Satan's Subtility

Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home front. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Singing] Baba o, ese. We just want to say, Oluwa, ese. We want to say, Lord, we just want to say. We want to say, Baba o, ese. We just want to say, want to say, Oluwa, ese. [Speaker 1] Almighty God, unto you be glory, unto you be honor, unto you be adoration. We give you praise, we give you glory. We appreciate you for your love and for your mercies. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for all who you are to us. Lord, we are really grateful. We say, Lord, be exalted in the name of Jesus. Our Father, we gather unto you again this evening for another time of discipleship class to look into scripture, to fellowship in your word. Lord, our God, we pray, let your Spirit work within us in the name of Jesus. Lord, we are asking, we are praying that, Lord, you will meet us individually where we need you most in the name of Jesus. And Lord, collectively you will meet with us in the name of Jesus. The scripture says the entrance of your word gives light and understanding. Lord, we pray, let there be an entrance of your word today. Let it give light and understanding in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, eternal Father. Blessed be your holy name, our God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen and amen. Let's have our seat. Praise the Lord. We are indeed grateful to God again for another time in His presence. We want to thank God both for our brethren who are here physically and our brethren who are linking with us online as we start up again this evening. In the past three weeks, we have been considering the matter of strength in the inner man. We saw that if anybody will not faint, if anybody will not fail—will not faint or fail—then there must be strength in the inner man. And we considered that in three different dimensions. In the dimension of persecution, in the dimension of patience, being able to wait for God, and then in the dimension of enduring affliction. Such that if you don't have strength in your inner man, you'll not be able to face persecution. In the face of persecution, you are likely to fail. You don't have strength in your inner man, you may not be able to wait for God, wait for the timing of God. And lastly, if you don't have strength in your inner man, you may not be able to endure affliction. Those are the three things we have considered. The uniqueness of our meeting, starting from last week and gaining strength into today, is that as much as possible now, because of expansion—every time there's expansion, you make room for expansion—we begin to have a little expansion. We begin to have participants, fellowship, people who want to fellowship with us from within the community. And in our interaction with them, they seem to prefer that we make it bilingual, that somehow don't make everything all English such that they don't get the whole thing as they would have wanted it in Yoruba language. So in a way, you'll be seeing us henceforth that when I speak, as much as possible, I will try to capture some things in Yoruba language so that we can all flow together. And I believe that our audience too who are joining us online, you can also begin to invite such individuals because we trust the Lord that whether you are a complete English listener or you want it bilingual, you'll be able to fellowship with us. Praise the Lord. So today, we want to consider a very unique topic. We want to look at something very vital, very vital to our Christian faith as disciples of the Lord. Oun ta fe gbeyewo loni, o se pataki fun igbagbo wa. Very, very vital to our faith. And that is "The Subtlety of Satan." Arekereke Satani. It looks... you’ll be wondering what exactly do we want to discuss under this topic as disciples of the Lord. What do we want to look at? But I believe that as we begin to look at it, you'll be able to gain insight into some things as we fellowship together. Mo gbagbo wipe bi a se fe wo, o ma je ohun t’a je alabukun fun wa, t’a je ka ri ogbon ati ohun pataki dimu ninu irin igbagbo wa. It is something I want you to see in this exercise of our faith in God. And I want to draw your attention to first, two scriptures in the Bible. E je ka wo ese Bibeli meji. The first one is 1 John 3. Johanu Kinni, ese keta. Let's see something in 1 John chapter 3. I will take my reading from around verse 6. Lati ese kefa. The Bible says: [Speaker 2] 1 John 3:6-8 "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him." [Speaker 1] Who is the "Him" we are talking about here? Who is the "Him"? Christ. You understand. Verse 7. [Speaker 2] "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." [Speaker 1] Anybody who practices righteousness is righteous just as Jesus is righteous. [Speaker 2] "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." [Speaker 1] Now, we are looking at something very important. The Bible says when you want to talk about sin, the origin of sin, you link it to who? To the devil. Satan, the works of the devil is the origin of sin. Bibeli fi ye wa wipe nipa ise Satani ni ese fi wonu aye. Let's go to Genesis. E je ka lo si Genesis, ka lo wo nkan kan nbe. Let's get there. Genesis chapter 3. And that is why I will not bother us with too much theology about this matter. Genesis 3, the second scripture. The Bible says: [Speaker 2] Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord God had made." [Speaker 1] Can we try some other translation for that? Other translation for that Genesis 3, just verse 