Implication of the Cross 8

[Music] [Speaker 1] Church fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home for you. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tents Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] I’m grateful, O Lord our God, for providence, for provision, for support, for assistance. We are grateful, Lord our God, for preservation, for help, O Lord, for divine revelation, for divine instruction, for guidance. O Lord God, we express our gratitude. Accept our thanks in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes on you. Give increase to this meeting. Lord, it is from you that all blessings flow. Give increase to this meeting. Lord, let it please you in your mercy to attend to our situations. Let it please you in your mercy to meet with us individually. Let it please you in your mercy to meet with us collectively. Lord, we pray for our brethren that are joining us on Telegram, that are joining us on Mixlr. Lord God Almighty, we say as one people, Lord bless us. As one people, Lord meet with us. As one people, Lord our God attend to our situation in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord grant insight, grant understanding. The scripture says wisdom and might belong to God. You give wisdom to the wise and understanding to men of understanding. Lord, grant understanding. Give insight, O God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, everlasting Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Amen. It’s entirely most of us were not here last week because of the exam. I think it was only Gospel that was here last week. We started looking at the implication of looking at the cross. What are the implications of looking to the cross? And last week, three weeks ago, we began crucified with Christ. What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? And then last week, we were trying to bring the matter to a close, the matter of what it means to be crucified with Christ. And we were looking at Romans 6. We have been able to—we said there are three things there about being crucified with Christ, three important principles. The first one is "Know ye not." The second one is "Reckon yourself." And the third one is "Yield yourself." Yield, to yield yourself to something. We have been dealing with the matter of knowing for the past two weeks. When people struggle with sin, the real problem is ignorance. There is something they don’t know. Let’s see that scripture quickly. Today is the last Monday, and as of our usual practice, it’s a time we will spend time to pray on what we have been learning. So we will dedicate some good time to pray. So we have been looking at Romans chapter 6. Gospel, do you have something to say? Was there anything you took home particularly last week before we move on? You want to say one or two things? Or I should continue? I should continue. Okay. Now, for the benefit of those of us that are just meeting up with us today after the exams, if you look at Romans chapter 6, it talks in verse 1, it says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Then the answer was, "Certainly not. How shall we who died, not who will die?" That has been our emphasis. "How shall we who died?" Not who will die. If you are trying to die, you will never die. The truth is that you died. "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" And our emphasis has been that the next thing that follows was verse 3, "Or do you not know? Or do you not know?" And our emphasis has been that when people struggle with sin, the real problem is ignorance. There is something they don’t know. If you are struggling with sin, there is something you don’t know. If you are trying to die to sin, if you are struggling and you are trying to fight sin, we said nobody can fight sin. No human has the ability to deal with sin. Victory over sin comes from a knowledge. It comes from knowing. He says, "Or do you not know?" And we said, first, they did not know. He says, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as he was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life." That is something you should know. Once you don’t know that, sin will continue. Then the second thing we talk about knowledge is verse 6, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Christ." If you are not knowing it, then you will not be able to have victory over sin. And then the third one that we have mentioned so far is in verse 9, "Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. For that he died, he died to sin once for all, but that he lives, he lives to God." So we saw that it is the first fundamental thing about our being crucified with Christ and victory over sin is knowing. And we talk so much about this matter of knowing that we are really going to take time to pray about it today. We said the knowing is not intellectual knowing. The knowing is not academic knowing. The knowing is a revelational knowing. The knowing is something that is a product of inspiration. It is that kind of knowing. We took time in the last two weeks to expand on what it means to know and what Paul meant when he was saying, "Know you not." Of course, many people know that they were baptized with