Maintaining Your Relevance

[Music playing] [Voiceover] Church-based fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God weekly desires a godly home for these. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Ten Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] The revelation of the truth, didn’t I? I did last week. And that is where I want to build the matter around this evening a little. I want to zero in into that and possibly we conclude this observation of the spirit. There are some other things about the observation of the spirit, but this part of God want all men to be saved and also that they should come to the knowledge of the truth. The other things about this dispensation is also to know that it is a time of terror. We’ll talk about that later. It is also a time of deception. It is a time of on and on. We’ll take all of these things. I think about seven or eight elements about the observation of the spirit. But the reason why I am pushing and I am drawing this aspect of God want all men to come to the knowledge of the truth. Do you still remember that we read John chapter 8 last week? John chapter 8, do you still remember? Let's look at it. We read John 8 last week. John 8. Are we there? Last week we read from verse 30. [Speaker 2] As he said these things, many believed in him, trusted and relied on him and adhered to him. So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, hold fast to my teaching and live in accordance with them, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." "But we are descendants of Abraham," they said, "we have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean you will be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is a part of the family forever." [Speaker 1] We read this scripture last week and we were engaging ourselves on the fact that Jesus was speaking to the Jews who believed in him that they will know the truth and then the truth will set them free. And we were asking ourselves, is it that they were not free at salvation? If he was speaking to those who believed in him that they will be free. And we said we are truly free that at salvation everything was accomplished, everything was done. But Jesus is still speaking again that you will know the truth and then you will be free. Which freedom? And last week we defined the freedom. We did, or I did. I want to get it from a point. I want to be sure we got a point. I wanted to pick it from some other point of Mary Magdalene. We read Mary Magdalene last week. We went that far because I know where we stopped. I want to concentrate on an aspect of understanding your place over time in the revelation of the spirit. That’s what I want to move into today. But it appears I need to do some bringing all together again before I zero in into that. Because over time, some don’t maintain their place in the revelation of the spirit. What I really want to talk about today is maintaining your place. How you can maintain this your place. And I wanted to pick it from where we stopped last week. But maybe because we laid some emphasis on the first aspect of one, some of these things are not properly emphasized. Now what I’m saying is this. Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Now normally when somebody believe, is he still bound? He is not bound. So God is saying you will know the truth and you will be free. He says because the servant don’t abide in the house forever. Which freedom was he talking about? He was talking about some other freedom there. He says he that sins is a servant to sin. They still believe that they are sinning. They have given their life to Christ but they are sinning. You find sin still evident in their life. You find believers telling lies, find believers committing fornication, find believers—you still find sin. And the problem with the matter of sin is that the person who sins is a servant to sin. And a servant can never abide in the house forever. What that means is that anybody who does not become a son, a son is free, a son stays forever, that is a son is that person who has gotten victory over sin. Anybody who is a servant to sin will continue in the house for a while. That is why Judas continued for a while. That is why Achan continued for a while. That is why you can pick them, they will continue for a while. They can’t continue forever. They can’t continue forever because the servant can never continue forever. Anybody who serves sin is a servant to sin. So he was speaking to those who believe in him, saying "If you will know the truth, then the truth will set you free." "But we are..." and then he made them understand that if the Son will set you free then you are free indeed. And then we, I now match that to something in Ephesians chapter 1. Do you still remember? When I said blessed be the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. Where are the blessings? They are in the heavenly realm. We have been blessed with all of them. But however, these blessings they are in the heavenly realm. And that is why he said that when you pray, pray like this: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." There are things in the heavenly that must be enforced on earth only through prayer. If we don’t take time to pray, if we don’t take time to enforce—and I think I gave an example last week that it was God who spoke to Elijah. Go and show yourself to Ahab, I will send rain. So for God, the rain is already available. That is why Elijah could say, "I can hear the sound of abundance of rain," even when there was no rain anywhere. And then what did he do for the rain to become physical, to be done on earth? He climbed Mount Carmel, he prayed and prayed. He persisted and at the seventh time, what was in heaven came down, became visible. So the same way, God has given, God saved us eternally from sin. We are eternally saved from sin. We are completely and wholly saved. And I think I mentioned this statement last week that it is not properly understanding some of these things that led to a misconception where people say they are forever saved, it doesn't matter even if they are sinning. And I said that was not the intent of the gospel. We are eternally saved, but we are eternally saved only becomes a reality when that eternal thing become a physical thing. When we eternally died as sinners, were we not sinning? Were we not sinning? We were sinning. It was not in the heavenly. When you say by one man sin entered the world, was the sin in the heavenly? Was it not physical? People tell lies, people steal, people commit fornication. It was physical. And with study of Adam can be physical, people can see, how much more that of God. If people cannot see holiness and righteousness, then we never met with Christ. It is eternally done. It is complete, it is total, that will is settled. We have been