things command that they may be blameless. But if anyone—talking about provision—just note the word "widow". Providing for widows. Then I come to verse 9. Widows who are truly widows are those ones that does not have support from anywhere. Those are the ones that the church should support. But if a widow have children, the children must be commanded, they should be instructed to assist the widow, or the widower whichever way. Now, in the verse 9: [Narrator] > Do not let a widow under sixty years be taken into the number, and unless she has been the wife of one man... (1 Timothy 5:9) [Speaker 1] You see that? Some people who have lived reckless lives, who have not been able to run a home, weren't able to live responsibly under a husband, who move from one man to another man is not a spiritual material that God take notice of. But a woman who can stay under one husband is a woman that God recognizes. It's very, very important for us to know that. But that is not where I'm going, I'm going to hospitality. After the marriage, faithful in her marriage, what is the next thing? Verse 10: [Narrator] > ...well reported for good works... (1 Timothy 5:10) [Speaker 1] What are those good works? Beginning from the family. "If she has brought up children... [speaking native language]. What's the next thing? "If she has lodged strangers..." Are you seeing that? It's part of something that the Lord expected in our life. For the woman, [speaking native language] who follows God, she is not one who chases away guests. A woman who walks with God has a generous spirit. Those ones that are critical, send everybody running away, nobody can stay around, they are not working well with God. They don't have good works. "Why should we", that's why I'm talking about "why should we". Why this fear, all of these things that are happening must not change us. Rather we should just know how to respond with all of those things and remain, remain who we are supposed to be. And we will see God delivering us and helping us. In the midst of it. "If she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work." Look at the good work—there were plenty of good works, but look at the ones that the Bible critically listed. It's all about hospitality. There were several good works, but the Bible particularly listed the ones that related to hospitality. Telling you about a woman who have a walk with God, a woman who dwell in God's presence, a woman who knows God, a woman who is a true disciple, is somebody who is hospitable. So it's not only for the man, it's something for the woman. It's something for the woman. And you look at—which other scripture do I have there under "why"? Yes, that is the one I have, the one of Hebrews. Hebrews 13. There's another one there in Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews 13. There's another clear instruction there for us about hospitality. Why? Why we must be is what we are looking at, "why". Verse 1 and verse 2. Please don't forget that the person speaking in this place is same Apostle Paul, who told us earlier that what? What are the dangers that he experienced? Dangers of false brethren. Is that not? Dangers of robbers, dangers of this. Look at the instruction still by the Holy Spirit that is giving us in this place. What did he say? 13 verse 1: [Narrator] > Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:1-2) [Speaker 1] Do not forget—today it's not "do not forget", it's "do not be fearful". We can forget. Bible is not coming—today only is if we must face reality of today is, "Hey, [speaking native language]". You know, honestly, but the Lord will keep us. Let's trust our life in the hand of the Lord. The environment is so dangerous. I honestly, the environment is dangerous. It's so dangerous. But we cannot keep our life, let us remember that. We cannot keep our life. Let's obey God. If we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of Nigeria. That is what the word of God says. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land. I normally believe that so much and my belief is that as long as I'm willing and obedient, I will eat the good of this land. [speaking native language] in Nigeria. That is—that is—that is actually the portion. And that will be our portion in the name of Jesus Christ. Our family, our husbands, our wives, our children, we will eat the good of the nation in the name of Jesus Christ. We will be overcomers over the evils of the land in the name of Jesus Christ. In the matter of this matter of calling on the Lord, resting on the Lord, depending on Him, I would like us also to look at two families quickly. We will compare them. We will compare them. The first family, the family of Lot. We will see that in Genesis chapter 19. Genesis chapter 19. You know, Genesis chapter 19. We want to compare it with something because sometimes people don't look at the background of that discussion. That discussion. I want us to look at it vis-a-vis 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. Let's look at Genesis chapter 19 vis-a-vis 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. Genesis chapter 19. [Narrator] > Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square." But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out that we may know them carnally." So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason why they came under the shadow of my roof." And they said, "Stand back!" they said. "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both great and small, so that they became weary trying to find the door. Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, whomever you have in the city, take them out of this city! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were married to his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law, he seemed to be joking. When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you are consumed in the punishment of this city." (Genesis 19:1-15) [Speaker 1] We know how the story ended, so I will not read to the end. We know how it ended. Now but I want to compare that reading with 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. 2 Peter 2:7. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 7. He was talking about what God did about punishment. Then he came to Sodom and Gomorrah. He says: [Narrator] > ...and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds). (2 Peter 2:6-8) [Speaker 1] Please look at that scripture. It said that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. Any other translation apart from "lawless"? Lawless. My version says "lawless". Any other one there? It's the same thing, "lawless". Lawless deeds. Now, what am I trying to bring out of this thing? Is that people will be thinking that Lot inside Sodom was not facing the wickedness of those people. Lot inside Sodom, before the angels came, the people he was living with, their lifestyle was what? Oppressing his soul, their lawless life. Their wickedness, they don't care for people. Now, I want to ask you: is it in that kind of environment that a man should now see two strangers that he now wanted them to come and sleep in his house? You see, I'm just trying to make you see a family. This is a family. We knew that—the Bible call him just Lot. We knew that he made his mistake at some point, but the Bible describe him as a just man and we must appreciate that. In that kind of environment where daily, wickedness of men was oppressing your soul, he now saw two strangers. He now said, "Ah, these two people, ah, they said they will sleep outside?" He was thinking again, "In this kind of our place? You can't be outside! You can't be outside in this kind of place. Come into my house, please, you will wash your feet, you will eat, then you will—ah, somebody who knows what is happening here." Mind you, you don't even know the kind of people that you want to take into your house. But what am I trying to bring out? It was that Abraham had already prayed. That if there are some just men in that place, the city should not be destroyed. Abraham did not mention Lot to them. Abraham prayed on behalf of Lot. The angels came. They said if they can find some just men, they will not destroy. I want to ask you: how did they find the just man? It was because in the midst of the wickedness in that town, that man remained hospitable. So that sometimes, if we are overwhelmed by the wickedness around us, we may also miss our angels. We may also miss our deliverers. I want to ask you, if those angels, if they have slept outside, will Lot get any information about how to run out of that city? He came to destroy it. They were not ordinary people. Lot thought they were ordinary people anyway. That's why the Bible says that some have entertained angels unawares. Ordinary people who he don't know. So he was just thinking that "Ah, if you are outside, these people will come and molest you." That was why when those people came, he said "For this reason have they come into my house so that nothing will happen to them." Now, when they came and Lot took them in, he was not aware of their capability. Those people would have just been outside. As they stay outside, they will have encountered the wickedness of those people that Lot wanted them to escape. And as they encounter the wickedness, what will they do? Fire! Come down. And they will have been through with the city and Lot would not have escaped. Why should we—why should we—remain hospitable? Why should we try to bring a balance? Is that you can see something, that in the midst of the wickedness, Lot was daily being vexed by their wickedness, yet inside that system, what God programmed for his deliverance was to be hospitable. The program of God for his deliverance was hospitality. Brethren, let us be watchful. Let us be careful. The list is endless. We remember Abraham, it was the same thing. He entertained strangers in his house. That was how it happened. I'm talking of the Old Testament saint, the list is endless. You remember the Shunammite woman? She saw Elisha. That was how she got a son. And if you look at it, it was the husband that was forthcoming. He met them and said "Come in." In that of the Shunammite, it was who? It was the wife that spoke with the husband. In that of Abraham, the wife—the husband was the one who was speaking. So it could be whichever way. The wife could be the one inviting, the husband could be the one inviting. Hospitality. Being hospitable. But the one I want us to conclude with is that of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. We remember those three sisters. Everything those sisters experienced was because Martha opened up her house to