Christ, that Christ died for their sin, but they are still living in sin. People can tell you the salvation story and they are not saved. And like I said when I was taking it, I said I taught CRK for 15 years in secondary school before I joined the university system. For that 15 years of CRK, my colleague who was also a CRK teacher, haven’t taught all the moral lessons would still help the student to go and write WAEC exam. So to tell you that there is a difference between Bible knowledge and the knowledge of God. So the knowing he’s talking about here, I made something clear last week because it's going to be the basis of our prayer today. That was the 2 Corinthians chapter 3 from verse 16 downward. I said that knowing is something that comes from the Spirit. I please because today we are really going to pray with it. Honestly, we are really going to pray with it. Look at that 2 Corinthians chapter 3. I'm forming basis for the prayer so that when I say it is time to pray, we will really be able to understand what we are praying about. I tell people, until you pray scriptures, you are not ready for answered prayers. Prayer actually means enforcing the will of God. There is nothing beyond the reach of prayer but that which is outside the will of God. If anything is within the context of God's will, prayer is the basis of enforcing it. Jesus said when you pray, pray that "Thy will be done." So prayer is "God's will be done here." So if you don't know the will of God and you are praying, you are just wasting your time. You are just wasting your time. And that is why Jesus said, "If my word dwells in you, you will ask whatsoever you will and it will be done for you." So people who don't pray scripture, who don't understand what God has said in scripture have no business with prayer. There are all kinds of solution centers here and there, all kinds of thing going on. People are shouting here and there, a lot of things are going on. So much churches, so much prayer, and then there is less Christianity in Nigeria. So the point I'm making out of that is that prayer when we want to pray, we must understand what God's will is. And then we come to say, "Lord, let this will be done. This will, let it be done on earth." That is the essence of prayer. And that is why men ought always to pray, because prayer is that which God has ordained for his will to be enforced. That is why men ought always to pray. Not that God cannot do things without your prayer. God can do all he wants to do without your prayer. But God had ordained that his will be enforced through prayer. I don't know whether you’re understanding me. So it's not as if God is limited, but we’re talking about what God ordained. That's why you find in Ezekiel, he said, "I wanted to have mercy on the land and I sought for a man to stand in the gap. And when I did not find anyone, what happened? He went ahead to judge." God could have had mercy without prayer. But because God had ordained that his will be enforced through prayer, God does nothing but in response to prayer. So when you see something happening in your life and you don’t pray about it, somebody else has prayed it. Don't forget that Jesus ever lives to make intercession for you. These are basic things of the scripture. So when we come to prayer, we should know we are coming to enforce God's will. Prayer is not coming to just wish. I tell people, if you don't dwell in scripture, you don't have business with prayer. You don't have business with prayer. People are just ordinary religious, they are not spiritual. To be spiritual is to respond to God's word. That is spirituality. Responding to the word of God. That's what it means to be spiritual. Spirituality is not just speaking in tongues. That's not spirituality. Devil speaks in tongues. Devils even prophesy, "I am here." That's not even spirituality because you should remember that you even say Jesus is Lord does not make you spiritual. Devil knows that Jesus is Lord and he trembles. Am I not telling lies? When he was here, didn’t devil tremble? "You have come to torment us!" Was that not what he was doing? You are not even trembling. He is trembling, but he is still devil. So what makes him devil has nothing to do with whether the person says God. No. What makes somebody devilish what we mean is that he does not submit to God's will. That's what it means to be devilish. And it comes in different ways, in different ways. But the point I'm making this morning is about prayer. What we’re doing here is about prayer. Look at something the Holy Spirit does. I want to show you something about this knowing, that this knowing is not just head knowledge. This knowing is not just academic knowledge or intellectual knowledge. This is revelational knowledge. Look at it, we read that last week. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 from verse 16. "Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." Now, the Lord—please note something—"Now, the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Where the Spirit of the Lord is not, what happens? There is no liberty. When people want to experience freedom, what need to be available is the Spirit. It's not head knowledge, it's not intellectual. It's the Spirit. The Spirit. Now, look at what he now told us. Chapter 3, verse 18. "But we, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord." What is that mirror? The word of God. We get that from the book of James. "He who look into the word of God and forget like a man who look at the mirror and forget who he is," you remember? The Bible is such a mirror. We look in a mirror the glory of the Lord. We are looking at the glory of the Lord. We are looking at the cross. And I tell people, I made a statement last week. I said don't forget that when we talk about the glory of the Lord, what do we mean? When was Jesus glorified? It was when he was crucified. He said, "And I, if I be lifted up—don't preach Jesus until I'm glorified," that is when he will be crucified, when he's lifted up. He says, "We, with an unveiled face, we are beholding the glory of the Lord. And are being transformed." What does it mean to be transformed? To be changed. We are looking at the glory. We are looking at the Lord. The Lord said, "Since you have been baptized into me, you are free from sin." You are looking at it that, "Yes." You are looking at that thing that the Lord said. And as you are looking at it, you are looking at the glory of the Lord. What happens? You are being transformed into the same image. So transformation is not about struggle. It's about beholding. It's about seeing. Are you understanding me? Seeing by revelation. That's what brings transformation. Now, we are changing to the same image. From what? From glory to glory, just as by what? Just as by what? The Spirit of the Lord. So who is changing us? The Spirit of the Lord. But how does the Spirit—how is it done? We are looking. We are looking. "We, with an unveiled face." What does that mean? Our eyes have been opened. Intellect is a veiled face. Religion is a veiled face. We with unveiled face, something has been taken away. A veil of intellect, of naturally looking at something, has been taken away. We are looking as we are looking at that glory. What happens? We are transformed into that same image. That is why I tell people, a changed life is grace. When you see a man proud about godliness, he does not know grace. A changed life is not human effort. A changed life is by revelation. I'm talking about transformation. There's a difference between being a believer and being converted. They are two different things. Jesus told Peter, "After you have been converted." There are believers who are not converted. Conversion comes by beholding. That's why he said, "You are transformed by the renewing of your mind." I explained something last week. All that God did for us is where? Gospel, can you remember? It's in which balance? All God did for us, where is it? It's in the ledger balance. That is everything. Once a child is born, everything that is in an adult is in that child. Is that not true? What is the difference? Growth. Everything that makes you to be God had been given. It's not that they will be given, but they are given in your ledger balance. You are spiritually blessed with it. But to make it experiential, to experience it on earth, when you say "Thy will be done on earth," in heaven it is settled. But to have it on earth, that is to move it from the ledger balance to what? Available. You know in bank, once you put money in your ledger balance you cannot spend it until they bring it to the available balance. That's when you can withdraw from it. So you need to move your blessings from ledger balance to where? Available. That movement of availability to spend comes by what we call transformation. So there are many people, when we get born again, that is one thing, but conversion is procedural. It's revelational. It's something that comes as you are looking at the image. What happens? You are being changed into that same image from one level of glory to another level of glory to another level of glory. That is what some believers are not experiencing. So they will tell you that, "Ah, this person, I've been born again, born again since when." And you know when a child is born, everybody's rejoicing. If after six years, it's still the way the child is born, what kind of song would we be singing? That is there's something God needs to do. If a child is born today, there is rejoicing. But if after six months, just the way the child is, one year, just the way the child is, two years, just the way the child is, will there be rejoicing again? It becomes a thing of sorrow. And many times, the parents, when people come to greet them, they don't want them to see the child. You say your child is three years old and the child can still not crawl. You say three years old. What has that child become? Is it not a disgrace? That is what some people who say they are born again, that's what they become when you are not going through transformation. That's the reality of it. So our concern about knowing has been transformation. And the focus of today's prayer is "Lord, Lord, that I may see." We want to look at scripture to pray some prayers to—because this matter we are discussing, like I told you last week, nobody can do certain things for you. My revelation cannot change you. No. My