1a. [Speaker 2] "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made." [Speaker 1] So the word "cunning," what's another word for it there? "Crafty." Satan is crafty. Any other translation? Any other one? Let's have some other translation. [Speaker 2] Easy to Read Version: "The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made." [Speaker 1] "The snake was the most clever." The snake was the most clever. And when the Bible says that, you'll be wondering why in wanting to discuss the fall of man, the first thing we were introduced to is that the snake was the most clever. Are you following me? I want to read something here in the Amplified translation. It says, "Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature which the Lord had made." A fe so nipa isubu omo eda. Ohun ti Bibeli koko menu le ni wipe, sewo esu je eni to ni ogbon arekereke. Siwaju ohun gbogbo, the first thing Heaven wants us to see about the fall of man, ohun ti orun fe ka koko ri, ka koko kiyesi, ni wipe, wo esu je ologbon arekereke. See, Satan is more crafty. Satan is subtle. You'll be wondering why that is the introduction of the matter. Chapter 3 is the record of what? The fall of man. Ori keta yi lo n so nipa bi eniyan se subu sinu ese. But in opening up the matter of our fall, the very agent of that fall—I don't want to go into the theology of this verse, people have argued, "the serpent... is it actually snake or the devil?" I don't want to go into all of that. The reason I don't want to go into that is that if you check scriptures over and over again, and from what happened eventually in this chapter when it says the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent, the serpent will bite the heel and then he will bruise his head, we know we're talking about Christ and the devil. So we know very well that the issue we are dealing with here is not one physical snake that is standing somewhere. The issue we are dealing with here is about mankind and the devil. But I don't want to go into trying to prove all of that because scripture proves over and over again, eventually, when Jesus was to bruise the head of the serpent by His crucifixion, the Bible makes us to see in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 that if the prince of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. So we know that this scripture, what we are dealing with here is not just one physical snake. We are dealing with the serpent, the devil. If you go to Revelation, it said "that old serpent, the devil, that deceived the whole world." So we know we are dealing with the matter of the devil here. And the first thing Heaven wants you to know about our fall is that Satan is what? Subtle. Ohun ti a ni lati koko mo nipa bi a se subu sinu ese, ohun ni wipe ka mo wipe ogbon, nkan tan pe ni ogbon, o wa pelu Satani. He is subtle. That's the first thing. As disciples, as followers of Jesus, you need to know that we are not dealing with spirits that are not clever. Ohun t’a ni lati mo ni wipe awon emi ta n ba ja ijakadi ni irin igbagbo, won o n se awon nkan to ku ni opolo, won gbon. They are intelligent. Number two about this subtlety is that you need to know that standing outside the Lord—please follow my word very clearly—standing outside the Lord, human sagacity does not match the intelligence of Satan. That is, let me put it in another way, Satan by his intelligence is smarter than man. Ohun keji lati mo ni wipe ta ba ti duro ninu Olorun, ogbon ti omo eda ni, ko to nkan ti Satani ni ni ogbon. That is why if you will notice, the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 10—I think that should be 10:16, please somebody should help me check that—He said, "Look, be wise as what? As what? As serpent." Be wise. He was speaking—am I correct, please somebody should help check that for me? Matthew 10:16. Am I correct about that? [Speaker 2] Matthew 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." [Speaker 1] Are you seeing it? Are you seeing something? The Lord was sending out the disciples. He was sending them out. Oluwa fe ran won jade kan lo sise. See, He said, "I'm sending you out, but you need to understand something. You need to be wise as serpent." That tells you that the Lord Himself understands the subtlety of Satan. He understands the subtlety of Satan. If you look at that reading in the... I want to take that reading in the other translation that I have here and see the way it presents that matter. New International Version: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Be as what? "Shrewd" as snakes. Shrewd. S-H-R-E-W-D. Shrewd. You know what it means to be shrewd? To be wise, to be smart. Say, "Be as shrewd as the serpent." I want to read this translation for us here. Oh, I moved so fast again to another verse. Please let me get... I want to read... I opened a mock translation Bible here. I want to read that thing in... Okay, I take it in Amplified. It says, "Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves; be wary and wise as the serpent, innocent and guileless as doves." I take that in the Message translation. "You are going to... stay smart. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You are going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack. So don’t call attention to yourself. Be as cunning as snakes." If a sheep want to go through a pack of wolves, aguntan, o fe gba arin awon ikooko koja, t’aguntan yen ti o ba ni ku, o ni lati gbon. Am I correct? If a sheep want to go through a pack of wolves, and that sheep will not die, and that sheep at the end will stand successful without injury, and it will be still be alive and okay, that sheep must be wise. Won l’on Yoruba se ma n so wipe "omo go, a ni o ma ku, igba wo l’e go nipa omo?" A child is foolish, you are praying that the child will not die. That prayer is not correct because foolishness will destroy a child. The correct prayer is that "Lord, may our children be wise." And you see what the Lord is telling the disciples. What did He say? "Be as wise as what? As serpent." Be wise as serpent. O ni, "Nitori naa, ki eyin, ki o gbon bi ejo." Nitori naa, ki eyin ki o gbon bi ejo. We are discussing the subtlety of Satan as disciples of the Lord. The reason why this matter became a matter in my heart was that I realized—this matter started with my heart two weeks ago—I just suddenly realized that, come, why is it that in wanting to discuss how we fell, the first thing Heaven wants us to know is that the devil is subtle? O ni "Now, the devil is more cunning." The serpent, that's the first thing, that's the introduction. And it is good for us to know that the reason why this thing is being introduced to us is for us to know that human intelligence does not match Satan's intelligence. Ohun akoko, Bibeli je ka mo wipe Satani t’a fe ba, t’a fe ja ijakadi yi, eni to gbon ni. Ohun keji ni wipe Bibeli fe ka mo wipe ogbon ti a ni gege bi eniyan, a gbon to Satani ni ogbon. You will say no! You will say, "Why do I say that?" I will soon show you from scriptures why I made the second statement. Number one, have you ever asked yourself, for us as human, how are we conceived? Awa t’a wa loni, omo eniyan t’a bi loni, a bi ninu kini? How are we conceived? Ko se ninu ese ni? Are we not conceived in iniquity? We are conceived in iniquity. After the fall, leyin t’a subu sinu ese yi, gbogbo omo eniyan t’a n bi, inu ese l’a bi won si. Oto abi iro? Is that not the truth? That's the reality. We are conceived in sin. Whether or not you commit any sin till you die, if you don't have Jesus, you are going to hell fire because you are a sinner. That's why Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot..." There must be another birth apart from the natural birth. So anybody that does not have the second birth will die in hell. Enikeni ti a ba ti tun bi, tori pe a bi omo eniyan ninu ese, ti a ba ti tun bi, inu kini? Orun apadi lo n lo. There is no alternative to it. And that's why the Bible said, "Go into the world, preach this gospel." Talk to people, preach. Because unless someone be... I don't know if it is possible, but to ba se se ki eniyan ko ma da ese kankan titi yo fi ku, ti o ba ni Jesu, orun apadi lo n lo. If it's possible to give birth to somebody and the person does not commit any sin but it does not become born again, he's going to hell. Is that not a reality? It's reality. But the first Adam was not conceived in sin. Is that not true? Is that not true? He was not conceived in sin. Ki l’a fi mo pe Adam, Adam, a bi ninu ese? Ki l’a fi mo pe a bi ninu ese? Because the Bible says, "As by one man, sin entered the world." Nipa okunrin kan ni ese wo aye. So nipa ti Adam ni ese sese wo aye. It was through Adam that sin came. Adam was not conceived in sin. He was not. As by one man, sin entered the world, and then what? Death by sin, and so death passed unto all men, even though who does not sin after the manner of Adam, for that all have sinned. So nipa ti Adam l’ese sese wo aye. He was not conceived in sin. Yet, as glorious as he was, he was taken by the subtlety of this drama. Eve, as glorious as she was, she was taken by the subtlety of this drama. As glorious as these two beings were—Adam ati Efa—bo se ni ogo to, bo se ni ewa to, bo se ni gbogbo e to, ewo bi Satani bo se play game yen. Look at the game. Went to the woman, then through the woman, what did he do? He got the man. Wasn't that the drama? O koko mu Efa, then nipa ti Efa, o get Adam. Ko koko lo s’odo Adam. Why did the person go to Adam? We are dealing with a smart devil. Like I said in one meeting, it takes a smart Satan, a smart spirit, to make a woman go naked and call it fashion. He's smarter than the woman. The woman is naked and yet she's calling it fashion. Don't you see that those spirits are smarter than human beings? They are smarter than human beings. They are smarter. They are not dunce. They know what they are doing. They glamorize foolishness for men. Won ma mu ese, won ma po, won ma se, t’a dabi nkan gidi. Eniyan a de ma gbe ese, a ma yo ninu ese, a ma fo ninu ese. E wa ni awon emi yi ogbon ju eniyan lo. Look at how man have glamorized money. Money, just money, liquid money. Such that man can kill man. In fact, in some instance, brothers kill brothers. In some instance, children kill parents. In some instance, parents use their children for rituals. Are these not a part of life? And you are telling me that these spirits are not smarter than men? And to ba de n se, they will feel they are doing something real. "Wow! I made it." Did they make anything? They have only been foolish. But it look as if they are wise. Why? Because the spirit that we are dealing with, they are smart spirit. Ohun t’o se koko l’ati ye wa ni wipe awon emi t’a n ba ja ijakadi gege bi omo eyin Jesu, o se koko l’ati ye wa wipe ogbon ori wa, ogbon t’a ni, ko to, ko se ohun t’a fe fi ja ijakadi yi. Ta ba fe lo ogbon ori wa, a ma kuna. We cannot fight this battle. And that is why you will notice that the scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with what? With what?" Immediately the Bible says that, what’s the next thing? "Do not lean on your own what?" Oro Olorun n ye wa. O ni ka