In his Image and Likeness

[Speaker 1] Churchy 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. [Speaker 2] Lord, we thank you again for today. We give you praise, we give you glory, we give you honor and adoration. We bless your holy name for all who you are. We thank you for all that you are to us. We say, Lord our God, be exalted in the name of Jesus. Almighty God, we commit this into your hand this evening, and we pray that as we fellowship together again this evening, your word will come to us. Your word will reach us. Your word will minister life to us in the name of Jesus Christ. Our Father, we pray that as we connect together, we who are here physically, our brethren who are online, our God, we pray that you will meet with us all everywhere we are connecting to the program in the name of Jesus. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Last week, we were looking at men who missed out with God, men who missed out with God. Our focus last week was on the man Achan. And we saw how Achan missed out with God as a result of covetousness, how Achan missed out with God because of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye. He saw a Babylonian garment that was beautiful. He saw gold, he saw silver, and unfortunately, he went ahead for that. And at the end of the day, we saw how his singular action became a problem for him, for his wife, for his family, and for all that were connected to him. And my prayer is that we would not in any way miss our step as Achan missed his step. We will not miss our path as Achan missed his path in the name of Jesus Christ. Today, we want to move on in this matter of, "Be ye holy for I am holy." I said that as our burden this year, our anchor theme is this, "Be holy for I, the Lord, I am holy." And our focus, everything that will be coming to us this year, is conforming to this holiness of God. And this evening, we will be looking at another very important topic again, which is, "In His Image and Likeness." That is, in God's image and in God's likeness. In God's image, in His image and likeness. In His image, in His likeness. And we will be taking our text from 2nd Corinthians chapter 1. 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, we will look at a few verses there and then begin to speak to those verses. 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, it was a letter of Paul to the church in Corinth. And Paul was making reference to a matter that concerned his journey. At the opening of this letter, Paul was trying to explain why eventually he was not able to come to Corinth. He planned to come to meet them in Corinth, but somehow he couldn't come. So he was trying to explain the occasion that led to his being unable to come. But in trying to give that explanation, certain very salient issues came out. And we want to reflect on these issues, particularly as it relates to God's image and God's likeness. And when I said, "In His image and in His likeness," what I am trying to say is that may we walk in the image of God and in the likeness of God. And we want to look at what the Bible raised here about the image of God that we can take a lesson for our own life. Because the matter is, "Be ye holy for I, the Lord, I am holy." Now let's look at this scripture. 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, I take my reading from verse 15. The Bible says, I'm reading from NKJV, "And in this confidence I intend to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit— to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea. Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly?" Mark his words. "Did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, did I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. Moreover, I call God as a witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand. For by faith you stand." Now when you look at this scripture that we just read, Apostle Paul was explaining why eventually he was not able to make it to Corinth as he initially planned that he would come. And so he was giving explanation. And like I said, in giving this explanation, certain matters began to come out. The first thing he said was that, "Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, did I plan it according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No? But God is faithful. Our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of Jesus Christ, who we preached among you by us—who was preached among you by us, that is, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes." Now what is it that we are trying to learn in this place? What is it that we are trying to see in this scripture? What is it that we are looking at? Apostle Paul said that his word to them was not "Yes, Yes, No, No." Which means when he told them he was coming, he meant what he was saying. He meant what he was saying. It was something that he meant. In other words, what he was saying is that I mean what I say. What I say, what I have said, is what I actually intended to do. If you want to put that in a philosophical statement, it is meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Paul was saying that when he said he was coming, he was not saying it as a matter of something he did not mean. He was saying it as a matter of what he meant. And why was it a matter of what he meant? He said because the Jesus Christ which they preached to them was not "Yes and No." The Jesus Christ which they preached to them is both "Yes" and "Yes." That is, Paul is saying that the promises of God in Christ, the promises of the Gospel that we are preaching, is not something that can be doubted. It's not something that is shaky. Paul is saying that we brought a Gospel to you. And that Gospel came from a God of Light