Instruction (opening Words for 2026)

[Choir singing] My Lord is good. My Lord is good. My Lord is good. He is good to me. Praise Him. Praise Him. Praise the Lord always. Praise the Lord always. Praise the Lord with all my heart. Praise the Lord with all my heart always. Hallelujah. My Lord is good. Hallelujah. My Lord is good. Hallelujah. My Lord is good. He is good to me. Oh, I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter His courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for He has made me glad. He has made me glad. He has made me glad. And I am so glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad. He has made me glad. He has made me glad. And I am so glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad. We want to thank our God for another time again in His presence this first Saturday of the year 2026. We give God all the glory for keeping us through the year 2025 and bringing us into a new year. We give God all the glory. We give God all the praise. We give Him all the honor. We give Him all adoration. Blessed be the name of our God in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to welcome every one of us, everybody joining us today. We who are here physically bringing the program to you, our brethren who are joining us on Telegram, brethren who are joining us on Mixlr, you are all welcome. You are all welcome. As we start this morning, I want to trust the Lord that it will be a time again, a refreshing time in His presence in the name of Jesus Christ. We want to start this morning with an opening prayer. Opening prayer of thanksgiving, thanking the Lord for this time again. Our Father, we are grateful. Our Father, we bless Your name. We give You glory. We give You honor. We give You praise. We give You adoration. We thank You for all that You are to us. We thank You for all who You are to us. We appreciate You, our God. We say blessed be Your name, our Father, in the name of Jesus. Thank You for Your mercies that have kept us through till today. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your steadfast love. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Our God, we are really grateful. We say blessed be Your name, our Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Our Father, we say, Lord our God, for keeping us through the year 2025, we express our thanksgiving. For bringing us into 2026, this first Saturday in 2026, Lord, we express our thanksgiving. We say, Lord, be Thou exalted. Lord, be Thou lifted high. Lord, we worship You. Thank You as we gather unto You again this morning. We say, Lord our God, let it be a time of refreshing, a time of instruction, a time of admonition in our hearts in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray You will enlighten our darkness. You will give us direction. In this word of instruction, this opening word for the year 2026, Lord, You will give us instruction and direction in our hearts. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. What we are doing today with our adolescents who are having their meeting in another venue, and our singles who are joining us on Telegram, on Mixlr, who are also here physically, what we are doing this morning is what we tagged "Opening Words for 2026" or "Instruction for 2026." It is actually opening words for the year. we just felt that in starting today, it would be good that we begin with a opening word. A opening word for 2026, a word that will look more like a word of instruction and direction for us through the year. Like an anchor word for us. Something to act as a guide, something to pay attention to. I believe that as we do this together, the Lord will bless us all in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's begin this way. 2025 was quite eventful. I remember the opening word for 2025, which was: it is God who leads us to profit, and for those who love the Lord, they will experience God in a very different way in 2025. That was the word we had for 2025, that the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9: > "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." What God will do for those who love Him. We saw that for those who love the Lord, it is going to be indeed an experience of what eyes have not seen, what ears have not heard, what has not even entered into the hearts of men. That was it for last year. For this year, we will be looking at something that somehow we started discussing in the discipleship class. For those people who normally join us in the discipleship class. But for those who have not been joining us, there is nothing to worry about. It is going to be a proper time of opening charge that will be comprehensive enough for you to follow us. Now, for people who have not been following us, there is something we have been looking at in the discipleship class, which is the wisdom of God. At some point in looking at the wisdom of God, we came to a point where we raised some fundamental matters, which we said we will continue in 2026. As I began to pray and trust the Lord for what will be the direction or an opening word for our Singles' Club, our Marriage Forum for 2026, the Lord, by the working of the Spirit, began to raise this matter in my heart over and over again. The more the Lord was raising it in my heart, I realized that that is the direction that the Lord intends that we should go. That is why we are going that direction this morning. The direction we are going this morning is trying to look at the reality of our existence. The reality of our human life, the reality of it. We are not going to take so much time to look at that this morning. I am just going to point you to it, and then we see what God will have us to understand about the matter of 2026. Now, in Genesis, let's turn our Bible to Genesis. Look at the book of Genesis, Genesis 1:26-27. The Bible says: > "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over...'" Everything God had created, everything God had earlier created before man was created. The Bible says in verse 27: > "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." That is for Genesis 1:26-27. So, God created man in His image, male and female He created them. By the time we move from this point to Genesis 2, we saw that after God created man, the chapter 2 begins to tell us how man was created. The Bible says in Genesis 2:4: > "This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens..." Before any plant of the field was in the earth, before any herb of the field had grown, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. So, we are trying to see that God did not just speak that let there be man, but God formed a cadaver, what you call a dead body, out of the dust of the ground. Then there was a breath into his nostrils, the breath of life, and man became a living being. His being was living. I want you to note that. He became a living being. His being is to be living. Now, when God did that, the Bible says God planted a garden, and later in Genesis 2:15, it says: > "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." And the Lord commanded the man, saying: > "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." So, we saw that after God made man, God made a place for him to live and God gave a command of what could be eaten. God also gave a command of what should not be eaten, and that if he eats that that should not be eaten, he is going to die. Don't forget he was created a living being, not a dead being. His being was to be living. But the day he will eat that thing, his being will be dead. He will still be, but he will be dead. I want you to get that very clear. His being was to be living. But God said the day you eat of this particular thing, you will die. The reason why I am talking about his being, what that when man eventually ate it in Genesis 3 and man died, his being was there, but he was no more a living being. He was a dead being. He was dead, but being. Now, the importance of that is that you notice that his being, his living being, being, his being living, came by the breath of God. God took a breath into him, and his being became living. Now, God said the day you eat what you ought not to eat, the day I am giving a particular instruction—don't disobey this instruction. If you disobey my instruction, you are going to die. Which means it is going to be a termination of breath. A termination of that breath that entered into him. His being will still be there, but something will no more be there. His living will no more be there. Eventually, we saw that in Genesis 3, as I said, we are going to go straight to it. It is not going to be a very long meeting today. It is just opening words. We may not necessarily take question and answer, except if anybody has a question the person must ask. But it is more of bringing a word of direction for 2026 to us. Something that God is telling us as a ministry, what He is telling us to tell men that note this about 2026. Note this. As we move on, I will come back to that later. In Genesis 3, the Bible says there was a tempter. The tempter tempted the woman. She was deceived into believing that God was deceiving them. God didn't want them to be like God, that if they ate it they would be like God, their eyes would be opened, and all of that. Of course, if they eat it, their eyes will be opened. God did not tell them that. If they eat it, they will become like God, knowing good from evil. That is also true. But the truth is that once their eyes become open, once they become like God knowing good from evil, they will be dead. Satan said they will not die. So, when Satan brought more information—see your eyes will be open, oh see you will become like God—that looked like stepping up for the woman. She was deceived into thinking that God deceived them. God did not give all this information. So, you mean there is even something like that? She wanted to go the way of something like that. But she went the way of something like that and she was dead. Now, when that was taken, of course, Adam was not deceived. Adam disobeyed. The woman was deceived according to scripture, 1 Timothy 2:14. Adam was not deceived; Adam disobeyed. Adam knew this was wrong, and he ought not to eat. But he went ahead to do so because when God was speaking to Adam, He said, "Because you listened to the voice of your wife." That was how punishment came to Adam. But for the woman, God punished the serpent for deceiving the woman. So, we saw something very clear there. Now, we are going somewhere. Opening word, word of instruction for 2026. So, where exactly are we going? Let's enter into chapter 3. In chapter 3, we saw something very instructive. In Genesis 3:20, after all what ought to be done had been done—God was to speak. The Bible says in Genesis 3:20-22: > "And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...'" God sent him out of that garden. Now, I am trying to call your attention to something. From this place, it is clear to us that man was made in the image of God, in the likeness of God, by the breath of God. When man ate the fruit, he became like God knowing good from evil, which means when he was created originally, he was not like God. He was like God in having the image of God and the likeness of God by the breath of God. But he was not like God in the capacity to know good and evil. It was after they ate that fruit that God said, "Man has become like one of Us, knowing good from evil." So, after Genesis 3, man was not in the original state again. In the original state, which was the default setting, the factory setting, man was not like God knowing good from evil. He wasn't like that. It was when sin came in that man now acquired another way of being like God, knowing good from evil. And the implication of that was that man had to be sent away from God. Now, the reality that this pointed to is found in the earlier verses of that chapter when God came into the garden and He was speaking to the two of them. Look at it in Genesis 3:10-11: > "So he said, 'I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.' And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?'" The reality was that when man became like God knowing good from evil, we saw a reality that was different from the earlier realities. Let me explain. After God created man and man was a living being, you notice that the Bible says God made man to name the animals, and whatever he named them, that was the name. When he named, God affirmed it; that was the name. When he was asleep and God created Eve and brought Eve, what did the man say? "This is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She was taken out of man. She will be called woman, because she was taken out of man." What did God say to that? the Bible says God said, in Matthew 19:4, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, "He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'" So, when Adam said, "This is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man," what did God do? God affirmed it also. When he named the animals, God affirmed. When he named it, what did God do again? God affirmed. So, the reality of the life of man was that man, when he was created originally, was capable of knowing things that God was doing. He can see what God is doing, he can hear what God is doing, he can know what God is doing, because the breath of God was in him. So, when the Bible says he was a living being, he was living by the breath of God. God will inspire him, God will breathe to him. It was by that breath, by that inspiration, he had understanding by inspiration. That was his life, that was his reality. But when he ate that fruit, he began to have understanding not by inspiration. That is, he could have understanding not from the inspiration that comes from God. That was why when he said, "I heard your voice and I was afraid because I was naked," God did not affirm. What did God say? God said, "Who told you?" That is, "Wow! Something must have happened to you. Have you eaten of this? It is like you are now dead. You got insight, understanding, but not by