Implication of the Cross Part 3

[Music] [Speaker 1] Churchism and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Music] [Speaker 2] E to bi. E to bi o. E to bi. Olorun wa, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o. E to bi. Oluwa, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o. E to bi o, Oluwa. Oluwa, Oluwa. E to bi. E to bi o. E to bi. Olorun wa, Oluwa, e to bi. E to bi o. E to bi. Oluwa, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o. E to bi. Olorun, ko seni ta le fi sakawe re o. E to bi o, Oluwa. Father, indeed there is none holy as the Lord. As it says in 1 Samuel 2:2, "There is none beside thee, neither is there any rock like our God." And we know that our rock is not like any other rock. For our rock is an eternal rock, a rock that cannot fail. We bless your name again this evening. We worship you again as we gather unto you. We give you glory. We give you praise. We give you honor. We give you adoration. We appreciate you for your love, for your mercies, for your goodness. We thank you, our Father, for insight, for revelation, for instructions in righteousness, for correction to our lives. Lord, we bless you. We thank you for this grace that brought us in as children. We thank you for justification. We thank you, Lord our God, for acceptance in the beloved. We thank you, oh Lord, that we have been brought into your great family. Lord, we worship you. Thank you again, Lord, as we gather unto you. Lord, we say unto you shall our gathering be in the name of Jesus. Lord, instruct our hearts. Lord, meet with us. Lord, speak to us. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Yeah, we thank God again as we gather together unto the Lord again this evening to fellowship together in the scriptures, to fellowship together in the word of grace. And I trust the Lord that as we gather together, our brethren who are online, either on Mixlr or on Telegram, we who are here physically, the Lord will meet with us all in the name of Jesus. Last week, we were looking at the matter of implication of the Cross in terms of our relationship to principalities and powers. And as usual, we want to ask again from our brethren whether there is anything they have to say from last week, either a point of lesson or a testimony or something to emphasize for our learning this evening. Please, if there's anybody like that that have anything before we move on? Okay, we can move on. We stopped at where we left the matter last week. Bible says be vigilant. In 1 Peter 5, that was where we dropped the matter last week. Let's open to 1 Peter 5. We have been able to read through from verse 5. "Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time." We're looking at our relationship with principalities and powers, and we made it very clear that Satan in the Cross, the Bible says, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public show of them, triumphing over them in the Cross." So in the Cross, we realize that principalities and powers have been disarmed. And then we began to look at the need to put on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil. Just trying to summarize last week. And then in looking at putting on the armor of God, we saw some things to look at in the wiles of the devil. The need to guard against arrogance, the need to know that there's a place of humility. You need to realize that once we become arrogant, then we are taking side with the devil. We should be careful along that area. And then I was about to come to verse 8 when we stopped last week. And that is what I want to emphasize today as we move on. I hope that we should be able to move on to the next implication today, which is "crucified with Him." Now, in verse 8, he says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Now, the Bible now says, "Resist him, steadfast in the faith." Now, you'll notice that we said something last week, that principalities and powers have been disarmed in the Cross. So that it is important for the believer to know that as long as they take up the Cross, they need to know that the bomb of the serpent cannot do anything against them. Now, when we get to 1 Peter 5:8-9, he says, "Be sober." Now, relating to the devil, we said that you need to be careful about his wiles. Now, we are now being given an instruction, a very clear instruction. He says, "Be sober." Now, in dealing with the devil, there's a place of soberness. There's a place of vigilance. Be sober, be vigilant about what? Now, he says, "Because your adversary the devil walks about." Now, the Bible is making us to see that the believer actually has Satan as an adversary. The believer should not be ignorant about that. Your adversary. And that adversary is such that he's going about. That means he's looking for opportunity. That's what the Bible wants you to know. The Bible wants you to know that he has been disarmed, but the Bible also wants you to know that this adversary is somebody you should be vigilant. You should not be careless. It's like understanding that maybe you want to move between your house and a particular location. As you're about to go, you were told that, "Look, be on your guard, oh. There are different ambushes of the enemy at different points. So be on your guard." Now, the first thing to begin to look at is we have said he has been disarmed. Now, if he has been disarmed, why should we be on our guard again about him? Are you seeing what I'm trying to bring out? It's like you have been told that, "See, as you're going on the road now, all the weapons that your adversary want to use, they cannot have power over you. However, be on your guard as you're going. He's going about seeking how to get you." So how do we relate it to whatever ammunition he has cannot harm you? "You shouldn't bother about him, since there is nothing at all about his power." Now, what is it about the devil that calls for soberness and vigilance? It's the same thing that we have said when we read Ephesians 6, where the Bible says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the wiles of the devil." The reason that you need an armor is against his wiles. Not against the devil, but against his wiles. Telling you that yes, we are not talking about his power, but if you'll escape the wiles of the devil, you cannot but be vigilant and be sober. If any believer will escape the wiles of the devil, he cannot but be vigilant and be sober. Why? Why? He says he goes about seeking whom to devour. In verse 9, he says do what? "Resist him." Now, I want us to compare this resisting with James 4. We'll just look at them side by side. Please look at James 4. James 4, I want to read from verse 4. "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Now, who is the enemy of God? Anybody who makes himself a friend of the world. It tells you that the world, the system of the world, is opposed to God, isn't it? Who is in control of the world system? The god as in Ephesians 2. He says we were once dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, walking according to the course of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. So the course of the world is the course of the devil. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Verse 5. "Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'?" Verse 6. "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'" Are you seeing something? Now, verse 7. "Therefore," do what? "Submit to God." And then do what? "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 1 Peter 5, he says be vigilant, be sober. Your adversary the devil goes about seeking whom to devour, whom you should do what? "Resist," steadfast in the faith. James says submit to God, resist the devil. Now, I'm trying to make you see something coming together. In Peter, how do we resist the devil? How do we resist the devil? We resist the devil steadfastly in faith. What does it mean to be steadfast? When he says do something steadfastly, can we try some other translation for that 1 Peter 5:9? [Speaker 3] Amplified, verse 9. "But resist him. Be firm in your faith against his attack, rooted, established, immovable, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. You do not suffer alone." [Speaker 2] Please take it again. Amplified, verse 9. [Speaker 3] "But resist him. Be firm in your faith against his attack, rooted, established, immovable, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. You do not suffer alone." [Speaker 2] He says we should stand against him in the faith, rooted, established, strong, immovable. That's Amplified. Another translation? NLT. [Speaker 3] "Take a firm stand against him and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." [Speaker 2] Take a firm stand against him and be strong in your faith. Are you following something? Be vigilant, be sober. Your adversary the devil goes about seeking whom to devour. Now, to deal with him, the Bible says stand firm against him, be strong in your faith. Now, the Bible is making us to see that our stance against the devil is in what? Is in the faith, isn't it? He says submit to God so that you'll be able to resist. Why is the matter of resisting the devil in the faith? Why is the matter of resisting? Why are we submitting to God before we can resist the devil? Why are we resisting the devil in the faith? Why is it a matter of the faith? You see, that is what we are talking about about the issue of be vigilant and be sober. You see, it is important for you to know, I want to bring the earlier scripture together with this scripture. He says, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may resist, that you may stand against the devil." Now, the point that the Scripture is making us to see very clearly is that our victory, our victory over the devil, is only guaranteed where? In the faith. Our victory, our victory over the devil. You see, we have the tendency, many times we don't understand. And when we say the faith, what do we mean by the faith? Amplified says be established, be rooted, stand, be firm in the faith. What is the faith? Yes, now go back to the matter we began to look at with the matter of the Cross. The soul that is lifted up in him is not what? We have left that, let's go back to Habakkuk. Habakkuk 2, I'm quoting scriptures. Habakkuk 2, look at it, verse 4. "Behold, the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." See, I'm bringing NIV. See, "He is puffed up; his desires are not upright; but the righteous shall live by his faith." Are you getting something? Now, what the Bible is trying to make us see is very simple. Very simple. That's why I want to from this go to "crucified with Him." What you need to know about the devil, what you need to understand about our wrestle with the devil, is not different from all that we have been saying. You need to have this clear understanding that our victory, our victory over the devil, let me use the physical illustration now for those because we are using the wilderness experience. In the wilderness, the serpents are on the floor. Now, the Bible says, Satan goes about like what? Normally, when the lion roars, what does it tell you? What does it suppose? Creating fear. When a lion roars, the purpose of that is to distract, is to create fear. And when it creates fear, the lion is able to advance in his course. Now, it says the devil as a roaring lion. Now, look at the roaring of a lion. Let me now take it to the wilderness for you. Do you know that the serpents on the floor, if those serpents, if normally if you walk towards a snake, what do you notice? And the snake raises up the head. What happens to you? You get afraid. The point the Bible is making is that the fact that the snakes on the floor are alive, they are enough not to make you to look up, but to be looking down. The fact that those snakes are alive, you know what saves you is the one on the pole. The one on the floor is the one that is killing you. But the fact that it is alive, those ones are alive and they are walking all around. Ordinarily, what is our tendency? What do we tend to do more? To look down. That is what the Bible is saying. That's why it says like a roaring lion. You need to understand that if you are not vigilant, if you are not sober, your greatest tendency as a man is to look away from the Cross. You have a very high tendency. You are more likely to look away than to look at. So the Bible says, "Be vigilant." Why are you vigilant? Satan use different kind of methods, tricks. The purpose of when it says stand against the tricks, what he is saying is that he use different tricks to be sure that you don't look up. He use different tricks to be sure that you don't look up. And when we say look up, please don't forget. He use different tricks to make sure that whatsoever you are doing is not by faith. The just can only live by faith. He does a lot of things to make sure that whatever you want to do is either by fear, is either in doubt, is either in double-mindedness. Are you understanding me? He does a lot of things. He uses a lot of method. For example, in handling certain matter. Have you seen for example when the Bible will say, "Watching diligently that no spring of bitterness comes up in you." Watching this, watching that, be vigilant. You will notice that the Bible will be speaking to us about certain traits in our lives. Are you forgiving? Forgive cheerfully. Are you giving? Give wholeheartedly. The Bible is watching you. The Bible is warning you against different things that could make your coming to God not to be by faith. And once it is not by faith, devil cannot be resisted. Once it is not by faith. I was talking to somebody yesterday, was having issue with somebody. And I said, look, as long as you are bitter and you are living in this bitterness seeking revenge, your prayers cannot be answered. He said, "But sir, I cannot but be as." I said yes, but that is what it means to resist in the faith. There is a faith. There are things that go with this faith. What I'm trying to make you see is very, very simple. Very, very simple. 1 Peter 5:9, Amplified says, "But resist him. Be firm in your faith against his attack, rooted, established, strong, immovable." Take a firm stand against him. NLT. What I'm trying to make you see is that there's a strong correlation between ignorance of the truth and satanic operation. There is a strong correlation between ignorance of the truth. If there's anything that we are calling the wiles of the devil, the wiles of the devil is that which is to keep men to be ignorant of the truth. It is that that is to keep men from growing in the understanding of the Word of God. It is that, I'm talking about where the devil is now. Where people are busy running binding. No, it's about understanding the wiles. Where the battle is is they should not know, they should not accept the truth. If they accept it, they should not know it. If they know it, they should doubt it. I'm showing you the dimension. They shouldn't come to know this truth. If they know it, they should not accept it. If they accept it, they should doubt it. And that is what we call the whole scheme of satanic operation. So, being wise unto salvation is actually, you know, as the Bible says, let the word of God dwell in you richly. That thing that keeps us from scripture, that thing that keeps us from daily meditation on the scripture, that thing that keeps us from believing the scripture, that thing that keeps us from agreeing with scripture, that thing that keeps us from obeying the scripture, that thing that keeps us from walking in the scripture, that thing that keeps us from agreeing with the scripture, that is the satanic operation. It is once they succeed in that that their power become effectual. Once they cannot succeed in that. In other words, this what I mean. Once Satan can succeed in making you look away, that is when his bite will have power over your life. But as long as he cannot succeed in making you look away from the Cross, as awful as he bites, no effect, no effect. So, where the real battle is, brethren, is what can we do so that they will not take the Cross. What can we do? That is the wiles of the devil. What can we do so that they will not have a revelation of the truth? What can we do so that they will not grow in grace? And one thing that Satan has done excellently today is offering man religion. One thing that I know Satan did effectively is offer man religion. Religion looks like but it is not it. And in that matter of religion, I want to move systematically like that into the next implication of the Cross, crucified with Him. Satan offered religion. And if I'm telling you one thing today that has kept billions of people from the truth is the spirit of religion. Spirit of religion. And I want to particularly focus many things to talk about in religion. But what I want to pick in this matter of the implication of the Cross because I'm just making the introduction is the area of crucified with Christ. That is one area today that I want to look at in the practice of salvation today among believers. I want us to look at it in the practice of salvation among believers. It appears to me that even though we quote that scriptures often and often and often, the implication of the Cross in our being crucified is not clear to many believers. It's not clear. The implication of taking the Cross. When the Bible says, "I have been crucified with Christ," and in looking at that scripture, I want us to look at what he was discussing that led to that statement in verse 20 of chapter 2 of Galatians. Galatians 2, where the matter was raised by our brother Paul, an elder, the minister of God to the Gentiles, where he raised that matter. Now, I want us to look at what he was discussing that led to that matter. It was actually a matter, something that happened about himself and Peter that led to that statement in verse 20. Now, let's see what Apostle Paul said. I want to read it from verse 7, chapter 2 from verse 7. Galatians 2:7. "But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was committed to Peter." That was when Paul went to visit the elders in Jerusalem. I hope you are following me. Because I want us to get the context of that statement in verse 20. "For He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me towards the Gentiles. And when James, Cephas, and John, who seems to be the pillar, perceived the grace that had been given me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and that they would go to the circumcised." That's why sometimes I keep telling people, ever from the foundation of Christianity, there had never been uniformity in Christianity. Are you understanding me? Christianity