Mf Jan 7 2019 God's Instruction for the Year

[Music] Church and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Life Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 1] We believe God that having brought us to this first Monday of the year 2019, that enduring mercy will take us through the journey of 2019. It will carry us, undertake for us, bring us to the last Monday in 2019, and by His goodness, by that same mercy, we'll be carried many, many years further in Jesus' name. Amen. As our usual practice is that first Monday and third Monday is for Marriage Forum, while second and last Monday is for discipleship classes. Being the very first Monday of the year, we've proffered that we give ourselves what is the direction? What is the expectation of God upon our life for 2019? What direction are we really going? Trusting the Lord that as we look at those directions, even though of course whether we look at Marriage Forum or discipleship classes, those instructions have their bearing for our individual life, for our marital life, for our marriages, for our children. All the implications are there. They have their implications for them. So, today we'll be giving ourselves, we'll be trying to look into the word of God to ask ourselves what instruction is the Lord giving us for the year? What instruction, being a very unique Monday, the first Monday in 2019. And there are three key areas of exhortation that I believe the Lord is pushing our hearts towards in the year 2019. There are three key areas, and I'll be talking along those three key areas. But to capture them together, it would be like a highlight of what we want to discuss. The first one, fruitfulness. Fruitfulness. The second one is good works. The third one is positioned, positioned, positioned for divine increase. Positioned, you can also call it divine blessing, you can call it about how we need to, what we need to note, how we need to properly position our lives in 2019. So, we'll take the first one, and the first one is anchored on the very popular scripture, John 15. NIV says, "I am the true vine, My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is," verse 8, "this is to My Father's glory, that you bear," what? "much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples." I want to take that verse 8 in other translation. Verse 8 in other translation. Which version is that? NLT? Okay. [Speaker 2] "My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father." [Speaker 1] My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to My Father. Is it NLT? Let me check another NLT translation here. I have NLT here too. Let's see what the NLT reads so that we can resolve that once for all. This is how My Father is glorified, that you produce, I'm coming. NLT, John 15. Now verse 8. Verse 8 says, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." That is in line with what we have there. So, this must be paraphrase. Now, what does the paraphrase say? Let's have the paraphrase now. [Speaker 2] "My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father." [Speaker 1] My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to My Father. Now, what I want us to see is this: What is the mark of a true disciple? Not just fruitfulness. That's why I want to try some other translations. Much fruit. Much. That's the word. Can we see KJV? Which translation do you have? Let's try translations. KJV. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." John 15:8. Which translation is that? NIV? Okay. They both came with KJV. I think it's okay. Now, Amplified. "When you bear, produce much fruit, my Father is honored and glorified, and you show," please listen, "you show and prove yourself to be true followers of mine." We are talking about direction for 2019. We are saying that it is so crucial, it is so important for us to see, for us to know that fruitfulness, fruitfulness, fruitfulness, we're talking about three things this evening. The direction God is giving us for 2019: fruitfulness, good work, divine positioning, positioning yourself for divine increase. And we're talking about fruitfulness. Can we hear what your John 15:8 says in your translation? "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." Okay, have another translation again. What did you read? "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Which translation? NLT. NIV. It's NIV. What I want to make you see is the word much fruit, much fruit, much fruit. Now, you'll be wondering why that matter. I kept to look at all these translations. Even the American Standard Bible says the same thing. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, so you prove to be my disciples." If you look like English Standard Version, it says, "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." So, try all the translations you will see this thing. Now, how do we know somebody who is not a true disciple as far as Jesus' statement is concerned here? How do we know? He may bear fruit, but the fruit will not be much. For Jesus, I'm talking about 2019, the direction the Lord is showing us and instructing our hearts. The matter about proving that you are a true disciple is not just that you are fruitful. It's that the fruit is much. Why should we be able to relate these things together and see? Now, how do we relate these together? Let's go again to that verse 1. "I am the true vine, my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away." So, if there is no fruitfulness, you don't even abide. The Father Himself will take it away. If it is not fruitful, what will God do by Himself? He will cut it off. What God does