inspiration, but by acquired ability. You have acquired an ability. Something is in you that can help you to have insight, that can help you to have understanding, but it is not by inspiration." And so we named this: Acquired Inspiration Deficiency Syndrome. Man entered into another setting. The first setting of man was being living by divine inspiration. When he ate that fruit, he entered into another setting: Acquired Inspiration Deficiency Syndrome. He entered into another setting. It was in that setting that God was saying, "Ah, have you eaten of this? This is a different setting from the original setting." So, what I want you to see about 2026 is that the way God created man originally, man did not need to live by any other thing except by divine inspiration. He was supposed to live by understanding. Whatsoever he understands about anything will come from inspiration. What he understands about life, about living, about marriage, about sex, just pick anything, whatsoever his understanding will be things that God will affirm, that that is the name, because they were coming by that breath of God. They were coming from God. So, what Adam is saying is what God is saying. That was the original thing. But along the line, there was this other one: Acquired Inspiration Deficiency Syndrome. There was a syndrome, a deficiency syndrome. And that is what the Bible refers to in the book of Proverbs 3:5 when the Bible says: > "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Do not live by this deficiency syndrome. You don't need this to live. You don't need that one. Anytime you live by that one, you will be affirming, you will be saying, you will be seeing what God is not seeing. You will be saying what is not from God. You will be in a situation. In fact, when man entered that state, he was dead. When he entered that state, what came to him? Poverty, suffering, death, sickness. It was in the state of acquired inspiration deficiency that man began to suffer all that he is suffering today. If man did not acquire this understanding, man would have been in the abundance and in the program and in the plan of God. That plan of abundance, that plan of dominion, that plan of ruling, that plan of being blessed, that plan of not laboring, that plan of not suffering, that plan of not weeping, he would have been inside that original plan. It was this acquisition of inspiration deficiency, it was that syndrome that brought man into a life of death, a life of shame, a life of disgrace, a life of suffering, a life of sickness, a life of poverty. It was that that brought man into it. So, what are we saying about 2026? I believe what we are saying is getting clearer. What we are saying is coming out to you gradually. The Lord is instructing our heart that if we really want to enjoy abundant life, if we want to enjoy eternal life in 2026, because the reality is this, Jesus said: > "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." That is, Jesus came again to give us what? Inspiration. He came so that we can go back to where our understanding, our insight, comes from what we hear from God, what we receive from God. Inspiration. That is why Jesus said: > "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." So, Jesus came so that we can go back to default. We can go back to factory setting. That is what He came to do. He came to give us life and that life abundantly. That is, He came so that we can be turned back to the factory setting. Jesus came so that we don't live a life of inspiration deficiency syndrome. A life where we lean on our understanding. A life where we are wise in our own eyes, where we begin to plan our life and run our life and think our life. Mind you, look at what Jeremiah told us in Jeremiah 10:23. Something very instructive that the book of Jeremiah makes us to see. Jeremiah chapter 10, verse 23: > "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." May God help you to realize this, that the way of a man is not in himself. The way of a man is not in himself. The way of a man is not in himself. It is very fundamental to realize this. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. I know that the determination of the way of a man is not in himself. It is not in man, even in a strong man or a man at his best to direct his own step. Hallelujah. We are not designed that way. That is not the factory setting. That is not the way God created us. That is not the way we were created. The way we were created is such that we would be able to receive inspiration from God. That's not the way we were created. That's how we should live. Our life should be run by inspiration. That is how our life should be run. You don't need your understanding. You don't need it. Because if we never got this understanding, Adam would have been alive till today. Things would have been fine with Adam. What I mean is that what you need to live a glorious life does not include your understanding. You never needed it to live well. You never needed it. And that is what the Lord is charging us into this 2026. That is what the Lord is instructing us about this 2026, that let us return. Let's return back to the factory setting. Return to factory setting. Be deliberate about it, be intentional about it, that you want to begin to give attention to scriptures. You want to begin to give attention to being led by the Spirit of God. You want to begin to give attention to the breath of God. No wonder the song, "Breathe upon me, breath of God. Breathe upon me, Spirit of the Lord." That is what we need today. That is what you need today. And that is the instruction we are bringing to you. As simple as this, that you cannot take charge of your life. God has plan for you, but you will never enter into this plan if you live a life of inspiration deficiency. And let me tell you as we begin to close this morning, the Bible says it is as many that are led by the Spirit of God that are the sons of God. Anybody who is not led by the Spirit of God is not a child of God. It is those who are led by God's Spirit that are actually children of God. And that is the truth about our life. That's truth about who we are and all that we are. My prayer for you this morning is that may the Lord, in His mercy, cause your life to be broken. Cause you to return back to the factory setting in the name of Jesus. Almighty God, we thank You again for this morning. We give You all praise, we give You all glory and all honor. We appreciate You for all who You are and all that You are. We thank You for Your mercies and for Your love. Our Father, we are committing ourselves as we journey into 2026. Lord, we beg You. Lord, we beg You by the working of Your mighty power, return Your people, return us, return us in every way to the default setting that we were originally in the name of Jesus. Lord, we need You. We need You. We need You continually. We need You continually in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Eternal Father. Blessed be Your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen.