Kept Through Faith 4

[Music plays] [Speaker 1] Churches 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 Tech Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Music ends] [Speaker 2] [static] That is able to overcome whatever. In the Old Testament we saw how this faith stopped the mouths of lions, quenched fire, kingdoms to obtain, women received their dead ones alive. We saw the overcoming faith. It’s an overcoming faith. That faith that Jesus taught in us is the faith that overcomes. Later we saw that God is the shelter in the time of storm. In Psalm 46 where the Bible says God is our present help. God is our refuge, a present help in the time of trouble. So when trouble is there our God is there. In Isaiah 43 he said when you’re in the water I am with you. In the sea it will not overwhelm you. The fire will not burn you and the flame will not kindle against you. We saw that our God is a shelter in time of storm. And then we proceeded. Last week we went further to examine how faith builds. We examined how faith builds. And we saw that faith has eyes and until these eyes are enlightened then there will be no understanding. There cannot be power to operate in this faith until there is an enlightenment of our eyes of understanding which is the eyes of faith. [static ends] And last week I did say that we’re going to look at the relationship between the word of God and this most holy faith this week and that is what we want to look at today. As we are looking at the series "Kept by the Power of God Through Faith," our concern today is the connection between the word of God and this most holy faith. This faith that is handed over to us. We want to look at the connection between the word of God and this most holy faith and I trust the Lord that as we go together this evening it’s going to be a blessed time in His presence in the name of Jesus Christ. Let’s have a word of prayer. Our Father we thank You for this evening again. We appreciate You for Your love and for Your mercies. We thank You as we come into Your presence to look into Your word. Lord the Bible says Paul plants, Apollos waters, but it is the Lord that gives increase. Lord we are asking this hour, give increase oh Lord to this meeting in the name of Jesus. Let Your hand of power oh Lord attend to us. Let Your mercy attend to this fellowship such that Lord there will be seed for the sower and there will be bread for the eaters in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So today we are looking at the relationship between the word of God and our most holy faith. This faith that we have been talking about. What is the connection between the word of God and this faith? And I want us to look at the word of God. If you look at the book of Romans 10, the Bible says "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 thereof says "so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." So you can say that first and foremost we are talking about faith, we are talking about the word of God. Faith comes. How does it come? It comes by hearing. So when you hear nothing faith cannot come. When nothing is heard nothing can come. If what you are hearing is not the word of God then what will come will not be faith. What may come may be doubt. You remember what happened to Jairus in that episode. Immediately the daughter died they came to announce to him "don’t disturb the master, the girl as at now, as the girl is dead so don’t bother to come, don’t bother to call Jesus." Now that was a report and as that report came Jesus quickly responded back to Jairus. He said "don’t be afraid, only believe." So you noticed that for the faith of Jairus to be in place he heard something. Jesus said "don’t be afraid." So faith comes by hearing God’s word. If a man does not hear, if the word of God does not come to a man faith cannot come. That's the first thing I want you to see. So I’m trying to make you see that there is a direct relationship between a man’s faith and the coming or the hearing of the word of God. We proceed further. I want you to look at something again in John chapter 20. The book of John chapter 20, that’s the episode of the resurrection morning when Jesus had resurrected and Mary Magdalene was at the tomb. I read John 20 from verse 1. "Now 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. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter to the other disciples whom Jesus loved and said to them 'they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb. We do not know where they have laid him.'" "Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together and the other disciple outran and came to the tomb first. He stooping down and looking in saw the linen clothes lying there but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen clothes lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head not lying with the linen clothes 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 believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead." I’m trying to show you something about faith. Faith, if your faith must grow, if you must operate this faith, you should be able to exercise faith. We are looking at the relationship between developing our faith and the word of God. Now I want you to look at this episode very closely. That morning which was the resurrection morning, Jesus had resurrected. Mary Magdalene, what brought her to the tomb was to come and anoint the body of Jesus with perfume. But on getting there she noticed that wow there is a great change. What was the change that she noticed? She noticed that the tomb, the stone that was used to cover the tomb had been taken away. And so she knew something had happened. She knew something must have happened. If that stone had been taken away something must have happened. So she ran to meet the elders as a young disciple. She ran to meet the elders seeking for explanation. And then she came to Peter and she reported "they have taken away the body of the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him." So the report she brought to Peter was that Jesus' body had been taken away and there is a need for them maybe to organize a search party or something to look for the body so that they can quickly know where to search the body and know what to do. So surprised at the information, who could have taken away the stone, what must have happened, oh Peter and the other disciples quickly they started heading towards the tomb. When they got there of course what they met was exactly what Mary Magdalene reported. They saw that yes the stone had been taken away, the tomb was open so they went in. And of course when they went in they didn't see the body of Jesus. The body was not there. They only saw elements, the clothes here and there that shows that wow the body had been taken away. The clothes around his body were still there. And so the Bible recorded, I want you to note what the Bible says. It says "then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture." Now I want you to note that the Bible did not say "for as yet he did not know the scripture." The Bible says "for as yet they did not know the scripture." That is verse 9 of John chapter 20. It says "for as yet they did not know the scripture" that is Peter alongside with the disciple. The two of them, both the elder and the young person that came with him. The Bible says "they as yet did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead." So the Bible says "they believed." What did they believe? They believed the report of Mary Magdalene that the body of Jesus had been taken away. Mind you what actually happened was that Jesus had resurrected. But you can see that their wrong belief, their inability to know the truth, to believe the truth, to work in the frequency of God, to follow God and understand what God is doing, the Bible attributed it to their ignorance of the scripture. The Bible says "for as yet they did not know the scripture." I want to tell you that when you don’t know the scripture you become a