f’gbogbo okan ka fi simi le Oluwa, ka ma se gbe... ma se simi le ara re, ogbon re, oye re. Oye wa, ko se ohun t’a le gbe ke le. You can’t trust on your understanding. You can’t lean on it. If you try to lean on it, you will fail. You will fail. That is why I was speaking with my student, some student recently, and I said something. Mo ni for you to know how human sagacity, human intelligence cannot handle Satan. I said, "You are student." They said, "Yes, sir." Have you ever seen situation where a teenager will be calling a professor by his first name? Won ni, "Ah! Yes, yes, yes. It just happened. Yes now." In what situation? They said, "Peradventure she's dating the girl." I said, "Good." I said, "Now, a professor, maybe of Physics or Biology, o d’idi professor, he's sleeping with a girl that is of the age maybe of his own children. And the girl is calling him, 'Tom!' say, 'Yeah, baby!'" And what's the relevance of his professorship in the matter of life? What's the relevance? Ki ni wulo gbogbo iwe t’o ka nigba t’eniyan ka iwe to di professor, t’o de n b’omo n’u e sun, t’o de n pe l’oruko, "Bode," kinikan? "Yeah, yeah, girl!" A de n, a de n move on, and he's still a big deal. Is it normal or abnormal? But to himself, how does he see himself? "I'm enjoying life." Why? The spirits we are dealing with, they are smarter than us. They are smarter than us. They are smarter. Awon emi t’a n ba ja ijakadi, Satani t’a n ba ja ijakadi yi, o kun fun ogbon, ogbon arekereke. Ti a ba fe ja ogun ajaye, t’a fe segun ni irin ajo, iwe Owe, ori keta, ese karun-un t’ese keje, o se pataki fun irin ajo wa. It is so crucial for our walk with God. It's so crucial for our walk with God. It's so vital, so crucial for our walk with God. It's so vital, so crucial if we must survive this race. The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding." In how many of your ways? In how many of your ways? Do you notice that it's not some of them? It's not some of them. In all your ways! What did the Bible say? What did the Bible say? What does it mean to acknowledge God? What does it mean to acknowledge God in all your ways? What does it mean to acknowledge, when the Bible say acknowledge? Reverence, that's one way to look at it. Another way to acknowledge: recognize. That's another way to recognize. What's another way to look at that word acknowledge? Put into consideration. You put it into consideration. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. And take cognizance, reverence. Be sure, be sure—let me dramatize this for you—in all your ways, be sure you are not standing around God. Be sure you are standing inside God. Let me explain it to you. I will still come back to Genesis chapter 3 that we were reading. I'll come back there. Mo fe ka tun wo kinikan ni Ephesians, iwe Efesu, ori kefa. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 6. Let's check something there. I want to demonstrate something to you. The subtlety of Satan. Satan is so subtle. And as disciples of the Lord, we must understand this. Efesu ori kefa l’a fe lo. Gege bi omo eyin Kristi, o ye yi l’ati ye wa. A ni l’ati ni oye yi. Ti oye yi o ba ti ye wa, a ti go. A ti go ninu oye wa. A le ba Satani ja ijakadi, a ti go. Once you don't come to an understanding that in yourself, in your capacity of intelligence, you don't match Satan, then you are already a fool. You have missed it. You have missed it. So you will discover that many times, instead of seeking refuge in the foolishness of God, you want to stand in human wisdom. I say foolishness of God because the truth of God always appear to us as foolish. The Bible says this gospel is foolishness when you listen to it. Satan want us to see... to see the wisdom of God as foolishness. And so many times we want to stand in another intelligence. But there is an intelligence in which you must stand, and that is the intelligence of God. Let's go to Ephesians. Ni opolopo igba, Satani ma fe ka wo ra wa bi eni t’o gbon, eni t’o mo nkan t’o n se. A de mo wipe ni gbogbo igba t’a ba ti duro bi eni t’o gbon, t’o mo nkan t’o n se yato si ogbon ti Olorun, a ti kuna. A ti kuna. A ti kuna ni igbagbo. E je ka lo si iwe Efesu ori kefa yen. Ephesians chapter 6, let's check that place quickly. Ephesians chapter 6, let's see what the Bible says in Ephesians 6 from verse 10. I will read from here. [Speaker 2] "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." [Speaker 1] What do you see in the next verse? [Speaker 2] "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." [Speaker 1] Against what? Against what? Can we see other translation? Can we see other translation? Which translation? Please let's use the mic. [Speaker 3] "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in your power of His might. Put on the whole armor, armor of God, that ye may also, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." [Speaker 1] "Put on the whole armor of God, stand against the wiles of the devil." Another translation please. Let's have that. Which one is that? Amplified. Verse 10. [Speaker 3] "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord. Be empowered through your union with Him. Draw your strength from Him. Draw your strength from Him, that strength which His boundless might provides. Verse 11. Put on God’s whole armor, the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies, that you may be able successfully to stand up against all the strategies..." [Speaker 1] Look, look, wait please. When we put on that armor, what are we standing against? "All strategies and the deceit of the devil." The deceit of