revelation can point you to the Lord. Then as you look at the Lord, the Lord changes you. Nobody can change anybody. He said, "I will build my church." It is the Lord that builds his church. But the Lord had ordained some to be apostles, some to be what? Prophets, then evangelists, then pastors, then teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ. But please don't forget that after Paul plants and Apollos waters, it is only God that can give increase. After Paul plants and Apollos waters, it is only God that gives increase. That's why the Bible says—I said that last week—"Every house is built by somebody, but the actual builder of all things is God." So beyond the voice of the teacher, beyond the voice of the pastor, you must connect with the Spirit or else you will not be transformed. It will remain head knowledge. It's common today to see it as head knowledge. "Yes, the Bible says that..." That's why you see some people, you see the thermodynamics of the Spirit is when you walk along the rhema. You see the rhema brings a kind of a transformational agenda of the Holy Ghost. And when that thing is going on, you will see a movement of the Spirit that goes upon the surface of the waters. But how does that transform to don't tell lies? You'll be wondering how such person with such kind of talk is still telling lies. You'll be wondering why the person is still lusting. And you’ll be wondering, "Ah, but he's our Bible study teacher." You don't understand. There's a difference between intellectual knowledge and encounter with the Spirit. Transformation is of the Lord. So what any believer should seek is encounter with the Spirit. Encounter with the Holy Ghost. He said, "We all with open face"—right now I'm unveiling your face by revelation. I'm showing that, "Look at this thing. Look at who the Lord is." I'm pointing you to the Lord. But it is the Lord that can give increase. And I can display to you in different ways. When the Lord told Moses, "Make a bronze serpent, place it on a pole." Whoever look at that pole will live. You know it’s corresponding to Jesus. I hope you know that. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so I will be lifted up. Whoever believe in me will be saved." You remember? That's John chapter 3 from verse 14 to verse 16. So Moses lifted up a serpent point to who? Points to Jesus that will be lifted up. So Jesus said, "As Moses did that, so I will be lifted up." I want to ask you, when God told Moses to lift up that serpent, if the serpent bite somebody, the one on the floor bite somebody and Moses lay his hand on that person, "In the name of Jesus, every bite die! Every bite die! Every bite die!" Will the bite die? Will the bite die? Moses is only wasting his time. That is not God's method. The method is when they come, tell them to look up. If you are bitten by the serpent and you run into the Tabernacle—you know there's a Tabernacle—and you are praying, "Oluwa, Oluwa, bami se, bami se, save me, save me, Oh God, save me!" Will you be saved? You will die because that is not the method. The method is if you are bitten by the serpent, do what? Look up. Looking unto Jesus. We all with an open face. If there's anything you are trusting God for, for your life to be transformed into a victorious Christian living, is that God, with an open face, an unveiled face, I can behold the image of the Lord. Inside this mirror, I can be seeing Jesus by the power of the Spirit, by revelation, not academic, not intellectual, but by revelation I'm seeing the Lord. And as I keep seeing the Lord, as I keep looking at, "Oh, this is the Lord. This is what he did for me. This is what he made available." As I'm looking at it by the Spirit, I am changed into that same image by that same Spirit. So what do we do as teachers, as pastors, as prophets, as evangelists? Go and check all the apostles. They only pointed people to Jesus. Do you agree with me? Go and check them. Do you remember the case where Peter healed the man at the Beautiful Gate? Healed the man. And everybody rushed down and they were looking at Peter strangely. Please what did Peter say? "Why do you look at us as if by our holiness or by our power we have made this man to walk?" God have only glorified Jesus. What did they do? They pointed men away from themselves. Do you remember Paul? When they got to this city—I can’t remember the name now—and the people ran, they made Paul one god, they made Barnabas another one. What did Paul do? Tore his cloth and said, "Bro, we are ordinary men like you. What's your problem?" The matter is not about us. I showed another one, even the angels. You remember the angel that gave revelation to John? Revelation. When he finished with John, what did John do? John bowed down. He said, "Ah, please, please, don't worship me. Worship only who? Even me and you, we are fellow servants of this gospel." I'm talking about what you prioritize in your Christian walk. I'm talking about the basis why you find 1,000 people today moving about in church and in fellowships, but yet we are not seeing sin decreasing in their lives because faith is not resting in the Spirit and in the power of the Spirit. We are making people's faith to rest on