blessed not with some, with every. There is no exception. But they are in the heavenly places. Now we talk about how we bring them down. It is the bringing them down, that is the knowing of the truth. If we don’t know the truth, they cannot become physical, they cannot become experiential. We can never experience them physically. We cannot see them. We’ll be talking about Jesus heal, Jesus save, Jesus is that. But we will not see it. It would just be in the heavenly places. And that is what Jesus was saying that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. That is, the truth will make what is heavenly to become experiential, physical. You will experience what has been eternally settled for your life. So if you don’t experience it physically, what is the essence of it? Does it have any essence? It does not have any essence in it. That is why he says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And I believe I went beyond that and I finally came to the matter of the likeness of our resurrection. I hope you are recollecting most of what we read last week. I got likeness of our resurrection when I got to Romans chapter 6. Let’s look at Romans chapter 6 all of us together. Romans 6. [Speaker 2] What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it? Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life. [Speaker 1] What is the conclusion of what God did? That if we enter through baptism and we are buried with him, what should happen when we are coming out? It is to walk in newness of life. It say just like that, just like that. How was he buried? Buried in weakness, buried in sin, battered by sin, beaten by sin, fell under sin, all of that. But when he resurrected, he was a completely glorious person. So when we come to the point of salvation and we are buried with him, we are buried as a people who were battered by sin, who were serving diverse lusts, who were living in all kinds of sinfulness, all kinds of things. But when we are coming out, we’re supposed to be in the newness of life. That is the intent. And I said last week that verse 5, verse 6, which is what where I left the matter last week when I went to John chapter 20. [Speaker 2] For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. [Speaker 1] We should no longer be slaves. We should no longer because anybody who serves sin is a servant to sin. So the intent is that we should no longer be slaves to sin. That was when we now began with this matter of knowing, knowing that he says "knowing this." That if you don’t know it, we cannot have it. I believe you can remember that. That if you don’t know it, you cannot have it. He say knowing this, you must know this. If you don’t know that the body of sin have been destroyed, you will continually be a servant to sin. You must know. Then he say knowing this that this body of sin have been crucified so that we should no longer serve sin. Something was done that you must know. And that was where I was emphasizing that this knowing here is different from the knowing that somebody tells you. The knowing that somebody tells you is different from the knowing that I am telling you. We gave example. That was when I gave example of when Jesus told his disciples. What did he tell them? He told them over and over that he is going to die and he will resurrect. But when he died, what happened? What happened? They were scattered. Everybody went their own way. Didn't they know? They knew. Hadn't they been told? But it was not real in their lives. That was when we now went to John chapter 20 and that was where we concluded last week. John chapter 20 where we saw Mary Magdalene. She went to the sepulcher. When she got there, what happened? The stone had been rolled away, she could not find Jesus. What did she do? It can't be true, let me go and call the elders. She ran to Peter, disciple that Jesus loved. They ran to the sepulcher. When they got there, Peter entered. The other person followed Peter. They saw the linen wrapper and everything. And what did they do? They believed that he has been stolen. So they confirmed to Magdalene that sorry, he has been stolen. So they went home. When they confirmed information to Magdalene, what did she do? She fell down and started crying. She wept and wept. The Bible says they believed because they are yet to understand. So there is a way you can be hearing the word of God. There is a way you can be hearing it. You are hearing it, but you don't know it. So the knowing he’s talking about in that place is that knowing that comes with understanding. There is an understanding. He say once you don’t—once that understanding is not there, and I made reference last week that if Jesus could tell them over and over and they didn’t understand. If I tell you over and over, will you ever understand? Jesus was telling them, he told them. So we are saying that the victory over sin, yes, Paul will plant, Apollos will water, but it is God. There is something that only God can do. God does that. When God does that, what happens? He gives the increase. There is something that is only God that can do. And that is this victory over sin. That is the knowing that was talked about in that place. That is why people know that Jesus deliver us from sin. But what do you notice in their lives? They are still sinning. Jesus healed, Jesus saved, Jesus died for our sin, he died for our sin. But what are they still doing? They still sin. Why? They still don’t understand. They have not understood the scripture that the body of sin have been destroyed. So he told them over and over again that look, I will die after the third day I will resurrect. They were hearing it, but they did not understand. And that is the knowing, that is the knowing he was telling those that believe in him. That anybody who believe in him, until you come to know truth in the sense of this kind of understanding, you can never be free. You'll be a servant in the house and the servant will not abide forever. Sin will cut you short, it will cut you down. You will never be free. But if you can know the truth, it’s not the one that comes by a teacher, by some information, by some discipleship class. It does not come from your mentor. It does not come from your discipler. Then this one that comes by inspiration, there is this one that comes by revelation, by something that it is God that added and until God alone do that for the man, the man can—he will always be a leper. He will always be struggling with sin. And that is why we came up with in the churches today, *ale mo ri kòrí ma jí* [informal Yoruba: it’s difficult not to sin]. You get the point? We cannot walk without the head shaking. *Omode o le mo ko je ko ma ra lowo* [informal Yoruba: a child can't eat solid food without staining his hands]. We keep praying every day for grace. God give us grace, grace