victim of wrong belief. You become a victim that can believe wrong reports. You become an individual that can believe traditions, they can believe any kind of thing. You can walk by wrong belief, by wrong faith, by wrong expression. Peter as an elder, a man who have walked with Jesus for close to three and a half years, a man who have been with Jesus, you can see what the Bible is telling us here. The Bible says Peter and the disciples they believed. They believed that Jesus was stolen when actually what had happened is that God had done something powerful. God had done something great. A miracle has taken place. Resurrection, redemption has started. Something great has proceeded from God. The power of resurrection and Jesus is alive as at this time and heaven is rejoicing that salvation, redemption has come to man. Some people were somewhere believing that his body had been stolen. Why? Because they were ignorant of scripture. The Bible says they did not know the scripture. And one serious thing that is bewitching the church today is that people don’t know the scriptures. People don’t spend time with the scriptures. People don’t take time to sit with the word of God. People don’t take time to sit by the word of God. People don’t take time to study the scripture. People don’t spend time to engage the word of God personally, consistently, continually, intimately. And so what happens most of the time is that you see people believing all kinds of things. You can see almighty Peter or you can say the great brother Peter, look at what he was believing. He was believing that the body of Jesus had been stolen. And I see many people today they see something, they say "you see what I saw in that place made me to believe. You see if you know what happened you know you see and all of all this kind of thing." And so the report of God they cannot believe. Why? Because they did not know the scripture. What I’m discussing this evening with you is the relationship between the scripture, the word of God and our most holy faith. We cannot build faith where we are ignorant of scripture. We cannot build faith if we don’t spend time with scripture. We cannot build faith where we don’t engage the word of God. We cannot build faith if we ignore spending hours, the sacrifice of staying by scripture, of engaging scripture. If we don’t go into that discipline then you will remain in unbelief. Or if at all you believe you will not believe the truth. You will believe several other things but not the truth. Scripture is the basis of the truth. Now we move on. We are looking at various scriptures just to establish the relationship between the word of God and our most holy faith. And I want to take you to Luke 24. That was the chapter we read last week Monday in the series. So this time I want us to go and take it from verse 13. Luke 24 from verse 13. Please I want to plead with you make sure your Bible is with you. Make sure you are checking this word of God with me just like the Berean Christian. Make sure that you are engaging yourself in looking at this matter. Open the Bible and let’s look at these things together so that we can be sure we are moving on in this matter that we are looking at together. Luke 24 from verse 13. That was the story of Jesus and the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. This is also after the resurrection. I’m just trying to show you some important things about our redemption. The resurrection mark the beginning of our redemption. And you see that at the foundation of the redemption men began to believe wrong things because they did not know the scripture. And so today too if we must lay correct foundation for this redemption we must not be ignorant of scripture. Look at another episode again about this foundation of our redemption, the resurrection. From verse 13, the whole story began from Luke 24 from verse 1. That episode, verse 1 to 12, recalled the story of Peter that we read in John 20. So I would not want to take that again but you can read that up yourself verse 1 to 12. You will see how Mary Magdalene came and Peter went to the tomb and all of that. But from verse 13 we are looking at another episode about the resurrection. "Now behold two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. They talked together of all these things which had happened." They were discussing the death of Jesus, the suffering of Jesus, his crucifixion and all of that. They were discussing those things together. "As it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But the scripture says but their eyes were restrained. Their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him." So by some divine provision, by some divine hand God made them not to recognize Jesus. Now verse 17, so Jesus was speaking with them now. "And he said to them 'what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?' Then one of them whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him 'are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Have you not known the things which have happened here in these days?'" They were wondering that Jesus was asking such a question looking at the magnitude of what have happened Friday on Friday and all the incident that it was an episode that the whole town was aware of. So they were wondering who is this stranger? The mighty Jesus, the messiah, the savior had been crucified and you are telling us that you don’t know what we are talking about. Are you a stranger only in Jerusalem? Have you not known the thing which have happened in these days? "And he said to them 'what things?' So they said to him 'the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priest and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed beside all this today is the third day since these things happened. Yes and certain women of our company'" talking about Mary Magdalene, the episode we just made reference to in John 20, "'who arrived at the tomb early astonished us.'" You can see that they were astonished. The report of the women, of Mary Magdalene astonished them because if you read that story further in John 20 later Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after Peter and the other disciple left. "Now they say they astonished us. When they did not find his body they came saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and find it just as the women had said but him they did not see." Look at the response of Jesus. "Then Jesus said to them 'oh foolish ones.'" I pray you will not be a foolish person. My prayer is that you will not be a foolish person. My prayer is that I will not be a foolish person. Don’t be foolish in this generation. There is so much foolishness in the land today. There is so much foolishness in the church today. There are so many things that look that look like truth but actually they are not. There are so many things that look spiritual but actually are mere religious religious rite. I pray you will not be foolish and that I will not be foolish. Concerning the matter of our salvation the Bible says we must be wise unto salvation. We will not be among the foolish virgins. We will be among the wise ones. The wise ones that are discerning and that will make it. May we be among those ones. May we not be foolish. Look at the first statement of Jesus. "Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophet have spoken." Are you seeing something again? What according to Jesus, please I want you to bear in mind that the person talking now is the resurrected Jesus. We are talking about the resurrected Jesus. He wanted to prove a point to his disciples. When he got to them he did not allow them to recognize him. Instead what he did was to rebuke them along a particular line and that is the line we are considering. He said "oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophet have spoken." That is the scripture. "Ought not the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" Verse 27, "and beginning at Moses," that is Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, "beginning