the devil. Another translation. Which translation is that please? New International Version. [Speaker 3] "Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, put on the full, make sure the armor is full, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." [Speaker 1] What did he call it again? Devil's schemes. Strategy, schemes. Schemes. Any other translation for that word? Okay, let's have... let's have you. Please use the mic. [Speaker 3] English Standard Version: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." [Speaker 1] The schemes. Are you following me, brethren? Are we going together? So orun mi ye wa. We are looking at something very, very, very, very, very, very crucial. I want to quickly get to that place to quickly read that same thing for us in Yoruba translation. "L’akotan ara, e ma je alagbara ninu Oluwa ati ninu agbara ipa re. E gbe gbogbo ihamora Olorun wo ki eyin ki o si le koju ija si arekereke l'otu." Please, believers, understand this. We are not called to fight the devil. We are called to fight his schemes. Ohun t’a fe koju ija si, ko n se esu, arekereke l'otu. The subtlety of Satan. Ohun t’a fe koju ija si, ko n se esu. And do you know why ti o se je esu l’a fe ba ja? Do you know the reason why it's not Satan? Why it's not Satan? The answer is in Colossians. Why is it not Satan? Bible says, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public show of them, triumphing over them openly." Satan has been disarmed. A ti gba agbara l’owo Satani l’ori awon onigbagbo. Satan has been disarmed. Bible says, "Having disarmed... in fact King James says, 'Having spoiled principalities and powers.'" Principalities and powers have been spoiled. They have been disarmed. Won ti gba agbara l’owo won l’ori awon omo Olorun ni mo n so o. T’o ba si ninu Olorun, esu l’agbara l’ori e seriously o. Because you need to understand that the venom of the serpent, Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the Son of Man be lifted up." Isn't it? If you look at the serpent in the wilderness, are you familiar with that story? He says it will come to pass, if any man is bitten by the serpent, if he does what? If he looks up, what will happen to the venom? So the venom is active. It is only inactive as you look up. So it is only those who are in Christ that the venom is inactive in their life. Outside Christ, that venom is active. Esu o l’agbara l’ori onigbagbo sugbon ti onigbagbo o ba gbe gbogbo ihamora Olorun wo, arekereke Satani a mu. If you don't put on the whole armor of God, if you don't put on the whole armor, Satan has been disarmed but the Bible warns us that "Put on the whole armor of God so that you can stand against what?" He still has schemes. He has schemes, strategies. O l’awon arekereke l’owo. He still have them. He still have them. He still have them. [Worship/Singing] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. [Speaker 1] Now, if you look at... I don't know whether you have watched some of these cartoon films, some of these cartoons. When some of these evil forces want to demoralize the seemingly person that want to capture them, they will create fear. So when they create the fear, the force that want to capture them will be so demoralized, he would not be able to act and then those things will escape. That's why you know that some ministers will tell you that one of the police of Satan to police the believer is fear. As long as you are afraid, you cannot operate faith. And except you operate faith, the venom will continue until you will die. Because once you are bitten and you are looking up, you refuse to look away, you are looking unto Jesus, you refuse to begin to say, "Hey! It's getting... Look at it! He!" You refuse to look down, what will happen to the venom? It will die. So if I want the venom to kill you, what will I do? I will make enough noise to make you look away from where? From up. So as long as you are not looking up, the venom will kill you. But what actually killed you? Is it the venom? It is your fear. It is your ignorance that actually did the killing, not the venom. Are you understanding me, brethren? Ohun ti mo n so ti mo fi gbogbo oyinbo so, so soke s’otale ni wipe, Jesu so pe gege bi a se gbe ejo, Mose ti gbe ejo soke ninu agiju, be l’a se ma gbe omo eniyan soke, enikeni to ba gbagbo ki yio segbe. Ohun t’a ba wo ninu agiju yen, nigba t’ejo ge won je, ki ni Mose ni kan se? Olorun ni kan wo ejo t’a gbe ko gi. To ba ti n wo ejo t’a gbe ko gi, ki l’asele si ejo t’o ge won je? Oro ejo yen a ku. So ohun ti Satani ma se ni wipe, ki l’ohun ma se t’onigbagbo ko ti ni duro ninu igbagbo ko ma wo Jesu? Tori to ba ti le se ko ma wo Jesu, ko ma duro ninu Jesu, ko ma ba Jesu rin, ki l’asele? Oro t’o fi ge won je a pa won, sugbon ohun t’o pa won ko n se oro yen, aigbagbo lati wo Jesu, ohun gangan lo pa won. Subtlety of Satan. Arekereke Satani. So the Bible says, "Be strong in the Lord." E duro ninu agbara Olorun ati ninu agbara ipa re. And the power of His might. And immediately to be able to do that, He say, "Put on the whole armor of God." Don't put one down o. Put on everything. Gbogbo ihamora yen, gbogbo ewo. Sugbon je ki oye yin o ye yin o, ohun t’e fe baja, what you want to combat with is what? Schemes. Schemes, strategy, deceit, lies. That's why I tell you, it takes a smart devil to make a lady open up all her breast and call it fashion, and she’s doing like this. The Bible says they glory in their shame. They didn't know that they are inside shame and they are glorying. Satan is smarter than them. Schemes, lies, deceit, strategy. Ogbon arekereke. Ohun