with what is not fruitful is that they are taken away. He takes them away. So that if, for example, you look into your life through 2018 and you have not been fruitful, know that it was mercy that brought you to 2019. You should have been taken away. But the mercy that brought you to 2019 is saying a new opportunity to do it right. One thing I want us to get very clear about the Lord is that the Lord expects profit from His investment on our life. The Lord desires profit. It's a desire. When you check through the Bible, he will tell you that, look at the parable of the vineyard that was rented out to some tenants. He said the man sent some of his servants to go and bring the fruit. They beat one, they stone another one. He sends some other ones again; they dealt with them. Later, he now sent his son that they should give him the returns for me. What did they do? They killed the son. I'm talking about this matter of return, return, bringing return. Take your mind again to the parable of the talent. What happened with that of the talent? He gave one one, he gave one two, he gave one five. What was the expectation again? That five should have doubled to become ten. Two should have become four. One should have become two. So, the matter is not expecting much from who little is given. That's not the matter. But expecting much from who much is given, so that in your own, if you look at it, when two became four, what the percentage of the increase? One hundred percent. Once five became ten, what the percentage of the increase? One hundred percent. One become two. So, you look at all, it's all hundred. No one is thirty percent, twenty percent, even though the amount differs, but it is equal percentage of fruitfulness, which is what? Full fruitfulness, one hundred percent. So, we are not saying that much fruitfulness, I'm trying to clarify something, that it is only because I win a hundred and you win a hundred, that is when it is much. That's not what I mean. I can win a hundred and you win fifty, and depending upon the grace of God upon your life, you are being much fruitful. And I can win a hundred and you come in with two hundred and Baba still say you are fruitless, based on the investment. You know if five have brought six, it will be more than the person who brought four. But when you look at the percentage the return, it's not in compare to the two becoming four. Are you understanding me? So, what we are talking about much fruitfulness is not to begin to compare yourself with somebody and say, "This sister won only three souls, me I won six. So, God know I'm much, God know I'm, in fact in the church I'm much more fruitful." The Bible say when they compare themselves with among themselves then they are not wise. You have to compare yourself with the purpose of God for your life, with the investment of God upon your life, with the grace of God upon your life, with the opportunity God has given you, with the open doors that God opened to you, with the possibility that God brought around your life, with the level from which you are operating. You get the point I'm making? Maybe I give a good example. A gate man may have access to two students compared to a teacher. If a gate man is able to influence one child or two as they pass through the gate, you know it's a great effort because they're not supposed to stop at the gate. But a teacher who is with students for throughout the day, these are the things by which we are talking about investment into somebody's life. So, the first thing I'm calling our attention to for 2019 is that God desire not just that a man is fruitful. God is not glorified that you are just fruitful. What prove that you are a true disciple is that when we look at it, he says you bear much, no some, no few, but much fruit. And when I look into the earlier verses, I saw something that related to this verse 8. Look at these earlier verses again. He says, "Every branch that beareth not fruit he taketh away. Every branch that beareth fruit," he does what? "he purgeth," that it may bring forth more fruit. Are you following something? NLT says, "He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Are you following something? What is that telling you? If it makes it to that verse 8, it means if a life is fruitful but could not be come to a point where it becomes more fruitful, God could not prune that life. Every one that beareth, he prunes, he purges. Did you get it? If you are fruitful and it does not go to much, you were too difficult for God to handle. You are not a true disciple. Are you seeing what I saw? I hope you are seeing what I saw. I'm trying to explain how this way you prove that you are my disciple, because the people that will get to that point are those that God, are those that God can prune. What does it mean to purge? Other translation. What does it mean to purge? Let's see translations. [Speaker 2] "He cuts off every branch on mine that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit." [Speaker 1] He prunes the branch that do bear fruit. Let me take Amplified, if we can get another word for that prune. Amplified. "Any branch in me that does not bear fruit, that stop bearing, he cuts off, trims off, takes away. He cleanses and repeatedly prunes branches so," it's that word I want to make you see, that you see, when a man begins, when you start being fruitful, for you to become to produce much fruit, what will God need to do? He will need to there must be cleansing, there must be cleansing. He will need to purge some things. My daughter, stop this, remove this, remove this, remove that, remove that. So, and