men. No man can transform you. Anybody that want to experience change must understand this principle. We with an unveiled face. Your prayer in encounter with men is that, "God, help me, help me that men will correctly point me to Jesus." Help me that when I sit with men, and Lord, let my spirit yearn for you. Let something in me go out for Jesus. And as I keep seeing the Lord, as I keep looking at "Oh, this is the Lord. This is what he did for me. This is what he made available." As I'm looking at it by the Spirit, I am changed into that same image by that same Spirit. So what do we do as teachers, as pastors, as prophets, as evangelists? Go and check all the apostles. They only pointed people to Jesus. Do you agree with me? So our focus this evening is this matter of unveiled face. We with unveiled face. We want to become a matter of our prayer this evening. Lord, God Almighty, that my eyes of understanding might be opened. Lord, grant unto me the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of you. Lord, the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. John chapter 20. John chapter 20. John chapter 20. I read from verse 1, "Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. She ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they laid him.' Verse 3, Peter therefore went out and the other disciples and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloth lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen cloth lying down there and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloth, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and he believed." Please are you with me? Are you checking that scripture? John chapter 8, verse 20. When he went into the tomb, what did the Bible say? What happened to him? He saw and he believed. What did he see? He saw the linen cloth, he saw the handkerchief, he saw everything in that place. Isn't it? And then he did what? When he saw it, he believed. He believed alongside with Peter. What did they believe? That Jesus had been taken away. That was not resurrection. It's not resurrection. They came to tell them that Jesus had been taken away. So they believe, he saw and he believed what Mary Magdalene came to tell them. Why did they believe that? The explanation is in the next verse, verse 9. It says, "For as yet they did not know the scriptures that he must rise again from the dead." So when you see men believing error because of some experiences, it's because they don’t know scriptures. "Ah, o mo ri, ko ri ma ji." That is not the basis. We can see and still not believe because scripture is saying something contrary. So they were believing error, and I'm telling you, one thing today that is making people not to have victory over sin is because like when I told them last week, when we were having issues when we were newly born again then, and we approach elders, you know what they will tell us? "Ah, a le mo ri ko ri ma ji, omo elo me ko jo ko ma—elese ni gbogbo wa, a ma try na ni." That is, "Oh, we cannot but sin. We are all sinners. We just keep trying." That was what we were made to believe when we newly got born again because those that tried could not conquer. May men not preach their experience as the gospel for you. Because they have tried and tried and they did not conquer, so they now preach it to us that we cannot win. "God will help us to have victory over sin." You know later when I saw in the scriptures that "Or do you not know that you have died to sin?" Ah, you know what I was looking for? I was looking for "I will die to sin." And the scripture says "You have died." I said, "No, Lord, I will die." He said, "No, look at it very well. You have died." I said, "But I'm alive." He said, "Because you believe that you are alive." He said, "The day you begin to believe that you died, then you will experience death because without faith it is impossible to please God." Righteousness is by faith, it's not by effort. It's by faith. And I gave you a very good example, because we’re going to prayer, that will be the second part we will be praying. The Bible says, Abraham, against hope, believe in hope that he would become the father of many nations. He did not consider the deadness of his body, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb. And what happened to Abraham? Out of him that is as good as dead, didn't a son come? What activated the power of God? He believe God. The reason why God's power don't operate in your life is your lack of faith. Until you believe God, you don't encounter the power of God. And he said the day you believe that you die to sin, then you will feel death. But the day you are waking that you will die, you will never die because actually you have died. Then the next thing, "He that is dead is free from sin." I said, "Wow." He said, "So there's nothing to say, 'Oluwa, free me from...' because I've freed you. You are praying useless prayer." He that is dead is free. I began to have a different view from what I had been taught. What I had been taught! And they will be telling us, "You see, if God is to mark sin, who will be justified? That's just how we live." They didn't show me Job, that there was a man called Job even when grace