gangan l’a fe baja. That is what we want to combat. And in combating these schemes, in combating this deceit, this falsehood, this lies, in combating this, we need a wisdom. Unfortunately, we don't have that wisdom. That wisdom—Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. No man have that wisdom. Christ is God's wisdom. Christ is God's power. The wisdom we need is not with us. That is why human philosophy have not been able to handle Satan. The most intelligent person have not been able to handle Satan. They could not handle him. Professors of law, professors of Biology, professors of this, check some of their life: scattered married life, living immoral life, marrying this, putting that, scattered life, you know, living in vanity and emptiness. And again they are, "Yeah, me, the professor of this." But when you check them in the matters of life, they are ignorant. It’s not philosophy that you need. It’s not intelligence that you need. Christ is the wisdom of God and what? The power of God. That is what we need to be able to win this battle. Ta ba ma segun, k’ade le dele, Bibeli so wipe Kristi, ohun ni ogbon Olorun, ohun si ni agbara Olorun. Ogbon ki Satani ni ogbon arekereke eyi, a ni ogbon yi l’ati le koju ija si. Tori pe Kristi ni ogbon Olorun si ni agbara Olorun. So a ni lo Kristi, ogbon ti Kristi, ogbon yen l’a le fi koju ija si ogbon arekereke ki Satani. That's what we need. So if you look into the word of God, let's go back to that Genesis. So I'm just trying to make you see that... No, before I move on, I will create this picture. Ah, we might not be able to conclude this matter today. I thought I would be able to quickly get to the end. But you know sometimes when you start a thing, you see the Lord also opening your eyes to some other things while you are still speaking. Are you understanding me? It just happens. So some of the things that I'm adding now, they are just coming as insight by the power of God is coming. Now, let's look at something. The picture that just came to my heart is that let's look at Cain and Abel. Cain ati Abeli. Iwe Genesis. Bawoni Cain, bawon lo se pa Abeli? How did Cain kill Abel? He took him... Why did Cain take him away? Why did he draw him away? As long as mother Eve and father Adam are standing, Cain, despite all his power, cannot do anything to Abel. He can't do anything. "Agba d'owo inu igbo d'awo mo ju fe di e." He can't do anything. To ba sa ti je wipe Abeli ko kuro ni ibi ti Adam ati Efa wa, ni ibi ti won wa yen, ko si nkan ti Cain to le fi Abeli se. A ma wo moju naa ni, inu e a ma bi. You will be angry with him. "This thing should die! This thing should die!" That's how Satan is angry with us. "Ki l’on? That boy should die!" You know the way he was being angry with Job? Doing everything for Job. "Have you seen my servant Job?" "Haaa! Is it not because you didn't allow me? O di agba d'owo inu igbo ti mi le se nkan si." I couldn't do anything to Job. That is the life of the believer. Job was not in Christ. It was just an edge. Satan could not do anything to Job. Now our life is hidden in Christ in God. I want you to know how much we are protected. Do you understand me at all? Do you understand me? It was just an edge that was set around Job and Satan could not do anything. But today where are we? Our life is hidden in Christ in God. Satan can't do anything with your life. It's a truth that must be clear. But you know for most of you, it's not clear to you. You know it's not clear... what I'm saying is not clear to many of you. And that is a what? That's already a scheme, a strategy that have gotten you. You still believe Satan can do something against your life. That's why sometimes even when you are praying, "I stand against this!" you are praying because you are afraid, not because you have faith. You know some people when they want to travel, they are praying because they are afraid. You think you can just die anyhow. It is correct to pray. The Bible says, "Pray without ceasing." Bibeli ni k’a ma gbadura nigba gbogbo, lai saare. Sugbon l’owo awon adura mi t’o gba, "Eru o, ko ma ba omu mi o." Eru gidi, inu eru lo ti n gbadura. A ti mu e already. A ti mu e. O gbadura gan ninu igbagbo. Let me show it to you. There's somebody who is looking at the serpent, "In Jesus' name, he will not bite. Jesus! Jesus! He!" As you are looking up and looking down, a double-minded man cannot receive anything from God. I'm talking about the schemes of the devil. Eni to ba n se emi meji, so ri nkan kan gba l’owo Baba ni. Ko si. So if he bites and you are not looking up... Satan jumps up, he ran, he turned himself, he put his... and the serpent opened his mouth. You keep looking up. After some time he will relax. But once you are intimidated by all his jumping and jumping around, you remember Peter? "Come! Come!" and Peter was going, walking on the water. Then he got to a point... "The wind! The wind! He!" What happened to him? He began to sink. What made him to sink? The water? His fear. So what does Satan do? When he knows that you are going focused, he begins to roar. "Rrr! Rrr! Rrr!" And then you look away and then you begin to sink. You say, "Ah! Satan got him." It wasn't Satan that got you. It was the schemes. The schemes. He has no power over you. You must get something clear in your spirit. It must be clear. There's a truth that must be clear. But we are dealing with a subtlety. We are dealing with somebody who is so subtle. We are dealing with somebody that our intelligence, our philosophy, our human sagacity cannot handle. Ogbon ori wa, oye wa, laakai