in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. There is no variableness in Him. There is no shadow of turning. And so, since that is the Gospel, if they brought the Gospel of such a person to them, then we, his ministers, our word should not be "Yes" and "No." If we say "Yes," we mean "Yes." If we say "No," we mean "No." He wants to make us see something very important, that actually in our relationship with people, in our interaction with people, it should be a reflection of the Gospel that we preach. The Gospel that we preach is coming from a God in whom there is no variableness. The promises of Christ in God, they are "Yea" and they are "Amen." The ministers who are bringing those Gospels, the believers who are bringing those Gospels, their life should not be different. Their life should not be different. Their word should be trusted. Their word should be dependable. Their word should be trustworthy. When they give you their word, they will not need—they don't need to sign a document for you to be sure that what they are saying they will do is what they are going to do. He says a similar thing in the word of our Lord Jesus when He said, "Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay. Every other thing comes from evil." The first thing I am trying to show us in this explanation of Paul is that it is important that the way God is constant, the way God is true, the way God is not evasive, the way God is candid, the way God is straight, the way God is transparent, the way God is upright, the way God is forthright—anybody who preaches this God should reflect that image and that likeness. If you are preaching, if you are actually a true preacher of the Gospel, if you are somebody who really indeed bear this Gospel, if really indeed you are raised by God, if really indeed you are having a working relationship with God, if actually you have a connection with God and there is a draw between you and God, there is intercourse between the Spirit of God and your spirit, what actually should happen in your life is that the way God is constant, consistent, faithful, and true, the same thing we should find in your life. So when a man says, "I preach God. I know God. I walk with God," and we notice that his life is somebody who is not forthright, is somebody whose word we cannot depend on it, is somebody who is not candid with his word, is somebody who we cannot take for his word, is somebody who is crooked when it comes to his word, is somebody whose word are not upright and true, then that person is a liar. The truth is not in him. Men, as we can see in the scripture, who actually have work with God, you notice they were just making plans to come and visit the brethren. "I want to come and visit the brethren." And what did they say? Look at what he said. He said, "Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly?" You know what it means to do something lightly? You are saying it but you don't mean it. You are saying it but you don't mean it. You are saying it but there is no guarantee that you are going to do it. But you see that men who had work with God, even when they were living their ordinary day life, when they were planning things with men, when they were planning things with people, they were not doing it out lightly. Why? Because they said the promises of God in Christ, the Gospel that they preached, is not "Yes" and "No." The Gospel is "Yes." The Gospel is straightforward. The Gospel is true. The Gospel is something that you can rely on, you can believe in, you can rest your life on, and you can be sure it will not fail. So, brethren, as we fellowship this evening, my question to you, the question I'm asking you, is that how dependable, how dependable are your words? Can you be trusted for the things you say? Can men trust your word? When you say something, can men go and sleep? That "No, this brother, this person, this brother, when he speaks, this brother, when he talks, no, if it is him who said it, you can be sure it will be that." Who said it? Brother Felix. Ah, if Brother Felix is the one who said it, you can be sure he's going to do it. If Brother Felix is the one who said this thing, then that is exactly how it is. That is what it means. What I'm trying to tell you, brethren, is that if as a believer you lack forthrightness, you lack integrity, you lack sincerity, you lack transparency, then we can be sure you are a liar. You are not walking in His image and His likeness. If we are to be children of God, we should be children who walk in God's image and in God's likeness. May the image and the likeness of God be perfected in us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. When we move on, I want us to see something further again. He said, verse 21, verse 21. The Bible says, "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God." Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Brethren, are you getting something? He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is who? Is God. This is a strong word of assurance for us. This is a strong word of assurance. You see, as we live reflecting His image and His likeness, I want to tell you this truth. Christianity, Christianity is not how much you are laying hold on God. No. But it is the other way around. What is the other way around? How much God lays hold on you. What I'm trying to make you see is that our Christian faith, our Christian faith is not so much on the place of believing God and walking with God. There is a place of believing. There is a place of holding to God. There is a place of being diligent with your Christian life. There is a place of being intentional and deliberate with your Christian life. Yes, that is true. That is very, very true. I don't want you to