had not been poured out, Satan could not have anything to condemn him for. They didn't show me that one. They were showing me wrong men—may wrong men not deceive you. But we began to understand that if any man is in Christ, he's a new creature. He stop praying "Oluwa, so mi d'eda tuntun." It's "Oluwa, ese mo ti d'eda tuntun." He began certain kind of prayers that we were praying when we started. "God, make me a new creature." Foolish prayer. Unscriptural prayer when you are already a new creature. I don't know whether you’re understanding me. So our prayer life began to change. We began to understand what it means to be spiritual and stop being religious. It's used to carry humility with it. False humility in it is ignorance. What I'm trying to say is that I want you to just pray, "Lord, that I may understand scriptures." Because that was the first problem of these people, and that is something that remains a problem today. You see, you will be believing error when you don't understand scripture. Say "Baba, give me understanding." Because understanding is of the Lord. Nobody can give you. No. There are things that it is only God that can do them for you. Understanding, I've just quoted that scripture in Daniel chapter 2. He said, "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that understand." So pray, "Lord, you are the one who give wisdom to the wise, and you give understanding to men of understanding. Lord God Almighty, that I may understand scriptures. Lord, grant unto me understanding that I may understand scriptures. Lord God Almighty, beyond my intellect, beyond my intellectual capacity, O God Almighty, grant understanding that I may understand scriptures. That I may understand scriptures. Lord, grant understanding. Understanding, understanding. Lord, give me an understanding heart. Eh, Baba, Baba, Baba, give me an understanding heart. Give me an understanding heart. Give me an understanding heart. Give me an understanding heart. O Gabriel told Daniel, he said, 'I have come to give you insight.' O Lord, give me insight. Insight, insight, insight, insight, insight, insight, insight, insight, O Lord, in the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus’ name we pray." We are moving on, still in that text we are praying. He said, "But because they did not know the scriptures." He said, "Then the disciples went away to their own homes." They went away, that is Peter and that person, they went away. But Mary Magdalene stood outside by the tomb weeping. Now, please get understanding. You know formerly she was not weeping. When she saw that the body was not there, she ran to Peter and the other disciple to tell them. Her expectation was that maybe they will tell her something different. But when they came and they now believed what she told them and went away, she now started crying because she now realized that, "Ah, the elders have confirmed that the body has been stolen." That was the basis of her cry. Now, the Bible says as she wept, she stooped down and look into the tomb and she saw two angels sitting in white, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Now, please listen. When Peter and the other disciple look into that tomb, they entered inside. What did they see? They saw the linen cloth. Is that not? They saw the handkerchief. Is that not? But they did not see angels. The Bible says after Mary, she was weeping. She was persisting, wondering, crying. And when the Lord saw the way she was crying, when the Lord saw how she was bothered, what did the Lord do? The Lord open her eyes. You know this time when she look into the tomb, she saw what her generation did not see. She saw what the elders did not see. She saw what the disciples did not see. She saw angels. She saw angels. And this was the beginning of an open eye. Her eyes were opened from the first level of this revelation was to see angels and to hear angels. She was seeing them and she was hearing them. You know people today that are having issues, when they newly get born again, she ought not to weep. She ought to be rejoicing. When she went to those people, if they have told her that, "Oh, relax, that means the Lord had resurrected! Hallelujah! The scripture says so, we have not seen him, but we know he had resurrected. That is what the scripture says." If they have told Mary Magdalene that, please what would Mary Magdalene be doing? She would be rejoicing. I'm telling you the impact, the effect of wrong guide. The effect of wrong guide. And that is why we are taking time to pray, we are praying in this manner. We are asking the Lord to help us. You see one thing I know is that it’s not of him that wills, not of him that runs, it's of the Lord that showeth mercy. That's why I keep telling people, every time I look back into my life, I cannot but thank God for his mercies because I didn't even know how I got to where I got to. I was so much in the midst of ignorance, I mean I got born again in the midst of ignorance, so much ignorance around me. And we have this question, they will put me this way, you know we wanted somebody to help us out, but you see the mercy of the Lord availed for me. I want you to pray. You see