to conquer sin, grace to follow, grace to follow, give us grace. And we keep praying for that grace and there's a continuous mentioning of sin. Why? It's not because you have not heard, but what is the problem? You do not understand. Now it was on that place, it was around this place that I actually brought the curtain last week. It was around this quarter, it was this was where we discussed and I said I will continue this today. That I want to lay a very strong platform around this matter. About this matter of God want all men to come to the knowledge of the truth. God want all men and you notice that Apostle Paul himself, he didn’t take this matter, he didn’t take it lightly. He himself, when he was to pray for the Ephesians church, what did he pray? He said he pray that God will give them the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation, the knowledge of God, that the eye of understanding might be enlightened, that they may know what is the hope of their calling. There is something that comes by the spirit. It is not by man. He say the eye of understanding be opened. Now I want to, that is around what I want to really dwell on this evening. So that what we are talking about revelation of the spirit is maintaining your place. How do we maintain our place in the dispensation of the spirit? How do we maintain our place? And please, let’s go back to John. Maintaining our place in this dispensation. How do we maintain our place? John. John chapter 20. So let’s go as they started reading from the point, from the point where from verse 10. John 20 from verse 10. [Speaker 2] Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. [Speaker 1] Which disciples were those ones? Peter, the elder, and the other. They went to their home. [Speaker 2] But Mary was standing without at the tomb, weeping. So as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb. And she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been laid. They said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She said unto them, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him." When she had thus said, she turned herself back and behold Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away." Jesus said unto her, "Mary." She turned herself and said unto him in Hebrew, "Rabboni," which is to say Teacher. [Speaker 1] Okay, thank you. Now look at that reading. What are we bringing out? In the verse where we stopped last week, in the verse 6, he says then cometh Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulcher and seeth the linen clothes lie and the napkin that was around his head, not lying around the linen clothes but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also the other disciples which came first to the sepulcher. He saw and believed. For as yet, they did not know the scripture that he must rise from there. Then disciples went away into their own house. But Mary stood at the sepulcher weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and seeth two angels in white sitting. What was the climax of Peter's experience? What was the climax of Peter's experience at the sepulcher? Peter saw napkins, and linen clothes lying somewhere. What was the climax of Mary's experience inside that same sepulcher? She saw angels. How did Magdalene, how was she able to see angels and not just the napkin? You don’t think her physical eyes can see angels? What must have happened? Something—she looked again. She looked persistently and something happened to her eyes. He says that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened. Is it Elder Peter that did something to her eyes? Was it Elder Peter? No, it was not Elder Peter. I’m talking about God gives increase. She called the elders. But the enlightenment of the eyes made her to see beyond the elders. While the elders will look at the scripture and they will see why sin cannot be overcome. While the elders could not see anything apart from the napkin. They could not see anything apart from the letter. The climax of her own experience was that she saw angels. She saw beyond what the elders saw. She saw something. What she saw, you will know that something has happened to her eyes. It's not more natural. What I’m trying to say is that in dealing with the matter of sin, the natural men cannot get there. There must be men whose eyes something has happened to. Something must have happened. Others saw napkins, others saw linen clothes, but she saw beyond that. Now the point I needed to draw is that God came to give increase. Something was earlier mentioned. He said he persisted, the other one, she was weeping. She was weeping, isn't it? She was weeping. Please can we compare that with Proverbs chapter 2? Proverbs 2. Proverbs chapter 2. Are you there? Proverbs 2. Can I read? Proverbs chapter 2 from verse 1. [Speaker 2] My son, if thou wilt receive my words and my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord. [Speaker 1] Thank you. Do you see the matter of crying there? Do you see the matter of crying? What did God say if any man want to understand the fear of God? If any man want to understand, he’s knowing if any man want to become wise, what did God say? He say if you lift up your voice for knowledge, if you cry after understanding. Did Magdalene cry? Was she crying? She was crying. She was desperate. She was persistent. She was crying! What could have happened? What could have happened? She stood there, crying for insight, waiting to know what actually went wrong. What—to understand beyond what the elders have said. As she stood there persistently, as she was there, what happened to her eyes? Her eyes of understanding was opened. The climax of her spiritual experience went beyond the napkin and the linen clothes. She saw wondrous things happening in the sepulcher. She did not just see the physical things. She saw the wondrous things. She saw angels. And these are the angels that they were talking to her. Was she hearing them? Did Peter enter that place? Did Elder Peter enter there? Did they talk to them? Did they minister to them? Did they see anything? I want to ask you. The experience of Magdalene, is it a real experience? Or is something abstract? Is something not real? Is it a real experience? Is it very real to her? Very, very real. Is it not a real thing? If she gets back, look at what Jesus told her. Let’s read down that John. Read down that John. Are you there? Walk down a little further. When she had turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" Thinking it was the gardener and all of that, Rabboni which means Teacher. Then Jesus said to her, "Touch me not for I go to your Father who is my Father." Now look at what Jesus said to her. He says, Jesus said to her, "Touch me not for I am ascending to my Father, but do what? Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascended to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Please look at verse 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she has seen the Lord and that he has spoken these things unto her. Are you following me? Did they believe her? Did they believe her? Look at Luke chapter 24. Luke 24. Are you there? Look at it from verse 17. [Speaker 2] And he said unto them, "What manner of communication are these that you have one with another as you walk and are sad?" And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?" And he said unto them, "What things?" And they said unto him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deeds and words before God and all the people, and how the chief priest and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things have been done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early to the sepulcher and when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said he was alive." [Speaker 1] Please what is their testimony about Magdalene’s report? It was "astonishing." Other translation says they were "amazed." When you tell men that sin have been conquered, they say, "Ah! How can it be so?" We are trusting God for grace. You see, it sounds something extraordinary. It looks like you're saying something out of the blue. It looks ah! Is it possible to be—when we are trusting God for grace, where every day we come and confess after telling you she, the first thing we must pray is for God to clear the way, everything that will hinder the prayer. Somebody is coming now saying that no, we are righteous. Doesn't she seem like an amazing report? It looks as if it's not possible. Do you know how things of God amaze? What is the name of—and she in their heart, it was poor, Jesus, oh God, how this could be so. It looks like—how did God speak? Did you hear the voice in your ear like this? Was it audible voice or you were hearing inside you? Was it—you see the way people will ask you question? Am I correct? Am I not correct? They will be asking you strange questions. It will be looking very strange. Ah! How did God speak? Is it something you hear in your natural ear like this? You were hearing like this? They will be asking you questions because what you are saying is amazing. They were there astonished because they only saw napkin. The elder had come to them and said look, eh, they have stolen the Lord. How do you know? Ah, me, I entered first. I was at the sepulcher. Didn’t we enter? Didn’t you join me? Ah, I joined you sir. What did we see? Did we see the body? Say we didn’t see the body oh. Please, tell them what did we see? We only saw the napkin. We also saw the linen clothes. But the body was not there. They have stolen the body. So when this small girl now came, I hope you know who is Magdalene to Peter. And say you see, I have seen the Lord. What is she bringing? "Ah!" Look at what happened between Jesus and the disciples. I want to show you something further. Look at Mark. Look at the book of Mark. Look at what the Bible says. It says that—please I want to read from Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16, are you there? It says—I want to give us a proper understanding of what happened in John. It says and she went—let me take it from verse 9. Now when Jesus had risen early in the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. It looks as if Mary Magdalene was just favored. I told you how you can be relevant. You must cry. You must persist, you must wait. That was why she got it first. You know we said that in John, Jesus told her to go. So she—and she went, look at what she did, you know she was instructed. So she—in John, Jesus told her to go. So she says, and she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept. Why were they still mourning and weeping now like Magdalene? Peter and the disciple Jesus loved have come back to tell them that ah! He had been stolen. And when somebody like Peter, you know Peter now, vehement full of life. You know him now, you know he can talk. I just wonder how he would have brought the message and then everybody began to mourn and they were weeping. I want us to understand their crying. They began to mourn and they were weeping. It was in the midst of that and they, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen of her, this was what? How will you believe somebody that demons was cast out of the person in the past? And now she suddenly came and said ah! I saw Jesus. What will you think she saw? You start again, that's it, you see your problem, you started again, that's—you see your problem. You didn't see your problem. But look at what happened. Let's read down, let's read down further. Afterward he appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country. That was the one we read the other time who said they amazed them. Now look at what happened, reading further. And they went and told it unto the residual, neither believed they them. Look at what happened, verse 14, let's try and fast as possible. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. Other translation: "Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven while they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief, their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen." Do you know how some men are stubborn in believing the truth? "Ah! Don't mind all those things people say. How can we walk without the head shaking? We are just trusting God for grace." You know it's something extraordinary. It looks as if it's not possible. Do you know how religion have made people to be stubborn? I mean stubborn refusal to believe truth. Religion is a burden. When men have a faith that is based on an experience, they saw the napkin. They saw the linen. It was not just based on something. It was from the tradition of the elders that brought it. And it was life. And when it came to them with all the evidence or all the evidences, they were too convinced that Peter's report was correct. And now so when people were saying something else they became stubborn. They became adamant. What are you saying? They said what are you saying? That he took Jesus to rebuke them for this stubbornness of heart, lack of faith. They became stubborn, they—they were insistent. I want you to see what religion can make out of a man. The more, let me tell you this truth, the more men try to take the place of the Lord in the church, believers will struggle all their life. The more men, when I say men, teacher, pastor, discipler, mentor, who will come to our place of planting and watering and allow the Lord to give increase. Oh, I read something. I read something and the something move, the something made so much meaning to me. I want to read it to you. It made so much meaning to me in respect of today's church and evangelism today. Let me see if I can quickly get it here and if I can quickly read it to us. Can I quickly get this reading? I wanted to copy it out. I didn’t know why I didn’t copy it off that thing again. But please let me just, I said I will read it towards the end of this thing. Okay, look at this. It says it is blasphemy to gather young men and women, whichever one, and be teaching them methods of church growth when they cannot pray for one hour or two hours daily. I may not have been old in ministry, but I was born in the church in a time when church was growing from the knee. I was born in a time when people used to troop to church from kilometers away without any invitation, no handbill, no bulk SMS. And when you ask them, they will tell you they were in the dream and God showed them the church in a dream and gave them direction. Deep inside that church, somebody was praying inside the vestry. Some of them, the people that came, some of them were banished, some were divorced by their husband, some were pulled out from school all because they started attending church, but they remained inside church. Today, once you speak to your member somehow, he will get offended and stop coming to church. Are you seeing the irony? In those times, men were beaten, they refused to pay their school fees, they—all those things they were suffering, they would still stick to church. They remained inside church. Today, just correct somebody a little about his life, he will leave the church, he will stop coming to church, that's how they'll be talking to me like that. He will change church. Next week, they would have made him assistant pastor in the church in the next street. These are the kinds of members our church growth method can attract. Jesus said no one can bring them except my Heavenly Father draws them and told us, pray ye the Lord of harvest. Lord, take us back to our knee. Method have failed us. Do you get what this is trying to say? What I am trying to make you see is that in this dispensation of the spirit, this dispensation as we are moving on in this dispensation, along the line, your seemingly fellow believers, they’ll be moving out of the way, they’ll be moving out of the truth, they’ll be moving out of life. Jesus did not lay emphasis on that. He said make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you—who can finish that quotation? For many I tell you will seek to enter but they will not be able. They want to enter. Peter and that disciple Jesus loved, were they not trying to enter? But were they able? They were not. Make every effort, make every effort to see beyond the napkin and the linen clothes in the scripture. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the letter. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the stories. If you—I’m talking about this dispensation of the spirit. You must be able to see beyond the letters, you must be able to see beyond the napkins or else, let me tell you what will happen to you. Very soon you'll be preaching the failure of your life as doctrine. You understand me? You will preach your failure, your weaknesses. It is because men could not handle certain things in their life. They couldn't handle sin, they couldn't handle lies, they couldn't handle lust, they couldn't handle many of these things in their life. That is why over time it become—when you say look, we can attain unto a life of consistent righteousness, you know what they will tell you? "If God is to mark sin, who can be justified?" They will not tell you that when Satan, who is the accuser, wanted to mark sin, who should be able to bring Job out and say look he did this? When he faced Job, he was speechless. They won’t tell you that one. They won’t bring you to God, look at Job. And that was a man who operated under the law, not under grace. They won’t show you that one. They’ll be showing you that ah! Even Solomon in all his wisdom commit adultery, God did not kill him after all. God knows that, God knows, don’t ever begin to talk as if we are God. Even David commit adultery, God did not kill him. So what is it? That is where some elders, that’s where they stay. Do you know why? Any time they look into scripture, the only thing they see is the napkin. Any time they look inside, they see the linen clothes. They have never encountered the resurrected Lord. So relevance comes from when you look into this deadness, everything look dead. When you look at the—not just somebody wrote it. When you carry Bible, you have professor of theology, professor—who are reading this same thing. They’ll be looking at—any life is in it. Is it not—is it not like any other literature that somebody put—do you see the hand of God writing it like this? It is not a press that printed it. If you look into this sepulcher, if you can look into that sepulcher and you look correctly, there is something beyond printing press. There is something beyond NIV translation. There is something beyond KJV, all those things there are angels who are ministering to the heirs of salvation. There are angels, there are busy ministering to the heirs of salvation. You are still letter, you are still weakness, you see letter. Men who have seen—I’m giving you how you can be relevant in this dispensation or else over time you will lose your relevance. You will lose your relevance. You’ll notice that when the Lord appeared, it was Mary’s, it was Magdalene’s encounter that was relevant. Am I correct? All the "koo-koo-koo-koo" [meaningless sounds] of Peter and the eleven, was it relevant? It was not relevant. The dispensation of the spirit, that is it. Now if you look at it again, there is still something further in that dispensation. You’ll notice that Magdalene as she was dealing with the matters of angel, there was an appearance. He says somebody spoke from behind, is that not so? He says you will hear a voice from behind you, you remember the scripture in Isaiah? That will say this is the way. From where did she hear the voice? From behind. She heard a voice from behind. Something spoke from behind and when she saw him, was it the way? Was it the way? That was the way, Jesus is the way. What I’m trying to make you understand about this matter is that along the line, it is men who see beyond the napkin that will remain in the way. This way is narrow, the way is narrow, very, very narrow. As we are all journeying and journeying and journeying and journeying, and we are all journeying, please, the men who saw napkin, did they see the way? Did they see the way? They didn't see the way. The men who saw napkin, did they encounter the truth? They didn't see the truth. The men who saw napkin and went off, did they encounter the life? They didn't see the life. These three elements: the way, the truth, the life, is reserved for men who does what? Who saw in the sepulcher beyond the napkin. I mean it is for men whose eyes of understanding have been enlightened. And I’m saying something very, very clear to us. Our eyes of understanding being enlightened is not a work a discipler can do for you. I cannot do something that will make your eyes to be enlightened. You know what I can only do? What is it that Paul Apostle can do? Paul and Apollos, what can they do? They can plant, again what can they do? They can water. And you see Paul, he planted, he preached the word. What did he do again? He watered. What was he doing? He was praying. He said "I do not cease to pray that the God of our Father will give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, that your eyes of understanding might be enlightened." He knows it’s not a matter of him. It is a matter that comes—it is an increase that only God can give. This is a thing, the more, let me tell you this truth, the more men try to take the place of the Lord in the church, believers will struggle all their life. The more men, when I say men, teacher, pastor, discipler, mentor, who will come to our place of planting and watering and allow the Lord to give increase. Oh, I read something, and the something moved, the something made so much meaning to me. I want to read it to you. It made so much meaning to me in respect of today's church and evangelism today. Let me see if I can quickly get it here and if I can quickly read it to us. It says "It is blasphemy to gather young men and women, whichever one, and be teaching them methods of church growth when they cannot pray for one hour or two hours daily. I may not have been old in ministry, but I was born in the church in a time when church was growing from the knee. I was born in a time when people used to troop to church from kilometers away without any invitation, no handbill, no bulk SMS. And when you ask them, they will tell you they were in the dream and God showed them the church in a dream and gave them direction. Deep inside that church, somebody was praying inside the vestry. Some of them, some of them—the people that came—some of them were banished, some were divorced by their husband, some were pulled out from school all because they started attending church, but they remained inside church. Today, once you speak to your member somehow, he will get offended and stop coming to church." Are you seeing the irony? In those times, men were beaten, they refused to pay their school fees, all those things they were suffering, they would still stick to church. They remained inside church. Today, just correct somebody a little about his life, he will leave the church, he will stop coming to church. "How they'll be talking to me like that?" He will change church. Next week, they would have made him assistant pastor in the church in the next street. These are the kinds of members our church growth method can attract. Jesus said "No one can bring them except my Heavenly Father draws them," and told us "Pray ye the Lord of harvest." Lord, take us back to our knee. Method have failed us. Do you get what this is trying to say? What I am trying to make you see is that in this dispensation of the spirit, as we are moving on in this dispensation along the line, your seemingly fellow believers, they’ll be moving out of the way, they’ll be moving out of the truth, they’ll be moving out of life. Jesus did not—he laid emphasis on that. He said make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you—who can finish that quotation? For many I tell you will seek to enter but they will not be able. They want to enter. Peter and that disciple Jesus loved, were they not trying to enter? But were they able? They were not. Make every effort, make every effort to see beyond the napkin and the linen clothes in the scripture. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the letter. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the stories. If you—I’m talking about this dispensation of the spirit. You must be able to see beyond the letters, you must be able to see beyond the napkins or else, let me tell you what will happen to you. Very soon you'll be preaching the failure of your life as doctrine. You understand me? You will preach your failure, your weaknesses. It is because men could not handle certain things in their life. They couldn't handle sin, they couldn't handle lies, they couldn't handle lust, they couldn't handle many of these things in their life. That is why over time it become—when you say look, we can attain unto a life of consistent righteousness, you know what they will tell you? "If God is to mark sin, who can be justified?" They will not tell you that when Satan, who is the accuser, wanted to mark sin, who should be able to bring Job out and say look he did this? When he faced Job, he was speechless. They won’t tell you that one. They won’t bring you to God, look at Job. And that was a man who operated under the law, not under grace. They won’t show you that one. They’ll be showing you that "Ah, even Solomon in all his wisdom commit adultery, God did not kill him after all. God knows that, God knows, don’t ever begin to talk as if we are God. Even David commit adultery, God did not kill him." So what is it? That is where some elders, that's where they stay. Do you know why? Any time they look into scripture, the only thing they see is the napkin. Any time they look inside, they see the linen clothes. They have never encountered the resurrected Lord. So relevance comes from when you look into this deadness, everything look dead. When you look at the—not just somebody wrote it. When you carry Bible, you have professor of theology, who are reading this same thing. They’ll be looking at, "Any life is in it? Is it not like any other literature that somebody put?" Do you see the hand of God writing it like this? It is not a press that printed it. If you look into this sepulcher, if you can look into that sepulcher and you look correctly, there is something beyond printing press. There is something beyond NIV translation, there is something beyond KJV, all those things. There are angels who are ministering to the heirs of salvation. There are angels, they are busy ministering to the heirs of salvation. You are still letter, you are still weakness, you are seeing letter. Men who have seen—I’m giving you how you can be relevant in this dispensation or else over time you will lose your relevance. You will lose your relevance. You’ll notice that when the Lord appeared, it was Mary’s, it was Magdalene’s encounter that was relevant. Am I correct? All the koo-koo-koo-koo of Peter and the eleven, was it relevant? It was not relevant. The dispensation of the spirit, that is it. Now if you look at it again, there is still something further in that dispensation. You’ll notice that Magdalene, as she was dealing with the matters of angel, there was an appearance. Somebody spoke from behind. You will hear a voice from behind you, you know scripture in Isaiah? That will say this is the way. From where did she hear the voice? From behind. She heard a voice from behind. Something spoke from behind and when she saw him, was it the way? Was it the way? That was the way, Jesus is the way. What I’m trying to make you understand about this matter is that along the line, it is men who see beyond the napkin that will remain in the way. This way is narrow, very, very narrow. As we are all journeying and journeying, the men who saw napkin, did they see the way? They didn't see the way. The men who saw napkin, did they encounter the truth? They didn't see the truth. The men who saw napkin, did they encounter the life? They didn't see the life. These three elements: the way, the truth, the life is reserved for men who does what? Who saw in the sepulcher beyond the napkin. I mean it is for men whose eyes of understanding have been enlightened. And I’m saying something very, very clear to us. Our eyes of understanding being enlightened is not a work a discipler can do for you. I cannot do something that will make your eyes to be enlightened. You know what I can only do? What is it that Paul Apostle can do? They can plant, they can water. And you see Paul, he planted, he preached the word. He watered, he was praying. He knows it’s not a matter of him. It is a matter that comes, it is a increase that only God can give. This is a thing, the more, let me tell you this truth, the more men try to take the place of the Lord in the church, believers will struggle all their life. The more men, pastor, discipler, mentor who will come to our place of planting and watering and allow the Lord to give increase. I read something and the something move, the something made so much meaning to me. I want to read it to you. It made so much meaning to me in respect of today church and evangelism today. Let me see if I can quickly get it here and if I can quickly read it to us. It says "It is blasphemy to gather young men and women, whichever one, and be teaching them methods of church growth when they cannot pray for one hour or two hours daily. I may not have been old in ministry, but I was born in the church in a time when church was growing from the knee. I was born in a time when people used to troop to church from kilometers away without any invitation, no handbill, no bulk SMS. And when you ask them, they will tell you they were in the dream and God showed them the church in a dream and gave them direction. Deep inside that church, somebody was praying inside the vestry. Some of them, some of them—the people that came—some of them were banished, some were divorced by their husband, some were pulled out from school all because they started attending church, but they remained inside church. Today, once you speak to your member somehow, he will get offended and stop coming to church. Are you seeing the irony? In those times, men were beaten, they refused to pay their school fees, all those things they were suffering, they would still stick to church. They remained inside church. Today, just correct somebody a little about his life, he will leave the church, he will stop coming to church. Next week, they would have made him assistant pastor in the church in the next street. These are the kinds of members our church growth method can attract. Jesus said 'No one can bring them except my Heavenly Father draws them,' and told us 'Pray ye the Lord of harvest.' Lord, take us back to our knee. Method have failed us." Do you get what this is trying to say? What I am trying to make you see is that in this dispensation of the spirit, as we are moving on in this dispensation, along the line, your seemingly fellow believers, they’ll be moving out of the way, they’ll be moving out of the truth, they’ll be moving out of life. Jesus did not—he laid emphasis on that. He said make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many I tell you will seek to enter but they will not be able. They want to enter. Peter and that disciple Jesus loved, were they not trying to enter? But were they able? They were not. Make every effort, make every effort to see beyond the napkin and the linen clothes in the scripture. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the letter. When you read scripture, you must see beyond the stories. If you—I’m talking about this dispensation of the spirit. You must be able to see beyond the letters, you must be able to see beyond the napkins or else, let me tell you what will happen to you. Very soon you'll be preaching the failure of your life as doctrine. You understand me? You will preach your failure, your weaknesses. It is because men could not handle certain things in their life. They couldn't handle sin, they couldn't handle lies, they couldn't handle lust, they couldn't handle many of these things in their life. That is why over time it become—when you say look, we can attain unto a life of consistent righteousness, you know what they will tell you? "If God is to mark sin, who can be justified?" They will not tell you that when Satan, who is the accuser, wanted to mark sin, who should be able to bring Job out and say look he did this? When he faced Job, he was speechless. They won’t tell you that one. They won’t bring you to God, look at Job. And that was a man who operated under the law, not under grace. They won’t show you that one. They’ll be showing you that "Ah, even Solomon in all his wisdom commit adultery, God did not kill him after all. God knows that, God knows, don’t ever begin to talk as if we are God. Even David commit adultery, God did not kill him." So what is it? That is where some elders, that's where they stay. Do you know why? Any time they look into scripture, the only thing they see is the napkin. Any time they look inside, they see the linen clothes. They have never encountered the resurrected Lord. So relevance comes from when you look into this deadness, everything look dead. When you look at the—not just somebody wrote it. When you carry Bible, professor of theology, who are reading this same thing. They’ll be looking at, any life is in it? Is it not like any other literature that somebody put? Do you see the hand of God writing it like this? It is not a press that printed it. If you look into this sepulcher, if you can look into that sepulcher and you look correctly, there is something beyond printing press. There is something beyond NIV translation, there is something beyond KJV, all those things. There are angels who are ministering to the heirs of salvation. There are angels, they are busy ministering to the heirs of salvation. You are still letter, you are still weakness, you are seeing letter. Men who have seen—I’m giving you how you can be relevant in this dispensation or else over time you will lose your relevance. You will lose your relevance. You’ll notice that when the Lord appeared, it was Mary’s, it was Magdalene’s encounter that was relevant. Am I correct? All the "koo-koo-koo-koo" of Peter and the eleven, was it relevant? It was not relevant. The dispensation of the spirit, that is it. Now if you look at it again, there is still something further in that dispensation. You’ll notice that Magdalene, as she was dealing with the matters of angel, there was an appearance. Somebody spoke from behind. You will hear a voice from behind you, you know scripture in Isaiah? That will say this is the way. From where did she hear the voice? From behind. She heard a voice from behind. Something spoke from behind and when she saw him, was it the way? Was it the way? That was the way, Jesus is the way. What I’m trying to make you understand about this matter is that along the line, it is men who see beyond the napkin that will remain in the way. This way is narrow, very, very narrow. As we are all journeying and journeying, the men who saw napkin, did they see the way? They didn't see the way. The men who saw napkin, did they encounter the truth? They didn't see the truth. The men who saw napkin, did they encounter the life? They didn't see the life. These three elements: the way, the truth, the life is reserved for men who does what? Who saw in the sepulcher beyond the napkin. I mean it is for men whose eyes of understanding have been enlightened. And I’m saying something very, very clear to us. Our eyes of understanding being enlightened is not a work a discipler can do for you. I cannot do something that will make your eyes to be enlightened. You know what I can only do? What is it that Paul Apostle can do? They can plant, they can water. And you see Paul, he planted, he preached the word. He watered, he was praying. He knows it’s not a matter of him. It is a matter that comes, it is a increase that only God can give. This is a thing, the more, let me tell you this truth, the more men try to take the place of the Lord in the church, believers will struggle all their life. The more men, pastor, discipler, mentor who will come to our place of planting and watering and allow the Lord to give increase. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, let us pray this evening. Let’s talk to the Lord. Let’s talk to the Lord. I want you to pray. If not today, we must tell elders, elders if you want to be relevant, if you want to continue to be an elder, an elder that will be saying what is relevant to what the Lord is saying, as an elder you must learn to continually cry. Don’t say cry is meant for women, crying is meant for children. Magdalene was crying in that graveyard, look at this one, look at this small girl. Look, crying is not meant for children, it's not meant for women by women here, I don’t mean physical women. I mean people you think are weak, people you think are young converts, those are the ones that need to cry, cry for revelation, those are the ones to cry, we have grown. Brother, you may miss it. You may miss it. You may miss the lively manna, you may miss the living bread. You may be eating the stale manna and be preaching the stale bread and that is the state of our churches today, I’m telling you. Religion have overtaken grace. Law, it is still the spirit of the law, law, law, the spirit of the Old Testament, Old Testament ways, Old Testament mentality, Old Testament way of relating to God, Old Testament—these are people who are born again, but they could not enter into the reality of the New Testament. They could not daily experience the fullness of it. They could not enter into what the gospel have ordained. They could not enter. They have the Christian is powerless. The average Christian continue to tell lies and say "Olorun Oye, Olorun oye [informal Yoruba: God understands], Nigeria, you know, God understands, he know in Nigeria." You see, you see, that is what you find in average church today. That’s what you find. That’s what you find. When whereas if you check the Apostle, look at what they said. They say "daily we die." Daily we die, he say we must by the spirit put to death the deeds of the flesh. They said "Walk in the spirit and allow not the lust of the flesh." Go and look at what these men said. They say "daily our joy," he say "how we desire that we should put down this body and be with the Lord," "how we wish to go." Today, go and look at the average Christian. Because they cannot see heavenly things, their desire is more to stay than to go. It is because we are seeing more earthly things than we are seeing heavenly things. We are not like these people. I’m telling you. We are not like these people. We must remember that the church was founded on the foundation of the prophets and the apostle. Let’s go back to what these men were. Let’s go back to the reality in which they lived. Religion have overtaken the stage. Let’s go back to New Testament realities. There are realities in the New Testament. There are realities, you will say "the Lord spoke to me," "the Lord told me," people will be wondering, "Did you hear the voice? How did God speak to me? Me I don’t understand this thing, me I don’t know that way of talking." People will just evade the voice of God, people will—it looks as if these things are no more realities. That they are not realities. It looks as if this thing is meant for some group of people, it’s not New Testament reality. Because religion has taken over the stage. People struggle with sin, struggle with lies, struggle with embezzlement, struggle—they say "Ah, that pastor there, do you know the pastor is the one embezzling the government money?" God will just help us, who will not steal if he gets there? That’s what some other Christians will be saying. Who will not steal if he gets there? Is that the New Testament reality? When he says look, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Where is the reality of—my concern is that look, there is a need to see beyond in this thing that looks dead, in this sepulcher, this thing that is like printing press, NIV Bible, KJV Bible, it looks like something somebody wrote. In this thing, if you look further, angels will minister. If you look further, you will hear a voice from behind. If you look further, you will see the way, you will see the truth, you will see life. If you stay further. That is the place of our relevance. I want us to just talk to the Lord that the Lord will help us. I want you to talk to the Lord that God please help me. God please help me. Lord, that the eyes of my understanding might be enlightened. That the eyes of my understanding may see. That I may see, that I may understand, that I may know. Thank you Father. Blessed be your holy name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. [Music ends]