ye wa, ko le koju ija si ogun arekereke Satani. Can’t face him. So you notice what did Cain do? "Abel, there is this contract we need to discuss about." And Abel said, "Ah! Cain, speak on, speak on." "Ah, no no no no. It's something exclusive for our ears. Come, come, let's have it." And then as they went far away from the Lord and the power of His might, what happened? Cain could now do what? He could kill Abel. So the schemes are to draw you—as a fish outside the water. Once you can take fish out of the water and you place it on land, you don't need to kill it again, it will die. It's just a matter of time. Ogbon arekereke ni mo n so o. Cain fi ogbon arekereke, o fi fa kuro nigba t’o ri pe awon nikan n’ojo wa. O wa s’ase l’agbara l’ori e l’ati pa. Bi a ba fe p’eja loni, bo ba fe pa shark, shark, as big as shark is, what do you need to do? Just trick shark out of what? Out of water. All that [inaudible], take it out of water. Place shark on land. All you just need to do is to be fanning yourself. "Hallelujah." After some time, what will happen to shark? O ma ku. What I'm saying is that once the enemy can draw you away from the Lord—I'll be discussing this drawing away next week—God making it possible, or some other time, I'll be looking at it: how Satan draws, how he draws us, how he takes the fish out of the water. The process of taking the fish out of the water. How is this thing done? How is it done? Mo ni ti Olorun ba gba wa l’aye ni ose t’o mbo, o de le ma je ose t’o mbo lo je igba mi, nipa ogboro Olorun, nipa ore-ofe Olorun, a o ma wo ona ti Satani n gba t’o fi n fa wa kuro ninu Oluwa. Awon arekereke e bo se n se e, tori arekereke e gan l’ohun t’a fe koju ija si. Do you realize that for Eve, it was later that she said, "Ah, Satan, he deceived me." At the beginning, was the friendship like a friendship of deception? It was a friendship of addition. "You see, did God say you will die? You will not die! You will not die! You are going to be like God and knowing God from evil. God is limiting you where you are. Liberate yourself and be free." No, when you tell a man that one man, one wife is okay, he say, "No! I will not enjoy!" Like one man was telling me when I was discussing with him. He said, "What do you mean, sir? What do you mean? Look at this, sir. If a man is eating rice in the morning, rice in the afternoon, rice in the evening, the second day again, rice, rice, rice, what will he have? One man, one wife is not good. You eat different types." It looks wise. It looks sensible. It looks as if he's saying something that is very correct. But in the actual sense, he's dead. Many times, you know what it feels like? "Young man, break your limitation. Why are you limiting yourself? Come into liberation. Come and be free. Come and experience a multidimensional wisdom. A wisdom that surpasses the wisdom of the spirit. Wisdom that moves you and you begin to dominate and you begin to subdue." Wow, that sounded for him something to make one wise. "Hey! Hey! Hey!" and then she dropped. How does fornication sounds many times? It doesn't sound like something that will kill people. Why are men inside? Why are youth so full of immorality today? As at 2013, global records both from Population Reference Bureau and World Health show that the leading cause of death for young people 15 to 19 is pregnancy-related problem. As at 2013. Because I had to cite all those things for my work on reproductive health in 2018. As at 2013. I want to ask you, what does a boy, a girl of 15 to 20 have to do with sex? What's their business with it that it has become the leading cause of their death? If it actually appears to them as death, who takes poison freely? Who takes... have you ever seen somebody say, "Ma je l'e le o! Ma je! Let's go!" Have you ever seen anybody like that? Or when you give them the poison, you call it, "Come on! Come into the world of freedom where you begin to dominate and you begin to move. You don't have to be in a hill. You come into the 21st century to work in the place of philosophy, where you dominate, where you move around, where you express yourself, you enjoy life. What does it mean? You have to limit yourself. You have to be free. Come on, boy! Let's move! Yeah!" Awon ode. Awon ode. I'm telling you the strategy of who? Of Satan. And so they look more, they look more that they know about life than the girl that you ask, "Do you have a boyfriend?" say, "Me? I don't do such thing." "You mean you don't have a boyfriend?" That person look like o ti move on, ko ti step up. You need to step up. But those ones, did they step up? Did they step up? There is no step up. That was what Eve later came to realize. "Satan! I thought he was starting my life. I didn't know he was finishing it." Strategy of Satan. Subtlety of hell. Subtlety of hell. Awon ogbon arekereke Satani, t’o fi n mu awon eniyan l’eni. Ohun t’a fe ba ja ijakadi, ohun ni ogbon arekereke Satani. Mo de fe k’o ma ye wa wipe ko si ologbon eniyan, ko si bi eniyan bo se gbon to ninu ara re, t’o le koju ogun t’arekereke Satani. Ko si. Ko si eda naa. Won o ti bi. Ko si eda naa. No body, no human philosophy. That is why even the greatest philosophers who have lived, go and check them. When it comes to the matter of life, what do you find? They are ignorant. I want to close this meeting this evening. I will pursue this matter forward in next Monday where I'll be looking at, by the grace of God, God making it possible or some other time I'll be looking at it: how Satan draws us, how he takes the fish out of the water. The process of taking the fish out