is not about uniformity, it's about unity. It'll never be uniform. That's the reality about it. So if you think that everybody will talk the same way, dress the same way, act the same way, you're wasting your time. There've been a Christianity of the circumcised and one of the uncircumcised. And what they are talking about is just practices. The circumcised they follow the law of Moses. The uncircumcised they don't follow the law of Moses. But one thing binds them all together. What is that? Christ. Now, he says, "They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which also I was eager to do." Now, "When Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed." What was it? "For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy." Thinking that when you eat with the Gentiles, you are still defiled. You know some people will feel that oh if you eat with unbelievers you have become a defiled person. If you sit down beside them, you're not going to heaven. If you sit on the seat where they stand up from, you have been defiled. Those kind of mentality of the Jews that they had. Now, "But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, 'If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of the Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as the Jews?' We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even when we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." Works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Now, "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are also found sinners, is Christ of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again that which I destroy, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law," Paul was now raising matter that will lead to that matter he raised. "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God." Resist him steadfastly in the faith. Talking about the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, "who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died is in vain." Begin to see, is this the believer's understanding of the concept of sin, righteousness? Sin, righteousness. We have talked about righteousness at a point, you remember. When he says that He's our righteousness. We have dealt with that in the last study. What I'm talking about is this matter of sin, righteousness, and victory over sin. You see, if there is anything that the enemy is using to hold many people gave their life to Christ under the bondage of the Lord, if this matter of sin, sin, this matter of sin, the victory over sin. When I say sin, I'm talking about sin in terms of sins. We will come back to this one. Righteousness and the law, that's what he's talking about in this. That the law does not justify, doesn't make us right with God. In that he was addressed with Peter. Now, the righteousness he's talking about therefore, is not talking about a righteousness that has to do with doing right or wrong. Are you following me at all? Peter was separating himself from the Gentiles, righteous. So what did he do? What did Peter do with the Gentiles? Or Jews as well? He did some things to be righteous. He decided to separate himself and not eat with them again, so that he can be righteous. Other Jews now follow suit, because anybody that eat with the Gentiles becomes unrighteous, they are no more clean before God. Paul is saying that to be righteous does not have anything to do with some do or don'ts. It has to do. The righteousness Paul is talking about is different from the matter of godly living. That was about to live a life. I hope you get that part. Paul was talking about a deep-seated matter. That I shouldn't, they shouldn't know, they shouldn't accept the truth. If they accept it, they should not know it. If they know it, they should doubt it. I'm showing you the dimension. They shouldn't come to know this truth. If they know it, they should not accept it. If they accept it, they should doubt it. And that is what we call the whole scheme of satanic operation. So the point I'm trying to make you see is that there is a strong correlation between ignorance of the truth and satanic operation. There is a strong correlation between ignorance of the truth. If there's anything that we are calling the wiles of the devil, the wiles of the devil is that which is to keep men to be ignorant of the truth. It is that that is to keep men from growing in the understanding of the Word of God. It is that, I'm talking about where the devil is now. Where the battle is is they should not know, they should not accept the truth. If they accept it, they should not know it. If they know it, they should doubt it. I'm showing you the dimension. They shouldn't come to know this truth. If they know it, they should not accept it. If they accept it, they should doubt it. And that is what we call the whole scheme of satanic operation. It is once they succeed in that that their power become effectual. Once they cannot succeed in that. In other words, this what I mean. Once Satan can succeed in making you look away, that is when his bite will have power over your life. But as long as he cannot succeed in making you look away from the Cross, as awful as he bites, no effect. So, where the real battle is, brethren, is what can we do so that they will not take the Cross. What can we do? That is the wiles of the devil. What can we do so that they will not have a revelation of the truth? What can we do so that they will not grow in grace? And once thing that Satan have done excellently today is offering man religion. One thing that I know Satan did effectively is offer man religion. Religion looks like but it is not it. And in that matter of the religion, I want to move systematically like that into the next implication of the Cross, crucified with him. Satan offered religion. And if I'm telling you one thing today that has kept billions of people from the truth is the spirit of religion. Spirit of religion. And I want to particularly focus many things to talk about in religion, but what I want to pick in this matter of the implication of the Cross because I'm just making the introduction is the area of crucified with Christ. That is one area today that I want to look at in the practice of salvation