it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of the Lord that showeth mercy. So that there will be no boasting, so that there will be nothing like, "Ah, did you see me?" I want you to pray, "Lord, in my Christian journey, let your mercy continually avail for me." Lord, let your mercy, Lord God Almighty, in my Christian journey. You see, it’s a journey. It’s a journey. The battle is not to the strong. Don't say "Ah, because I know how to do it, that's why I got it." Be careful. Be careful, it is the mercy of the Lord. You got mercy. I want you to pray that, "God, in my journey, in my journey, Lord, let your mercy avail for me. Lord, I hope in your mercy." David said, "No king is saved by the multitude of his chariot. A mighty man is not delivered by his strength." He said, "A horse is a vain thing for victory in the day of battle." He said, "But the Lord deliver them that hope in him. The Lord deliver them that hope in his mercy." I want you to say, "God, I hope in your mercy. Lord, I hope in your mercy that at these junctions of my life, your mercy will avail for me. Your mercy will avail for me. Your mercy will speak for my life. Your mercy will speak for my walk. Your mercy. In this my Christian race, I will be a product of mercy. I will enjoy mercy. Oh, ah, you know there is this song, it’s a Yoruba song, but it is my song. It’s a song that it has come to make so much meaning to me when I think about the mercies of the Lord. Mo ti r'anu gba l'omode, sugbon s'anu fun mi l'agbalagba, je k'n r'anu gba d'ojo ale, f'ohun gbogbo k'en mi. I have seen your mercy as a youth, as a child. Lord, as I grow older, let me experience more of your mercy. Lord, even till death, let me experience your mercy. Oh Lord, comfort me on every side. Oh Lord, comfort me on every side. Oh Lord, comfort me on every side. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Back to that John chapter 20, what we are looking at, what happened in that place while Mary Magdalene was weeping and she was praying, the Bible says she saw two angels. Her eyes were opened. You will know that she was not seeing them with her natural eyes. Do you agree with me? It was no more natural eyes. Something had happened to her eyes. She can begin she began to see what her generation did not see. She saw angels, and she heard angels. But I will show you something before we pray about this unveiled face. Proverbs chapter 2, something you must pray for before we come to the issue of unveiled face. Proverbs chapter 2. Proverbs chapter 2, from verse 1, "My son, if you receive my word and treasure my command within you." I'm showing you the process. There is a process. You must receive the word of God. You must treasure the command of God. Number 2, "So that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. Yes, if you cry out for discernment and you lift up your voice for understanding." Mary was weeping. If you cry out, Mary was weeping. Mary was desiring. Mary wanted understanding. Mary wanted clarity. There was a burden in her heart. Mary was not a casual seeker. Mary was a diligent seeker. Mary wanted something. Mary wanted answer. Mary was desperate in her heart. The Bible says blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. What will happen to them? They shall be filled. I want you to pray, "Lord, create in me an insatiable hunger for God." This these are things these are things you must beg God for. God, create in me an insatiable hunger, a hunger for righteousness, a hunger for God, a hunger, a hunger. You see, I did not understand that that was what happened to me. It was much more later. But what I discovered then was that by any means we just wanted to know God. When I enter the house, I was living there with my auntie. The house would be so busy, I will not have time to read Bible. You know what I will do? I will open the toilet, I will enter the toilet as if I want to go and use the toilet. I will be inside the toilet, I will be reading the Bible. "God, I want to know you." I didn't know then that God created in me a hunger for righteousness. It was later that I realized that "Okay, blessed are those who hunger..." That's why I'm talking about mercy. I'm talking about mercy. But having gone through the process, I'm now understanding the principles. You need to pray to God. You see, he said you will seek me, you will find me after you have searched for me with all your heart. There is a place of hunger. There is a place of seeking. There is a place of desiring. There is a place of wanting. A casual seeker cannot find God. If you are not thirsty, you cannot be filled. If you don't draw, God he said draw near to God and he will draw near to you. He said, "He who seek will find. He who knock it will be open unto him. He who ask it will be given." There is a place of man pushing towards God. I want you to pray to God this evening, "O God Almighty, in this matter of my Christian walk and victory over sin, victory over the devil, victory over the world, victory over the flesh, O God create in me a hunger for righteousness. Create in me, hunger. O Lord, Baba touch me. Lord, touch me. Lord, work in my heart. It is you that work in us both to will and to do of your good pleasure. Lord work