misunderstand me. You don't need to misunderstand me, brethren. There is a place of holding to God. There is a place of believing God. There is a place of being diligent with your Christian life. There is a place of being intentional and deliberate with your Christian life. But what I want you to understand that Christianity is not so much how much we lay hold on God. It is first and foremost how much God lays hold on us. That is the truth. And let me, let me show you some things in some other scriptures. If you look at in Hebrews, the Bible says Christ is what? The Author of our faith and what? The Finisher of your faith. Who authored our faith? Christ. Who finishes our faith? Christ. He authors it, He perfects it. I will show you another scripture. And this one, I want to show you what Jesus said is the will of the Father. Let's look at something in John. Let's go to the book of John, the book of John, the Gospel according to John, Gospel according to John. I want to show you something there that is very, very, very, very important for us to see and note for our lives. When you look at the Gospel according to John chapter 6, look at what the Lord said in that place. He was speaking in— before we read that of John chapter 6, let's look at that of John chapter 15 verse 16, then we'll come to John chapter 6. John 15:16, then we'll come to John chapter 6. In John 15:16, the Lord Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Brethren, are you getting something? Yes, we believed in God. We come to God. Whosoever believes shall be saved. Whosoever believes shall be saved. That is the truth. But I'm showing you a very fundamental truth about the whole issue. The very fundamental truth is what? We did not choose Him. But what? He chose us. He chose us. Now, let's relate it to John chapter 6. John chapter 6, I want us to see it from the verse— I want to take it from where He was talking about that He's the Bread of Life. Okay, from verse 35. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I tell you that you have seen Me and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come from heaven," I want you to follow this reading. "For I have come from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." And please, what is the will of Him who sent Him? Can we try different translation? I want us to use the mic. Let us try different translation. What is the will of the Father? What is the will of the Father? Let's try different translation. John 6:39. NKJV says, "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up on the last day." Please, some other translation, some other translation. John 6:39. What translation is that, brother? [Speaker 3] King James Version. "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." [Speaker 2] Some other translation. John 6:39. NKJV says, "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." [Speaker 4] Amplified. "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me, I lose nothing, but I give new life and raise it up at the last day." [Speaker 2] But I do what? I give new life and what again? Raise it up where? On the last day. He did what? Gave new life. And do what again? Raise it up when? On the last day. [Speaker 5] NLT. "And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me." [Speaker 2] Oh! "I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me. But I should raise them up the last day." Please, what is the will of God? Are you seeing the will of God? What is the will of God? The will of God is that Jesus should not lose everybody that God gave Him. There is a purpose of God. There is a mind of God. There is a will of God. The will of God is that Jesus should not lose anyone. If you ask me, "What is God's will for my life? What is God's will for my life?" that Jesus should not lose me but should raise me on the last day. What is God's will for your life? Jesus should not lose you, but should raise you up on the last day. What I'm trying to make you understand is that there is a will of God. It is not how much we— the matter is, yes, we are holding to God, but the matter, the real matter, is that God is doing what? God is laying hold on us. And that is why what we are reading in that 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 is very, very vital to our work with God. That verse 21 of chapter 1, 2nd Corinthians, it says, "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is who? Is God." You know what that means? The person who establishes us is who? Is God. Look at how God is doing this. Verse 22, how is God doing this? Verse 22, he says, "who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our heart as a..." my version says as a "guarantee." Is there any version with a different word? My version says "as a guarantee." NKJV, "as a guarantee." Any other word? NLT verse 22? [Speaker 5] "He has identified us as His own by giving us the Holy Spirit in our heart as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised us." [Speaker 2] Hallelujah! Please, why is it that it is God who is establishing us? This is very crucial to your work with God. It's very, very vital to our work with God. And very, very vital for how we relate with people. Because don't forget our theme for the year is, "Be ye holy for I, the Lord, I am holy." And I said everything we'll be doing this year is a call for us to be like our Father who is in heaven. God wants us to be like Him. And I want to show you something here about God. Now, the Bible says He who establishes us is who? Is God. Look at how God is doing this. Verse 22, he says, "who also has sealed us." Please, what is a seal? What is a seal? What is the purpose of a seal? Is it about a final decision? What is a seal? A seal is a sign of genuineness. When you seal