Jesus. Look at it, Mary the Shunammite—Jesus did not eat in their house. In Luke, Martha that she was more cumbered, we saw it. In John, he went again, he came to their house. While Mary was anointing his feet, Lazarus sat at the table who he healed. How did they get all those miracles in their family? It was by hospitality. Lazarus died, he was brought back to life. Why? You will say, "Ah, because it was Jesus." What you should not forget is that if you remember what Gamaliel said, when they wanted to kill the apostles, he reminded them of how several people rose up one time to do something, but it did not work out well. They ended up and their group was destroyed. Acts chapter 5. You remember that in the case of Gamaliel? So let me tell you, in the days of Martha too, several people have—several prophets, people made themselves somebody, but they became nothing. But how was Martha able to recognize that this person is different? How was she able to recognize? Or the Shunammite woman in the days of Elijah, Elisha, were there not false prophets? How was she able to know that this one is a man of God? I'm showing you that instead of closing up, we should let us build up ourselves to be able to respond to the situations that we are in. Let us build up ourselves to respond to this situation. It's a trying time, but there is the "how" and "why" we can bring a balance. The Christian home must be hospitable. In the face of all that we are facing today, the Christian home remains hospitable. Technical, do we have any questions online? Okay, we don't have questions online. So let us close this meeting for today. Those of us that are here, is there a question on—is there a question from the floor? No question from the floor. So let us close for today. Let us close for today. Let us just talk to the Lord. Let's close for today. Let's talk to the Lord. The time that we are in is very, very difficult. Very difficult. Yet hospitality is a mark of the Christian home. Hospitality is a mark of the Christian home. If anybody want to be a bishop, he must be hospitable. A Christian sister that God sees as spiritual, it's not only the person who submits to her husband and bring up her children, but also somebody who could lodge strangers, who could relieve the saints, who could wash the saints' feet. These are important things. The deliverance for the family of Lot came by hospitality. It came by hospitality. For Abraham, it was the man that was hospitable. For the Shunammite, it was the wife that told the husband, "I perceive that this woman is a woman of God." Thank God that it was a family that they could understand themselves. The man agreed with his wife that "Yes, you have discerned correctly." Look at that Abraham, Abraham ran inside and told Sarah, "Oh, please prepare something." Sarah too, sprang into action. Quickly they prepared food for those people. That was how they got Isaac. You know, I'm showing you all of these things so that we can know that hospitality is something that we cannot throw away. In the face of this difficult time that we are in, rather we should just know how to respond. It is how to do it that becomes challenging. It is not that we should throw away. It is "how" we must deepen our walk with God. We cannot throw it away. That's not the way to solve the problem. That's not the way to solve the problem. The Lord must help us. The Lord must help us. Our time is wicked. Our time is evil. But remember there is nothing new under the sun. The Lord told us no less. The Lord prepared us for all of this. He mentioned them to us. The Lord must help us. The Lord must help us. He must help us. Thank You, Father. Blessed be Your holy name. Blessed be Your name. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Father. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Let me invite Mrs. Fadayomi to close the meeting. [Speaker 2] In Jesus' name. Lord, we thank You for today, for this opportunity. We say to You be the glory in Jesus' name. Lord, we commit ourselves into Your hand, O Lord. We pray that You will help us to be hospitable in Jesus' name. Help us, O Lord, to cast all our burden unto You in Jesus' name. Help us, O Lord, not to fear in the name of Jesus. Help our faith, O Lord, in Jesus' name. We pray, O Lord, that You continue to help this ministry in Jesus' name. We pray, O Lord, that You continue to build this ministry in the name of Jesus. Father, we pray, O Lord, for the speaker. We pray that You will fill him in the name of Jesus. We pray that You continue to fill him in Jesus' name. We pray, O Lord, that when the trumpet shall sound, none of us shall be found wanting in the name of Jesus. We pray that You continue to help us in Jesus' name. For in Jesus' mighty name we have prayed. Amen. [Speaker 1] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [Speaker 1 and Speaker 2] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forevermore. Amen. [music] 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 help. Our regular activities are: discipleship class every Monday 5:00 p.m., adolescent and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10 a.m., marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10 a.m., 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 Ijera 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. [music]