it is because God could break you, God could change you, that you are His own. When you are bearing fruit and you cannot move to much fruit, there is a problem. You did not prove that you are. You did not prove. He said, "If a man would be my disciple, let him first deny himself, forget himself," look out of himself and of his own interest, "deny himself, renounce himself." So, it means that person in his fruitfulness did not deny himself. There are things that God could not remove. So, it is when a man gets to the level of much fruitfulness that we can say that the life is really holy. You get it? That we can say that the life is really holy, that the life has been pruned, they have been removing things, they have been purging it, they have been purging it. So, a man should not just be satisfied that he's being fruitful. Because when you become fruitful, God now reason to now purge and purge and remove the useless things that will not allow you to go to much. But when you are not fruitful, there's no need purging; it's to cut it off and bring the one that we can purge. So, that a life is fruitful should not rest on its oars. Rather, he should know that what will follow will be sanctification, will be cleansing, will be purging, will be pruning. God will start removing things, removing, start cutting off some things again. And that is sanctification, am I correct? That's God is sanctifying you. As it is something today we need to look towards for 2019. Am I? Have I not been fruitful? Then I need to become fruitful. It was mercy that brought me to 2019. I should have been taken away. Have I been fruitful? Then I need to move on where God is glorified. What gives glory to God is when we bear much fruit. It's when the fruit is much. And so, it's a goal we need to place before us that wherever I am now, there is a much to go, looking at whatever investment, all the areas of investment, opportunities, influence, access you have. The amount of time available. You get the point I'm making? You will agree with me that in a way, just ordinarily speaking, when you talk about timing, somebody who close for two has more timing than somebody who close for eight. If they both leave for their job at 8:00 in the morning. If one closes eight every day and one closes four, one closes two every day, one closes one every day. You know that there are different, what I'm saying is that it is useless trying to compare myself with somebody. That's what I'm trying to say. It's useless. It's useless. What I need to do is to come before the Lord and say, "Lord, how will you rate me? Lord, assess my life for me. Give me a picture of myself. What will you say about my life? Where do I fall? Are you being glorified? Am I true disciple?" By that you are not say that you are not a Christian. You are, but we are seen that there is something much more the more. Does heaven assess? The answer is yes. He assessed Abraham. "I know Abraham, that he's going to command his children." He assessed. Does He assess? Yes. "David is a man after my own heart." Does He assess? Yes. Who do we see again there? Job. "Have you seen my servant Job? A man who fear God and do eschew evil." Does He assess? Yes. Look at Jesus. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased." So, God assesses. And does He measure the tasks? Yes. Paul said, "I've fought a good fight, I have finished my," how did he know if he's not looking at the course? If he's not looking at something Baba has set? How do you know that you have finished it? How do you know that you have finished it? How do you evaluate that you have finished it if you don't know the, how do you know that you have finished a job if you don't know the. So, it means it's possible to know our task. It's possible to so they don't just just living, you know, giving things to chances. Let's look at the scripture, those who have gone ahead, those upon whom the foundation of the of the church is build. Jesus said the same thing. What did He say? What did He say? "It is finished." So, it's possible. It's possible. It's possible to put these things in order and set them. So, please brethren, it's one area, it's one area for us to look into in our life. As we join 2019, let's look critically into our lives in this area. How will the Lord describe us? What will he say in terms of his investment? In terms of who we are? Can heaven look at you and say this is a true disciple? When heaven look at the fruitfulness. Does heaven assess? The answer is yes. The other area we need to look into, three important areas for 2019. The first one, measuring. Are you a true disciple? Are you proving it? Are you proving it? Are you proving it? The light should not just shine. That's what came to my spirit now. Look at another way again the Master put it in Matthew 5:16. It didn't say, "Let your light shine." What did he say? "So let your light so," you see the matter again coming up in another direction. "Let it so shine." Even if it is shining, it's not enough. It means it has not been purged. It has not been pruned. It has not been cleansed. Once we purge it and we clean it and we do some separation of some things away from it and we sandpaper it very well and we can remove some things, it will not just be shining. It will so shine. I'm looking at those words; I'm just connecting that as I'm talking now, some of these words are deliberate by the Lord Jesus. "Let your light so shine." So, we thank God that the light shines in 2018. But Baba is saying it's not enough. It needs to so shine. And when you look at that place, something comes out in that place again. He says so that men can see. It's like if it is not so, all those things Baba could not remove will not make them see it well. Those things, it will not make them see it well. It could not make them see it well. But when we remove all those things, when if you can be a true disciple that Baba can cleanse, that He can purge, that He can remove, He can remove and remove and remove and cleanse those things off, that light that is shining, there will be nothing obstructing it. So, men will be able to see and they will be able to give glory to God. It appears if it is not so shine, there are obstructions to the light, so that until it so shine, it cannot really be seen. I was in a meeting, we attend a meeting this yearly Sounds and Hymns. I don't know whether I gave the testimony in one of our meetings here. Maybe you were around here for that of this year. Shola Oke, a friend of mine, we grew up together, was the minister for that day, was the guest minister on and so he says something happened, that there was a day he was driving and then Nigeria and driving on the road. Somebody will drive one way, your the other person will drive the other way and then you get angry and this kind of a thing. So, this thing happened between him and somebody and then he just looked at the person because the person so provoked him the way the person drove the car. He looked at the person and did like this. And then he drove off because he was angry. Then the person pursued him. And then the person caught up with him. "Pastor emi ni, Pastor emi ni, eh, eh." He said it was like the ground should just open so that when the ground open like that, he would just enter into the ground and his shame would just go. You know he felt so ashamed that ile loun, ile just open, let me just hide. Because my member, ah, eh, ah. He said there and then that day, he said he made up his mind, "God, even if they slap me on steering, ah, ah, I will be patient, I will be mumu," because the thing made him so ashamed that ah, eh, ah. You can imagine if he's seen me and foolishness I have displayed and then the person know, a pastor had done this me. You know what I'm trying to imagine? I say Jesus, it's very shameful. It was very shameful for him. He said he felt so ashamed. From then he now said, "Ah, it take real Christians to be Christians on the steering in Nigeria." He said it take real Christians to be Christians. But the point I'm want to make is that that light that is shining, you can see an obstruction. You can see the obstruction. So, look at the kind of things Baba want to remove so that he can become much fruit. I'm telling you, it appears to God that glory will not come to God at the level of just being fruitful until it becomes much fruit, because there will be things that your life will be sending two messages. Like in that situation, his life send two messages: pastor telling somebody that he's mad. Unfortunately, his member. So, how do you get to church and ah, I don't know whether you get the situation. So, it's like when he said, he said so that you can in this God is glorified. What it means is that it is at that point that our life will not be sending two messages. It will send just one definite message to the world. Just one definite message. Just imagine Jesus. He say, "Some of you come down, come down." "And me? Me? Okay, I will show you." How would He become the Lamb of God that was taken before the shearers and said nothing? He would have sent two messages. So, for it to be much fruitful, Baba must prune, there must be some prune. I don't know whether you get the point I'm making. So, it's an area of our life to look into. What are what are is things that are obstructing the light? God, what is it that is not making me so it's not making it I am shining, I'm a Christian, but God, is there any that is not making me so shine so that men can see? It's an area of hunger, hunger before the Lord, thirst before the Lord, praying before the Lord, asking the Lord to purge us, asking the Lord, you know, asking the Lord, you know, to cleanse us, to prune us, to look into some things, to look inward, to what I call progressive sanctification. There will be some we need to make some progress again. There are some earthly again that must become heavenly. Some things that are earthly about us that need to become heavenly from glory to glory so that there can be more pruning so that the fruit can be much. The other one, good works. And you see when we talk about good works, I know I mentioned it in passing in one of the prayer that we prayed. But I just want to establish it today. Three areas that God is pushing us for 2019. Three areas. If you've not been fruitful, it was mercy that brought you to 2019. You should have been taken away. If you've been fruitful, Baba is saying, "I need to be glorified. You need to be my true disciples by bearing much fruit." Good works. I want to ask you this simple question brethren, and I believe those of us who have been coming who have been with me for years will have the ready answer because it's not the first time I'll be asking this question. But look when God want to bring some things again afresh, He brings some things and then He open them up. I've been reading John 15 all my life, but I've never I've never connected verse 2 and verse 8. I've never seen it like I'm telling you now. I've never seen it, honestly. It's the first time I'm seeing it all my life as I've been reading that scripture that there's a connection between pruning and glorification, just as I've explained it to you now. Why do we say Satanism? Why do we call devil devil? In James 2:19, what did the Bible say? James 2:19. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." By what do we stand? By what do we stand before the Lord? Being justified by faith. What do we believe before the Lord? That there is one Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead, who is coming back again to judge the world. What does the devil believe? When Jesus was here, you remember when he was the madman and he was splitting that "Have you come to judge us before time? Send us where into the pig?" Several times, "Have you come to judge us, Son of God? Have you come to judge us before time? Have you come to judge us before time?" So, they believe that there is one Lord, and they believe that He's coming back for eternal judgment and there's a time for eternal judgment. So, are they not believers? So, what makes them devil? What makes them devil? Their works. What is their work? The sins. They oppose God. God is holy; devil is sinful in his works. So, what is it that makes them devil? They don't submit to the will of God. Is that not? So, who is a devil? So, if somebody believes, he sits in church, he does miracle, Jesus is Lord, he believe in eternal judgment, he believe that Jesus will come and take the the same home and there's a time of judgment. But the person does not submit to God's will in his works, what is the person? That's what we are talking about this evening. What is the person? How do you describe a man who believe that there is one Lord? Who agree that this Lord will come to judge? Who believe in eternal judgment and that Jesus is the Christ, but the person does not submit to the will of God in his works? What is that person? That's the second challenge I'm challenging you, is in the area of good works. You see this thing, the challenge I'm challenging you is this: look at Timothy. Timothy, 1 Timothy, chapter 4. Is it 1 Timothy 4 that I want? No, sorry please. Let me look, it should be 2 Timothy. It should be 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy 4 from verse 1. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." Paul have once charged you with this word. You remember? If you cannot remember, go and look at our discussion on WhatsApp. He says, "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, which shall judge the quick and the dead and his appearing, the appearing of his kingdom. Preach the word," ah, "be instant," what? "in season and," what? "out of season." Other translation. "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his kingdom. Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not." Okay, are you getting it now? What the Lord is saying is this: that many times His children deny Him in their works when the time are not favorable. We are only looking at the areas when it is favorable. No, Baba is looking at an area in our life this year and the area where it is not convenient to do God's work. When it is not convenient, He said it is in those areas that we have devilish works. We don't have godly works; we don't have good works. In our works in those areas, we deny Him. We deny Him. Can I keep loving my wife with this love even though she does not submit to me? You say no, but that is the Bible. Say husband, love your wife as Christ loved the church. He didn't say love your wife as long as she submits to you. Am I show my submission as a wife will remains just as it is when the husband does not obey the word? Or I will quickly give reasons why it is not convenient to submit? Will I as a servant, an employee of government, when it is not convenient, will I as an employee of government still be faithful in service when the when my master is not considering? That is why me too, God understand. God knows. I'm talking of when are you prepared when it is not favorable? Because we have become casual and careless many times through 2018, many times in our life, in different situations, when it is not favorable we deny God. We become devils. It says good works. I'm talking about good works in relation to when it is not convenient. The standard of God is that what? Be prepared when it is convenient and when it is not convenient. That's one translation. Which translation is that? Let me check, let me check. Okay, Amplified also have it. It is NLT that says favorable. Amplified says preach the gospel, keep your sense of urgency, stand firm and be at hand and ready, whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable, whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome. You as a preacher of the word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong. We are to show whether it is favor or whether it is not. But we seems to hold to God when it is convenient and we deny Him when it is not convenient. And the Lord is looking at that area in 2019. The Lord is calling us to to look at areas where it is not convenient. And to to get it clear, look at 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. I want you to see something from the verse 11. 1 Peter 2 from verse 11. Are you there brethren? "Dearly beloved," let me read NLT. "Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world. For the Lord's sake, respect all human authority, whether the king as head of state or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right. It is God's will that your honorable life should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. It is your life. Your honorable life should silence them. Now, let's read on. For you are free, yet you are God's slave. Do you see what he's trying to say? You have the right to do otherwise. Somebody slap you, you can slap back; you are free. Somebody say, "Are you mad?" You now you have right to say, "What do you mean? How do you say how do you how do you say how do you" you have the right. He say, but you are free. The matter of putting down your right is not because you don't own it, but because you have a focus and a target. Don't you think I can call my Father to bring legion? Doesn't he have the power to do that? Why did he abstain himself from such power? The matter is not about weakness. The matter is about focus. It's about focus. It's about focus. And I'm telling you, for me, I believe it takes greater, it is people who can do right in the face of wrong that are strong. It take more strength to live correctly. Look, it takes less strength to slap back if somebody slap you. But it takes more strength to hold back. Do you agree with me? It takes more strength if somebody does what is painful to you. It takes more strength not to react. It takes a higher strength not to react. It takes little strength to react because you are more inclined by nature to do the first, but you are working against yourself, your humanity, your you understand me you're it takes more strength to do it. That's why I believe that individuals who seems to us to be weak are actually strong as long as it is not cowardice. I'm not talking about cowardice. If I just want to slap "Heh, I don't know, maybe this person might go and kill me." That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about you are free. You are free, you you can do it, but you chose not to do it. It take a lot of strength. It take a lot of honestly it take a lot of strength. Take a lot of strength. He say, "You are free, yet you are God's servant. So, don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil." Now, look at what it now say. "Respect everyone. Love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God and respect the king." Look at the next positioning. "You who are slaves must accept the authority of your master with all respect. Do what they tell you, not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel." What is this saying? When it is convenient, am I correct? And when it is not convenient. Why? We're talking about good works in the area of when it is not favorable. "For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and you patiently endure unfair treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is," what? "pleased." That's the point we're talking about. God is pleased with you. Sister, please help us to sign this check. You check the amount, maybe you are the president of the cooperative. You check the amount. "Ah-ah, this is two million. We only have eight hundred thousand. You can only take one point six." He say, "Please just sign it now, my choice is this one, just sign it." And you say no. "And then okay, then okay, the next thing, your next promotion you are denied." What does God say? Up you! God is pleased with you. Up you! God is pleased with you. He say, "Ah, but if I don't do it now, they go deny my next promotion. Even though it is not right, let me just sign it." You have denied God. I'm talking of denying God when it is not convenient. He said, "For you are called to do good even when it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example and you must follow in His steps." Do you see it now? When you don't bear fruit where it is not convenient, you are not a disciple. We're back again to somewhere we started. When you don't bear much fruit, you're not a true disciple. When there is no good works where it is not convenient, you are not His follower. I'm talking about issues that draw us out as followers of the Master. Not denying God when it is not convenient. Standing when it is not convenient is so important. And the last thing I said God wants us to position ourselves for harvest, position ourselves for greater abundance, position ourselves for greater abundance. So, so important for us to position ourselves for greater abundance and Psalm 34. Psalm 34. I'm just positioning you quickly, quickly, quickly; it's already time for us to pray. It's 6:30 by my time here. So, I want us to stop so that we can pray. Psalm 34. Are you there? I begin from verse 4. What does it say? Verse 4. Verse 4: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." I sought the Lord. Other version says what? "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears." He freed me from all my fears. I prayed to the Lord. Other translation for the word those who look. Let's see translations. "Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces. No shadow of faces will darken their faces." Other translation. Other one, other one, other one. When that you look to the Lord, look. The prayer for this year is not God, don't let me be ashamed. Hmm-mm. It's God, there is a duty: those who look, those who put their trust in Him, those who rest on Him, those who lean on Him. They will not be ashamed. Let us put our trust in the Lord. Let our heart rest on God. Put your trust in Him. Put your trust in Him. Verse 6, a repetition of the initial instruction. "This poor man called, and the Lord heard him, and he saved him out of his troubles." So, from your fears, you call. From your troubles, what do you do? You call. If you don't want your troubles to overtake you, He did not say that there will not be trouble. But He said look, the trouble in 2019, there is a way out. The poor man, why did he say the poor man? Why did the Bible say the poor man? He's saying like you'll be in situation where things are more powerful than you. That is a trouble. Imagine you are between two