from Moses and all the prophet," Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Daniel, just mention them, "and all the prophet he expounded to them in all the scripture the things concerning himself." Beloved you are listening to me. We are looking at Jesus because he is the one who left an example for us that we should follow in his step. I normally say we only have one savior and that savior is Jesus Christ. In the real sense of it there is only one shepherd, all others are sheep. Jesus is the bishop of our soul. He is our perfect example. He is the Lord. He is the only savior. He is the one who died that we might live. Nobody else is our savior. Jesus is our savior. We are looking at the approach, the engagement of Jesus with the disciples. And I’m trying to draw important and vital lessons for our Christian faith. And I want you to pay serious attention to this. This is not something that somebody was relating about Jesus. This is Jesus engaging his disciples himself. And I pray for you today may the Lord engage you personally. May the Lord engage you personally. May it please the Lord to engage you as an individual personally. Because the one major issue today is that personal, passionate, consistent, intense and continuous fellowship with Jesus is lacking in the body of Christ. What we have today are people who are very active in our churches. People who are here and there, so popular in our churches but they are stranger to the God of the church. What we have today are men who are in God’s business but who don’t have any personal business with God. Several people are in the business of God today but they don’t have any personal business with God. So they are strangers to God. And so you have all kinds of things happening inside the church. Look at this personal engagement between Jesus and these disciples. Now first I want you to consider this. Jesus as at this time had resurrected. He approached the disciples. Please ordinary common sense will tell you that the easiest way for Jesus to prove that "look I am risen, I am no more dead, I am alive, I’ve resurrected, look at me it is me," the best way to do it with these people is not to restrain their eyes from recognizing him. The best way to do it is to make them to quickly recognize him. They say "hey Jesus, wow so you have resurrected, hallelujah!" You know that looks great. But that was not the pattern that the Lord followed. You will agree with me that the easiest way would have been to make them recognize him. That is why I keep telling people the same thing Jesus told Thomas. When Jesus told Thomas, when Thomas said "except I put my hand in your side and I put my hand in the hole in your hand I will not believe, I will not believe." Of course Jesus gave him that offer. But Jesus told him "blessed are those who did not see but believe." Sign is not for believers, it’s for unbelievers. We are looking for sign. Sign of an angel, sign of this, sign of that, sign of that instead of men engaging and burying their life in scripture that they may have life. People are busy hearing here and there looking for sign. And of course there are several several solution centers today that are not salvation centers. That offer solution but not salvation. But I believe that the greatest thing you can offer a man is primarily his salvation. Other things follows later. I want you to look at this matter. Jesus did not want to engage them by sign. He wasn’t interested in sign. He didn't want to engage them by sign that is make them recognize him. Rather he want to engage them by faith. He wanted them to believe. There is a need to believe scripture. There is a need to agree with scripture. There is a need to know scripture. There is a need to go into scripture. There is a need to bury our life in scripture. There is a need to know what has been written. So you see the manner in which Jesus engaged these men. He restrained their eyes from recognizing him. This is not a time for sign. And so the next thing you see is that he began with the scripture. Now I want you to realize that they did not recognize him. So Jesus, do you understand what is going on here? The risen Lord was making men to know that actually resurrection has taken place by the scripture. This is the risen Lord. The risen Lord took the scripture and he was pointing the scripture to them. "Look at what Moses said. Look at what Isaiah said. Look at what this said. Are you not a fool if you don’t believe this? Are you not foolish for ignoring this? Are you not foolish for ignoring this?" He began to open their eyes. He was opening their eyes into scripture. He was showing them one by one engaging them with scriptures. And that is why I must tell you this. If anybody want to show you Jesus outside scripture, it is not the Jesus that resurrected that that person want to show you. I’m showing you that even the risen Lord in making himself known, he was making himself known by scriptures. In revealing himself he was taking he was, ordinary he should have just said "look at me," you should have said "look at me I am risen." But no, he restrained their eyes. And he was saying the correct way for you to know that I am risen is not by sign, it is by scriptures. And I’m telling you brothers, sister that is listening to me, the correct way to engage Jesus is by scriptures. The correct way to know Jesus is by scriptures. The correct way to walk in the truth is by scriptures. It’s not by signs, it’s by scriptures. This most holy faith is nothing other than the scripture. I put it this way for you. In Ephesians Apostle Paul said something. He said "the church is founded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophet, Jesus being the chief cornerstone." The church is founded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophet, Jesus being the chief cornerstone. You know what that means? What that simply means is what the prophet prophesied, what they said will happen was what Jesus came to fulfill. And when it was fulfilled the apostle only went to tell people that what the prophet said had been fulfilled. So in other words if Jesus did not fulfill what the prophet said it means the prophecy of the prophet were not from God. Number two, if Jesus did not fulfill what the prophet said then the message of the apostle is a lie because they were saying that what the prophet prophesied had been fulfilled. So Jesus is the chief cornerstone. What it means is that Jesus, this man Jesus, our Lord Jesus, he is simply what the prophet prophesied and what the apostle preached. The prophet prophesied that a messiah is coming and he will die. The apostles preached that the messiah have come, he died and he resurrected. So what you are calling Jesus, the embodiment of Jesus is just the word of God that was prophesied, fulfilled and preached. That is why if you look at the book of John chapter 1 verse 1 to 4, the Bible says "in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was nothing made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men." I want you to go to that place quickly. I want us to go to that place because I will still come back to that Luke 24 that we were considering. But I want to show you something in that John chapter 1 that I want to call your attention to very quickly. It says "in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was nothing made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men." I will come to the matter of light much more later. That's where we are going. The life, in him was life. Please note something. "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God." In other words a man is equal to his word. God is his word and the word of God is God. "He was in the beginning with God." Do you notice that the Word that was made reference to in the verse 1 became he in the verse 2? The Bible did not say "it was in the beginning." The Bible says "he was in the beginning." So that Word became he. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was nothing made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines into darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. I’m showing you something, a connection. Maybe I should use this simple illustration. There was this incident between me and some of my student. I gave them two three questions for them to attend the question. But somehow the instruction to the question was missing on the question paper. So I went on the board and I wrote on the board that "answer so so number of question. Answer question one and any other two question." So the test went on and everything. By the end of the whole thing I noticed that just about I think about three or four student did not write did not answer question one although they attempted three question. So I invited them. I said "ah what happened for the assessment that I was trying to give you, you didn't answer question one." They said I didn't say anything about question one. That nothing was said about question one. I said "ah but I went and I wrote on the board that answer question one and any other question." Oh they said somehow they did not really take it seriously because it was just written, I didn't say it. That they did not really take it that serious because I did not I did not speak, I didn't say something. If maybe if I had said that "look answer question one" they would have taken it that serious, so somehow they took it lightly and all of that. And I simply told them that they have not done well. Now if you look at their answer, naturally you will look at those student that these student must be foolish. Why? Because what I wrote on the board is the same thing. It is just the same thing. If I had also said "answer question one," my writing it on the board and my saying it they are equal. I’m trying to make you understand something about the word of God. The word of God. A man is equal to his word. A man is not less than his word. A man is equal to the word and I pray that your life will encounter the word of God in the name of Jesus. We are looking at the risen Lord engaging his disciples in Luke 24 and by scripture convincing them about himself that he is risen. And today I’m telling you that that same risen Lord is still doing the same thing. If the risen Lord want to convince you about anything about your redemption, anything about your salvation, anything about himself, anything about the work of grace that has been done for you, that risen Lord is going to do it for you by convincing you, by taking you through what the prophet have said, what the apostle preached, he is going to take you through the scripture. The connection between our most holy faith and the scriptures. That is the focus of our discussion. And so if you want to grow, if you want to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord, if you want to increase in faith it is not outside the scripture. It is not outside the scripture. It is by an encounter with the word of God. The way those men encountered the word of God. Look at what the Bible said in that place in that Luke 24. I want to leave that place quickly and we move on. But look at something there just before we leave that place. Luke 24, look at that scriptures again. It says "oh fools and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophet have spoken. Ought not the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophet he expounded to them in all the scripture the things concerning himself." The next thing, they drew near to the village where they were going and he indicated that he would he would go further. He would have gone further. But they constrained him saying "abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is far spent." And he went in to stay with them. "Now it came to pass as he sat at the table with them that he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another 'did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the scriptures to us?'" What I just want to point your attention to in this place is that "it came to pass as he sat at the table with them." I just want to offer a prophetic word of prayer based on the word of God here. "It came to pass as he sat at the table with them." I pray for your life and I’m also praying for myself that on a daily basis may the Lord sit at the table with you. May your engagement with scripture be a sitting with the Lord. The Bible says he came to pass as he sat at the table with them. Except the Lord sits at your table what you will have from scripture is Bible knowledge not the knowledge of the truth. I’ve explained that last week. You can have a sound knowledge of the Bible but you may not know God. That is why you can find a professor of theology may not know salvation. A student of the Bible may not know Jesus and the salvation and redemption that is in Jesus because what he has is Bible knowledge. Bible knowledge is a different thing from the truth. The truth is a personal encounter with a person. Jesus is the truth. Until you encounter Jesus what you have from the Bible is Bible knowledge. Jesus is the truth. It is a personal encounter with a person that is the truth. Yet to encounter this truth is in the scripture. I’m showing you a connection, a relationship, an intersection that cannot be separated. But I’m also showing you a thin line that there is a difference between Bible knowledge and the knowledge of the truth. For you to encounter truth, a truth that changes, a truth that burns in your heart. Look at what they said. They said "did not our heart burn within us?" If you will not remain ordinary, if you will become a burning and a shining light something will burn out of your life to be a shining light for your generation. If you will become a lamp that is set upon its stand that can give light to your generation. If you must be a burning and a shining light like John the Baptist in your own generation. If the truth of God must burn within you just like Jeremiah said. He said "his word in me was like fire in my bones." If the word of God must become fire in your bones it will not be ordinary theology. Ordinary theology, ordinary going to church and learning some Bible lesson. Ordinary going to church and doing what we call CRS. Ordinary going to fellowship and learning Bible. If it’s going to be a burning and a shining light, if it’s going to be something that will burn within you, something that will change your story, something that will make you extraordinary, something that will make you somebody that can march forth, march through fire, march through storm, conquer nation, conquer kingdom. If the word of God must do that for your life then it must be that through an encounter with Jesus. And that is why the Bible says Jesus himself said "except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." And he said "except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter." There must be this encounter with Jesus. Jesus said "that which is born of the spirit is spirit, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is spirit." It is an encounter with a person. Truth is not head knowledge. Truth is not intelligence. Truth is not philosophy. Truth is a person. And until you encounter that person you don’t know the truth even though you may know the Bible. That's what I’m showing you. So it came to pass that he sat at the table with them. May the Lord sit at the table with you. May the Lord sit at the table with you. May it happen that in our churches the Lord in his mercy will begin to sit with believers, with Christians, with children of God at their tables. May it be an encounter with Jesus so that the church can experience a revival and not just religiosity. What you find today is religiosity. People who are just merely religious. Merely religious. And you see you see people who have what Paul described. He said that they deny the power even though they have this element, this sign of the truth, this sign of religion but the power thereof is not there. The power of the gospel, the power of the kingdom, the reality of the kingdom of God is the person of Jesus. Until he is there, until he speaks, until he is there, until he is with you, until he is in you, until he is revealed in you you cannot have the power of the kingdom. That is why the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 from verse 15 downward, the Bible says "the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. The Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty." It is where that spirit is, it is where the Lord is, it is where he is that there is liberty. Liberty to serve the Lord. Liberty to live above sin. Liberty to conquer the devil. Liberty to make the kings. Liberty to rule. Liberty to conquer kingdoms and nation. Liberty to establish the kingdom of God. Liberty to live for God. But where the Lord is not present and where his spirit is not present there cannot be liberty. That is why you find people inside the church today who cannot live in the liberty of righteousness, who cannot walk in righteousness, who cannot live the liberty of the truth, who cannot serve the Lord acceptably. You find people who compromise the faith. You find people who check our offices today. Many people are described as Christians. What they live in their offices is not the Christian life. They are not different from the fellow Muslim. They are not different from fellow unbeliever. They are not different from fellow other colleagues who are not of the faith. They are not different from atheists. Why? Because the power of the kingdom that is the person of Jesus, Jesus have not sat at their table. And I’m praying for you, I’m praying for you, I’m asking the Lord specially that God oh Lord have mercy on your church. Have mercy on your church. Begin to sit at our table that as you break this bread for us our eyes might be opened. The Bible says he sat at the table with them and he took bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them then their eyes were opened. That is the mystery of it. Jesus must bless that bread. Jesus must break that bread. Jesus must give the bread. He must break it, he must bless it, he must break it, he must give it. If he is not blessing it, if he’s not breaking it and he’s not giving it what you will have is head knowledge. What you will have is just Bible knowledge. You will not know the truth, you will not have the power, the power of the kingdom. Jesus is the power of God’s kingdom and encounter with him establishes power in us and through us. The Bible says it is God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Paul said "I strive according to his mighty power that works in me mightily." Nobody can strive, nobody can walk the work of God without God. The connection between the scripture and our most holy faith. The scripture and our most holy faith. You see that the risen Lord in encountering these disciples, in engaging them he engaged them by scripture. He engaged them by scripture. What is the quality of time you spend with scriptures? You want the Lord to engage you but you don’t engage scripture. The first thing is that you must bury your life in scriptures. We will get there as we get along. We talk more about this as we get along. It’s good for you to know that. Look at John chapter 6 verse 63. Still talking about the person of the Lord Jesus in all of this matter. John 6:63, look at the word of God here. Look at what the Lord Jesus said again. This is the Lord speaking himself. He said "it is the spirit who gives life. Flesh profits nothing." Are you following me? "It is the spirit who gives life. Flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life." "It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you they are spirit and they are life." If you are familiar with John 10:10, Jesus said "the thief cometh not but to steal, to kill and to destroy. But I have come that they may have life and that life abundantly." That was the word of Jesus. "The thief cometh not but to steal, to kill and to destroy but I have come that they may have life and have that life abundantly." Now look at the connection. Flesh and blood profits nothing. It’s not as if it profits at all. It profits nothing. When it come to the matter of life flesh and blood profits nothing. It is the spirit that gives life. Then the word that I speak to you they are spirit and they are life. Now Jesus come, the coming of Jesus, Jesus came so that we can have life. Is that not? He came so that we can have life. He said you can have it abundantly. That was why he died and resurrected. Now he’s saying that the word that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life. Now connect it with John 10:10. If Jesus came so that we can have life and have it abundantly how will we have it? The word that I speak to you. It means it is as Jesus speaks to us that we have life. If he’s not speaking to you there is no life in you. It is as Jesus speaks. It is as you encounter Jesus in his word. You encounter him in scripture just like those disciples. As he was speaking to them they were having life in them. It is the word that he speaks that is life. Look at the word of God again. We are looking at the word of God and the building of this most holy faith. The need for us to rise above religiosity. I was reading I was reading I was reading something recently. A friend posted something, posted something on WhatsApp and I said to a large extent although the reference was about Nigeria but the truth for me is that anywhere anywhere man is, anywhere sin is, that’s the reality of it. What he posted, I want to read from here. He posted he said "it is in Africa people will begin every meeting with prayer. They will tell lies through the meeting, quarrel and even fight and at the end they will still pray." The person trying to display the kind of what we call religion today, what we call Christianity today. What you call religion. That it is in Africa but the truth is that anywhere Jesus is absent this will be the reality of the thing. The problem is that what is described as Christianity is just religiosity. It’s not different from any other any other religious thing. It’s not different. It’s not different from any other religion just like a philosophy. Some have the philosophy about Jesus, some have about this, about that, about that. Any kind of philosophy you want to have but they did not encounter the person of Jesus. Why? The life is not there. They cannot live the life. He has come to give life. He came to give life. But that life, it is the word that he speaks to you that are spirit and they are life. If there’s this no personal one-on-one encounter on a daily basis with him you have no life in you. What you have in you is just religious stuff. And then you will be professing the religion but your life will be contrary to what you are professing and that is the situation in Nigeria today. That’s why so many things are said said about Nigerian Christians but the reality is not about Nigeria. The reality is a global thing. Anywhere you find religion without Jesus you will find the same thing. So it’s not a Nigerian problem. It’s not a Nigerian issue. It’s just that the prevalence, the magnitude, the trend and the dimension in Nigeria where we live because we see it daily here, we see it around us. If you leave this place, this country and go to some other countries where Jesus is not present you will still find that men cannot live the life of God. The word of God and our most holy faith. Encounter with Jesus through the scripture. I’m talking about how we can grow in grace because that is our concern today. If you don’t grow in grace you will fail. Grace is the only thing, growth in grace and the knowledge of the Lord is the only thing that can help us to survive at this end time. Everything is failing and they will continue to fail. I’ve told you two weeks ago that the earth have been programmed to fail. It has it is the design of God. It has been reserved for fire. So it is going towards a destruction. No power can hold it back because it is the almighty power that is pushing it steadily slowly but steadily towards an expiration. So it is moving towards expiring. Nobody can pull it back from that expiration. Nothing no government, no institution, no scientist, nobody can bring it back because the Bible says he sustains, he maintains, he upholds, he propels the universe by the word of his power. And the Bible says the earth is reserved for fire. So it is going towards its expiration. So if your trust is anything in the system then you will fail. Your trust, your hope must go beyond what is in the system. It must go to that seeing the invisible. And I’m talking about seeing Jesus in the scriptures. I’m talking about encountering Jesus in the scriptures. I’m not talking about looking for sign here and there. I’m talking about encountering Jesus in his word, in the word of the scriptures. If you look at other passage of the scripture, look at what the Bible says about the word of God. I want you to go with me to the book of Psalms now. I want us to look at Psalm 19:1-11, Psalm 119 and some verses there, then Psalm 105, Psalm 107 and Psalm 111. I want to check something there. This what we have been discussing, I want to compare scriptures with scriptures. Now if you look at Psalm 19:1-11, Psalm 19:1-11. He says "the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. The line has gone out through the earth and their word to the end of the world. In them he has set a tabernacle for the sun which is like a bridegroom coming out of the chamber and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of the heaven and its circle to the other end and there is nothing hidden from its heat." Talking about the sun. But please don’t forget that the Bible says in Psalm 84 that our God is a sun. What he's trying to make you see in this place is that there’s nothing hidden from him with whom we have to deal. Nothing is hidden. If you look at Hebrews 4:12 you find it there. There is nothing hidden before this God. There is nothing hidden to this God that is the word. Because the word of God is God and God is his word. There is nothing hidden from him. Now on account of that look at what the Bible says in verse 7. "The law of God is perfect converting the soul. The law of God is perfect converting the soul." I don’t know where your soul is today. I don’t know the nature, something in your soul that remains adamant, that remains there and you are wondering how do I deal with this thing in my soul. See what the Bible says. It says "the law of God is perfect converting the soul." The law, the word of God can convert. It can convert a soul, it can regenerate a soul. It says "the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple." The word of God can deal with our foolishness. Scriptures can handle our foolishness. Everywhere it looks like you are foolish, everywhere it looks like you are not wise you don’t know how best to handle things, you don’t know which way to handle them. The Bible says "the testimony of the Lord is sure they make wise the simple." Everywhere you have been a victim you could not display the power of God. The way God will do that is by his testimony. If God want to take away from you foolishness and give you wisdom it is by his testimony. It says "the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple." It is the testimony if God want to make you wise it’s by his testimony. If God want to convert your soul it is by his word. It says "the statues of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart." That is why you can see Apostle Paul. He said "we also rejoice in tribulation knowing that tribulation worketh patience." You will be wondering how can these people how were they thrown into prison, Paul and Silas. They were inside prison thrown into prison and they did not know not knowing what will follow. And what will follow immediately was dancing and singing. "God na elele, hey, God na waya o. God na elele, hey, God na waya o. Nobody be like am, nobody dey like am." They were just singing. They were just dancing. They were just praising God. If you take some believers today and you throw them inside prison on account even on account of the truth do you think the next thing will be dancing and singing? Look at what we have today. Look at it vis-à-vis the foundation of the church. The Bible says "the church is founded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophet." Look at the foundation of our faith. Look at where we are today. Look at the extent of deviation from the church, from the truth, from our foundation. These men they were in tribulation, they were beaten, thoroughly beaten and thrown into prison and the next thing that came out of them was what? Dancing and rejoicing and praising God. And these men could say "all I know you are always there for me. Almighty God you are my all in all. No matter what I face, when trouble comes my way I will praise your name." Trouble came their way and they were praising. But what have we done today? When success come my way, when marriage come my way, when new car comes my way, when building comes my way then I will praise. What of when trouble comes? And what are we doing today when trouble comes? We deny the Lord. When challenges come we deny him. When challenges look challenges in the office, challenges here and there, in our offices, in our career, in our businesses quickly we deny Jesus. Is that not why they are describing Nigerian Christians as Christians who cannot represent God? But I pray today there will begin to be a revival in the name of Jesus. A revival will break forth in the body of Christ. And in this nation men will arise that can stand in the faith, that can stand for the truth, that can properly represent Jesus in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. A time will come when this religiosity will be overthrown and faith, men solid, men built on this most holy faith will stand upon the surface of the head and they will represent Jesus before fire, before flame, before anything they will represent him just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Just like these three Hebrew boys who stood before the king and said "look we don’t care, if you want to kill us kill us. What we are saying is that we will not bow." Such men will arise. Such men will arise. Young men will arise, old men will arise, women will arise, men will arise that are like this in the name of Jesus. Enough of enough of this compromising thing all around us. May you be enough of all these compromising thing all around us. But what is the, I’m showing you the secret of these men, of the apostles. Something something something was happening inside them. There was an encounter. The Bible says "the commandment, the statues of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart." They have encountered the word of God and they are rejoicing. Has nothing to do with the environment. It’s not about things that are happening. It is not about the happenings. So they were not just men that are happy. Happy coming from the word happenings. When good things are happening around you then you are rejoicing, you are dancing. So that is happiness. But they were joyful men. They were men that were rejoicing. They were just rejoicing the rejoicing. They were rejoicing because the joy was full inside them. What made the joy to be there is the statues of the Lord. The Bible says "the statues of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart." Why you cannot rejoice is that his statues are not in your heart. His statues are not in your heart. The statues of the Lord they are right. They cause the heart to rejoice regardless of the external environment. That is why Jesus said "peace I give unto you not like the word gives. In the word you have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world." It is possible for a man to be in joy, to be in joy despite tribulation and trouble all around. Is that not what James said in James chapter 1? Is that not what James said in James chapter 1? James