today among believers. I want us to look at it in the practice of salvation among believers. It appears to me that even though we quote that scriptures often and often and often, the implication of the Cross in our being crucified is not clear to many believers. It's not clear. The implication of taking the Cross. When the Bible says, "I have been crucified with Christ." And in looking at that scripture, I want us to look at what he was discussing that led to that statement in verse 20 of chapter 2 of Galatians. You will notice that when Paul was talking a matter about the matter of being crucified with Christ, "no longer I that live." He was saying it against, you must understand it from what he said preceding and succeeding. "I have been crucified with Christ." What led to that statement? Was that there was a struggle between the life that Peter lived among the Gentile Christians and the Jews. Was that not what was happening? What was the life that Peter lived? What is it that Peter did? What Peter did was trying to live a life as though it is obedience to the law of Moses that makes people to be right to be made right with God. As if justification is by obeying those things that Moses said. In that was what Apostle Paul was handling. That was what he was handling. So he was trying to correct Peter that look, it is not obedience to all these things that Moses said. Keep the Sabbath, circumcise on the eighth day. All of those things that make the Gentile to be clean or unclean. Peter separated himself from them. Paul had to rebuke him. There's no like that. Now, having rebuked him, having made the correction, Paul now was now coming back to establish what is the truth of the gospel. That's why he now said, "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God." Now, it tells you something. It becomes impossible to live to God if you don't die to the law. As long as your eyes are on keeping one law so that we can be acceptable by God, you will not be able to live to God. He says, "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ." Now he's now talking about how the death came. When he said, "I have died." When he said, "I through the law died to the law." That was what he was explaining in the verse 20. That "I have been crucified with Christ." So how did he die? He died by being crucified with Christ. So, we begin to have a clear understanding of something that actually, when we talk about the Cross, the believer who does not deeply realize it, that he actually also was crossed with Jesus, may not be experiencing a kind of liberty he ought to experience. The believer who does not have that understanding, there's an understanding that actually, that we died. How? That dying is actually something about him. Don't forget, "resist steadfastly in the faith." We are talking about what this faith is about. We are moving from fundament that actually the believer actually died with Christ. The believer, it is not only Christ alone that died on the Cross. The believer must have this deep realization that he also was crucified with Christ in that place. Now, the whole essence of that crucifixion, the whole essence of that understanding, is to give a clear insight that "I am not setting aside the grace of God." That is, I'm not taking the grace of God for granted. I'm not saying God's grace make us to continue to sin. I'm not saying God's grace is why we should be doing evil things. I'm not saying God's grace is why we say you can live anyhow and live irresponsibly. God's grace, like we saw, Peter was, Peter and Paul was talking about men who take the grace of God as license for sin. He said, look, I'm not setting aside the grace of God. However, if righteousness comes by the law, the death of Christ is in vain. May the death of Christ not be in vain in our lives. Because the reality, brethren, is that we were crucified with Him. He was not crucified alone. We'll build this matter here from this point next week. Let us go ahead to pray. I want us to thank the Lord for this evening. Please, a key thing from in concluding principalities and powers is that remember, as long as truth is taken away, then Satan will be in operation. The victory over the devil is the faith. The Word of God must dwell in us richly. We must understand everything that takes us from knowing truth, from knowing the word, from being wise by scripture unto salvation, is that that keeps us under the bondage of the devil. The devil is doing everything today to keep the Word of God from dwelling richly in the believers. The devil keeps them in different ways so that they can doubt. One is they should not know the truth of the gospel. If they know it, they should not accept it. If they accept it, they should doubt it. The wiles of the devil. But the Bible says let the Word of God dwell in you richly to all wisdom. And then we are asking the Lord that God Almighty help us. We have been crucified with Christ. The reality is that we were. The truth is that we were. I do not set aside the grace of God. I will build on this statement seriously next week. I do not set aside the grace of God. But if righteousness is by the law, then the death of Christ is in vain. But that death is not in vain, brethren. That death is not in vain. That death actually brings a righteousness that brings victory over sin. I want us to pray, "God Almighty, more of you, more of you." That's just our prayer. Lord, more of you. More of implication of this Cross. More of understanding of this Cross. More of understanding of what happened at the Cross. Our eyes on you, more of you, Lord. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Let's share the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more. Amen. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever. Amen. [Speaker 1] This message is coming to you from Family Tent 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 heat. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; Adolescent and Singles Club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp, by the first bridge, Ilaro community, opposite Boye Joye filling station along Ijede Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 08033861136, 07033613848. God bless you all.