trailers and this one is rolling back and you cannot roll backward. That's a trouble. And you are a poor man then; there's nothing you can do. You need God to intervene. Imagine when your boss say, "Look, because you refuse to sleep with me, I bet you that promotion will not come." That's a trouble. Because there's nothing you can do. You are a poor person in that even though you are a believer, even though you have a lot of money, but in that situation you're a poor person. Am I correct? What of when you are to travel and suddenly kidnappers attend on the road with their AK-47 and you're in the car? You're a poor person in that situation. No matter the level of riches, in that situation you're a poor person. That's why he's talking about situation that you cannot help yourself. Circumstances. You may be in the house and suddenly something happened to you; you need somebody to help. And there's nobody immediately around. You're the only one in the room. If God doesn't intervene, you may die. In that situation you're a poor person. The poor man cry, the Lord heard him. I'm telling you what prayers will do. From your fears from your troubles, prayer will go. The next positioning: "The angel of the Lord encamp around those who do what? Who fears him." There will be a lot of angelic ministration 2019. There will be angelic carriage, but you must position yourself. How do you position yourself? Live in the fear of God. For those who live in the fear of God, they are positioning themselves for angelic visitation. They will encamp around Him to preserve them, to protect to deliver them, angelic carriage for those who fear the Lord. Position yourself to fear the Lord. Number 8: "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed are those who take refuge in him." What is this saying? Don't draw back. What did it say? Draw near, taste it. Don't be an onlooker. Don't be a spectator. Do something to touch God, do something to taste God. Taste it! Taste! Taste and see that the Lord is good. Don't say, "Ah, will I be able to trust God? Will I be able to believe God?" Be among those that will taste. Draw, do something. "I wish I have strong faith like Sister Comfort. I wish I have strong this like Sister Funbi. I wish I have" no, you taste too. You too do it. Taste and you will see what will happen. It says taste! Taste! Taste and see that the Lord is good. Don't draw back in fear. Don't draw back in unbelief. Don't be double-minded. Taste, see! You will find that the Lord is good. Blessed are those who take refuge in Him. Please draw ahead for 2019 to taste God. Fear the Lord, ye His holy people, for those who fear Him will lack nothing. Apart from angelic ministration, apart from angelic deliverance, there will be provision for those who fear. It's your pathway for provision. Positioning yourself in the fear of God, in the place of in the place of trust. The young lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. This is how the Lord wants us to strategically position ourselves this year. Position ourselves this year. Position yourself in the place of prayer, position yourself in the place of trusting the Lord. Put your hope in the Lord. Don't put it here and there; gather your hope together. Put your mind somewhere; be in the Lord. Fear Him. Effectual fervent prayer. Don't forget that prayer is a command, not a counsel. If you don't pray, you're disobeying a command. For men ought always to pray and not to faint. Pray without ceasing. Ask, it will be given. Seek. Prayer is a command. You have not because you ask not. Ask and you shall receive and your joy shall be full. If you look at all of these, they were commands. So, not praying fervently, not bringing matter to God fervently, not bringing your fears before the Lord, is not working in His way. Righteousness exalts. Bring your fears in fervent prayer. Bring your fears in intercession. Cry to the Lord. I sought the Lord. Verse 5, clear clear instruction. "Those who look unto him are radiant; their faces were never covered with shame." Those who look. The out of positioning yourself is what I'm showing you for 2019. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces. No shadow of faces will darken their faces. When that you look to the Lord, look. The prayer for this year is not, "God, don't let me be ashamed." Hmm-mm. It's "God, there is a duty: those who look, those who put their trust in him, those who rest on him, those who lean on him." They will not be ashamed. Let us put our trust in the Lord. Let our heart rest on God. Put your trust in Him. Put your trust in Him. Verse 6, a repetition of the initial instruction. "This poor man cry, the Lord heard him." From your fears, from your troubles, cry to the Lord. We are beginning the cry already. We are beginning the cry already. Cry to the Lord. What are your fears? "I hope I will be able to bear much fruit." Is that your fear? Cry to the Lord. Cry to the Lord. Do it by crying. Cry to the Lord. He said He will deliver us from our fear. "Will I be able to know what is? Will I be able to know what is my course and my try?" Cry to the Lord. Don't let fear grip your heart. Don't forget the fourth thing: taste, taste. Don't stay back. Don't allow doubt and unbelief hold you. Don't allow fear hold you. Taste, taste! Taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste it! Taste! Draw near and taste. Draw near and taste. Draw near and taste. Thank you Father. Thank you Jesus. Oh, thank you Jehovah. Thank you Almighty God. Blessed be your name our God. Blessed be your name Jehovah. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.