chapter 1, if you look at that scripture please go there check go there let’s quickly just quickly get to that place. We will be back again to Psalm 19 that we are looking at. Look at James chapter 1. Look at what the Bible says in James chapter 1. Look at what Apostle James said about trouble. He said "dear brothers and sisters," I’m reading from the NLT translation, he said "dear brothers and sisters when trouble come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy." What makes these men to be like this? These men can say "when trouble comes my way I will praise your name." The reason why they can do that and they are not afraid is because the statues of the Lord is in them. There is a burning, there is a burning within them. There is an engagement with Jesus that make the statues of the Lord to cause rejoicing in their heart. He said "dear brothers and sisters when trouble comes your way consider it an opportunity for great joy." Do we consider trouble today an opportunity for great joy? We don’t. We don’t even believe that all things work together for good. What we seem to display today is that all good things work together for good. It is not all things. Go and check please check your heart. Check your belief. Check your belief vis-à-vis the word of God. It will make you to know the extent of engagement you have with Jesus. It will make you to know the extent of engagement you have with scriptures. This most holy faith is built on the scripture, Jesus being the chief cornerstone. This most holy faith is built on the scripture. But we are not talking of about Bible knowledge, we are talking of the truth, encounter with the person of Jesus. The word of God, we are looking at the word of God. He says "the statues of the Lord are right rejoicing the heart." We are back to Psalm 19 where we where we were considering. He said "oh fools and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophet have spoken. Ought not the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophet he expounded to them in all the scripture the things concerning himself." The next thing we find there, he says "the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes." Are you seeing something? It’s not talking about your physical eyes. It’s talking about the eyes of faith. I told you last week that faith has eyes. I told you last week that faith has eyes. That eyes, this these eyes of faith, the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes. It enlightens the eyes. It enlightens the eyes. The commandment, the commandment, the commandment, this book of the Lord, this word of God it enlightens the eyes. Our eyes can never be enlightened without the commandment. It is the commandment that enlightens the eyes. And I’ve shown you how that’s happened. An engagement with Jesus in this commandment. Look at what he did with his disciples. An engagement with them enlightening their eyes, enlightening their eyes one by one. He took them through through through Genesis, through Exodus, enlightening their eyes showing them showing them. May that become your experience in the name of Jesus. May your eyes be enlightened. Look at the next thing we find there. It says "the fear of the Lord is clean enduring forever." The fear of the Lord is clean enduring forever. I’m showing you the practical effect of the word of God in the life of a man. It says "the judgment of the Lord they are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired than gold, yea more than fine gold, sweeter than honey and honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward." If you must be warned about about things to come, about things around you, if you must be warned, if you must be directed, if you must stay, if you must be stable. You can never be stable you can never be stable without the word of God. Stability is by the word of God. What endure forever is the fear of God. The fear of God, the fear of God. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. What endures is the fear of God is clean enduring forever. If you want to see a man that will endure time, a man that will be stable consistently stable, look at Daniel. That man served several kings from young age he went on and on and on serving them like that on and on. He was a man of the fear of God. He endured. Look at what David said about about this. He said in Psalm 37:37 he said "mark the perfect man, behold the upright, the end of that man is peace." But you remove the fear of God, what happens to you? You will be cut short. You cannot last. He’s talking about the word of God, the judgment of God. He says "by these your servant are warned." If you look if you look at life today why can’t you be warned, why can’t you be checked, why can’t you be cautioned, why can’t you be reproved, why can’t you be warned? Why can't God why can't God warn you about impending danger? Why is it that you run into danger why why so many things are happening around you today? It’s because you cannot be warned. What brings about warning is by the word of God. He says "moreover your servant is warned and in keeping them there is great reward." In keeping them there is great reward. Turn your Bible again turn your Bible to Psalm 119. Psalm 119 verse let’s look at verse 9, verse 11. These are very popular scripture. I believe any majority of Christians can quote that scripture offhand. Psalm 119 verse 9 and verse 11. "How can a young man cleanse his way but by taking heed according to your word?" Do you see that you cannot you cannot achieve holiness without scripture? This most holy faith is by scriptures. How can a young man make his way pure? How can a young man overcome masturbation? How can a young man overcome pornography? How can a young man overcome lust? How can young people today overcome immorality? How can they how will they how will they do it? What is the way to it? How can they overcome youthful lust? How can they handle it? What would they do? There are no two ways to it. There’s just one way to it. He say "how can a young man cleanse his way say by taking heed according to your word?" I’m showing you. You are talking about oh holiness, oh I want to live a holy life, I want to live a pure life, I want to do this, I want to overcome this, I want to overcome that. All those things that are happening to you, that thing that you are struggling with, maybe masturbation, maybe fornication, maybe whatever, just mention them, maybe pornography, just mention anything you may be struggling with that is defiling your Christianity. I am telling you it is because the word of God have not become a fire in your bone. When you encounter the fire of the word of God, the burning of that word of God, you encounter the spirit of the word of God you will discover that flesh and blood can profit nothing but the spirit can give life. You encounter the power of the kingdom how? By the word of God. Jesus engaged his disciples in the word of God to make them men of this most holy faith. Look at the next verse, verse 11 talking about talking about sin. How will I overcome sin, how do I conquer sin? Oh the Bible says "your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." Your word have I hidden. When the word become a a burning and a shining light within your spirit. When it is burning in the inside of you. It’s not talking about just Bible knowledge. It’s not talking about oh I remember oh think back think back. I believe you can think back. Some of some of you know look at sometimes in your secondary school days or maybe now you are still in secondary school but think back your secondary school days or some some times back when you have you know someone someone to teach you CRS. Think back to some of these things. You find that the man the man or the woman teaching you CRS, him himself is having various struggle with sin. You find sometimes your so-called CRS teacher is the one that you will find sometimes telling lie to you this and you may even find some of these teachers sometimes teaching enlightening their student. So