within me. Lord work within my heart. Lord create in me a hunger for righteousness. Create in me a hunger for your presence. Create in me a hunger, a hunger, a hunger. O Lord, Baba work around my heart, work within my heart. In the name of Jesus. Thank you Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Back to that John chapter 20, verse we are looking at, what happened in that place while Mary Magdalene was weeping and she was praying, the Bible says she saw two angels. Her eyes were opened. Now, please listen. Follow what is happening here. Then they said to her—it is the angels that were speaking to her—"Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid them. They have laid him." Don't forget that angels also are ministers that are sent to minister to the heirs of salvation. Now, her eyes, this was the beginning of an open eye. Her eyes were opened from the first level of this revelation was to see angels and to hear angels. She was seeing them and she was hearing them. You know Peter and the other person, they did not see, they did not hear this. This was the beginning. But look at what happened. Now, when they had said this, after that first level of revelation, there was another level. She turned around and saw Jesus. Hallelujah! From one level, from glory to glory, he's changing me. The first level was angels and hearing angels. The next level was that when she turned around, she saw Jesus standing. That was the first thing. And then she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?" She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him." Are you seeing that the encounter with angels have not changed her mentality? Are you understanding me? Are you following me? I'm talking about level of revelation. I'm talking about going deeper and deeper into the Lord. Revelations are in level. Insights are in level. I remember when I initially started with the Lord and I saw Peter walked on water. I just thought that anywhere I see water, I'll be walking on water. That was my understanding as at then. So when I saw water and I walk on water, I was just seeing water, I wanted to walk. I was thinking God was a magician. I didn't understand it better at that level. When Jesus touched the blind man, he first saw men as trees. He first saw men as trees. Then Jesus did the second time, he now saw men as men. Revelation is in levels. She saw angels, she heard angels, but her questions have not been answered. When she turned around, another level of revelation, she saw Jesus. She was still presenting the matter to Jesus. Then Jesus said to her, "Mary." It is no more "woman." Woman is something general, Mary is something personal. Are you following me? Mary was personal. Said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rabboni," which means Teacher. The person she was looking for, the person she wanted to encounter, the person is present, the person is here. But you must notice, she was helped by the Lord to see the Lord. Are you understanding me? She was helped by the Lord to see the Lord. We see light by the light that comes from light. Jesus is our light, but we see him by the light that comes from him. I want you to pray. I want you to pray. Lord, take me deeper and deeper and deeper until it becomes a personal, a personal walk with you. Lord take me deeper and deeper and deeper. Lord take me deeper and deeper and deeper until I'm overwhelmed, until the questions of my life are answered, until my doubts are cleared. Lord, take me deeper and deeper. Lord, keep taking me from one level to another level. Lord, take me from glory to glory. Lord, take me, O God, from general to specific. Lord, take me from general to specific. The specific matters of my life. The specific direction for my life. The specific issues of my life. O Lord, that my victory I may have personal victory, I may have personal walk, I may have personal insight. O Lord, move me from one level of revelation to another level. Lord, until my life, my life, my life, I become exactly like you. I become exactly like you. The Master said, "A student, it is better for a student to be like his master." O Lord, until I become like you. In your presence there is light. O Lord, in your presence, in your presence there is joy. I will enter, I will stay in your presence day by day. In your likeness, in your likeness, O Lord, that I may be like you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [Music] [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tents Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in reaching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission aid. Our regular activities are: Discipleship class, every Monday, 5:00 PM; Adolescents and singles club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Marriage forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counsel, you can reach us at our location, Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Ijaere road, Akure, Ondo state, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytents@yahoo.co.uk, familytentsministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentsministry.org. Our phone numbers are: 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you.