something, you are stamping that this thing is genuine. You authenticate it. You secure it. You seal it. The Bible says He has sealed us. You know what God did? You know what God did in establishing us? Number one, there's authentication. We have been authenticated. We have been secured. How did He do that? The Bible says He gave His Spirit. He gave His Spirit as a guarantee, first installment. Please, what is a guarantee? If you go to the market to buy something and you tell the person that, "Look, this thing, you want to— I want to come back to pick it," what will the person tell you to do? What will the person tell you to do? The person will say, "Ah, it's not guaranteed. If you want it to be guaranteed that I don't sell it, what will He ask you to do? Pay for it or give advance." When you now say to Madame, "How much is it?" and he says, "5,000 Naira," you say, "Okay, Madame, take this 3,000 Naira. I'm coming back to pick the thing." Is that thing guaranteed? It's guaranteed. Now, the Bible says that God gave us His Spirit in our heart as a guarantee, first installment. You know what God did? Why God is the one establishing us? It's because of the way God is processing our salvation or processed our salvation. Processed because we are already saved. Processing because we are still saved in hope that when Jesus comes we will be exactly like Him. We have this hope in us. Now look at what the Bible says. He who also has sealed us. God bought us. Jesus is coming back for us. Is that not? To guarantee that Jesus will come back for you, what did God do? God gave a guarantee, a first installment. What is that installment? That installment is His Spirit. What I'm trying to make you understand is that when God wanted to guarantee that, "Look, be at rest. I am coming back for you," God did not give anything less than Himself. God gave what? His Spirit. God gave the Holy Spirit. Please, who is the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit less than God? No. So God gave not a part payment to guarantee that, "I am coming back for the thing." What did He do? He made a what? A full payment. He gave Himself that, "Look, I am coming back for you." What I'm trying to make you see is that because God has invested, God put into us His best, that is why God is making sure that what? On the last day we are what? Raised up. Do you know that if you have gone to the market and they say something is 5,000 and you have paid 4,000 Naira already, just to balance 1,000 to collect it, are you likely to go back to pick that product? You are likely to go back. That is what God did. And now, please, when you have paid 4,000 on a product of 5,000, what will be in your heart? I want to explain something about this matter. Ordinarily, what will be in your heart? If there is a product that you want to pick from the buyer and you have made an instrumental payment on that thing to come back to balance to collect it, do you notice that inside you, you start praying that that product should be secured? Am I correct? You'll start even though you have not collected it, you'll start getting concerned about the security of that product. Am I correct? What I'm trying to make you see is that the reason why God is the one establishing you is because God has made a down payment. Because once you pay 4,000, once you hear that something is happening in that market— "Fire is burning!"—what will come to your heart? "Hey, that thing that I paid for!" You quickly carry your phone. "Madame, Madame, I learned that the market is burning. How— how's your shop? How about my product?" You begin to have genuine interest in your product because you have made advanced payment. What I'm trying to make you see is that, look, God has a genuine interest over your life. If you don't know, I am telling you today. God has a genuine interest over your life. God has a genuine concern over your life. God has a sincere concern over your life. God has a real concern over your life. Because over your life, God has made a down payment. There is a down payment. And let me tell you, that is why Jesus said, "I am coming back. God, the will of the Father is that of all that He has given Me, I should not lose any of them. I'll not lose any of them. But I should raise them up on the last day." I want to tell you, what guarantees that Jesus will come back for you on the last day is not so much about you. It's so much about Jesus. What really guarantees—I'm telling you about an assurance in your heart. One assurance you must have in your heart is that the interest of God over my life is genuine. It's real. It's not fake. It's something that God has made a down payment over. And there is a will of God that I should not be lost. Jesus wants to raise me. There is a genuine interest of God over my life. And so I am sure that look, there is this hope that Jesus will come for me. What I'm trying to make you see, brethren, if this hope is not alive in you, you'll be living anyhow. One reason why people live anyhow is that they are hopeless. You see, when you are hopeful, then what will happen to you? You will be faithful. The reason why many of us are not faithful to God is because we are not hopeful in God. And what I'm trying to make you understand, if you can get up from this meeting with a clear understanding in your heart that God has a genuine interest over my life, God has a sincere interest in me, God has a genuine interest, God has a stake over my life. That stake of God over my life is nothing less than God. It is the Spirit of God that He gave me. God has this stake in me. God has this interest in me. This is a guarantee that He's coming back. He did not only say it. He went ahead to show practical things that He can be trusted. If He had just said it without a down payment, "He would come back," why? He went ahead to demonstrate to us that look, I am coming back. So He guaranteed that He's coming back. He made a down payment. "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." They don't know us. You know what the Bible is saying? When they say come and tell lies, you say "Sorry, I cannot lie." "Oh, how I love Jesus." This boy is mad. They don't know us. They don't understand what is your problem. Why can't you just tell a lie like others? Why don't you just take bribe like others? Why don't you just sin like others? Why don't you just compromise like others? Why can't you just take government money like others? Why can't you be immoral like others? Why can't you be wanting like others? They'll just be wondering, what is the problem of this man? What is his problem? Do you know why they are wondering what is your problem? Because they don't know Him. They don't understand what—we have come to understand the love of God. We have come to know that look, there is a God who has a genuine interest over our lives. And He has made a down payment that look, this world I'm going to wipe it away, but I'm making a new one and I'm coming back to come and take you there. I've gone to prepare a place for you. Take this My Spirit. I've given you My Spirit. And I'm guaranteed that I'm coming back. I cannot see that and know that and begin to live anyhow. I will wait for that God. That is why he said—one major problem of our generation is lack of vision. The Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish. They—the vision of eternity, the vision of God, the vision of what God is doing, the vision of how God is coming, the vision of what is to come, they cannot see it. What can they see? They can only see now. I pray for you. May you see beyond the now. May you not be a man of now. Men of now, they don't go far. Do you remember Esau? Esau was a man of now. He said what is birthright to me? What is birthright to me? What is birthright? I am dying now. I want to eat food now. I have to forget this birthright. Take it away, give me... he was a man of now. Men of now, they don't last. Men who live for now and for now, they don't last. Men who live for now and for now, they have no future. Men whose all their concern, their preoccupation is now, men who can't see a future, they are men who also have no future. And that is why vision is a very important thing. The greatest poverty in the life of a man is not money but vision. The greatest poverty in the life of any man, it's not money, it's vision. And when I say vision, I don't just mean—I don't just mean physical seeing. I mean ability to see, ability to dream, ability to see into God, to see what God is doing, to hear what God is saying. He said, "Therefore the world does not know us, because it does not know Him." The world should be wondering about our life. What kind of man is this? Why can't he just compromise with us? What type of student is this? Why doesn't he just cheat along with us? What type of police officer is this? Why can't he just go along with us? What type of lecturer is this? Why can't he just go along with us? What type of doctor is this? Why can't he just go along with us? What kind of brother or sister is this? Why can't he just go along with us? The world does not know us because they don't understand that we have come to understand the love of God. We have come to know that look, there is a God who has a genuine interest over our life. And He has made a down payment that look, I should not be lost. Jesus wants to raise me. There is a genuine interest of God over my life. And so I am sure that look, there is this hope that Jesus will come for me. Look at the connection between hope and purity. "And everyone that has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure." When you see men who are not living pure, what is their problem? What is their problem? Their hope is not in Him. They are not reflecting His image and His likeness with a hope that when He comes there will be a consummation of that work. Everyone who has this hope in himself purifies himself just as He is pure. Brethren, as we close today, I want to plead with us. Are you walking in His image? Are you walking in His likeness? He is pure. Are you pure as He is pure? He is pure. Are you pure? I trust the Lord—I still have a lot to say, but this is how we are going to go next week. But there is a point we need to get to. How this thing translates into marital relationships today that we could not get to. If the burden is still that we go that direction next week, this matter that we are discussing, we'll go that direction. And if not, we will be going other direction. We trust the Lord to guide us on how we go next week. But there is a dimension of this thing that goes into how faithful we are to our spouses. Which kind of person are you when it comes to your relationship with your spouse? These are things. But we must close for today. We must close for today. Let's begin to take time to pray. Let's talk to the Lord for this evening. Let's talk to the Lord wherever you are, brethren online, brethren who are physical. Begin to talk to the Lord. He is pure. Are you pure as He is pure? In His image. In His likeness. [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 aid. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 p.m.; Adolescents and Singles Club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 a.m.; family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and every day counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the First Bridge, Ile-Oluji community, opposite Overjoy Filling Station, along Ige-Ore 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.