what what is the whole essence of the CRS? I’m not talking about moral I’m not talking about moral lessons. I’m not saying that Christianity don’t bring morality but morality is not Christianity. Christianity brings morality, yes that is true. But please morality is not Christianity. Good moral is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about overcoming life. I’m talking about a victorious life. I’m talking about an overcoming faith. I’m talking about an a life that is encountered by that which Jesus speaks. "The word which I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life." That is the life I’m talking about. That life produced sound morality. Produced sound morality. So you are looking at the word of God. He says "your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." Do you want to overcome sin, you want to conquer sin, it’s not by religiosity, it’s by a an encounter with Jesus in the scripture. It is an encounter. It’s not just it’s not just church attendance. That is wonderful and not against that. It’s not just joining a unit in the church. That is wonderful, I do that. It is not just regular you know regular commitment to church activities. That is wonderful I believe it. It it transcends all of these or else what will be about your life is that you make mention of the name of the Lord but you don’t depart from iniquity. Is that not why people are complaining about Christianity today? That those who call themselves Christian they don’t depart from iniquity. Christians, the people you describe as Christian are the ones telling lie, are the ones embezzling money, are the ones in immorality, are the ones stealing government money. Why? Go and check it. Why is it like this? It is because something has not been hidden by an encounter with Jesus. When the word of God is hidden in a man by the reason of encounter with Jesus what will happen to that man is that that man will become victorious over sin. The word of God. The word of God. Psalm 105:17. Psalm 105:17. Look at what the scripture says there in Psalm 105:17. Psalm 105:17. The Bible says I am might be closing the meeting very very soon. Our time is fast spent. I cannot exhaust all that I have here today. We continue on this matter next week. I thought I would be able to exhaust all that I have today with you but it appears our time is running fast and I will soon be rounding up. But let me get to a point where we can pray so I cannot exhaust all that I have here. We will continue this engagement "Kept by the Power of God Through Faith." And we are considering the the interconnection between the scripture and our most holy faith. The interconnection between growing in grace and the word of the Lord. How do how do men achieve this thing? What led to it? What really happened? Those are the things we are looking at. Those are the things we are trying to bring out so that we can become Christians indeed. We can be indeed like Christ. Christian Christian means people like Christ. Overcomers like Christ. Victorious men like Christ. Who can stand for God like Christ. Ambassadors. This is what we mean when we say Christian. We don’t mean church attendance. We don’t mean people who attend church. We don’t mean people who read Bible. No, that’s not what we mean. We don’t mean people who pray. We mean people who do who do who do something that transcends all that transcends all of these. Just want to show you something quickly and then we may have to pray this evening. We continue from this from this where where I drop the discussion today. We’ll pick it from there next week. Look at Psalm 105:17. "He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave." I just want to show you something quickly and maybe that might be after this we will pray. He sent a man before them who was sold into slavery. Look at verse verse 26. "He sent Moses his servant and Aaron whom he has chosen." I’m trying to show you something in the word of God. Now he sent Joseph before them. He sent Moses. What did Joseph do? Joseph was the person who preserved the Israelites in Egypt. He preserved them. Okay in Moses what did Moses do? What did he do? He was the deliverer, the guide, the person who took them through that place and brought them into light eventually. Brought them brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness. That was Moses. But note something. In all of this the Bible says "he sent." He sent Joseph before them. Again he sent Moses. The same word here used for sent, sent is the same word used for the word of God in in Psalm in Psalm 111:9. Psalm 111:9. Look at Psalm 111:9. The same thing. It is the same word. Psalm 111:9. Look at what the Bible says there. Psalm 111:9. "He has sent redemption to his people. He has commanded his covenant forever. He has sent redemption." He sent Joseph. He sent Moses. He has sent redemption. Now look now at Psalm 107. 107:20. Look at Psalm 107:20. That’s a very popular scripture. Most of us could quote that offhand. He says "he sent his word." I’m see the matter of sent, sent, sent, sent. He sent Joseph. He sent Moses. He has sent redemption. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction. What did Joseph do? He delivered them from their destruction. What did Moses do? Is it not the same thing? What did Jesus do in sending redemption? Is it not to deliver us? And what did he say about his word? He sent his word. What I’m trying to make you see is that just as Joseph acted as a deliverer and he was doing everything doing it for them doing it for them. You see what he did for the Israelites in Egypt. Look at how look at how he made commandment, gave this, gave that, preserved them, did this, did that. He was working for them. Bible says it is God that work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Joseph was working. He was sent to work and he worked for them. Look at Moses. He sent Moses. Look at all that Moses did with these people. An intercessor, a deliverer, a guide, a shepherd. He did everything. He was sent. It is in the same way the Bible says he sent his word. I’m showing you the capacity of the word of God. The word of God is a deliverer. The word of God is a redeemer. The word of God is a savior. The word of God can deliver, it can guide, it can it can. Look just look at all of those people what they did. Look at it vis-à-vis the word of God. The same way he sent his word. And how how does that happen? How is this sending done? It is done in this personal engagement like he engaged them on the way to Emmaus. I’m praying the Lord will engage you in the name of Jesus. The Lord will engage you. Whatsoever is holding you from being engaged by the Lord I pray today you will break through your limitation. You will be engaged by the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. For today I’ll be closing the meeting. We will take the matter from here next week. Hopefully we’ll be able to wrap up others I want to point to you about the relationship between scripture our most holy faith. And I pray that you will grow in your most holy faith. You will grow in your most holy faith. You will grow in your most holy faith. You will grow in your most holy faith and I will grow in my most holy faith. Till we see again same time next week 5 p.m. We’ll be connecting again together by the grace of God. The Lord will preserve you the Lord will preserve me. Do have a blessed night. Let us have a word of prayer. Our Father we thank You. We bless Your holy name. We give You praise we give You glory. We give You adoration. Precious Lord, God almighty, Paul plant, Apollos water, it is You that give increase. Lord give increase to Your word that we have looked into this evening. Give increase in the heart of Your people. Beyond my voice cause them to hear Your voice. Beyond me cause them to see You. For the increase of this government is upon Your shoulder not my shoulder. Cause them to see You. Cause them to encounter You. Thank You Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. [Music plays]