of the water. How is this thing done? How is it done? Mo ni ti Olorun ba gba wa l’aye ni ose t’o mbo, o de le ma je ose t’o mbo lo je igba mi, nipa ogboro Olorun, nipa ore-ofe Olorun, a o ma wo ona ti Satani n gba t’o fi n fa wa kuro ninu Oluwa. Awon arekereke e bo se n se e, tori arekereke e gan l’ohun t’a fe koju ija si. Let us pray this evening. I don't know what I've told you. I don't know your understanding as a disciple. But one thing I'm telling you is that, see, Christ is the wisdom of God. Christ is the wisdom of God. Kristi, ohun ni ogbon Oluwa. Jesu, ohun ni ogbon Oluwa. Christ is the wisdom of God. Can you pray for yourself today that "Let me stay within the confines of Christ, the confines of His teaching." Because very soon we'll be opening up teachings on the teachings of Christ. Brethren will be coming to speak on different things on the teachings of Christ. The need to stay within the confines of the word of Jesus. The need not to think you are wiser than the word of truth. Gbadura pe k’Olorun ko ran e lowo, ko ma ro pe ogbon kan wa yato si Kristi, yato si ohun ti Oluwa so ninu oro re t’o pe ni otito. Ko si ogbon emi mo, ko si ogbon kan. Ogbon t’o ba ti yato si ogbon yi ko n s’ogbon. Any wisdom that is outside Christ is not wisdom because the Bible says only God is wise. Only God, immortal, invisible, God only wise. Only God is wise and the wisdom of God is Christ. Outside Christ, Olorun nikan ni ologbon. Outside Christ, there is no wisdom. There is no wisdom again. There is no any other wisdom. Ko s’ogbon emi mo ti a le fi koju ija si arekereke Satani yato si ogbon t’o wa ninu Kristi. Kristi ni ogbon Olorun. Ogbon Olorun l’a fi n koju ija si ogbon arekereke ki Satani. Talk to the Lord. Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord! That I may be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. That I may be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Strong, only in the Lord, only in the Lord. Christ is my wisdom. Can you speak to that? Say, "Jesus, You are my wisdom. Jesus, You are my wisdom. Your teachings are my wisdom. Your words are my wisdom. Your dictates are my wisdom. Lord Jesus, Your principles are my wisdom. Your counsel is my wisdom. Your instructions are my wisdom. Your instructions, that is my wisdom. Jesu Kristi, oro re ni ogbon mi. Agbekale re ni ogbon mi. Imoran ti o ba gba ohun ni ogbon mi. Oluwa je ki n gbo. Oluwa fun mi n’ogbon ma je ki n go, mi o ni go. Oh, Lord God Almighty, I will not be a fool. Jesus, Iwo ni ogbon mi. Oro re ni ogbon mi. Oye re ni ogbon mi. Imoran re ni ogbon mi. Agbekale re ni ogbon mi. Oluwa jo ma je ki n go. Lord, Your counsel is my wisdom. Your dictates are my wisdom. Your principles are my wisdom. Your instructions are my wisdom. Oh, Lord God Almighty, I will not be foolish. I will not be foolish. In the name of Jesus. I will not be foolish in the name of Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray. The second thing I want you to pray about. Ohun keji ti mo fe k’a gbadura nipa e. Lord, help me to know, help me to realize that my human sagacity cannot combat hell. Je k’o ye mi. It must be a deep realization. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, who see their realization for God, their need for God. Bami mi o ni oye l’ati d’oju ija ko Satani. Mi o ni ogbon na. I don’t have it. Mi o ni. Help me to realize. Lord, help me to see it, that I may daily depend on You, that I may daily draw from You. Je k’o ye mi, je k’o ye mi. Ni ojojumo aye mi, ki n le ma simi le o. Help me to realize that I, in myself, I don't have what it takes. I don't have it. Thank You, Father. Blessed be Your name. In Jesus' name we pray. [Speaker 4] Father, we want to say thank You. The Bible says You appeared to Samuel at Shiloh by Your word. Thank You for appearing to us again on this Monday by Your word. We appreciate You, Lord. Be Thou glorified in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. You have appeared to us, we have received Your word. We ask for grace to be the doer of Your word in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Lord, we ask for grace to put on the whole armor, Your armor, to be able to stand against the strategies, the wiles, the schemes of the wicked as we move forward in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. That in this journey, we will no longer be caught unawares in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. We will be ready at all times to disarm every force of the wicked, every of their strategies in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. We receive grace to walk in wisdom, to walk in understanding. We receive the spirit of discernment to know what to do per time in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. As we go, we go in Your name. We return next week with testimonies in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank You, precious Daddy. In Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more. Amen. [Outro] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development and mission head. Our regular activities are: discipleship class every Monday 5:00 PM, adolescents and singles club every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, marriage forum second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM, family life seminars, regular school outrages and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the first bridge, Ilere community, opposite Rejoice filling station along Ijaare Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 080-3386-1136, 070-3361-3848. God bless you all. Amen.